HOLY HILL PROTOCOL
Psalms 15:1-5 NLT
1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
5 Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.
This is a psalm from David. It reads similar to the proverbs because there is instruction in almost every verse. David asks questions of the Lord basically about who can stay in the presence of God. Who can worship in His sanctuary? Who can enter God’s presence on His Holy Hill? And the answers sound much more practical than spiritual. But being spiritual does not mean we walk around scarcely aware of the world around us. Being spiritual has a lot to do with how we act.
Living a blameless life and doing what is right. This does not mean perfect, but it does mean we walk in the light that we have. As we grow in our knowledge of the Lord and how to walk with Him, more is expected, but start wherever you are. I have a friend that I met in Bible School who thought he preached better after drinking a six-pack of beer. Coming from my Baptist background, I was questioning his actual salvation. Thankfully, both of us were able to gain insight. I was less judgmental, and he didn’t need to drink before preaching.
Speaking truth from a sincere heart is always going to be tied into our walk with the Lord. Our words matter—a lot. And keeping with the speaking theme, not gossiping or doing harm to people with our words is proper Holy Hill protocol. Too often, we look at our words as harmless, and yet the scriptures are full of warnings regarding speaking rashly and wrongly.
Those that think lightly of people who are blatantly sinning but honoring those who are faithful to the Lord. This would include figures in entertainment and sports who mock God. We don’t have to speak ill of them, but neither do we admire them. We reserve our greatest honor for those who live for God. This would put a whole new spin on our current celebrity Christian culture.
And don’t forget those who keep their promises even when it hurts. Remember, we are talking about Heaven endorsed behavior, and this one ranks right up there. I am so glad God and the Lord Jesus kept their promises to mankind, even though it was incredibly painful and difficult. The more we become conscious of keeping our word, the easier it becomes to grasp God’s faithfulness in keeping His word in our lives.
Not lending money to friends and family and charging interest. I don’t believe the Lord is speaking of investing or putting our money in banks, but more along the lines of helping others out. The word usury is often used in older translations, and it means charging exorbitant rates of interest. Israel was forbidden from charging usury to other Israelites.
The last bit of instruction for Holy Hill Protocol is someone who walks with such integrity that they cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. Being bribed in itself is wrong, but being bribed to lie is doubly wrong.
Not only are these behaviors Heaven approved, they enable a person to stand firm on a solid foundation. It’s a good list. It was appropriate for the time David lived in, and it’s still viable today.