Psalm 15: 1
Lord, who dares to dwell with you? Who presumes the privilege of being close to you, living next to you in your shining place of glory? Who are those who daily dwell in the life of the Holy Spirit?
One of the people who dared to live in that close proximity with the Lord was David, who is the writer of this psalm. He understood the great prestige of walking with Yahweh. Do we dare presume the privilege of living “next to (His) shining place of glory?” What does that even mean? What is this shining place of glory?
David goes on to refer to those who daily dwell in the life of the Spirit. These are amazing sentences to me. Apparently there were multiple people who were abiding daily in the life of the Holy Spirit so David was not alone in this. Doesn’t that seem to infer that we can live that same life?
David does go on to answer his own question in the rest of the psalm and the answer is informative. The greater part of this psalm is opening our eyes and hearts to the possibilities. It sounds exciting to live next to God in His shining place of glory. God is glory and in His presence is abundant glory. To witness God’s glory is to enjoy His presence. So, aren’t we talking about living, continually, in God’s presence? Further, one would conclude from this that living a life in the Holy Spirit is how one gets to live in God’s shining place of glory.
It’s important to note that David isn’t talking about the great hereafter. He is talking about right here, right now. A life of living in the radiant glow of God’s presence is actually a real possibility. And, think of this, David wrote this before the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. How much more should the glorious presence of God be available to New Testament believers?
I want to stir up your sense of wonder. I am hoping to get you thinking about what God’s shining place of glory is and how David knew about it. He also knew people who lived daily in the life of the Holy Spirit. Of how many people would you say that? There is so much more that God has for us than we are living. Let’s reach for all the gusto. Let’s see how much Father is really willing to do for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. There are heights we can attain which would free us to a life we can not even currently imagine. Let’s dig deeper and explore what our Father will do, what He wants to do with a life surrendered. Who dares to dwell with Yahweh?