Psalms 15:2

THE ANSWER

"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness,

And speaketh truth in his heart;

He that slandereth not with his tongue,

Nor doeth evil to his friend,

Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor;

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honoreth them that fear Jehovah;

He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not;

He that putteth not out his money to interest,

Nor taketh reward against the innocent.

He that doeth these things shall never be moved."

First we shall note the positive and negative nature of these requirements:

He walketh uprightly.

He worketh righteousness.

He speaketh truth in his heart.

He does not slander.

He does not do evil to others.

He does not take up a reproach against a neighbor.

He despises the reprobate.

He honors God's people.

He honor's solemn promises.

He does not put his money out for interest.

He will not accept a bribe to wrong the innocent.

There are eleven of these elements in the character of the righteous man, not "a decalogue"[7] except by the uniting of the first two under one heading, as evidently done by Rawlinson. Six of these are positive; five are negative.

By no means could these items be understood as the sum total of godliness. As Rhodes put it, "These requirements are typical not all-inclusive."[8]

Nevertheless, this is still an impressive list of virtues, especially as it pertained to that Near-East society, where bribery, usurious oppression of the poor, backbiting, and slander were widely prevalent. A truthful person, for example, in such a society would have carried a luster like the sun at perihelion!

Sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. "A truly righteous man will keep his word, even when it is to his own disadvantage to do so."[9]

This quality, might also be stated thus: "A righteous man will keep his solemn word, regardless of any hurt or inconvenience, or loss to himself." As it was stated in pioneer America, "His word is his bond."

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised. In the last analysis, the man of God must not envy, or make excuses for, or show any preference whatever for the reprobate; but, on the other hand, he honors and appreciates the people of God. Back of this is the fact that a man associates with the people he admires and honors, and any association with reprobate and wicked men could lead only to disaster for God's child.

And putteth not his money to interest. The Old Testament forbade the devout Jew to take interest from a brother, but allowed them to charge Gentiles. The word interest here is actually a reference to excessive interest, usury, or illegal and unlawful interest. What is specifically condemned here is the profession of the "loan shark." See Leviticus 25:36,37 and Deuteronomy 23:19-20. As DeHoff expressed it, "The reference here is to unlawful interest, or to taking advantage of a distressed brother.[10]

Nor taketh reward against the innocent. This is a reference to bribery, One of the commonest sins of the mid-East, and a grievous error into which God's people themselves were prone to fall. Christ's parable of the unjust judge was no doubt the result of widespread abuse in this very sector.

"He that doeth these things shall never be moved." We might have expected that "sojourning in the tabernacle of the Lord" might have been promised here, in line with the question in Psalms 15:1; but the figure is changed. Here, the person who exhibits the desirable qualities outlined in this passage, will never be removed from his safe position in the favor of God.

One more comment I would like to include in this study, and that is a line from the notable American Statesman, Thomas Jefferson. He said, "Psalms 15 is wonderful. It gives the ten earmarks of a true gentleman."[11]