Read Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.
Go Deeper
This psalm, albeit short, packs a serious punch and shows a stark contrast from the previous chapter. Psalm 14 outlines a description of a fool–one who mocks or denies God. Psalm 15, on the other hand, shows the life of a godly person. David begins this psalm by essentially asking the question, “What does it take for a person to be in a close relationship with God?”
He then goes on to answer his own question. He says it’s important to live blamelessly and to act righteously. Someone following God closely must live according to God’s standards. David then upacks this idea even further by listing out eight more characteristics of godly living. Someone who closely follows God:
- Speaks the truth sincerely.
- Doesn’t slander others.
- Does no wrong towards their neighbors.
- Doesn’t use slurs or harmful speech towards others.
- Honors those who pursue and fear the Lord.
- Keeps his or her word (even when there’s a cost to it).
- Doesn’t take advantage of the weakness of others. And,
- Doesn’t accept bribes or bring hardship on others.
Reading that list, it’s easy to see how this psalm is as relevant today as it was when David wrote it. According to 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, if we are believers in Christ, we are to be ministers of reconciliation who bring the Good News to a world that needs to hear it. We are supposed to be Christ’s ambassadors. How do we do that? We embody the characteristics David laid out above. We are truthful. We rise above petty squabbles or disagreements (social media included). We don’t take cheap shots at people, even if we disagree with them and we believe we’re right. We don’t take advantage of anyone. We keep our word, even if it hurts us. We conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent with God’s will and the Gospel. That is the ministry of reconciliation and this is what makes an unbelieving world believe.
Questions
- Of those characteristics listed above, which stuck out to you the most as an opportunity for growth? Why do you need to grow in that area?
- Which one stuck out to you as one you are doing well? What makes you believe that?
- How can you more effectively be a minister of reconciliation today? What is one practical step you can take before the sun sets tonight?
A quote
“When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world… Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity.”
– C.S. Lewis
5 responses to “Psalm 15”
What If?
What if the economy collapses? What if my children reject Christ? What if America continues to lose the war in morality and culturally? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my reputation? Uh, what if I lose my house or my retirement? What if war breaks our for real? What if some crazy person pushes a button and launches a nuke? What if there’s another terrorist attack in America?
I know a horrible list but that is what David is talking about. What if this happens, where is your trust?
“O LORD, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” Answer, “He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up an approach against his friend; but he honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
We might not can control what is going on out in the world but we can control what we are putting in our minds, our perspectives. What and how does our character look? Our behavior? How do we walk the talk? We say we loved the Lord God with all our hearts but do we love our neighbor as ourselves? What about your speech, relationships, personal integrity, our values?
Being honest with God is a key having these not be shaken. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit. The core of your relationship with God is being honest. Luke 6, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man brings forth what is evil; for the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.”
What comes out of your mouth? “Because if there’s negativity, if there’s slander, if there’s complaining, if there’s whining, if there’s blaming, if there’s calling other people out, if there’s critical words, if there’s sarcastic words, passive-aggressive words, thoughtless words, those are the kind of things that say something’s wrong in your heart. And this passage says if you want to be rock-solid with God, he says: First of all, you’ve got to be honest and be a person of character.” Chip Ingal
Are my actions, words and deeds drawing me closer to God? We can live above all the what-ifs because of something deep and powerful inside, as the Spirit of God, takes the Word of God and gives us a perspective and a relationship.
God what a short chapter full of much! I want to have and search out the most intimate relationship with You, God, that I can. I’m going to do an honest test of my life, my character, my speech, my values, my money, because You made a promise through David, he who does these things will never be shaken. God I desire You. I desire to be a woman after Your heart. This chapter speaks mightily on how, You, God want me to live in these minutes of this day. God help me to to find this path with steadfastness. God let my character, my speech, my actions, draw me closer to You today in these minutes to not be shaken. God, only You, know what if? and how that turns out. Help me to search You, seek You and listen to You today in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!
This Psalm follows John’s message yesterday at HC where our orthodoxy (doctrine)must inform our orthopraxy (practice). How we treat others infinitely matters to God. It showcases what we truly believe about him as we interact in our public and personal spaces. Let it be our goal to delight ourselves in him which will organically spill over into every conversation and interaction. Others will know we are Christ-followers by our radical love.
Yes!
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
As a Finance professor, I spend a lot of time discussing with students about the many Biblical prohibitions against lending money at interest. It is a complicated topic as any well functioning economic system is dependent on interest rates to efficiently allocate capital resources to their highest and best use.
The point I make with my students, and which is highlighted in this chapter, is the nature of our economic transactions with “the poor”. Are we taking advantage of a person’s misfortune? Is the nature of our lending predatory?
Remember that in Biblical times, the consequences for not paying one’s debts wasn’t a bad credit rating or even repossession of one’s car, it was imprisonment or enslavement! We must be merciful and prudent when we lend and engage with our financial system.
The psalm begins with a call to “walk with integrity and practice righteousness” vs 2.
This highlights the importance of aligning our actions with our beliefs, reflecting a life that is honest and upright.