Psalms 15:5

[He that] putteth not out his money to usury,.... To the poor, in an extravagant and exorbitant way, by which he bites, devours, and destroys his little substance, and sadly afflicts and distresses

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. He that putteth not out his money to usury - Hebrew, 'He that giveth not,' etc.

He that putteth not out his money to usury, in such manner as is contrary to God’ s law; of which see in ,37. Nor taketh reward, or a bribe, from him who hath a bad cause; that he may either condemn the innocent, or acquit the guilty; both which God abhorreth. He that doth these things here enumerated, and such things as naturally and necessarily flow from them, or are akin to them, and joined with them, he shall constantly persevere in God’ s church here; and though he may be shaken, and stagger and fall, yet he shall never wholly and finally be removed or fall away from it, nor from that happiness which was proposed and promised to him, but shall abide with God here, and go to him when he dies, and be for ever with the Lord.

Psalms 15:5 [He that] putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved.Ver. 5. He that putteth not out his money to usury] To biting usury, so some distinguish it from Tarbith, the toothless usury. But both these are condemned, Ezekiel 18:8; Ezekiel 18:13, and no man of note in all antiquity (Jews and Manichees excepted) for one thousand five hundred years after Christ hath ever undertaken the defence thereof. Here and Nehemiah 5:7-11 it is plainly cried down; neither is there any ground in Scripture for that distinction of usury into biting and toothless. The beaver biteth so sore, as that he never looseth his teeth until he have broke the bones. Usury-Usurers Nor taketh reward against the innocent] Olim didici quid sint munera, said one. A good man, as he despiseth the gain of oppressions, so he shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, Isaiah 33:15, lest the touching thereof should infect and benumb him; as Pliny writeth of the fish torpedo, and as histories report of Demosthenes, that great lawyer, tempted and prevailed with against right, by poisoning Harpalus’ s goblet. He that doeth these things] For not the hearers of the law, but the doers shall be justified, Romans 2:13. And to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, shall be eternal life, Romans 15:7. Shall never be moved] Potest in momentum moveri, sed non in aeternum: resurget enim, saith R. Solomon here, Moved he may be for a time, but not removed for ever. His soul is bound up in the bundle of life, near unto the throne of glory; when the souls of the wicked are restless as a stone in the midst of a sling, saith the Targum, in 1 Samuel 15:1-35.

(5) Usury was not forbidden in the legitimate commercial dealings with foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:20); and the laws against it seem to have had exclusive reference to dealings among Israelites themselves, and were evidently enacted more with a view to the protection of the poor than because the idea of usury in itself was considered wrong (Exodus 22:25; Lew 25:36). So here the context plainly seems to limit the sin of usury to unjust application of the principle, being connected with bribery. Against “biting” usury (the Hebrew word primarily means “bite”) all governments find it necessary to legislate, as we see in the case of the money-lenders of our own time; but with the employment of capital put out on interest for legitimate purposes of trade, neither Hebrew feeling generally, as the whole career of the race shows, nor the higher minds among them, as we see by our Lord’s parable of the talents, were averse. The best illustrations of invectives of prophets and psalmists against extortionate usurers are supplied by Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice.

Verse 5. Putteth not out his money to usury] 10. As usury signifies unlawful interest, or that which is got by taking advantage of the necessity of a distressed neighbour, no man that fears God can be guilty of it. The word נשך neshech, which we translate usury, comes from nashach, to bite as a serpent; and here must signify that biting or devouring usury, which ruins the man who has it to pay. "The increase of usury is called נשך neshech, because it resembles the biting of a serpent. For as this is so small at first, as scarcely to be perceptible, but the venom soon spreads and diffuses itself till it reaches the vitals; so the increase of usury, which at first is not perceived nor felt, at length grows so much as by degrees to devour another's substance." Middoch's edition of Leigh's Critica Sacra, sub voce נשך. The Jews ever were, and are still, remarkable for usury and usurious contracts; and a Jew that is saved from it is in the fair way, charity would suppose, to the kingdom of heaven. The Roman laws condemned the usurer to the forfeiture of four times the sum. Cato de Rust., lib. i. Nor taketh reward against the innocent.] 11. He neither gives nor receives a bribe in order to pervert justice or injure an innocent man in his cause. The lawyer, who sees a poor man opposed by a rich man, who, though he is convinced in his conscience that the poor man has justice and right on his side, yet takes the larger fee from the rich man to plead against the poor man, has in fact taken a bribe against the innocent, and without the most signal interposition of the mercy of God, is as sure of hell as if he were already there. He that doeth these things] He in whose character all these excellences meet, though still much more is necessary under the Christian dispensation, shall never be moved - he shall stand fast for ever. He is an upright, honest man, and God will ever be his support. Now we have the important question answered, Who shall go to heaven? The man who to faith in Christ Jesus adds those eleven moral excellences which have been already enumerated. And only such a character is fit for a place in the Church of Christ. On this verse there is a singular reading in my old MS. Psalter, which I must notice. The clause, Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram, "who putteth not out his money to usury," is thus translated: He that gat nout his catel til oker. Now this intimates that the author had either read pecudem, CATTLE, for pecuniam, MONEY; or that catel was the only money current in his time and country. And indeed it has long been the case, that the Scottish peasantry paid their rents in kind; so many cows or sheep given to the laird for the usufruct of the ground.

5. He that hath not put out his money for usury, Nor taken bribes against the Innocent. Two of the most common and flagrant offences against justice. Cp. Isaiah 33:15; Ezekiel 22:12. Taking interest was forbidden by the Law in dealing with a fellow-countryman as an unbrotherly act (Leviticus 25:36-37; cp. Exodus 22:25; Ezekiel 18:17), but allowed in dealing with foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:19-20). Cp. Psalms 37:26, Psalms 112:5. For a survey of opinion on the subject in the Christian Church see Dict, of Christian Antiquities, Art. Usury, or Cunningham’s Christian Opinion on Usury. The positive rule of the O.T. has become obsolete under the circumstances of modern society, but the principle which underlies it is still of obligation. Bribery has always been the curse of Oriental countries. For the laws against it see Deuteronomy 27:25; Exodus 23:7-8; Deuteronomy 16:19; and comp. numerous passages in the prophets. shall never be moved] The Psalmist’s conclusion goes a step further than his opening question. Such a man as he has described will not only be admitted to fellowship with Jehovah, but under His protection will enjoy unshaken prosperity. Cp. Psalms 16:8.

He that putteth not out his money to usury - The word “usury” formerly denoted legal interest, or a premium for the use of money.

5. Usury—The law of Moses forbade a Hebrew taking usury or interest from a brother Hebrew. A pledge might be taken in security of payment, but nothing further.