Bible Commentary - Psalms 15

Studying Psalm 15, we find that once again, the first verse defines the tone and theme of the entire psalm.  In the first verse, David asks “who may abide” and “who may dwell” in the presence of God.  He spends the rest of the psalm answering those questions, describing the behavior and attitude of the righteous, who earn the privilege of entering God’s presence by their righteous deeds.

David uses several themes to describe the righteous, but the most important is honesty and integrity in words and business dealings.  Verse 2 says that the righteous “walks with integrity” and “speaks truth in his heart”.  “Speaking truth in your heart” is a peculiar expression whose meaning may not be self-evident, so I will take a few minutes to seek to clarify it.  Previously in other psalms we saw the phrase “says in his heart” or “says to himself” repeatedly (Ps 10:6, Ps 10:11, Ps 14:1).  This expression is a roundabout way of saying “he thinks”.  When you say something in your heart, it is what you are telling yourself about the world or yourself or whatever it might be.

In this context, Psalm 14:1 (to take one example) is a wicked person telling a lie in his heart, because he is denying the reality of God.  These lies are generally self-serving and intended to justify evil behavior.  In contrast, speaking truth in your heart implies a level of emotional and moral integrity that David imagines is a hallmark of the righteous, in the same way that “speaking lies in your heart” is a defining characteristic of the wicked.

Verses 3-5 are more behavioral, but they continue the theme of honesty and integrity.  In verse 3, David insists that the righteous must not slander, betray his friends, and more generally act with truthfulness.  This is quite similar to Psalm 12 which repeatedly condemns the “flattering tongues” and “double-minded heart” of the wicked (Ps 12:3).  Verse 3 places a heavy emphasis on the integrity and honesty of the righteous, which is a direct contrast with Psalm 12’s description of the dishonesty and deceitfulness of the wicked.

Verse 4 says that the righteous “despise” the wicked, while they “honor” those who fear the LORD (i.e. the righteous).  Interestingly, this also paints a strong contrast with Psalm 12.  In Psalm 12, David laments the prevalence of wicked men in society “when vileness is exalted among the sons of men” (Ps 12:8).  This paints a picture of the wicked honoring each other and promoting evil values through the culture of David’s time.  David says that the righteous should be the opposite of their evil culture, despising the wicked (and by extension, “vileness”) and honoring the righteous.

Lastly, in verses 4-5 David says that the righteous must act with integrity in their business dealings, adhering to Deuteronomy’s prohibitions against lending at interest (Deut 23:19) and taking bribes (Deut 16:19).  The end of verse 4 says that the righteous “swears to his own hurt and does not change”, which is another way of saying that when the righteous man swears an oath, he fulfills it without “changing”.  This is very similar to a commandment in Deuteronomy that Israelites should fulfill their vows to the LORD (Deut 23:21-23).

Although I can’t draw a direct connection between this psalm and Deuteronomy, it seems like they must at least share a common inspiration and a common moral framework for what defines “good” behavior.

This psalm is interesting because it doesn’t fall into any of the major categories I previously described (prayer, praise, thanksgiving, etc).  In a sense, it is hard to see if this psalm really has a “point”.  It appears to be purely descriptive, describing the righteous without directly commanding us to behave in the same way.  A typical moral treatise is filled with commands, saying, “you should do this” or “you are forbidden to do that”.  Deuteronomy itself is a great example, being home to an extensive array of moral prescriptions.  Rather than moral commands, this psalm simply describes the righteous.  I can only imagine that David assumed we would take these descriptions and seek to emulate them, modeling our behavior after his idealization of the righteous life.

Indeed, his definition of righteousness is so similar to earlier Psalms and Deuteronomy that I can easily find prior references.  What’s distinct about this psalm is not so much the content as the descriptive style and phrasing, which has few parallels in earlier texts.  Perhaps the closest parallel is Psalm 12 which also follows a mostly descriptive style.