Psalm 15 describes the character of the person whose worship is true spiritual worship just as Jesus describes it in John 4:23: “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” It is easy to fall into thinking that worship is simply the thing we do on Sundays in church. Paul said that our spiritual act of worship is offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1). Worship is primarily a non-verbal activity. It is expressed in the way we think and act. Whether we have truly surrendered ourselves to God is made evident in our lives. According to this psalm, the true worshipper is to be a person of integrity who loves others. He speaks the truth and, when he makes an oath, he keeps it. He does not, moreover, make a profit from the misfortunes of others and he does not accept any advantage at the cost of justice. The practice of ‘usury’ (lending money at interest) in those days was not what it is today in normal money-loan situations. A person who needed a loan was generally a poor person in distress and people regularly took advantage of those in this situation for their own profit. In contrast to this, true worship is doing what is right and loving others. The psalm announces a promise to those who are worshippers of God. Such a person, it says, will never be shaken. If you plant yourself firmly in obedience to God, then your destiny is secure no matter what storms life throws at you.
Reflect on how you can be more obedient to God.
Read Psalm 15 along with Matthew 7:24-27.
