Psalms 32:1 - Meaning and Application

This psalm is called “Maschil,” which some think was only the tune it was set to and sung by. Others think the word matters, and our margin reads it, “A psalm of David giving instruction.” There is nothing we need instruction about more than true blessedness, what it really is, and how to reach it, what we must do to be happy.

These verses teach several things. In general, they show that our happiness rests in God’s favor, not in worldly wealth. It is found in spiritual blessings, not in the good things of this world. When David says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1), and “Blessed are those whose way is blameless” (Psalm 119:1), he is describing the kind of person who is blessed. But when it says here, “Blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven,” that is different. Here forgiveness is the root of blessedness, the basic gift from which all the other parts of blessing flow.

First, we are taught what the pardon of sin is. This is what we all need, and without it we are ruined, so we should be careful and earnest in seeking to understand it. It is the forgiving of transgression. Sin is breaking God’s law. When we repent, that transgression is forgiven, which means the obligation to punishment that the law placed on us is canceled and lifted off. Forgiveness removes a burden, a heavy burden, like a weight on the back, the stomach, or the spirit. The forgiveness of sins gives rest and relief to those who were weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28).

It is also the covering of sin, like covering nakedness so it no longer appears to our shame (Revelation 3:18). One of the first signs of guilt in our first parents was that they blushed at their nakedness. Sin makes us disgusting in God’s sight and unfit for fellowship with him. When conscience wakes up, it makes us disgusted with ourselves too. But when sin is pardoned, it is covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness, like the coats of skin with which God clothed Adam and Eve, a sign of the forgiveness of sins. Then God is no longer displeased with us, but fully reconciled to us. The sins are not hidden from us, “My sin is always before me,” nor are they hidden from God’s knowledge. They are hidden from his judgment against us. When he pardons sin, he remembers it no more, he puts it behind his back, and it cannot be found. Then the sinner, now reconciled to God, begins to be reconciled to himself.

It is also the not counting of iniquity against us, not charging it to the sinner, not dealing with him according to the full strictness of the law, and not treating him as he deserves. Because Christ’s righteousness is counted to us, and we are made the righteousness of God in him, our sin is not counted against us. God laid on Christ the sin of us all and made him sin for us. Notice that this act of not counting sin is God’s act, because he is the Judge. It is God who justifies, that is, declares sinners right with him.

Second, we are taught the character of those whose sins are forgiven, “in whose spirit there is no guile.” He does not say there is no guilt, because who lives and does not sin? He says there is no guile. The forgiven sinner does not pretend before God in his repentance and faith, or in his prayers for peace and pardon. He is sincere and means what he says. He does not repent with the plan to sin again, and then sin with the plan to repent again. Those who are honest, who really are what they claim to be, are true Israelites, in whom there is no deceit.

Third, we are taught the happiness of a justified state. Blessedness belongs to the person whose sin is forgiven, every kind of blessing, enough to make him fully blessed. What brought the curse is removed, and what blocked the blessing is taken away. Then God pours out blessings until there is no room to receive them. Forgiveness of sin is the covenant promise that stands behind all the rest: “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness” (Hebrews 8:12).

Fourth, we are taught the sad condition of an unhumbled sinner, one who sees his guilt but has not yet made a penitent confession of it. David describes this movingly from his own bitter experience: “When I kept silent, my bones grew old” (Psalm 32:3-4). People keep silent when they shut out their convictions, when they see sin’s evil and danger but push it aside and think about something else, as Cain did when he built a city. They keep silent when they do not cry out while God’s hand is heavy on them, when they refuse to ease their conscience by honest confession, and when they will not seek peace through faithful and earnest prayer. Such people choose to wear out in their sins rather than follow God’s way to rest for their souls. They should expect their buried convictions to burn like fire in their bones, and the wounds of sin, left unopened, will fester and become painfully worse.

If conscience has been hardened, the danger is even greater. But if conscience has been stirred and awakened, it will be heard. Then the hand of God’s judgment is felt heavily on the soul, and the distress of spirit even affects the body. David felt it so strongly that, though he was still young, his bones seemed to grow old. Even his silence made him groan all day long, as if he were suffering a severe illness. In truth, his trouble came from the conflict inside him between his convictions and his sinful desires. Whoever covers his sin will not prosper. Repentance brings some inward trouble, but unrepented sin brings much worse.

Fifth, we are taught the true and only way to peace of conscience. We must confess our sins so that they may be forgiven, and tell them plainly so that we may be justified, that is, declared right with God. David took this path: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity” (Psalm 32:5). Those who want the comfort of pardon must take shame to themselves by confessing their sins with repentance. We must confess the fact of sin plainly, and be specific: “This and this I have done.” We must confess the wrongness of sin, making much of its evil and laying the blame on ourselves: “I have done very wickedly.” We must confess the justice of the punishment we have already suffered for it: “The Lord is right in all that has come upon us,” and also that we deserve far worse: “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” We must confess sin with shame and holy embarrassment, with fear and holy trembling.

This shows how ready God is to pardon sin when a person truly repents. David says, “I said, I will confess,” meaning he firmly decided, without further delay, to make a frank and honest confession of his sins. And as soon as he did, God forgave the guilt of his sin and gave his conscience the comfort of pardon. He found rest for his soul at once.

Notice how much more ready God is to forgive than we are to repent so that we may receive forgiveness. David had to struggle hard before he came to confess his sins. He was pressed deeply before he yielded (Psalm 32:3, 4). He held out for a long time and would not give in until things had come to the last point. But once he was willing to surrender, see how quickly and easily he received mercy. He only had to say, “I will confess,” and God forgave him.

This is like the father of the prodigal son, who saw his returning child while he was still far off and ran to meet him with the kiss that marked his forgiveness. What an encouragement this is for poor sinners who repent. It also gives us strong confidence that if we confess our sins, God will be faithful and just, and also gracious and kind, to forgive us.

This leads to the good use we should make of David’s experience of God’s eagerness to forgive his sins (Psalm 32:6). “For this,” he says, “shall every one that is godly pray to you.” All godly people are praying people. As soon as Paul was converted, the proof was clear: “Behold, he prays” (Acts 9:11). You might just as soon find a living person without breath as a living Christian without prayer.

The teaching about the happiness of those whose sins are pardoned, and about how easily pardon may be obtained, should stir us to pray. It should especially move us to pray, “God be merciful to us sinners.” Anyone who is rightly disposed will be earnest with God in prayer and come boldly to the throne of grace, hoping to receive mercy (Hebrews 4:16). Those who want to succeed in prayer must seek the Lord while he may be found. When his providence calls them to seek him, and his Spirit stirs them to do it, they must seek the Lord at once (Zech. 8:21), and lose no time. Otherwise death may cut them off, and then it will be too late to seek him (Isaiah 55:6). “Now is the accepted time” (2 Corinthians 6:2, 4).

Those who are sincere and abundant in prayer will find its benefit in trouble. Even in “the floods of great waters,” which are very threatening, they will not come near enough to terrify them, or to disturb their peace, much less to overwhelm them. Those who have God near them in everything they ask for, as all upright, repentant, praying people do, are so guarded and raised up that no waters, not even great floods, can come near them to harm them. As the temptations of the evil one do not touch them (1 John 5:18), so the troubles of this evil world do not truly reach them. These fiery darts of both kinds fall short of them.