The Song of the Blameless

Psalm 15 opens with a question, but it’s a different kind of question than the one found in, say, Psalm 13, where David cried out, “How long, O LORD?” Here, the question comes not from a place of suffering but from a posture of learning: “O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” David supplies the answer in the next verse, but before we go further, there’s a few interesting things to notice about the question (or rather pair of questions). There are some key words here like tent, dwell, and holy hill that connect it to other psalms like 2, 3, 5, and 24 as well as with other parts of the Bible. To sojourn means to journey, and along with the word “tent,” it evokes the wilderness wanderings of Israel where God’s presence dwelt in the tabernacle or tent of meeting. But the second part moves from traveling to the solidity of dwelling on the holy hill or mountain, which bring to mind Jerusalem, the temple, and Zion, all symbols of God’s holy presence among his people. A holy mountain also brings us back to the garden of Eden, where human beings lived with an uninterrupted, unhindered experience of God’s presence. Taken together, these two questions are about the covenants, sacrifices, and purity: who is the ideal worshiper of the LORD? Or to put it another way: who can live near God? How can sinful, selfish people be in the presence of a holy God at all times? Notice that David’s desire isn’t simply to worship. He wants to travel with God and live with God. He wants a path with God and a place with God, which is to say that he wants to be nearer, closer, deeper in a personal relationship, the sort of communion that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the garden. Therefore, verse 1 isn’t simply a religious question for Jewish rituals of tabernacles and temples. It’s the core question for all of humanity: God, how can I be close to you? How can we have the sort of intimacy with you for which all our hearts are longing?

In verses 2 through 5, we hear the answer to David’s question, and it can all be summed up in the first line. Who can be close to God? “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart…” Those three, general statements with the verbs “walk,” “do,” and “speak” cover the whole ethical spectrum: the way we live, the way we act, and the way we speak. “Blameless” is the Hebrew word tamim, and it means someone or something who is whole, full of integrity, without blemish. It’s used in the Bible to describe people like Noah and Abraham, and it’s also used in the story of Passover and the laws of the Torah to specify the kind of sacrifices that Israel was to offer, such as a spotless lamb. So here we learn that the entry requirement for an intimate relationship with God is a pure and true heart that does what is right. The verses that come afterward illustrate and offer some examples of what this kind of blameless life looks like. In their words and speech, the blameless person doesn’t slander or speak in bitter curses against either their neighbor or their friends (think of Psalm 12 here). In their relationships, the blameless person doesn’t align with a “vile person,” someone who has rejected God and his ways, but rather they honor and respect those who love and serve the LORD because they admire the same things. In their promises, the blameless person keeps their word, even when it hurts, because their integrity is at stake. In their financial dealings, the blameless person doesn’t take advantage of others by collecting interest or accepting bribes (both of which were forbidden in the law).  When we take all these qualities together, we find out that the answer to the question “Who can dwell with God” doesn’t have a ritual or ceremonial answer like we might expect if we’ve read the law of Moses (it’s not “offer this sacrifice” or “wash seven times”). Rather, David gives an ethical answer that points to the heart. It’s about one’s inner character that leads to outward obedience to God.

There’s another important element of these qualities of a blameless person, and it’s that they focus on the social dimension. In other words, the examples that David offers of a blameless life are aimed at relationships, community, justice, and the welfare of others. Don’t slander your neighbor but rather speak the truth. Honor those who fear the LORD. Keep your promises. And so on. David could have said, “The one who can be close to God is the person who retreats from the world to live an ascetic life of meditation and inner development.” But he doesn’t say that. Now, times of retreat, solitude, and quiet reflection are of course good and healthy practices in our relationship with God (and other psalms teach how to do that), but I think David focuses on these communal aspects of righteousness because they are the natural demonstration of inner purity. A blameless heart will flow out toward others in blameless actions and words. David is describing how we love God by loving our neighbors. Of course, this psalm isn’t exhaustive, like these are the boxes you must check. We must remember that the Psalms are public prayers and songs, so what is the effect of a community singing this song? Hopefully it wouldn’t result in hypocrisy or pride, like “Look at how blameless we are!” Rather, praying and singing Psalm 15 has two main effects: it forces us to confront our flaws, and it shapes our desires so that we would long to have these qualities in our hearts. It reminds us that on our own, we will never be the kind of people who can enter God’s presence, so it leads us to cry out for mercy. This is a song for those who are not blameless to nurture in us a humble posture of prayer: “Lord, renew us. Remake us – the whole community – in your blameless image.”