Psalm 15 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 15 Short Summary:

In Psalm 15, David writes about those who enjoy the privilege of fellowship with God. The upright and righteous man is approved by God and will find a home in His presence. David lists a number of attributes men should strive for in order to live a goldy life.

Psalm 15 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Psalm 15 is a psalm of King David (15:1).

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No known New Testament references.

THEMES:

• The upright and righteous man is approved by God and will find a home in God’s presence.

DEFINTIONS:

• God’s Holy Hill – The Temple of God (built by Solomon) was built on a hill in Jerusalem. The Temple, and the city of Jerusalem as a whole, are used by the author to refer to the place of God’s presence on earth.

OUTLINE:

• THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GODLY MAN (15:1-5):

  • In Psalm 15, David writes about those who enjoy the privilege of fellowship with God.

  • He writes, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill” (15:1)?

  • David concludes that it is the one who walks blamelessly, speaks truth, doesn’t slander, treats his neighbor well, doesn’t honor vile persons, doesn’t loan money at interest, doesn’t take bribes, fears the Lord, and “swears to his own hurt and does not change” (15:4).

  • “He who does these things shall never be moved” (15:5).
    

APPLICATION:

• I’m always convicted by the words of Psalm 15:4.

• David commends those who make promises and keep them, even when those promises don’t benefit the one who made them.

• I often find myself committing to things but then wanting to back out of them when it comes time to fulfill my word.

• Generally, I’m pretty good at keeping my big promises, but the small things in life are sometimes the areas of trouble.

• Perhaps it’s a meeting for coffee, a commitment to teach a class, or a promise to help someone with a project. I find it very easy to start making up excuses to get out of these things even though I agreed to do them. I excuse myself with, “I’m overworked, I’m burnt out, something came up, I’m not feeling well, etc”

• Whenever something becomes inconvenient for me (“to my hurt”) I look for ways to get out of it.

• It’s good to keep our word in the big things, but real Christian faithfulness is also exhibited in the small things.

• When we give someone our word, lets do our best to keep it, even if it is a small commitment, because our trustworthiness and steady friendship should be a mirror displaying the trustworthiness and steadiness of God’s character.