Psalm 32 – Forgiven

I want to begin with a quote that I think best embodies the spirit of this psalm.

It is told of Luther that one day being asked which of all the Psalms were the best, he made answer, “Psalmi Paulini,” and when his friends pressed to know which these might be, he said, “The 32nd, the 51st, 130th, and the 143rd. For they teach that the forgiveness of our sins comes, without the law and without works, to the man who believes, and therefore I came them Pauline Psalms; and David sings,  ‘There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared,’ this is just what Paul says, ‘God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.’ Rom. 9:32. Thus no man may boast of his own righteousness. That word, ‘That thou mayest be feared,’ dusts away all merit, and teaches us to uncover our heads before God, and confess gratia est, non meritum: remissio, non satisfactio; it is mere forgiveness, not merit at all.”1

What Luther meant was that the Pauline doctrine that we are so familiar with is clearly displayed in these psalms. So much so that Paul even used the 32nd psalm a basis for part of his argument for justification by faith alone in Romans 4:6-8. What a blessing it is for us to see that it was not only Paul that believed in this justification by faith but that David also believed this full heartedly by putting it the doctrine to song. David even expands upon the thought by singing of the joy of the forgiven man, contrasts it with the man who keeps his sin, displays a true confession, shows the manner of life that follows and in an invitation for praise. 

The psalm also belongs to a group of seven psalms known as penitential psalms (i.e. Pss. 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143). They become known as such because they were sung by the early church on Ash Wednesday.2 The 32nd psalm bears a lot of resemblance with the 51st psalm. Both share the same author and both talk about confessing sin. This has caused a lot of individuals to think that they are somehow correlate with each other. The superscription in psalm 51 states, “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba,” and therefore causes us to think that David is confessing for the same sin in Ps. 32, or perhaps a sequel to Ps. 51. However, David’s affair with Bathsheba is not the only time that David had needed to repent of sin in his life. 

32:title. “Maschil” appears in the superscription of 13 psalms and once in Ps. 47:17 translated as “understanding.” The word is transliterated from מַשְׂכִּיל (maśkîl) and comes from the verb שָׂכַל (śāḵal) meaning understanding in the sense of complex reasoning.3 Therefore the best we can understand for “maschil” is a musical term referring to “a skillfully constructed poem.”4 However, the verb שָׂכַל does occur in v. 8 translated as “I will instruct thee.”

32:1-2. The first two verses start with the word “Blessed” which are the Hebrew אַשְׁרֵי (ʾās̆rê) very simply meaning happy or bliss.5 The Christian life is an enigma. We deal with a lot of turmoil but at the same time it is said that we live a blessed life. How can this be? The Christian still deals with sickness and hardship just as much or even more than the rest of the world. It is because the Christian does not find his joy in “good times” but in his position in Christ. We see for David that the cause of his joy is not from being in a good situation or being prosperous but from having his transgression forgiven, sin covered and acquitted of iniquity. 

David uses three words to describe his wrong doings, i.e. transgression, sin and iniquity. Together as a whole, these words represent the entire spectrum of wrong doings. “Transgression” is from פֶּשַׁע (pes̆aʿ) meaning “a rebellion, a breach in a relationship.”6 In this context it speaks of the breach of a relationship with God due to rebellion through disobedience. This shows that the wrong action was intentional. “Sin” comes from חְַטָאָה (ḥăṭāʾâ) meaning “to miss the mark.”7 This is best illustrated in Rom. 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It is a failure to meet a standard, and in this case a failure to achieve the glory of God. “Iniquity” is from עָוֹן (ʿāôn) having two possible understandings based upon its etymology. The first means “to go astray,” and the second means “to twist, bend.”8 Again, David is not trying to specify his kind of sin; he trying to leave nothing out of the picture to describe his wrongful actions. 

For each of the descriptions for wrongful actions, David shows what God had done with them. “Forgiven” is from נָשָׂא (nāśāʾ) which means usually means to “lift up” showing that the sin was taken away.9 “Covered” is כָּסָה (kāsâ) meaning to conceal, hide from sight.10 There is often debate concerning how dealt with the sins of the OT saints. The Old School opinion was that God merely “covered” their sin until the Son could make the ultimate sacrifice. Yet from the context of this psalm, God removed the sin contemporaneously with the saint. The next word conveys this well. “Impute” is from חָשַׁב (ḥās̆aḇ) meaning “to reckon, account or charge.”11 The word was used in the same sense when Abraham believed the LORD and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Now understand that David is not saying that God does something specific for each type of wrong action. David is simply using words that have a similar range of meaning to help convey the idea of total forgiveness for all kinds of wrong actions. Yet studying each of the words in detail helps us to understand how God treats sin for the repentant believer.

The last line of v. 2 ends with an exception of sorts to what was stated above. A man receive joy by being forgiven of his sin if his confession is not deceitful. Beware of the man who only says vain words only to try to rescue his own reputation. Many men will try to create a facade of penitence so that people will forget about the action and move on. A man who makes a deceitful confession is no confession at all. The man was not sorrowful about being sinful. The man was only sorrowful that he got caught in his sin and has to deal with the consequences. An absence of deceit is required in order to forgiveness to happen. The deceitful man will be easy to spot. He will return to his sin just as the dog returns to its vomit (Prov. 26:11). 

32:3-4. These verse describe the personal agony a man endures when he does not bring his sin to God. The unrepentant man is signified by keeping silent. A invisible burden grows upon a man when he keeps his a secret to himself. The knowledge of his wrong stays at the forefront of his mind. Day and night the consciousness of hidden wrongs pester the man. The man has to watch over his shoulder to make sure that no one is watching. He has to watch his actions in public to make sure there is no hint of the wrong. He has to think over his words in conversation to be sure that no one will get the wrong idea. The man has to create a separate persona to make sure that he is never identified as a man with a dark secret. 

David expresses the agony of keeping unconfessed sin by relating it to physical troubles. David compared bearing the burden of sin to the frame of the body growing old and weak. The bones, the strongest part of the body, were able to withstand the trauma. The unrepentant man anguishes in the pain of sin and cries out to complain of the situation. He may acknowledge that he is in a horrible place or that he is in bad circumstances but he will not acknowledge that his life situation was caused by his wrong actions. The sin of man caused God’s hand to become heavy upon him. We call this conviction. God leans in upon a man and causes the man to crumple under the load. God does this to teach the man that his sin is not getting him pleasure in life. Instead the man only feels guilt and remorse for his actions. Perhaps he has even hurt some people that he knew very well along the way. All of this leads to a man who is at the end of his rope. 

This comparison with the summer heat (simile) is vivid; it drains the energy and immobilizes the will to live life to the full David’s zest is not there; he was not motivated. He felt drained all the time. Basically, he was depressed, and it affected his physical energy and health. God was not allowing the psalmist to live life to the full when he was in rebellion again him, for it was God who gave him the full life to begin with.12

The man is only a mere shell of what he is supposed to be. He is only a figure that is haunted by the pain of remorse caused by his own actions.

32:5. David states that he ceased from the pain by coming unto the LORD with his sin. David shows this single action in three ways: acknowledge, not hide iniquity, and confess. This shows a progression. The man first acknowledges that his actions are sinful. He does not make excuses but instead see them as God sees them. Then the man decides to bring his wrong actions into the public. Before, he was trying to hide (כָּסַה, “covered” in v. 1) his sin; this is something that only God can truly do. Finally the man decides to confess his sin unto the LORD. The word “confession” is יָדָה (yāḏâ) meaning “to make an admission, i.e., to publicly admit to something usually a wrong of some kind.”13 

The result of the repentance was that David was able to be forgiven of his sin. The KJV states that he was forgiven the iniquity of his sin causing us to think that David was only delivered from current consequences of his sin. However, the Hebrew shows something unique.

God forgave the “iniquity of my sin” (עְַוֹן חַטָּאתִי). This could be interpreted in one of two ways. One would be to be take the two words as expressing a superlative genitive (like “king of kings or “Song of Songs”); this would stress the sinfulness of the sin. The other way, and the way I would take it, is to to define the word “iniquity” in one of its derived senses, “guilt” or “punishment.” This would mean that God took away all the effects of the sin when he took away the sin.14

The point is that God’s forgiveness removes all of the sin. Whether this be the worst of sins or the effects of the sin. 

32:6-7. David speaks of God’s deliverance for the faithful. He states that the godly should pray unto God “in a time when thou mayest be found.” The Hebrew literally reads: “in a time of finding.” David is referring back to the point in time when he was refusing to confess his sin to the LORD. David was in a season of finding or looking for an answer to his sin problem. The answer to his problem was the forgiveness of sins from God. David is instructing others to follow suit. When you find that you have grown weary from sin; seek the LORD’s forgiveness. 

The floods of great waters is a metaphor for the trouble caused by sin. The imagery is strong. David would have been familiar with seasonal downpours causing flash floods and thus damage and danger. Yet we have the opportunity to confess our sin and be rescued from the floods of life before they overtake us. We need only ask. There have been too many prideful men that have never asked for deliverance even though the flood water rise and take their life. 

“Hiding place” is סֵתֶר (sēṯer) meaning “a place of shelter and refuge as a location where one can dwell, implying protection from a danger.”15 God also preserves from trouble as well. The word “songs” is also translated as “shouts” (ESV, HCSB) and is from רֹן (rōn) meaning to give a ringing cry; “it is often used for the jubilation of great victory.”16 

32:8-9. The psalm turns toward a didactic section. The first person singular picks up in these two verses and it becomes uncertain who is doing the speaking. The LORD may be speaking because He is usually ascribed as the one that leads us in paths of righteousness. However, seeing how this psalm is so similar to psalm 51, it may be David speaking to others in need of instruction. “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Ps. 51:13). David desires others to follow suit. He wants to share the joy he found in being forgiven of his sin. 

“I will guide thee with mine eye,” is more commonly translated, “I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (NASB, ESV). The anthropomorphism is meant to show God’s continual watchful care for the faithful.

David uses two negative examples for a person not to follow: the horse and the mule. Both of these animals have to be forced by a harness that even goes into the mouth of the animal. The reason for the extent of the harness is because the animal will not listen to instruction. The animal has to be forcibly led to where it needs to go. A person must be humble and realize that God’s instruction is the best way to live life. God knows what He is doing. Do not provoke God so that He needs to grab the harness and pull you around to where you are supposed to be. “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, And a rod for the fool’s back” (Prov. 26:3). 

32:10. The familiar tones of wisdom literature continues in this verse. David contrasts what comes to the wicked against what comes to the repentant man. The wicked man will only receive sorrows for his actions. There is much irony in this. A greedy man thinks money will bring him happiness and will find that he is really enslaved to his desire to have more money. The one who trusts in the LORD though, will be surrounded by mercy/lovingkindness (חֶסֶד). The one trusts in his actions to bring joy and finds only sorrow. The other trusts in the LORD’s forgiveness of sin and finds that he is blessed/happy (v. 1 and 2) and that he is surrounded by God’s lovingkindness. The difference is where they have placed their trust. The difference is one has brought his sin to God. The one has confessed his transgressions to the LORD. 

32:11. David closes the psalm with an invitation for those who have confessed of their iniquity and have even found righteousness. The proper response after having realized that you have committed sin, that you need to make it open, it cannot be hidden, that you have confessed to God and He in turn lifts away the sin, He truly conceals the transgression, He imputes righteousness unto us, we should praise Him. Praise Him for He has made us upright in heart.

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1. Luther’s Table Talk; qtd. in Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Classic Reflections on the Wisdom of the Psalms ([1851?]; repr. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 1:2:86.

2. Peter C. Craigie and Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 1-50, WBC, vol. 19, 2nd ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004), 91. 

3. TWOT, 2236. 

4. Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, KEL (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011-5), 1:703n1.

5. TWOT, 183a.

6. TWOT, 1846. 

7. TWOT, 638d.

8. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, 1:713n25.

9. DBLH, 5951.

10. TWOT, 1008. 

11. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, 1:710n20. 

12. Ibid, 713. 

13. DBLH, 3344 II. 

14. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, 1:715.

15. DBLH, 6260. 

16. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, 1:716; cf. TWOT, 2179a.