Psalms 15:1 - Meaning and Application

Here is a very serious and important question about the character of a citizen of Zion, that is, a true member of God’s people. “Lord, who may dwell in your tent? Who may go to heaven?” The question is not asking for names, since the Lord alone truly knows who belongs to him. It is asking for a description: What kind of people will God accept and crown with lasting favor?

This question shows that being a citizen of Zion is a great privilege, an honor and blessing beyond words. It also shows that not everyone has this privilege, only a remnant, a small chosen part. And it is not passed down by birth or family line. Not everyone who can say, “Abraham is my father,” will remain in God’s tabernacle. A person’s heart and life decide his place. So each of us should ask, “Lord, what must I be and do so that I may dwell in your tabernacle?” (Luke 18:18; Acts 16:30).

Notice first who this question is asked to, God himself. Those who want to find the way to heaven must look up to God for guidance. They must take direction from his Word and ask for help from his Spirit. It is right that he gives laws to his servants, sets the terms of his favor, and tells who belongs to him and who does not.

The question is also spoken in Old Testament language. By “the tabernacle,” we may understand the church on earth, pictured by Moses’ tabernacle, which suited a people living in the wilderness. There God showed himself, and there he met with his people, as he once did in the tabernacle of testimony, the meeting place. The question is, who will dwell in this tabernacle? Who will be counted as a true living member of God’s church, and admitted among the spiritual priests to stay in its courts? We need this question because many claim a place there who really have no share in it.

By “the holy hill,” we may understand the church in glory, the heavenly home, with Mount Zion in mind, where Solomon’s temple was to be built. The blessedness of glorified saints is that they dwell on that holy hill. They are at home there, and they will remain there forever. It is good for us to know who will live there, so that we may make sure we have a place among them and find comfort in looking ahead to that holy hill.

This question also receives a very clear answer. Those who truly want to know their duty, and are ready to do it, will find Scripture a faithful guide and conscience a faithful warning. The Bible then describes the citizen of Zion in several ways.

He is sincere and whole in his religion. “He walks uprightly,” according to the covenant command, “Walk before me and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). The same word is used there. He is truly what he says he is. He is sound at heart and can approve himself to God in all he does. His life is steady and consistent, and he tries to stand complete in all God’s will. His sight may be weak, but his eye is single. He may still have faults, but he does not put on a mask. He is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit (John 1:47; 2 Corinthians 1:12). There is no religion worth naming without sincerity.

He is also careful to be honest and fair in all his dealings. He “works righteousness.” He lives by the Lord’s commands and ordinances, and he gives each one what is due. He is just toward both God and man. When he speaks to either, he speaks the truth from his heart. His prayers, promises, and claims before God do not come from false lips. He will not lie, and he will not even shade the truth in business or ordinary conversation. He lives by righteousness and truth, and he hates dishonest gain and fraud. He knows that a bargain made with a lie cannot be a good bargain or a saving one. A person who wrongs his neighbor, even in a smooth and pleasant way, will finally find that he has harmed himself most of all.

He is also careful to do good to his neighbors and to harm no one. In a special way, he guards his neighbor’s good name (Psalm 15:3). He does no evil to his neighbor on purpose, nothing to offend or wound his spirit, nothing to injure his health or comfort, nothing to hurt his property, family, or other interests. He follows the golden rule of fairness, to do to others as he would want done to himself. He is especially careful not to damage his neighbor’s reputation, though many people who would avoid other kinds of harm think nothing of this. If a person cannot control his tongue in this matter, his religion is worthless.

He knows the value of a good name, so he does not slander others, spread lies, or speak evil of anyone. He does not make other people’s faults the subject of his usual talk, much less of his jokes or mockery. He speaks of such things only if it helps others grow. He makes the best of everybody, and the worst of nobody. He does not take up a reproach, meaning he does not start it or pass it along. He gives no support to a false accusation, but rather turns away a backbiting tongue and helps silence it (Proverbs 25:23). If he hears a bad story about his neighbor, he will disprove it if he can. If he cannot, he lets it stop with him. His love covers a multitude of sins.

He also values people by their goodness and devotion to God, not by their outward success or rank (Psalm 15:5). He does not think better of wickedness because it comes with wealth, power, or honor. In his eyes, a vile person is despised. Wicked people are vile, that is, worthless and useless, like dross, chaff, or salt that has lost its taste. They are vile in their choices (Jeremiah 2:13) and in their practices (Isaiah 32:6). Wise and good people therefore despise them, not by refusing them ordinary human honor, or the respect due to people in authority (1 Peter 2:17; Romans 13:7), but by agreeing with God’s judgment about them. They do not envy such people. They pity them, and they despise their gains as useless (Isaiah 33:15), their luxuries as worthless (Psalm 141:4), and their pleasures as empty and flat (Hebrews 11:24, 25). They also despise their company (Psalm 119:115; 2 Kings 3:14), their threats, and their weak attempts to do harm (Psalm 2:1, 4). They know God despises them too, and they are of the same mind.

At the same time, he does not think less of anyone’s piety because that person is poor or low in the world. He knows those who fear the Lord. He counts serious devotion to God as a real honor, wherever he finds it. It gives a person more true dignity, and makes his face shine more than wealth, cleverness, or a great human reputation ever could.

He honors such people, esteems them very highly, and loves them. He wants their friendship, enjoys their company, and values their prayers. He is glad for any chance to show them respect or do them a kindness. He speaks up for them, speaks of them with honor, rejoices when they prosper, and grieves when they are taken away. Even after they are gone, he treasures their memory. In this way, we can judge ourselves to some extent. What standard do we use when we judge other people?

He is also someone who always puts a clear conscience ahead of any worldly gain, no matter what it costs. If he has promised under oath to do something, then even if keeping that promise later hurts him in his business or property, he still keeps it and does not change. This shows how often even wise and good people can fail to see far enough ahead. They may swear to something that later brings harm, though they did not see that when they made the oath. It also shows how serious an oath is. A person should rather suffer loss himself and even for his family than break an oath and wrong his neighbor. An oath is a holy thing, and we must not treat it lightly.

He is also someone who will not grow rich by dishonest means. He does not lend money at unjust interest so that he can live comfortably off the work of others while he is able to improve it by his own effort. This does not mean it is wrong in itself for a lender to share in the gain a borrower makes from the money, any more than it is wrong for a landowner to ask rent from someone who uses the land. Money, through skill and labor, can be put to productive use just as land can. But a citizen of Zion, God's people, will freely lend to the poor as far as he is able, and he will not be harsh or demanding when dealing with those whom Providence has brought low.

He will also not take a bribe against the innocent. If he has any role in public justice, he will not, for any gain or even hope of gain, do anything that harms a righteous cause.

The psalm ends by confirming this picture of the citizen of Zion. He is like Mount Zion itself, which cannot be shaken but stands forever (Psalm 125:1). Every true living member of the church, like the church itself, is built on a rock, and the gates of hell cannot overcome it. “He that doeth these things shall never be moved,” or, as the phrase means, shall not be moved forever. God’s grace will always be enough to keep such a person safe and steady until the heavenly kingdom. Temptations will not defeat him, troubles will not overwhelm him, and nothing will rob him of peace now or joy in the life to come. As we sing this psalm, we should teach ourselves and one another to live up to these marks of the citizen of Zion, so that we may never be moved from God’s tabernacle on earth and may at last reach that holy hill where we will be forever beyond temptation and danger.