View from Mt Zion
Article Tools
- Text Size
- Add a comment (0)
- Print this article
- Email this article
This very practical psalm outlines just what it means to live a life pleasing to God. The truly faithful will not speak unkindly or take advantage of their neighbors, but will always try to do what they know is right.
A Psalm of David.
O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?
Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right,
and speaks truth from his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue,
and does no evil to his friend,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
in whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
who does not put out his money at interest,
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
Words to Remember
Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right.
Rich Brevity
In one of his last general audiences, Pope John Paul II quoted this selection from St. Hilary of Poitiers to show us that this short psalm points our way home to heaven. The pope noted that St. Hilary links the psalm’s finale to the initial image of the tent of the Temple of Zion:
Acting in accordance with these precepts, we dwell in the tent and rest on the mountain. May the preservation of the precepts and the work of the commandments, therefore, endure unchanged. This psalm must be anchored in our inmost depths, it must be engraved on our hearts, stored in our memories; the treasure of its rich brevity must confront us night and day. Thus, having acquired its riches on our way toward eternity and dwelling in the Church, we will be able to rest at last in the glory of Christ’s Body.
—St. Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms
Questions to Think About
1. Do we fully appreciate that the presence of God is no longer confined to a tent or even a temple, but “the dwelling of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3)?
2. How does the Church function like the ancient tent of the divine presence?