Psalm 15: Workers of Righteousness
The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord. A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? 2 He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; 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; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear Yahweh; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 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.
“‘Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle?’ either as attendants and ministers, or as true Israelites coming to the feasts with acceptable offerings?” (Sutcliffe) “The connection with the previous Psalm is obvious.” (Arno Gaebelein) Compare this with the description of the workers of iniquity, who can be found in the congregation but never in Heaven. “‘Abiding in Yahweh’s tent’ or sanctuary (i.e, the tabernacle David had pitched) and ‘dwelling on His holy hill’ (i.e, Mt. Zion) picture a person who is the guest of God. Guests in the ancient Near East were those who had an intimate relationship with their host, who had extended his protection and provisions to them (cf. Psalm 5:4).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable) “‘Who may dwell in our holy hill?’ Who shall be made partakers of an endless glory?” (Adam Clarke)
We say that we are believers. But some “may question what we say. They must see a changed life, and those who in that coming day will find their place with Christ are those who manifest the new nature… Do not talk about being made the righteousness of God in Christ if you do not work righteousness. If you are justified by faith, then you have received a new and righteous nature and your life should be a righteous life. He that ‘worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.’ God says He desires ‘truth in the inward parts’…” (H. A. Ironside) “To walk uprightly, to work righteousness, to speak the truth in the heart and practise righteousness in life is only possible if man is born again. So Israel will be born again, receive the new heart and the Spirit and thus enter the Kingdom [of Heaven].” ( Arno Gaebelein)
“‘He who walks uprightly,’.. takes His word for the rule of his conduct, considers himself a sojourner on earth, and is continually walking to the Kingdom of God. He acts according to the perfections of God's law; he has respect to all its parts, and feels the weight and importance of all its injunctions. — ‘and works righteousness' not being satisfied with a contemplative life. He has duties to perform. The law of righteousness has placed him in certain relations, and each of these relations has its peculiar duties...— ‘and speaks the truth in his heart,’... He is no man of pretenses; speaking one thing, and meaning another. He professes nothing but what he feels and intends; with him there are no hollow friendships, vain compliments, nor empty professions of esteem, love, regard, or friendship. His mouth speaks nothing but what his heart dictates. His heart, his tongue, and his hand, are all in unison.” (Clarke)
“The distich which contains the question and that containing the general answer are now followed by three tristichs, which work the answer out in detail.” (Keil & Delitzsch) “‘He who does not backbite with his tongue,’ — ‘He doth not take away or diminish any’s good name, either by denying him his due praises, or by laying any thing to his charge falsely, or without sufficient cause and evidence— or does evil to his neighbor’ i.e. any hurt or injury, to his neighbour, i.e. to any man; as is evident [by the reference also to friend as well as],… from the Scripture usage of this word neighbour, which frequently signifies every man, though a stranger or a heathen, as appears from Genesis 29:4 Exodus 20:10,17 Le 18:20 19:15, etc.; Proverbs 25:8,9 Lu 10:20, etc.; Matthew 5:43,44. And he useth this word neighbour, because he who is strictly so is most within our reach, and most liable to the injuries which one man doth to another.” (Poole)—
“’nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear Yahweh.’ Then he is a man of sound moral appreciations. He does not pay respect where no respect is deserved. He does not withhold respect where it is merited. Says an old Puritan, ‘We must be as honest in paying respect as in paying our bills.’ But let us pay them in the right quarter. Do not let us call the vile person honourable because he is clothed in purple and fine linen, and fareth sumptuously every day. And do not let us esteem the honourable man as vile because his equipage is poor and his nobility is clothed in rags. Let us call villainy vile wherever we find it, and let us esteem nobility as noble in whatever guise it may appear. This is one of the great characteristics of the friend of God; to whom the sweet is sweet and the sour is sour; evil is evil and good is good. Nothing is allowed to interfere with the soundness and sobriety of his judgment, and no verbal jugglery is permitted to destroy the healthiness of his discriminating vocabulary. He knows the superlative, and loves it! “As for the saints that are in the earth, they are the excellent in whom is all My delight.” (J. H. Jowett)
“’He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.’ Covetousness he so hateth that, first, he will rather suffer loss than be worse than his oath or honest word.” (John Trapp) And secondly, “‘he who does not put out his money at usury,’— , in such a manner as is contrary to God’s law, of which see on Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36-37. — nor does he take a reward — or bribe— ‘against the innocent,’ from him who hath a bad cause; that he may condemn the innocent or acquit the guilty: both which things God abhors.“ (Joseph Benson)
“He that doeth these things — Here enumerated, in consequence of first having faith working by love, in consequence of the justification of his person and the renovation of his nature; he that, being made a tree of righteousness, thus glorifies God by bearing the fruit of righteousness, and being created anew, in Christ Jesus, unto good works, thus steadily and perseveringly walks in them; he shall never be moved — But shall abide with God, in his favour and family here, and shall dwell with him for ever hereafter.” (Joseph Benson)— “’nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.’ as he despiseth the gain of oppressions, so he shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, Isaiah 33:15.” (John Trapp)
This is an expounding on parts of the the Ten Commandments. “Though the contents of these lists are not the same, they both identify traits that mark a person who is walking in the will of God... Isaiah mentioned six that are very important ( Is 33:15-16), Micah listed three ( Micah 6:8), and Habakkuk boiled them down to one, namely, faith ( Hab 2:4). A believer needs to make sure he is walking in the will of God consistently to enjoy fellowship with God and stability in his life.” (Thomas B. Constable)
“’He who does these things shall never be moved.’ Now, Reader, do not fail to remark, that this walking uprightly, this working righteousness, and this speaking the truth from the heart, never did, nor ever will belong fully to any but Jesus. Even His people that are renewed in Spirit, still carry about with them a body of sin and death, under which they groan, and under which, as long as they are in the body, they must groan, being burdened. I consider this so important a point to be well understood, and thoroughly impressed upon the mind, that I beg the Reader not to pass over the view of it too hastily. It is of Jesus the Psalm wholly treats. And though by virtue of His people being righteous in Him, they do fully partake in all that belongs to Him, and share in all His blessedness, yet they still feel a heart prone to wander, prone to depart. They desire to be conformed to His lovely image in all things, to be holy as He who hath called them is holy, in all conversation and godliness, yet they are constrained frequently to take up the language of the Apostle, and say as he did, ‘When I would do good, evil is present with me.’ Hence their ascending now by grace upon God's holy hill, in the ordinances of His church, and partaking of all the privileges of Citizens of Zion, and hereafter their dwelling with Him in glory, are blessings wholly derived from their acceptance in Jesus, and being members of His body, in a oneness with Him.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)