1 O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? 2 Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; 3 who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors; 4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the LORD; who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 5 who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.(NRSV)
This psalm is a trap, luring the self righteous into self satisfaction before revealing God‘s real priorities for a good and moral life.

Suppose we are sitting in the temple or a church or a meeting house, listening to the psalm. We hear the first verse and the beginning of the second. Who can live in God’s presence? Those who are blameless and do right… “Well, that’s me of course,” we may think — even if we wouldn‘t say it out loud. “I go to the right church, I believe the right things, I give money to the right causes, I’ve got a clean record.” But then the psalm describes what blameless means to God — those who don’t slander, don’t hurt friends and neighbors, who stand by a commitment even when it’s inconvenient. Hey, where’s the “believe the right doctrine, follow the right rules”? Blameless also means lending without expecting a return (in other words, giving away!) and not exchanging the welfare of the innocent for our own gain or comfort. Those who can lend are most often wealthy; those who can control the fate of the innocent are most often the powerful. This seems to be a direct confrontation of those with wealth and power.

So who can live in God’s presence? Immoral behavior separates us from God, but no one is blameless. If a perfect life is the only way, then everyone is in trouble.

And what about despising the wicked? Jesus himself didn’t despise those the selfrighteous considered wicked but welcomed them as friends. Who are we to judge who is wicked? We may despise those who support war and we ourselves are despised for not supporting it. Judging brings demonizing and violence.

Happily, there is a way out of this trap. We know from Scripture and faith that not only can we approach God without being blameless, God longs for us to do so. God is pulling us toward the Divine. We are able to improve our lives because God is with us, helping us to change, to love. The message can be turned around, “Who can walk blamelessly and do right? Those who walk in God’s presence and abide with the divine.”

- Terry Matz, recording