Psalms · psalm 32 of 150
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Psalm 32 is a psalm of David, called a Maskil, that celebrates the joy of the forgiven. David tells how silence about his sin wore him down, how he confessed it to the Lord and how he received forgiveness. He then teaches others to pray in time, to let God guide them and to rejoice in him.
The title calls it a psalm of David and a Maskil, a term that probably marks a poem of instruction. Christian tradition has counted it among the so-called penitential psalms, together with 6, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143. The apostle Paul quotes its first two verses in Romans 4:6-8 to explain that forgiveness is a gift of God.
The psalm opens with two beatitudes: blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered, and blessed is the one whom the Lord does not charge with guilt and in whose spirit there is no deceit. With three different words, transgression, sin and iniquity, David shows that forgiveness reaches every kind of wrong.
Then he tells his own experience. While he kept silent, his bones wasted away and he groaned all day long, because God's hand was heavy on him and his strength dried up as in summer heat. Then he resolved to acknowledge his sin, did not cover his iniquity and confessed his transgression to the Lord, and God forgave the guilt of his sin.
For that reason every faithful person should pray at a time when God may be found, and when great floods come they will not reach him. The Lord is his hiding place and surrounds him with songs of deliverance. Then God speaks: he promises to instruct and teach the way and warns against being like the horse or mule that must be held in with bit and bridle. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts the Lord, and the psalm closes with a call to be glad and sing.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Blessed is the one whose transgression God forgives, whose sin he covers and whose guilt he does not count. Paul quotes these verses to show that righteousness comes by God's grace and not by works.
While David kept his sin hidden, his body and spirit were worn out under God's hand. A silenced conscience is not put out; it is worn down.
David stops covering his sin, acknowledges it before the Lord and receives forgiveness. Confession does not buy pardon, but it is the way God has opened to receive it.
God promises to instruct, to teach the way and to counsel with his eye on the believer. God's guidance is not a bridle on strength but close, personal care.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered and whom the Lord does not charge with guilt. — Psalm 32:1-2
Answer: His bones wasted away, he groaned all day and his strength dried up. — Psalm 32:3-4
Answer: He acknowledged his sin, did not cover his iniquity and confessed his transgression to the Lord. — Psalm 32:5
Answer: His hiding place, who preserves him from trouble and surrounds him with songs of deliverance. — Psalm 32:7
Answer: To instruct, teach the way and counsel David with his eye upon him. — Psalm 32:8
Answer: The one who trusts in the Lord. — Psalm 32:10
Psalm 32 contradicts the idea that hiding a fault protects us. David discovers that unconfessed guilt is heavy and that honesty before God sets us free. In a small group it can help to distinguish between confessing to God, which is always possible, and sharing a burden with a trusted believer, which sometimes helps healing.
The psalm also shows God's face: he does not wait to punish but forgives and teaches. Someone who has been forgiven can, like David, learn not to be like the horse or the mule, that is, to answer the Lord's guidance quickly instead of resisting it.
Psalm 32 ends with joy, because God's forgiveness is a reason to sing. Psalm 33 continues with a general call to praise, reminding us that the forgiven have many reasons to sing to the God who made and rules the world.
It is a Hebrew word found in the titles of several psalms, such as 32, 42 and 45. Its exact meaning is uncertain; it is usually understood as a poem of instruction or reflection. This psalm fits that idea well, because David teaches others what he has learned.
The three Hebrew terms describe wrong from different angles: transgression is rebelling against God, sin is missing the mark and iniquity is twisting what is straight. David puts them together to say that God's forgiveness covers every kind of wrong, not only the sins that seem small.
The title does not say so. Many readers connect it with Psalm 51, because both speak of confession and forgiveness, but that is a conjecture. What is certain is the message: whoever confesses to God finds forgiveness.