Ethics in the Psalms

I don't think that there actually is any ethical way to act in the eyes of the psalm writers, only a necessary way. And that necessary way is to believe in God and obey his commandments, or otherwise face a painful death and trip to sheol. What I find especially interesting is that given two people who have sinned, the one who believes in God is forgiven because while the other one is condemned to a painful death. The reason for this, or excuse I call it, is that the psalm writer admits humans can perform "Unwitting sins" (19) which basically creates a shield around the perpetrator in their eyes.

When it comes to true ethics, however, the closest thing I could find was in psalm 37, which is virtually a list of how the wicked act and how the just act. The basic message of this psalm is not to be jealous of those who are more prosperous than you because in the end they will suffer and you will own the earth. What I find interesting here is that the writer assumes that the prosperous man must also be wicked:

"Do not be incensed by him who prospers,

by the man who devises schemes."(37)

Another part of the psalm states:

The wicked man burrows and will not pay,

but the just gives free of charge."(37)

This is a pretty clear message stating that if you wish to gain God's favor, you should be charitable to others.

In the end, all of these bits of information are intended not for the purpose of preventing against enemies (those who prosper) or helping others (through charity) but so that "He will grant your heart's desire."(37)

I think this is a live-able ethic, and in fact I'm living right now-I'm not killing people and I help people out-, but I'm not doing it for the same reasons as the psalms writers did, that of obtaining desires from a God.

This is comparable to Judaism and Christianity in the sense that this advice is also given in the form of the ten commandments and in the well known saying, "Love thy Neighbor." God also plays the domineering role in many forms of Judaism and Christianity, so in that way it also applies. The main components that I feel are missing though would have to be more details, because it seems as though throughout the psalms it is assumed how one should act in the eyes of God.