The Book of Psalms
Psalm 32
Psalm XXXII · Vol. II, p. 1005
1 Blessedness consisteth in remission of sins. 3 Confession of sins giveth ease to the conscience. 8 God's promises bring joy.
A psalm of David, Maschil.1
1 Blessed is he whose atransgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.2
A.M. cir. 2959. B.C. cir. 1045.
1 Or, giving instruction, Ps. xlv. lii. liii. lxxiv. lxxviii. lxxxix. cxlii.
a Ro.4.6-8; 3.22,24; 5.1; 8.1,33,34. Ps.85.2. Is.1.18; 40.1,2; 43.25; 44.22. 2 Co.5.19,21. Ac.13.39. Ep.1.7.
2 There can be little doubt that this penitential psalm was written after David's grievous sin and shame, as recorded in 2 Sa. 22. 12. All is past; and with grateful heart he celebrates the praises of that God of infinite mercy, who had spared and pardoned, and received him once more into favour.—P.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and bin whose spirit there is no guile.
3 Whenc I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
c Pr.28.13. Ps.77.1-10; 31.9,10.
4 Ford day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
d Ps.31.9,10; 38.2-8; 22.15.
5 Ie acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. gI said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 Forh this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:3 surely in the ifloods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
7 Thouj art my hiding-place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; kthou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 Il will instruct thee,4 and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.5
9 Ben ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.6
Notes
Ver. 2. The apostle applies this and the foregoing verse (Ro. 4. 6) to explain the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. Ro. 3. 22. C.
Ver. 3. When I kept silence. Upon two remarkable occasions Christ kept silence. Before the treacherous and guilty accusers of the woman, Jn. 8. 6-8; and again, before Caiaphas and Pilate, Mat. 26. 63; 27. 14, as it had been prophesied, Is. 53. 7. While he thus kept silence for a little from reproving hypocrites, or instructing and comforting penitents, or from defending himself against false accusations, his bones waxed old—premature old age came on—through the previous and subsequent roaring which, with this brief interval, his sorrows wrung from him all the day long. C.
Ver. 5. That the speaker is Christ will not be readily acknow ledged by those who will not agree patiently to search the Scriptures. But let those who determine by the grace of God to examine, see Ps. 40. 12, compare Ps. 32. 3, 5, and then ask, who speaks? Ps. 40. 12. To find the answer, compare ver. 6-8 with He. 10. 5-7, and the speaker is found to be Christ. But how could Christ confess sin, seeing he knew no sin? He confessed the sins of his mystical body the church, Ep. 1. 22, 23; 5. 30. Those sins which he bore in his own body on the tree, 1 Pe. 2. 24. Those 'iniquities of us all,' which the Lord laid upon him, Is. 53. 6, 11, 12. Sins and iniquities that were his by onlaying and bearing, as his righteousness is ours by gift and impartation. C.
Reflections.—Dreadful is the nature of sin! It, and nothing else, renders us miserable. But rich is the grace of God, and efficacious the merit of Jesus' blood, which freely removes it. And justification through faith in Christ constantly promotes integrity and holiness of heart and life! But the remains of sin must be purged out by sore troubles and wounding convictions. For there is a close connection between gospel repentance and pardon of sin. It is not, however, our repentance, but God's mercy in Christ and our faith, that is the cause of our pardon. Hopeful is a sinner's case when he is once brought to humble applications to a gracious God, who is more ready to pardon than we are to pray for it. They who seek him, even in trouble, shall surely find him; the more imminently terrible their danger, the more shall his grace and love be magnified in their salvation. And it is no small encouragement to their seeking of God in their distress, that others, like themselves, have found mercy in like cases. But great is the protection, preservation, deliverance, instruction, and direction which believers in Christ constantly find, while the impenitent are loaded with sorrows everlasting and unnumbered. It is necessary then to receive his instructions, and to bend before his warnings, that we may rejoice in his mercy and triumph in his praise.