Reflections on Psalm 15 —

It should be the desire of every Christian to dwell in God’s tent. The way we get there is not what it seems.  It is not by our effort but by His effort in me.

— Psalm 15:1-5

This psalm of David sounds like a to-do list for good little Sunday School boys and girls. It lists admirable character traits and habits that a well-disciplined person should be practicing. One could read Psalm 15 this way, and walk away happy that he understood what God is saying, endeavor to “be better” by following one or two of these tidbits, and go about his day. He may have a small, nagging thought in the back of his mind that such an interpretation seems a bit legalistic, but he does not trouble himself with such thoughts for long. After all, he says to himself, this is an Old Testament passage and not really applicable for Christians today.

Before we walk away from this ancient text in the same way as our friend, allow me to express some thoughts on why this passage is essential reading for believers in 2024. Psalm 15 provides key lessons to fuel some of the best New Year’s Resolutions you can ever make.

When we try to wrestle with Psalm 15, we have to ask ourselves, “What is the point?” Is David’s goal simply to give us a target lifestyle by which we ought to live?  I think not. I think the main point is not the list itself, but rather the idea we ought to endeavor to be with God, i.e., to ‘abide’ with Him. Where is He? He is in His “tent” which is on a “holy hill”. This is none other than Zion, a special name for the Kingdom of God, known and appreciated by those who seek God. We should all want to be in that place with God. There is security and peace there; it is a place where people look at the future with confidence because they know they will “never be shaken”. Oh, they will get nervous and anxious from time to time as the spirits of the enemy and the leaders and influencers of the world roar for attention. They are human, and nervousness and anxiety are natural reactions of humans. But these Zion-dwellers know what to do with their nerves and anxiety. They know Who they are with, and where they are.  They are at the feet of the Mighty God. They are in the temple of the Most High. So they place their hope in Him, leave their worries on the table by the door, and find an open spot on the temple floor to bow down and worship.

But there are requirements. Apparently not everyone can dwell in God’s tent. Only certain people can. How do we get to this wonderful place called Zion? Are we to work on implementing this list of things David mentions, promising never to tell a lie, slander our neighbor, keep our promises, and give to the poor?  And for how long? If I kept every one of these items for a year, would I then be allowed in God’s tent?  Would He then open the flap and say, “OK!  Good enough!  C’mon in!”  Some could probably read this list and say, “I already do all these things, so why doesn’t it feel like I’m dwelling in God’s tent?” 

I don’t think this is the right way to think of Psalm 15. 

First of all, I suspect those who are in the tent, on the holy hill, living in the Kingdom of God, already know they are there. They are “not shaken.” They are very close to God. If you could measure with a ruler the distance between their heart and the Lord, you could barely count the millimeters. In some places you would think they overlap. The line between their mind and His is fuzzy to the point where you can’t tell where one stops and the other starts. These tent-dwellers are a relatively calm and peaceful lot. They look at the future and are confident, even when they shouldn’t be by the world’s standards.

Those who are NOT in the tent should know they are not there. Sadly, most of us don’t really consider whether we are there or not. We have our frets and worries and anxieties to which we have grown accustomed. We have accepted these as reality, that there probably isn’t a better way, so we live with it.

The scant few who are not in the tent but wish they were and believe there could be something better, can use Psalm 15 as a scorecard as it were. Psalm 15 can show them where they are along their route of transformation into Christ’s image. They can “check off” the things that are true about them, and circle with a pen the things that are not.  These circled items can become goals and targets for New Year’s Resolutions. Be advised that these items are fruits manifested from some deeper issue, so the thing you may want to rectify is not just the thing, but the source of the thing, the “root cause”. These seekers of the tent can take it up with the Lord of Souls and say, “Spirit of Christ, I would really like to work on this and that. Would you kindly chip away at the strongholds in me that are keeping me from experiencing these good things, and replace them with the good fruits only You can produce?” In this way, the list becomes less of a thing for me to do, and more of a thing of Christ doing it in me as I submit myself to His transforming power.

Let’s take a few examples. 

He speaks truth in His heart. Do you ever know the right thing to say to someone else but not say it, for fear or hurting or offending them? In a generation of “love is love”, words of rebuke, even if spoken in kindness, are frowned upon. But the believer who knows that a friend needs a loving rebuke ought to say something. He needs to do so with the utmost spirit of love and respect, almost apologetically. Perhaps a New Year’s Resolution for you is to say that thing the Lord has put on your heart to a friend who so obviously needs to hear it. You make the opportunity for it to happen, and then pray that the Spirit will fill you up and give you the words to speak.  And then, when the time is right, you obey, and speak truth.

He does not slander with his tongue. I have to admit, there are many times where I am careless about criticizing someone else. I pride myself in being good at assessing things. I’m an intuitive and critical thinker, and I believe that gives me a God-given right to cast judgment on the performance of others. Slander proceeds from a heart full of malice, or ill-will towards others. If I am envious of someone else’s position, fame, or status, that envy will spawn all kinds of evil thoughts toward that person, and those thoughts will sometimes reveal themselves in slanderous words. Or if I am bitter toward someone who doesn’t treat me the way I feel I ought to be treated, that bitterness can likewise spawn some slanderous words here or there. If slander of a particular person is an issue with you, perhaps a New Year’s Resolution to ask the Lord to put to death the envy, bitterness, or malice you hold toward that person. It will likely be a prayer you will repeat often, for these types of bad traits don’t go away overnight. They are a part of your nature, with you since the day you were born. Only by the living and active presence of the Spirit can they be tamed, cut down, and crucified. An even better goal is to ask the Spirit to satisfy you, bring you contentment in the thing. Instead of envying someone else’s position, He can make you content where you are.  Instead of being bitter about someone’s treatment, He can make you content regardless of their treatment.

He does not put out his money at interest. This one comes down to this–how much do you love money? Are you nervous about having enough money? Perhaps you’re nearing retirement like me and wondering if you have enough to live on after you stop working. Are you willing to trust the Lord and be generous with people, to just give them the money they need and not ask for anything in return?  Such is the heart of God, and so we are called to be. Not in love with this world, not hoarding up our wealth in barns, but generous, and ready to give. I don’t think anyone has really tested the Lord in this, to see if he can outgive the Father; i.e., to be so generous that God is not able to keep up and provide for him in return. Perhaps a New Year’s Resolution is to ask the Lord to show you new ways to be generous. Perhaps He will lead you to buy more meals for friends, give a little more to your pastors or missionaries who rely on the contributions of believers, or to make more time and money available to local charities.

For me, I think the Lord is showing me that I’m lacking in “works of righteousness”, which I think are kind, loving deeds done intentionally to help others and to show they are special. “Righteousness” is more than just doing the right things. It is more than just following the law. It goes beyond that to showing love and kindness to someone even if it’s not required. I think my wife and kids need this more than anyone. I am a hard-driving husband and father who is not often impressed or approving. I tend to see things as black and white, tend to value productivity and efficiency. I’m sure that comes across to my family as, “if you change and do better, I’ll like you more”. That is not really the case. I love them dearly, cannot imagine life without them. But if I don’t intentionally communicate my love, setting aside time to make it happen, they will not know it exists. So I will ask the Spirit to show me more ways to do works of righteousness, with my family especially. And I won’t just make a list of good things to do for them and go do them. I will ask the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who is my righteousness, to fill me up and express the righteousness of God through me as I do those things.

If there is less of me and more of the Spirit in me, then I cannot help but be in God’s tent. It’s the opposite of what Psalm 15 seemed to be when I first read it.  I don’t do a bunch of things to live in God’s tent. Instead, The Spirit does a bunch of things in me, and I find myself quite unintentionally in God’s tent, sitting at His feet. That is the feeling of never being shaken. That is where I want to be.