Psalm 15 — The Guest Who Stays
“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” (New International Version)
After yesterday’s unveiling of “practical atheism” in Psalm 14, Psalm 15 sounds like a gatekeeper’s question at Zion. Archaeology has shown city gates with benches for elders and examiners; Israel knew the gate as a place where truth was weighed. This psalm likely functioned as an entrance liturgy: the pilgrim approaches, the priest asks, and a life—more than a credential—is inspected.
Note the two locales: tent and mountain. In David’s day the ark was pitched in a tent on Zion (2 Samuel 6:17); the holy God was both near (tent) and exalted (mountain). The verb “sojourn” (yagur) in verse 1 means “to reside as a guest.” We do not own this house. We are welcomed by a Host whose presence sets the house rules.
A whole life as worship - “Blameless” (tamim) is not flawlessness but wholeness—no partition between worship and work. Tamim describes unblemished offerings; the worshiper becomes what he brings, an integrated life. - “Truth in the heart” (’emet bilvavo) moves ethics from surface to center; the psalm does not ask, “Can you fake it at the gate?” but “Is your interior real?” - The text gives what many have counted as ten traits—an echo of the Ten Words at Sinai. It’s covenant character: how we speak, honor, promise, and handle money. - Speech: The verb for “slander” (ragal) can mean “to go about on foot.” The psalm begins with one’s “walk” and forbids “walking about” with tales. Your feet and your tongue are on the same pilgrimage. - Honor: “Despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD.” In Hebrew, honor (kavod) is “weight.” The righteous recalibrate social scales: the wicked are treated as weightless, the God-fearing as weighty. This confronts our celebrity economy that prizes charisma over character. - Promise: “Keeps an oath even when it hurts.” Augustine heard here Christ himself—the only One who could fully ascend—sharing his integrity with his members. Calvin wrote that the government of the tongue is “almost half of righteousness.” Psalm 15 binds tongue and promise into one: say it, then bear it. - Money: “Lends…without interest.” Interest (neshekh) literally means “a bite.” Israel’s economic holiness refused to draw blood from the poor. In the ancient Near East, tablets record 20–50% loans that devoured families into slavery. God’s liturgy smuggles mercy into the marketplace. - Justice: “No bribe against the innocent.” A “gift” (shochad) blinds the eyes (Exodus 23:8). Psalm 15 insists worship requires clear vision in court and contract.
From ladder to light Psalm 15 is not a moral ladder to climb God; it is a lantern revealing the character of the One who lives with God. Ultimately only Jesus is Tamim. The Word “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14), kept every promise at the cost of his blood, and reweighted honor on the cross. United to him, we come “to Mount Zion…to Jesus the mediator” (Hebrews 12:22–24), and the Spirit writes this way on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Thus the closing line—“will never be shaken”—is not self-confidence but kingdom confidence (Hebrews 12:28).
Practices for a pilgrim people - Speak truth privately before you post publicly. - Reorder your honor: stop platforming what God calls weightless; celebrate quiet faithfulness. - Keep hard promises; let your yes cost you. - Restructure budgets to leave room for mercy that does not “bite.”
Suggested cross-references - Psalm 24:3–6; Isaiah 33:14–17; Micah 6:8 - Matthew 5–7; James 3:2–10; Ephesians 4:25–32 - Nehemiah 5; Exodus 23:8; John 1:14; Hebrews 12:22–29
Hymn to pair - “Blest Are the Pure in Heart” (John Keble) - Or a metrical setting: “Who Shall Ascend the Hill of God?” (Scottish Psalter, 1650)
Prayer Holy Host, make us whole. Put truth in our hearts, gentleness in our tongues, weight in our honors, steel in our promises, and mercy in our money. In Christ, our true Dweller and Door, seat us near Your beauty and keep us unshaken. Amen.