2026 Epiphany Devotions
Wednesday, January 28
Psalm 15
1 O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?
2 Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right
and speak the truth from their heart;
3 who do not slander with their tongue
and do no evil to their friends
nor heap shame upon their neighbors;
4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised
but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5 who do not lend money at interest
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.
“… 4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised …”
When did it become fashionable to exalt those who spread lies, act deceitfully, and treat others with contempt? When did we move from chastising such people to raising them up as models of morally acceptable behavior? When was it that truthfulness, honesty, integrity, and compassion became passe? When was wickedness socially and ethically accepted?
The psalmist certainly doesn’t thinks so, at least for those with whom God abides. Rather, uprightness, truthfulness, integrity, and so on are virtues to be celebrated, and those who practice such actions lauded. Harsh and slanderous speech is to be vilified. Shaming and bullying is to be rejected. Words of hatred and prejudice are to be removed. God’s people call out such evils. God’s people name the wickedness. God’s people speak God’s truth in love.
Clearly, the psalmist is reminding us that those who walk in the way of the Lord, those who abide with the Lord, who dwell with the Lord on the Holy Mountain follow a path of righteousness and obedience to God’s Word and God’s will. They not only practice such virtues but encourage others to do the same. That’s because they recognized what the psalmist says: That those who do these things shall never be moved.
Prayer: Abiding God, you call your people to righteousness and obedience. Help me to stand fast so that I may not succumb to the evil and immoral fashions of the day but remain steadfast upon Your holy hill. Amen.