Embrace the Word for Wednesday, March 4, 2026
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Psalm 32 celebrates the joy of forgiveness. The superscription reads: “A Maskil of David.” The term maskil pertains to skillfulness. This is the first time in the Psalter that the term is used as part of a superscription. It will be used at least a dozen more times. The term could be referring to the skillfulness with which the Psalm was to be sung (See 2 Chronicles 30:22); but the term most like refers to the skillful instructions that are contained in this Psalm. Psalm 32 shares some things in common with Psalm 31. Both Psalms describe inner struggles (31:9-10; 32:3-4). Both Psalms use “hiding place” language (31:20; 32:7). Each Psalm uses the word “spirit” to speak of a person, highlighting their inner workings (31:5; 32:2). It is commonly assumed that Psalm 32 shares a historical context with Psalm 51. Psalm 51 pertains to the whole Uriah-Bathsheba affair (See 2 Samuel 11-12) But determining if Psalm 32 is the exact same context cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Psalm 51 and Psalm 32 do share the subject matter of guilt and forgiveness, and compliment each other. Psalm 32 begins and ends with gladness for forgiveness (32:1-2,10-11). In between, David describes his own story of forgiveness (32:3-5) before he then exhorts others to join him in the experience of forgiveness (32:6-9).
Psalm 32 begins with statements of wonder and joy: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (32:1-2). The term “blessed” has not been used since Psalm 1 and 2, but now it is used twice for emphasis. In Psalm 1, the man who is not influenced by the wicked, but shaped through meditating on God’s Word is announced as “blessed.” This term describes the enjoyment experienced by the one upon whom God’s favor rests. Now adding to the idea that the righteous man is blessed, we will learn that, so too is the repentant man.
David uses three words for sin and three terms for forgiveness in the first three lines. These overlapping words and terms provide, not only an inquiry into understanding the nature of sin, but also an exploration into what becomes of sin in light of forgiveness. The word “transgression” means rebellion against God, refusing to be subject to God’s rightful authority. Transgression conveys the notion that sin is an internal attitude against God, as well as an inner desire that turns away from God, long before it is externally displayed. The word “sin” means to wander off the right path or to miss the mark, coming up short of the target. Sin is a veering off the path of God’s law; a missing the mark of God’s moral standard; a coming up short of God’s requirements. The word “iniquity” refers to something that is bent or twisted or made crooked. Iniquity means a perversion of what is right or a moral distortion. Putting all these words together, we can begin to grasp that sin is treason against God’s authority, a failure to achieve God’s standard, and a twistedness of God’s design. A fourth word David throws into the mix in verse 2 is “deceit.” Deceit, which complicates the sinful condition even more, is the impulse or perhaps even resolve, to hide or deny the existence of sin and/or excuse or minimize sin. Deceit is the engine that drives the whole cover-up process of sin.
Alongside the three words for sin, David provides three terms for forgiveness. Rebellion is forgiven, that is, it is lifted up and carried away. Forgiveness consists of the relieving of a burden—the burden of guilt before God. Not only does forgiveness describe the relieving of the guilty’s burden, it also speaks of that burden being placed on another, such as the second goat on Israel’s Day of Atonement: “The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness” (See Leviticus 16:22). Another word that helps describe what forgiveness consists of is covered, such as when David says, “whose sin is covered.” At this point, it is important to mention something of a paradox. The word “cover” is used in verse 5 when David states, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” (32:5). As long as David hid or tried to cover up his sin, God would not cover it. The idea behind cover is to put it out of sight. When we try to cover up our sin, it remains uncovered; but when we uncover our sin, God covers it. To put this another way—when we try to hide the record of our sin, God keeps a record of it, but when we admit our sin, God hides the record of it. The third word that helps us see what forgiveness consists of is the word counts, such as when David says, “counts no iniquity.” To not count our sin means to not charge it against us. The idea behind not counting our sin against us is to not hold us liable for sin, and so forgiveness as a dismissal or cancellation of a debt is depicted. By the way, the word “count” is not merely used in the negative, meaning, not counting our sin debt against us; but it is also used in the positive, for it is the same word given to show Abraham as being counted as righteous before God (See Genesis 15:6). By faith, Abraham was regarded as righteous. Putting all these three terms together, we see that forgiveness is the relieving of a burden, the hiding of a record, and the dismissing of debt.
David takes a look back, that is, before he was blessed by being forgiven. David begins by describing what it was like to resist confessing his sin: “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah” (32:3-4). David honestly describes the price of silence: David suffered in his body and his soul as he realizes that his strength is gone and his pains are spiking. When David said that God had laid a heavy hand upon him, he is most likely speaking of God’s work of convicting, afflicting and opposing the conscience of someone unrepentant. But all this is a mercy leading to confession: “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” (32:5). Confession does not earn forgiveness, but confession is essential to forgiveness. Confession is a condition, but not a cause. Only the one who has been wronged can convey forgiveness. Confession simply admits the wrong and acknowledges the harm that the wrong has brought. David knows this, for David frames his forgiveness in an emphatic way: “and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” David gushes in the wonder of such a God: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity” (See Micah 7:18a).
David now moves forwards with exhortations stemming from his own experience of forgiveness: “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” (32:6). David exhorts those who belong to the LORD, when he calls upon the godly to pray while the opportunity to pray lasts (remember, the word translated “godly” is literally the steadfast loved ones, or the ones that the LORD loves devotedly and durably). David is pleading that we not linger silently. Pray to the LORD now, confess sin now, and forgiveness can be experienced now. David’s reference to the sure “rush of great waters” takes us back to Psalm 29 and the depiction surrounding the judgment of the great flood (See Psalm 29:3,10). Opportunity to join Noah on the ark was afforded until the door closed. But after the door was closed, the judgment began. David directs us to see the place of safety that the LORD provides for those who turn to Him: “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah” (32:7). David has traveled from, “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long,” to “you preserve me from trouble,” all by the merciful pardoning presence of the LORD.
David further exhorts those who belong to the LORD, to not be like he was: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 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” (32:8-9). David’s exhortation is simple: don’t be stubborn about refusing to repent. A soft conscience is a precious thing; a hard heart is a troublesome thing. Don’t be dense about admitting your sin. David’s exhortations move from warnings to holding out promises: “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD” (32:10). David knows of the sorrows of concealing his sins, but he also knows of the joys of forgiveness: “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (32:11). As it turns out, “the one who trusts in the LORD,” spoken of in verse 10 are not only forgiven, but they are are the “righteous” ones spoken of in verse 11. The gladness, rejoicing, joy that believers can experience is actually the doubled blessing of forgiveness, and righteousness in the sight of God. What a gift!
As we reflect on Psalm 32, we can start by referring to Paul’s use of Psalm 32 as he made the case that the saving work of God in Christ is something that is available by grace through faith: “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin’” (See Romans 4:5-8). All that Christ accomplished is applied to us solely through faith in Christ. There is no mixture of works when it pertains to forgiveness and righteousness before God. Christ has done it all. Our burden of guilt is lifted from us and was bore by Christ: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (See 1 Peter 2:24). Our sin debt was canceled when Christ made full payment: "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (See Colossians 2:14). And the charges against us were placed on Jesus: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (See Isaiah 53:6). These sound likes reasons for gladness, rejoicing, and joy!
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, March 4, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, March 6, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 33.