Psalm 15:5: Earthquake Country

One of the scariest experiences I had with an earthquate was not in California, where tremors were a fact of life. No, it was when I woke in the darkness and my 18th floor hotel was swaying back and forth and creaking; the quiet tinkle as glasses in the bathroom shuffled against each other; and I wondered whether the upper floors above me would collapse.

These buildings are designed to sway. They are made of durable materials. Earthquakes are a way of life anywhere along the Pacific rim. So building codes and materials and engineering design all focus on the inevitable. You only have to look at the heart-wrenching results of being unprepared in such places as eastern Turkey or Haiti, to see what can happen.

Life is full of earthquakes. The question is not if, but when, how often and how strong.  Some are tremors: heart-ache, struggling relationship, accidents, job loss, illness. Some are ground-breakers: Death, divorce, natural disaster, accident. All of them are unsettling. All of them threaten to throw us down.

Psalm 15:5 offers these encouraging words: "He who does these things will never be shaken." What things? What sort of bomb shelter is the author talking about? In the context of this Psalm, the answer is given right up front, in verse 1: "LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?" God is our refuge. He is our sanctuary. He is our bomb shelter, in time of need. The verses in between fill us in on the type of person who dwells close to God: someone who lives with integrity and compassion.

This may seem like standard, bread-and-butter Christian practical living. But five chapters ago, there was another person who said: "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." (Ps. 10:6) In Psalm 10, the person who says this is shown as arrogant and about to fall.  But in Psalm 15, this person is commended? What is the difference?

1. Trying to Become A King or Submit To The King? The Psalm 10 man views himself at the top of the heap. He thinks he cannot be shaken because he controls the weak and disdains his enemies. The Psalm 15 man knows there is a king of the hill (Zion) and the by being where He is, he will not be shaken.
2. Are Words Used To Destroy or Are Words Used To Build Up . The Psalm 10 man uses words to beat down and control. "His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats." (Ps. 10:7) The Psalm 15 man "speaks the truth from his heart" and "keeps his oath, even when it hurts." (vs. 4) Someone once told me that the world can be divided into two types of people: those who believe words mean something and those who don't.
3. Are Other People Potential Victims or Are Other People Neighbors. The Psalm 10 man divides the world into sheep and wolves. You plunder the sheep and fight off the other wolves. His goal in life is to stay at the head of the wolf pack. The Psalm 15 divides the world into neighbors and those who take advantage of neighbors. He will not climb over his neighbor nor fail to help him in need.

There comes an earthquake to each of us. God will use it to rattle our cages; break down defences, realign priorities and clear out our cluttered hearts and replace it all with the kingdom of God.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." - Hebrews 12:28

Dear God, only your kingdom cannot be shaken. Your kingdom come, your will be done, in my life, is it is in heaven. Amen.