PSALM 15 EXPLANATION

I remember my pastor asked me to memorize Psalm 15  when I was 12 years old. I did it as a task, but now that I read it, I can understand why my pastor told me to memorize it. 

Psalm 15 talks about the qualities that a man can have to dwell in the presence of God and to meet Him. It helps us to understand the standard that every believer must meet to walk closer to Him. 

This blog will help you understand Psalm 15 in a deeper way. As you are reading, pray to God for better understanding, and even after reading it, study Psalm 15 and Psalm 24 more and more. 

PSALM 15

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.

1
“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?”

Today, even if there is no sacred tent or the holy mountain like in the olden days, there is the presence of God who abides in the temple and That temple is our body. Jesus’ death on the cross and through His blood, we became righteous,  which gave us the ability to host the presence of God in our bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

When David mentioned a sacred tent and the holy mountain, David was talking about the place where God meets and talks to His people. Now that we host the Spirit of God in our bodies, this particular Psalm 15 is viewed from a  different perspective. However, we can learn so much that will help us to be a person that will attract the presence of God. 

David starts Psalm 15 with a question, “Who will dwell in the presence of God?”. And throughout the psalm, David is answering that particular question. He is not asking about people’s names or a group of people, but rather, what kind of people can dwell in the presence of God. 

We all want to be the kind of people who will know how to pursue God and please God. So now, let’s learn how we can be that man or woman who will attract the presence of God.

2
“The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;”

The man whose walk is blameless another translation says, walks with integrity. The word integrity means the quality of being honest or having strong moral principles. A man with integrity does the right thing even behind closed doors. He doesn’t have bad in Him.

“Who does what is righteous”, Jesus tells us to seek righteousness and His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Now, we cannot attain righteousness on our own or by our deeds.  (Philippians 3:9). If that was possible, then Jesus’ death on the cross is useless (Galatians 2:21). We got righteousness as a gift from God through Jesus’ death on the cross (Romans 5:17). You can read a full explanation on righteousness here. 

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When Jesus said to seek righteousness, He didn’t mean to get it from somewhere, but to put righteousness into practice and so David is saying; practicing righteousness in this evil-filled world is hard, but not impossible. Everything is possible with the Lord. 

God doesn’t like liars, it’s not from God, but the one who speaks the truth from his heart can dwell in the presence of God. God is pleased when His children walk on the truth. (3 John 1:4).

3
“whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;”

God loves the one who doesn’t speak badly about their neighbors and friends behind their back. The tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). The one who knows how to control their tongue is a wise person. (Proverbs 17:27)

We must not sit in a group where there is gossip and mocking (Psalm 1:1). To say we are right and others are bad behind their back is foolishness. We should be honest and make a covenant to our tongue not to gossip behind anybody’s back. 

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;”

Despising wicked people is not completely abandoning them, otherwise, we would have to leave this world. Jesus sat with sinners and tax collectors and the Pharisees complained about that too. When Jesus was asked why He was sitting with sinners, Jesus replied “for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13).

We must be like Jesus, though we may be living in a sinful world, we must influence the world and not be influenced by the world.  Jesus sat with sinners and He changed them. 

We must honor those who are walking with the Lord and fulfilling their God-given purpose.

 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17), 

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
(1 Peter 2:17)

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.”

Now comes the main and well-known topic, which is money. Money is a thing that can build you up or destroy you completely. When it comes to money, every believer should be very careful in the church and outside of the church. 

I have seen best friends, brothers, and sisters fighting over money. There is a fight between family members over properties. Not just outside the church but even in the church, there are misunderstandings and arguments over money. The ones who were strong in the Lord went back to a sinful life because of money issues. They lost their trust in the Lord or left churches because no transparency was in the church. 

Every child of God should be faithful while handling money. Be honest and humble even if you are rich and have power. Always respect everyone and if you are a leader in the church, be transparent with the money. Never accept bribes or give to the poor with interest. Don’t be greedy. Don’t misuse your power or misbehave with the poor and needy. Don’t earn money through wicked ways.

Know that everything belongs to God, God can bless you abundantly in His proper time. Be faithful to Him. Trust in the Lord and not in money.

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:9-10

“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,
 for the Lord will take up their case
    and will exact life for life.”
Proverbs 22:22-23

God bless you.