Psalm 15

 A Psalm of David.

 ¹Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?

Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

²He who walks uprightly,

And works righteousness,

And speaks the truth in his heart;

³He who does not backbite with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

⁴In whose eyes a vile person is despised,

But he honors those who fear the Lord;

He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

⁵He who does not put out his money at usury,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?

Who may dwell in Your holy hill?”

In this Psalm David asks and answers some very poignant questions about who may dwell with the Lord in His Tabernacle. Now we know that these things were thought upon while as yet the Gospel (i.e., the New Covenant) had not yet been instituted. Nonetheless the principals spoken of here apply to us all, for though salvation is by God’s grace alone given (i.e., gifted) to us by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, there are sound principals here of living and pursing a righteous life after one believes, and thus is saved by the grace of God. For a life of sin that is not forsaken, is not wrestled against, cannot be a life that has been regenerated and transformed by God’s Holy Spirit.

Vs. 2 He who walks uprightly,

And works righteousness,

And speaks the truth in his heart;

 Three things initially come to David’s mind. First is walking uprightly, that is that one is honest and has integrity, for there is no place for dishonest or corrupt dealings in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Kingdom, thus doing justly towards all is foundational (Micah 6:8). Next mentioned is the working of righteousness, now this is broad in scope, but ultimately it comes down to willfully choosing to do and say what is right, even after one sins or falters, one is quick to own their own guilt and seek to make it right again. One then would rather loose their own reputation, than destroy another's in trying to “save” it. Third is that they speak truth from their heart, they don’t lie, they don’t tell half truths, they don’t seek to mislead or deceive others, they don’t speak with a double tongue, therefore when we give our word, we mean it and stand by it.

Vs. 3 “He who does not backbite with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;”

The backbiter, the secret hater, the one who spreads malicious gossip and evil rumors about others will not be found in Christ’s Kingdom. Same with the one who does evil to his neighbor, (whether they are brethren or not), for no one can justify doing evil towards one’s neighbor in light of the Lord’s command to “love one’s neighbor as oneself.” Neither then will be found those who take up a reproach against their friend. For what kind of person would pass on gossip or information about their friend that they know would knowingly harm or ruin them. Not the kind of person that will be found in Christ’s Kingdom. This though obviously does not include protecting the guilty from lawful and just prosecution if one is called to bear witness by the police or in court etc. for we do not live by the criminals code of protecting the guilty (i.e., no "snitches"). 

Vs. 4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised,

But he honors those who fear the Lord;

He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

The Godly Person then makes clear moral distinctions, and we base all of these on the Word of God and nothing else. For it is clear vile people are not only being accepted in their repulsive lifestyles today, but also honored while doing so, which is something God would never do. Therefore, we do not accept, (and we certainly don’t honor), vile people in their vile lifestyles, (for those practicing such things will not be found in the Kingdom of heaven, 1 Cor. 6:17-21), rather we honor all those who fear the Lord, who hold fast to His Word and His unchangeable moral precepts and truths, even when it means suffering rejection, persecution, and even harm from those of this degenerating world.

Vs. 5 He who does not put out his money at usury,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

David then in considering what God approves of, of just what a Kingdom citizen looks like, also sees putting out one’s money at usury as an afront to all that is just and sound. For to lend out one’s money, but not as a means to help one in need, but only as a means to profit and gain from others in need, is also terribly abhorrent and acting completely contrary to God’s law (consider Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-38; Deut. 15:7-11; 23:19-20; 1 John 3:17 etc.). Same with the taking of bribes against the innocent; and thus, completely perverting justice for the sake of one’s own evil gain is something that no believer should ever do. Everyone then who shuns doing such evil and horrible things is showing themselves to have God’s heart, mind and will in their own hearts and minds and will. In concluding then David says he who does these things, shall never be moved.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.