Well, let's turn to Psalm 15 this evening. We welcome you. Thank you for making the effort and joining with us here. This evening, those who are watching in online, we welcome you, and those who join us in the car park, thank you for doing so. So Psalm 15, a very short psalm. We'll read the psalm together. It's the Psalm of David, and the psalmist begins with a question. And then he comes to answer that question. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hell? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, speaketh truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up reproach against his neighbor, in whose eyes a vile person is contemned. May the Lord bless the reading of His precious and His holy word. The term godly It's one of those terms, brethren and sisters, that is banded about in such a way that I believe it diminishes the very term itself. You hear people saying, that man is a godly man, or you would hear someone say, that woman is a very godly woman. But they that say such things have really no idea what godliness entails and what godliness actually is. As I read through Psalm 15, I find myself confronted with a portrait of a godly man. Because in these verses, the Spirit of God identifies certain characteristic traits, certain characteristics, distinguishing marks, which really sets the godly man apart from the ungodly. Such marks we would do all well to possess within our own lives, for the cry need of our generation is not for money or for some kind of political movement, but it is for godly men and women to be nurtured in the church, who will then go out into the world and impact a generation for Jesus Christ. Duncan Campbell, the man used in the Lewis revival, was reported to have said on one occasion, a baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living, is the crying need. of our day. There's no doubt that we can pretend to be godly. We can say the right things. We can do the right things. We can attend the right places. But is there anything of godliness about us? Well, Psalm 15 is a good passage of God's Word to place our lives alongside to discover whether or not we're only pretending a godliness. before we launch into the psalm itself let me quote what one bible commentator said about this particular psalm he said psalm 15 is not a prescription for being saved but a description of how saved people ought to live if they want to please God and have fellowship with Him. And so Psalm 15 isn't a prescription on how a person is saved, but rather a description of how a saved person is to conduct themselves and live in this world. We need to remember always that salvation is not the cost of our works. Salvation is all of grace. Psalm 15 is not telling us how we can be saved, but rather Psalm 15 is telling us how to behave after we have come to experience God's salvation. So then what are these marks? What are these traits of a godly man or woman that comes to set them apart from the ungodly who live in this world? Well, can I say in the first place, the godly man or woman's worship sets them apart from the ungodly. The godly man or woman's worship sets them apart from the ungodly. Psalm 15 begins with a question from the psalmist's Lord. Who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? The tabernacle, as you know, was that tent-like structure in which the brazen altar, the laver, the candlestick, table of showbread, the altar of incense, and the Ark of the Covenant was housed. And this is what David is referring to when he asks the question, Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Remember, it wasn't until Solomon that the temple was built. Sometimes whenever you pick up maybe a children's book, you find with regard to Samuel, You often find Samuel the prophet whenever that picture is being depicted in a children's book. You often find a large, nearly stone-like structure, but the tabernacle or the temple wasn't built until After samuel and after david until solomon came the first temple was reared and so he's speaking about this Movable tent-like structure in which all of these holy items were housed The tabernacle was then the very center of religious worship for the children of israel It was there that god chose to dwell Among his people he came to dwell above the mercy sea in a cloud that really was the Shekinah glory. The glory of God appeared within a cloud upon or above the surface of that particular mercy seat. God will relate that to Moses over there in Leviticus, if you want to turn there, Leviticus chapter 16. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. So Leviticus chapter 16 and the verse number 2. Leviticus 16 verse 2. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veal before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, that he die not, for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. This is God's dwelling place, the tabernacle. Who shall abide in God's dwelling place? Who shall dwell in the holy hill? I suppose that phrase, the holy hill, refers to Mount Zion, that mountain Zion upon which Solomon would build the temple. And so this phrase, it really refers to the meeting place, God's dwelling place, It can refer to, yes, the tabernacle in the days of Moses. It can refer to the church at times, and also to heaven itself. But really, the thrust of these words really bring to our attention the place of worship, very much highlighted in the terms tabernacle and holy hill. And it is there that the holy man wishes to be. You see, the godly, unlike the ungodly, are concerned about their attendance at the place of public worship. The term abide suggests an assembling or a gathering to the tabernacle or the place for worship. Who shall assemble? Who shall gather at the meeting place? We could speak of it like that. The term dwell is more suggestive of a permanent staying. Who is going to go and who is going to permanently be there? Who is going to be there on a consistent basis? This is what the term suggests. infrequent and inconsistent are not terms that you could use regarding the godly when it comes to their assembling to worship God. You cannot say that a man or woman is godly and if health permits and age permits that those people are not at the house of God. They are contradictory. Those statements are contradictory. godly delight to come to worship God. And such is their delight in that activity, in assembling with the saints of God, that they would permanently dwell at the place of worship if it wasn't for the duties of life calling them away. Such is their love for the house of God. Such is their love for the place of worship that they would actually choose to set up home there if they could, and if the duties of life did not call them away. I wonder, beloved, is that our attitude when it comes to the house of God? You see, beloved, a person's attitude to earthly worship is telling when it comes to whether or not they will come to engage in heavenly worship. Those who show great reluctance in assembling to worship God on earth, when they're able and fit to be present at non-church activities and events, causes a preacher and a minister to question whether or not such a person will actually come to worship God in heaven. I'm not referring to those who are sick and those who are aged. I'm not speaking about people who have children to care for or dependents to care for. I'm referring to fit, able-bodied, healthy people who abscond from public worship and yet they can attend other family, school, and cultural events. It's an amazing thing what you see on Facebook. amazing thing, what you see, where people can be, but as for God's house, they are nowhere to be seen. The godly man, the godly woman, will be marked out by their attitude to the worship of God, how God is worshipped, and how frequently God is worshipped. How will such a person worship God in heaven if they have failed to worship Him on earth? Heaven for that person will be an endurance test rather than a delight. And let me say, heaven is no endurance test. A. W. Tozer, he said this, I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored or turned off by worship is not ready for heaven. That's what Tozer said. You see, on the matter of worship, the godly are set apart from the ungodly. Now, we know that all men, all men, regardless of their spiritual state, whether saved or lost, all men, whether regenerate or unregenerate, all men are worshipers by nature. It's really what And it's who we worship that distinguishes those of faith from those who have no faith. The ungodly, they worship themselves. Some, they worship their sporting teams. Some, they worship maybe some music artist or some movie actor, but Christians, they worship the God of the Bible. And that worship brings them to a place of public assembly so that they can join others in worshiping the one true and the living God. When you think of godly people, could you get any more godlier? than the God-man, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ as a man found no difficulty in attending a place of public worship, thus setting for every one of his followers an example when it comes to the matter of worship. Look, 14 verse 16 informs us, he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. Where there is no spirit of worship, where there is no desire for worship, where there is no coming to engage in worship, in the life of a person we can conclude that God has been dethroned and displaced in the life of that person. You see, worshiping God is what the godly do. It sets them apart from others within the human race. The human race, they don't worship God. They don't come to worship Him. And so, we are those who worship God, the godly worship God. And that worship, brethren and sisters, can I say, it doesn't just happen on the Lord's Day. We worship God every day. home, at school, in the workplace, in leisure and in play and in working and industry. We worship God throughout the day. We are those who worship Him. That sets us apart. That sets the godly apart from the ungodly. And so if you're going to term someone as being godly, then you're going to have to look at their worship and discern and decipher whether or not such a label, such a term could be put upon such an individual. But in the second instance, the godly man, the godly woman's walk sets them apart from the ungodly. We've thought of their worship, we're now thinking about their walk. Now it is important to notice, it's very important to notice, it is something that is repeated over and over again in scripture for our learning, but it is important to notice that the walk of the Christian is given precedence over their talk. Notice the verse number two, he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and then we go to their talk and speaketh the truth in his heart, but notice the walk comes before the talk." There are plenty of people who can talk a good talk, but their walk suggests something very much different than their talk. God reminds us here that it isn't primarily, that he isn't primarily interested in what we say, what we talk about, or what our talk is. He's more concerned about our walk. Now we find here that the godly, they walk in a way that is completely different from the ungodly. You see, the godly, they walk uprightly. That's what the psalmist said. He that walketh uprightly. To us the term uprightly, it sounds like. someone who walks about with their nose stuck up in the air and they think themselves to be better than others. That's not what the term means here. The Hebrew word uprightly means someone that is healthy or whole, someone that is without blemish, someone that is undefiled. The walk, the manner of living, that's what we spoke about. Remember whenever we dealt with that topic? For many weeks, the walk of the Christian, the manner of life, how we live, our conduct in this world, our walk must be Upright, this is what the psalmist said. These, the godly, are those who are to live lies that are above reproach, one that cannot be questioned. How we walk and where we walk and with whom we walk can be a very good indication whether or not we have been radically changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now remember that an upright walk An upright walk arises from having an upright heart. There cannot be uprightness of life without uprightness first of heart. The two must go hand in hand or we simply come to live the life of a Pharisee. and of a hypocrite, a religious hypocrite. And such an upright heart is not ours naturally. Something radical must happen. Salvation is what it is. And in salvation, we are given a new heart, and that heart is an upright heart. And by having an upright heart, then there is the outworking of that uprightness in an upright walk. Now beloved, this upright walk is to take place before God and men, at home and abroad, at all seasons of life. The godly man, woman, is to walk uprightly before God. I think of an example in Scripture of a man who lived such a life. His name was Job. The Spirit of God gives us the record of his testimony or his assessment of Job there in the opening chapter, the verse 1, Job 1 verse 1, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job and that man was perfect and upright. One that feared God and he skewed evil. This was God, the Holy Spirit's assessment of Job as he looked at his life and as he considered Job's walk with God, he came to this assessment that Job was an upright man. Before God, he was upright. And before men, we are to live an upright life. You take, for example, David, 1 Samuel chapter 29. Would you turn there? 1 Samuel chapter 29. In this chapter, David has come to live in the land of the Philistines. And we come now to read Achish's assessment of David's life, a life that This ungodly king, remember, this man is a Philistine, and yet this is going to be his assessment of David, an ungodly man's assessment of David, and we find it there in the verse number six. Then Achish, 1 Samuel 29, verse number six. Then Achish called David and said unto him, Surely as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming on to me unto this day. Nevertheless, the Lord's favor thee not." What a testimony. The ungodly king of Gath had to confess that David had come to live in an upright manner since his coming to reside in Gath. And I come to ask myself the question, what do my neighbors say about me? What does my wife say about me or what the church says about me? What do my ungodly neighbors say about my conduct? Having lived in 10 Sparren Heights for over nine years now, what do they say about the minister of Portland-owned Free Presbyterian Church? Can they say that he's living an upright life? As I've said, the ungodly, they cannot walk uprightly. Theirs is a crooked walk. It's really due to the natural inclination of man's will, which is always inclined in the direction of unrighteousness. And thus the person who comes to walk uprightly, the one who does right, will come to really stand out like a sore thumb as they live among the ungodly. The difference will most certainly be noticeable in how they come to conduct themselves. You see, the Christian will be known in their workplace and in their school for their uprightness, one who will conduct their affairs with integrity and honesty. Is that us? Is that me? Is that you? You see, our walks should set us apart from the ungodly. Our walk should be a different walk. Our conduct of life should be different, markably different, starkly different from the ungodly. The sad thing is that too often we behave like the world. And therefore, if you want to term someone godly, you're going to have to look at their walk, their conduct in the world, You're going to have to notice that. You're going to have to mark it alongside their worship. And then there's a third thing that you're going to have to look at. You're going to have to look at their works, their works, because the works of the godly man sets them apart from the ungodly. It goes on to say in the verse number two of Psalm number 15, he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness. worketh righteousness. The godly will be marked out by their actions, not simply their acclamations. They'll be marked out for their works, not simply their words. David says that the ungodly will be those who will work righteousness. It is from an upright heart the believer will then engage in working righteousness or doing that which is right. That's what it simply means. Christianity doesn't make a person indolent. Christianity makes a person a man industrious. They work. They work. They're not lazy. They're not lazy. They're those who work righteousness. They do good works. The works they engaged in are not works of unrighteousness like the ungodly, but works of righteousness. You know, whenever you come into the New Testament, you find this working righteousness to be an evidence that John will present time and time again with respect to being a mark of a genuine Christian, someone who is genuinely converted. Let me read a number of verses found in 1 John. 1 John 2, 29, If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 1 John 3, 7, little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteous is righteous, even as he is righteous. 1 John 3, verse 10, in this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil. How do you know? How do you distinguish the ungodly from the godly? From those who are children of Christ and children of God, from those who are children of the devil? Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his brother. Two marks. And the first mark is he that doeth not righteousness. No man can be a friend of God who does not habitually do that which is right. How can I discern with some degree of accuracy that a person is genuinely saved? I look at their works, I look at the things that they do, and I ascertain whether those works are righteous or unrighteous in their tenor, in their import. in their nature. He who works righteousness is righteous. He can only do it because he is righteous. Thomas Boston said, a man must first be righteous before he can work righteousness of life. Righteous man may make a righteous work, but no work of an unrighteous man can make him righteous. Brethren and sisters, we can talk about righteousness, and we can think about righteousness, and we can read about righteousness, and we can hear messages preached about righteousness, we can even aspire to righteousness, but it's all to no appeal if we fail to work righteousness. We are to be doers of that which is right, and thereby we must set aside all that is wrong, all that is questionable, And how do we assess whether or not such a work is righteous or unrighteous? We take it to the unchangeable, to the unchangeable standard of God's holy and precious word. I trust your works could be categorized as being works of righteousness in the past 24 hours. I trust mine are too. And so we have their worship and their walk and their works. What about their words? Their godly man or woman's words set them apart from the ungodly. Our words are really the index of our hearts. What we say with our lips reveals to us and to others what and who we really are, a person who never speaks about spiritual things, but is constantly talking about worldly matters, evidences that they either know not God or that they're walking at a concerning distance from God. David says here in the text, the verse number two, that he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart, and then goes on and says, he that backbiteth not with his tongue. He's dealing here with the words. And really, we have two types of words that are being presented within the verse. We have secret words. He that speaketh the truth, where does he speak those words? In his heart. He doesn't speak them with his lips. He's speaking these words in his heart. You see, beloved, what we say with our lips is first birth in our hearts. The godly man, woman, not only speaks truth with their lips, of course they should do that, but they first speak the truth in their heart. That is, that their thoughts and their reasonings are consistent with the truth. Lies and falsehood and deception and hypocrisy have no part to play in the speech life of a godly man or woman. Mr. Spurgeon said, saints not only desire to love and speak truth with their lips, but they seek to be true within. They will not lie even in the closet of their hearts, for God is there to listen. They scorn double meanings, evasions, equivocations, white lies, flatteries, and deceptions. Beloved, our mouths speak nothing but what our hearts dictate. Our words are the window into our hearts. They reveal to us, as I've said, what we are and who we really are. all to be man and woman of the truth, speaking the truth in our hearts, the truth about ourselves, the truth about God, the truth about others. These are the secret words, and then there are the spoken words of the godly man. The godly man is said to not backbite with his tongue. The word backbite, it means to slander, to speak evil off. The Hebrew word means to go about as a tailbearer, to circulate reports that are unfavorable to others. John Phillips, he said, we have one modern word for that sin, speaking about backbiting. He says it's gossip. And we have one modern instrument which is a handy tool for the spread of gossip, the telephone. And many good people's good names and reputations have been cut to shreds in a telephone conversation. I asked you, child of God, if God was to play over the speakers of this church our telephone conversations. or to place on the wall of this building our text messages, our WhatsApp messages that we have sent in the last month, would be blush, would be blush, would be found out as a backbiter, one who slanders, one who gossips. Listen to what Jesus Christ said, but I say unto you, every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." Remember that the next time you pick up the phone to gossip or to slander about someone else. Remember God's going to bring you to the judgment. God the Holy Spirit is not saying in Psalm 15 that Christians should not engage in such backbiting. The Holy Spirit is saying that Christians do not engage in such backbiting. The Spirit of God isn't saying that you shouldn't engage in it. He's saying that you don't engage in it if you're a Christian. If you or I secretly or publicly slander others, there is a need of repentance tonight on our part. The Christian is one who has been captured by the truth. They've come to receive, they've come to believe the truth, and now they speak the truth, and they do it in love, both inwardly and both outwardly. In the fifth and final instance, the godly man a woman's, their ways set them apart from the ungodly. I don't have time to go on, and I haven't developed it. I haven't developed this point. But let me just say, and needless to say, the ways of the ungodly, they set them apart from the ungodly. Note that the godly man or woman does no evil to his neighbor. That's what verse three says. Nor taketh up reproach against his neighbor. You see, you get to know a godly man from how they treat their neighbor. How do they treat their neighbor? Doesn't say they're a good neighbor. Doesn't say they're an affable neighbor. This might be a neighbor that causes you great grief. Maybe a neighbor that spreads lies about you. But here's one. The godly man does no evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. Why? Because he has come to obey the second great commandment of the law. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Verse four states that the godly person for a godly person. A vile person is contemned or despised, esteemed, but he honours them that fear the Lord, he that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. The godly person is a person in which they despise, they find the vile person, the lowly person, the person of wickedness. They disdain such an individual, but they come to honor the man of God. They come to honor all those that fear the Lord. And then it goes on to say that the godly person is a person who keeps their promises, even if it is to their own disadvantage. He that sweareth our promises to his own heart and changes not, They maybe make a promise, and then their circumstances change. And for them to fulfill that promise, it's going to be to their loss, and yet they still keep their word. That's the godly man. In verse 5 we read, that the godly putteth not out his money to usury or to interest, nor taketh reward against the innocent. Our attitude, I believe, to money is a good indication as to our state of godliness. Those whose lives are motivated by greed and financial gain is someone who hasn't learned the art of contentment. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6 verses 6 through to 8, but godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out, and having food and raiment, let us therewith, let us be therewith content." One Christian author said, many people who would be considered godly in other areas of their lives still have not decided to use their money in a way that honors God and shows love and care to others. The godly man, the godly man will be one who can be marked with regard even to their attitude with regard to money. Do you want to know whether a person is godly or not? Then look at their worship. Then consider their walk. Then look at their ways or their works and then consider their ways and then finally listen to their words and you'll have enough information at your disposal as to whether or not you could label such a person as being godly. I believe that the benchmark has been lowered with regard to this matter of godliness. Godliness. May God make us godly. May God make me a godly man, a godly husband, a godly father, a godly son, a godly minister. May God help you in this matter of godliness. And it all comes down to these five things, our worship, our ways, our works, our walk, and our words. May godliness mark every, every one of them. And may this community know that there is a godly people who live among them, for Christ's sake. Amen. May God bless His word. Let's bow in prayer. We'll stand for a word of prayer. Thank you. Our gracious Father, our loving God, We come before Thee, we place ourselves alongside this psalm, and we find ourselves falling short of the glory of God. Lord, we thank Thee for our Savior. We thank Thee for His worship, and His walk, and His ways, His words. We thank Thee, dear God, for all that He did in this world. giving to us and setting for us a perfect example of godliness. May we follow him in all our ways and in all that we do and all that we say and all that we are. May we not pretend at godliness. May we not be actors, actresses, showmen, pretenders, but help us Lord. knowing the work of God within, that that godliness will shine forth in all that we do and in all that we say. Answer now prayer and continue to be with us. We pray these petitions in and through Jesus' precious name.