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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
Psalm 32. This is usually classified as a thanksgiving hymn, in which the worshipers give thanks to God for the joy of having their sins forgiven. Because of v. 3 ("when I kept silent"), it has been common to connect this psalm with Psalm 51; but as there is no clear indication of this from either the title of the psalm or its body, it is better to take this psalm as geared more generally to the experience of confession and forgiveness. Psalm 32 can be classified as a "penitential psalm" (cf. Psalms 6; 38 [and note]; 51; 130; 143.)
32:1-5 The Doctrine: Only the Forgiven Are Truly Happy. Verses 1-2 state the theme, answering the question, "Who is truly happy (or blessed)?" Then vv. 3-5 recount a personal experience that supports this theme. The terms "transgression," "forgiven," "sin," and "iniquity" all echo Ex. 34:6-7, the fundamental expression of God's kindness and mercy toward those who receive his covenant. No one needs to compel God to show mercy; rather, the faithful confess their sins because they believe he is merciful. Note how several words here appear in a mirror pattern, which binds all five verses together: "forgiven . . . covered [Ps. 32:1] . . . cover . . . forgave [v. 5]." There is a contrast in the kind of covering: when God "covers" sin, he graciously blots it out (cf. 85:2); when man "covers" his sin, he is sinfully hiding it (cf. Prov. 28:13).
32:1-2 On blessed, see note on 1:1. Paul uses 32:1-2a in Rom. 4:7-8 to show that "not counting sin" (which he treats as another way of counting righteousness) has always been done "apart from works." Deceit refers to deceiving man or God about one's own sins. To mention the spirit reinforces in the worshipers that they must combine the right words with the right intentions.
32:3-5 For. These verses support the theme that only the forgiven are truly happy. They recount a time when I kept silent, i.e., when the singer refused to confess his sins in order to have God forgive them. The lost vitality of vv. 3-4 is really a mercy; it is God's hand . . . heavy upon his faithful, to help them come to the point of confessing. Having come to that point, the singer acknowledged his sin, and God forgave the iniquity of his sin; this brings the psalm back to v. 1, with the implication that the singer has now learned more fully the blessedness of being forgiven.
