1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 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.
This psalm is a perfect representation of Old Testament righteousness. Far from describing a perfect person, it describes the general obedience to the law associated with the blessings of dwelling in God’s tabernacle on Mount Zion (v. 1). With David being the presumed author, there is not yet a temple of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem but still the presence of God is the glory and prize of the righteous.
The requirement to walk blamelessly should be associated with God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen 17:1) before it is associated with the Mosaic law. Far from being an idealistic impossibility, this attribute is ascribed to Noah (Gen 6:9). The remaining portion of the psalm describes in detail the “workers of righteousness”, literal translation, whose heart speaks truth (v.2).
These two are not distinct descriptions! They are the same for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34; Luke 6:45). Vocal ascent requires plenary obedience by fearing the Lord (v. 4). The man who does these things shall not be moved (v. 5). Again Christ taught this in the parable of the two houses (Matt 7:24-27).