32 A Maskil1 of David.
32:1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up2 as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Section Overview
Probably the best category for Psalm 32 is a thanksgiving hymn, as the worshipers give thanks to God for the joy of having their sins forgiven. Psalm 32 has also been grouped with the “penitential Psalms” (including Psalms 6; 38; 51; 130; 143), but the “penitential” elements go along with other psalm types, such as laments. At the same time, there are also “wisdom” elements (32:8–9); the thanksgiving is an occasion not only for personal celebration but also for edification of the entire worshiping body.277
Because of verse 3 (“when I kept silent”), it has been common to connect this psalm with Psalm 51, reflecting on David’s time of “silence” after his sin with Bathsheba. This follows from reading 2 Samuel 11:26–27 as implying that David’s conscience lay fallow until Nathan harrowed it (2 Sam. 12:1–14).278 This seems to be a fair reading of the account in 2 Samuel, but it does not require that Psalm 32 be read in that light. In fact, there is no title for the psalm connecting it to that incident, so it is better to take this psalm as geared more generally to the experience of confession and forgiveness.
The clearest indicator for the psalm’s flow of thought comes from the word “therefore” that begins verse 6. We may broadly take verses 1–5, then, as giving the “doctrine,” while verses 6–11 provide the “application” (much like the common analyses, e.g., of Rom. 12:1 or Eph. 4:1). A chief factor showing the coherence of 32:1–5 is the chiasmus (or inverted parallelism).
(A) “forgiven” (v. 1)
(B) “covered” (v. 1)
(B') “cover” (v. 5)
(A') “forgave” (v. 5)
Chiasmic structures in general typically serve to unify their parts, inviting us to search for the point of unity. Here the unity of topic appears as the blessedness of being forgiven. Also, throughout these verses we encounter the synonyms “transgression” (vv. 1, 5), “sin” (vv. 1, 5), and “iniquity” (vv. 2, 5). These three words, together with the term “forgive,” occur together in Exodus 34:7, which, with Psalm 32:6, declares God’s benevolent “name” (echoes of which occur frequently in the Psalms).
The main indicator of coherence for verses 6–11 comes from the way it turns the assertions of verses 1–5 into exhortation, with its variety of terms for the faithful (“godly,” v. 6; “trusts in the Lord,” v. 10; “righteous” and “upright in heart,” v. 11). The repeated words “surround” (vv. 7, 10) and “shout” (vv. 7, 11) also unify this section.
We can see more detail if we recognize that verses 1–2 repeat the word “blessed,” while verses 3–5 recollect a concrete example of the assertions in verses 1–2, introduced by “for” (in the sense “I say this because”).279 Further, while “you” is addressed to God in verses 6–7, the singer turns to address his fellow worshipers in verses 8–11 (“you” singular in v. 8 and the end of v. 9; “you” plural in the rest).280
Section Outline
The resulting structure looks like this:
I. The Doctrine: Only the Forgiven Are Truly Happy (32:1–5)
A. Declaration of True Happiness (32:1–2)
B. Personal Experience Supports Verses 1–2 (32:3–5)
II. Application: Confess Our Sins Freely (32:6–11)
A. Addressed to God (32:6–7)
B. Addressed to All Believers (32:8–11)
Response
As suggested in the Section Overview, Psalm 32 is best taken as a thanksgiving song, celebrating the joy of having one’s sins forgiven. The Lord has revealed his gracious and benevolent character, which is what led him to make the Sinai covenant and to keep it in force, even when Israel manifested incredible unfaithfulness (Ex. 34:6–7). In addition to ritual provision for sins (sacrifices and washings), the covenant also includes the aspect of the inner life, in which sins are to be confessed and forsaken (Prov. 28:13).
It would be easy to turn the need for personal confession into something morose and even to imply that God requires some persuading before he grants his forgiveness. But the biblical material is different. It stresses instead that God’s people are to trust in his benevolence, which has been revealed in the covenant. Since sin damages human life in relation to God, the community, and even the rest of the creation, it cannot promote human well-being to allow it to remain unconfessed. The psalm therefore, by its focus on God’s benevolent character and its celebration of true happiness, fosters within the community an ideal of ready confession and joyful embrace of divine grace.287
Jesus instructed his followers to pray for forgiveness (Matt. 6:12). Some Christians may dispute the need for regular confession on the ground that through their faith they have entered once and for all into a condition of forgiveness—perhaps appealing to a text like Ephesians 1:7. This is, however, to confuse the positional sense of forgiveness with the daily experience of confession and renewal. Hence Christians should sing this kind of song to cultivate in their own communities the gladness God offers to all through this daily experience.Psalm 32
Psalm 33