Psalm 15

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:33:04utc

The KJV translates the opening verse with: "LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" George Knight, in his book Commentary on the Psalms, sees in the mention of the tabernacle a reference to the pilgrimage of Israel through the desert, when God traveled with them to the promised land. The "holy hill" refers then to the temple in Jerusalem, as an image of God's real abode in heaven. This would mean that the psalm was written after the construction of the temple, although this is not, necessarily, the case. We could see in the parallel phrase of vs. 1 a statement which says that the pilgrimage continues, even after the people of Israel entered Canaan.

The fact that God lived in a tent means that He identified Himself with us. The image of the tent means: "God with us." That is why John says: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."^¹ Jesus pitched His tent among us.

With the question "Who may dwell in your sanctuary?" the psalmist reverses the roles. God came to us, so that we would come to Him! The question actually asks: "Who can have fellowship with God?" We ought never get used to this miracle.

There is a danger that we read this psalm in a wrong way. Jesus makes the point in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, when He says: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."² If we see fellowship with God as an effort man makes to climb up to where God is, we misunderstand what is being written here. The psalm begins with God who lives in a tabernacle; that is God came down to us, we are not climbing up to Him.

This psalm stands in great contrast with the preceding one, but at the same time it forms a sequence to it. Psalm fourteen began by showing us a world in which no one was good and concluded with the longing for salvation to come from Zion. In this psalm we find ourselves in Zion, where salvation appeared.

The Ten Commandments, which are given in vs. 2-5, are not conditions to be met in order to obtain salvation, but they are the fruits of salvation; they are the result of the fact that God dwells with men; they form the basis for a lasting communion with God.

We notice that these "Commandments" pertain to inter-human relations. He who does not love his neighbor as himself cannot have constant fellowship with God. God does not only identify Himself with us, but especially with our neighbor. Whatever we do for our fellowmen, we do for Him. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus lets the king say: ''I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'³ And to Saul, on the road to Damascus, Jesus says: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."⁴ These "Commandments" are double-edged. Doing what is righteous, and speaking the truth from the heart are things we do to God as well as to men.

The first commandment in vs. 2 is to be blameless. The only way to be perfect is to be clothed with the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. We can only be blameless if blamelessness is imputed to us. Paul defines this perfectly when he says: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."⁵ In other words: If Christ dominates our relationship to God, He will also dominate our relationship to our fellowmen. This means that we will do what is righteous.

The third result of our fellowship with God is that we will speak the truth from our hearts; that is we will be honest to ourselves. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius says to his son, Leartes: "This above all, -- to thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." Becoming true to ourselves is a difficult and long process. Jacob went through this crisis in high midnight struggle with himself at the river Jabbok. When he triumphed, he triumphed over himself. ⁶ Speaking the truth from our hearts is the result of a victory over ourselves. We hinder our fellowship with God if we rationalize our behavior. Deceit begins in the heart. A man who speaks the truth to himself cannot lie to another.

Vs. 3 deals with our speaking about our neighbor, primarily with our talking behind someone's back. There is no truth in slander, nor is there any love in it. What the apostle Paul says about love is exactly the opposite of the slander, the wrong and the slur about which this psalm speaks. In his poem about love in I Corinthians he says: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."⁷

Vs. 3 describes human relations as we find them in daily life, where love ought to be present, but is not. These are not big crimes, but the small things in life that hurt people's feelings and place others in an unfavorable light. If we know it to be true that Jesus identifies Himself with our neighbor, we ought to treat our neighbor with the same respect we treat Him. This pertains, in the first place, to people who are fellow Christians, people with whom we fellowship in Christ. Those are, what the psalm calls, our "fellowmen." This becomes clear when we see the contrast between those people and the "vile man" in the following verse. There the difference between those that are despicable and those that fear the Lord becomes even clearer. David does not advocate a "holier than thou" attitude, but he wants us to have fellowship with those who have fellowship with God, and to avoid intimacy with those who lead immoral lives. Paul defines this kind of relationship when he says: "I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you."⁸ We see that this does not mean avoidance of all social contacts, but a choosing of friends and partners. We are not allowed to adapt our values to those of the world around us, and we may not compromise our fellowship with God. Jesus warns us: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs."⁹ Our testimony is at stake. When Jesus rubbed shoulders with publicans and sinners, He did not condone their conduct.

The last two verses speak about our financial integrity. Swearing can, of course, be applied in a broader way than to finances only, but since the rest of the psalm deals with finances, it seems logical to interpret the phrase in that light also. Breaking one's promise to our fellowmen affects our fellowship with God. It is better to lose money than our testimony. A Christian ought to have the reputation of being completely reliable in his financial dealings and in every other respect. Our main concern should not be whether we gain or lose money, but our reputation as a Christian. God forbade the Israelites to charge interest to a brother. We read in the law of Moses: "Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess."¹⁰ The word "usury" signifies an interest that is too high. TLB renders vs. 5 with: "and does not crush his debtors with high interest rates." If we interpret this verse in the light of Deut. 23, where it is said that interest could be charged to foreigners, we find a hidden reference to Israel as a kingdom of priests. They were called to be mediators between God and the world. It is impossible to have fellowship with God without having a vision for missions.

The last warning in this psalm is against corruption. It paints the picture of a judge who does not judge according to justice but according to the bribe he receives. The principle has a broader application. The basis of our relationship with our fellowmen has to be the absolute values which are derived from the character of God. That which A. W. Tozer calls The Knowledge of the Holy ought to be the object of our constant meditation. What counts is that the love to our neighbor is based on the fact that we "love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind."¹¹ "He who does these things will never be shaken."

Our fellowship with God will determine our walk in life, and our walk in life will strengthen our fellowship with God. This is not a circle but rather a spiral, because there is an ascending line in it. Jude calls God: "Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy …."¹²