Commentary on Psalm 32

Carol Bechtel

In the Christian tradition, Psalm 32 is counted among the seven “penitential psalms” (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143). The thing that makes Psalm 32 unique among this company is that it is not itself a prayer of confession. Instead, it is a kind of call to confession that attempts to teach and motivate the faithful to seek God’s forgiveness. If a “primer” is a book that introduces the basics of a subject, then Psalm 32 could be called a penitential primer.

Proverbs 28:3 teaches a similar lesson when it asserts that “no one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” This confidence that God will indeed forgive those who repent reverberates throughout Scripture. Isaiah 55:7 urges sinners to “return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” In a similar vein, 1 John 1:8–9 reminds us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But “if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Today’s second reading, 2 Corinthians 5:16–21, frames this forgiveness in the “new creation” that is possible for believers in Christ, and pleads with believers, “On behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

An overview of the psalm

In Psalm 32 the “lesson” begins with the psalmist’s exuberant declaration of how happy/blessed those are who “come clean” and receive God’s forgiveness (verses 1–2). The outburst is expressed in general terms, although it is clearly based on the psalmist’s own experience. And indeed, these opening verses quickly give way to a prayer that testifies to that experience. The psalmist remembers the misery of unacknowledged sin, which finally drives him to seek God’s forgiveness (verses 3–5). His relief inspires him to pray that “all who are faithful” would follow his example (verse 6), trusting that they, too, will experience God as a “hiding place” and a deliverer (verse 7).

Prayer turns to teaching in verses 8–9, although it is unclear as to whether the psalmist is the teacher or the student. The difficulty is in determining the speaker. If the psalmist is still speaking, then the lesson is directed at anyone within earshot. If God is the speaker, then the lesson is directed at the psalmist. In either case, we as readers can benefit from the exhortation to “not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding.” In other words, “Don’t be an ass! Confess your sins and be forgiven!”

The psalm concludes with a proverb (verse 10) and a call for the forgiven to be glad and rejoice (verse 11).

Two contrasting cover-ups

There is a contrast at the heart of this psalm, and it has to do with two very different uses of the verb “cover” (Hebrew kāsāh).

The cover-up that the psalmist does not recommend is the one he admits to in verses 3–4. “While I kept silence,” he says, “my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” In retrospect, this state of unconfessed sin seems like the heavy hand of God. However, once he acknowledges his sin to God and decides not to “hide/cover” (kāsāh) his iniquity, the weight is lifted.

In contrast to this negative “cover-up” is God’s positive act of “covering” sin. Verse 1 celebrates the happiness of “those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” In God’s act of forgiveness, our sins are literally “out of sight, out of mind.”

Carrot and stick

Like any good teacher, this psalmist uses more than one means of motivation. He leads off with the “carrot” in the opening verses, talking about how “happy” or “blessed” those are who do not deceive themselves, but acknowledge their sin and experience God’s forgiveness. Further incentive is offered later in the psalm when he promises that the “rush of mighty waters shall not reach” the faithful (verse 6). Further, God will offer them a “hiding place” and preserve them from trouble—surrounding them with “glad cries of deliverance” (verse 7).

The negative means of motivation (the “stick”) comes in the psalmist’s powerful description of what it was like when he was either denying his own sinfulness or stubbornly refusing to admit his sins to God. Commentator James L. Mays observes:

When one has wronged a wife, a parent, a friend, a neighbor—someone with whom there is a conscious relationship—and refuses to acknowledge it, to put the wrong into words so that it is there in speech available to be dealt with, then the wrong retained and sheltered begins to become part of one’s identity. It harms and hardens and diminishes. … In the silence, every affliction and problem takes the form of the judgment of God.

Lest we think this sad state only applies to individuals, Mays adds, “This experience belongs to the life of corporate identities as well as to individuals.”¹

Wisdom’s fingerprints

The “fingerprints” of the wisdom tradition are all over this psalm. Here is a brief inventory of characteristics that often appear in other “wisdom literature” of the Bible:

“Blessed/Happy” sayings
Proverbial forms
Teaching tone
Appeal to experience
Contrast between the wise and the foolish

More broadly, the psalmist’s assumption that the wicked will be punished and the righteous rewarded is typical of some of the wisdom literature. The wise interpreter, however, will remember other, more nuanced views (such as we find in the book of Job) before offering false promises to the faithful.

Still, Scripture is united on the central assumption of this psalm: “Confession is the knocking to which the door opens, the seeking that finds, the asking that receives.”²