Psalm 32

A Maskil Psalm: lyKif.m; A Psalm that gives insight; Doctrinal instruction

What is the BD it is teaching?

What is it trying to give us insight about?

Psalm 32 Teaches 5 major things:

1. The importance of Salvation

2. Discipline for sin

3. Need for Confession of sin

4. Restoration of Fellowship

5. The benefits of wise living.

Outline:

1. Salvation vs:1-2

2. Discipline vs:3-4

3. Confession vs:5a

4. Restoration vs:5b-7

5. Exhortation to wise living. vs:8-11

1. Salvation of the Psalmist. vs:1-2

32:1 <A Psalm of David. A Maskil.> How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!

Need to examine Rom. 4:7-8

What is the doctrine Paul is arguing here? by faith.

Psalm 32:1-2 is introduced as evidence of salvation , not by works.

From Paul's use of Ps 32:1-2 in Rom 4, in this context; we can draw some conclusions.

1. Justification is by faith.

2. Imputation of righteousness is apart from works.

3. Salvation is for Jew and Gentile alike, for all men.

4. It also shows the position that David had before God, a justified man. One who will under go tremendous discipline for sin.

5. In the context then of Ps 32 we find the reality of the carnal believer; the believer dominated by his/her OSN.

Ø Have An important word here that speaks of the experiential state of the one who is justified.

Blessed yrva a term for happiness and contentment;

- Question; How can a straight walk tie to happiness?

Answer: Happiness is a by-product of a straight walk! A life of integrity to the will of God, all areas of one's life.

Observations on Blessed - Asheri yrev.a;

Note: word is always used in a context to refer to a condition that is the result of what one chooses to do.

Therefore there is contingency associated with it.

Here in Ps 32 we see the basis for; the foundation for this blessing without which it will never be realized; that is salvation;

Emphasis then is, What about the next day or week or month after

salvation; when the realities of life tend to overwhelm us?

Ps 119:1-2 points to how this happiness and contentment can be

maintained.

Two things sort of jump right off the page when you examine the passages where "blessed" asheri is found!

#1 This state is related to putting our trust in God; without

equivocation.

#2 2nd idea or relationship is with the word/ getting ourselves lined up with the teaching and instruction of the word.

Ps 119:1,2; 1:2; 112:1; Prov 8:32

Some conclusions about this happiness that we need to recognize!

1. This condition can exist even when the external circumstances of life are not that great; not every thing is going your way.

2. You will not find happiness by pursuing happiness; It is a

by-product of relationship to God and obedience to His word.

Back to Psa. 32

- There are 4 pivotal things that are true of every believer stated here in vs:1-2.

#1 whose transgression is forgiven.

#2 whose sin is covered.

#3 to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity.

#4 And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

- Do you see a problem here?

Ø The blessings of salvation as depicted here!

#1 whose transgression is forgiven

What we need to ask is what is a transgression?

- From God's vpt a pesha can only end up one of 2 ways;

#1 punishment of the transgressor!

#2 forgiveness/restoration of the transgressor!

- There is a key passage dealing with this forgiveness Isa. 53:12.

When there is breach of relationship with God after salvation, because of a transgression, it always has what we would call today a psychological impact.

When we commit transgressions, revolt and rebel against will of God, when we persist in this state there will be psychological impacts that we can expect to observe.

#1 Gets mixed up on the fact that he is a transgressor; loss of perspective as to what sin is! - Prov 28:24

#2 If one has a breached relationship with God, he has an affinity for strife in relationships. Prov 17:19

#3 It reveals it self in extreme anger. Prov 29:22

#4 Transgression leads to apathy towards God! Ps 36:1

This first blessing of Salvation says, that our transgression is forgiven.

- the word for forgiven [nasa'] carries basically 3 ideas,

#1 to lift up, used of to lit lift a rock, or a burden

#2 to bear, carry; often used to carry guilt of sin;

#3 to take away; (forgiveness, where pardon of sin come in)

#2. Whose sin is covered! (2nd blessing of salvation)

to cover; hs'K' can mean to literally cover something; or it can mean to hide (as in vs:5).

#3. (Blessing of salvation) (vs:2)

"the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity."

- impute chashabh bv;x' think, plan, make a judgment

#4. (blessing of salv.) "And in whose spirit there is no deceit!"

- Rem: This is the one that Paul does not use in Rom 4 in his demonstration of Justification by faith.

- "in whose spirit is no deceit or fraud" speaks of one who lives a life of integrity.

Vs:3-4 Problem of Unconfessed Sin in the Life!

David gives us here evidence of his psychological make up during this present circumstance.

vs:3 When I kept silent

What's in view here?

#1. Failure to deal with his sin and confess it. Suppression of a guilty conscience.

#2 What happens when the guilty conscience is suppressed over a period of time?

One who suppresses their conscience over a period of time will have psychosomatic problems. ie. the body will have an adverse reaction.

When I kept silent [suppressed my guilty conscience] my body

wasted away.

- Points clearly to the physical ramifications of not dealing with sin in the life.

* Fact that they use the term illness instead of sin implies several things:

#1 not responsible; its an excusable condition; I've got the flu, a cold, something that often is beyond our control; mainly because they're something that can be caught. Even most employers give some sick time off with pay. No fault.

#2 It implies an excuse for one's condition.

#3 It makes man a victim of his circumstances.

Ø Let's look a little closer at the context; the setting for all this.

The setting for discipline vs:3-4

#1 It is "When I kept silent [about my sin]," 32:3a Cause is sin;

#2 The Consequence? "my body wasted away" 32:3b Result of discipline; physical impact

#3 The extent and source vs:4 "for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me,"

#1 It is "When I kept silent" [about my sin],

- What's he saying? I chose to keep silent, I'm not going to talk to God about it; I'm going to stay speechless; I'm going to clam up! Suppression!

- Look at Psalm 51 a passage dealing with a similar situation in David's life! Very strong passage!

* He moves next from the suppression of the guilty conscience in his refusal to confess his sin; to the bodily ramifications.

#2 The Consequence? "my body wasted away through my groaning all day long."

* Summary Observations!

1. That he kept silent before God; indicates his relationship with God is broken.

2. His conscience is clearly bothering him; indicated by the groaning, the roaring.

* He saw God's personal administration of discipline in his situation.

The issues: Sin, negative volition; relationship with God!

"For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me;

"My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer."

What should we gleam from this? We need to keep short accounts with God in respect to our spiritual status. Daily, ensure we're in fellowship and are advancing in our relationship with Him.

Ø 32:5 The confession of the Psalmist.

* What is the Nature of Confession? What do we mean by confession?

* Pre-requisite for confession; coming to gripes with the real issue; that is of the sin in one's life!

Must identify with your sin; assume responsibility for it!

* Notice also that the sequence is conviction of sin before the acknowledgement of it to God.

* Notice that he uses all 3 words for sin here; sin; iniquity and transgression.

They have a common thread and that is that they all assume an absolute moral standard.

* Ingrained in the fabric of the OT are these 3 words that assume an absolute moral standard.

#1 chatta'th taJ'x; sin (most common) to fall short of the absolute moral standard.

#2 `awon !wO[' iniquity; to twist the absolute moral standard, to deviate from it.

#3 phesha` [v;P, transgression, to revolt against the absolute

moral standard; to breech the relationship.

* We also have here 3 synonyms for confession. [stated 3 ways]

#1 My sin I acknowledged;

#2 Synonym for confession!

"And my iniquity I did not hide;"

- In the context it means to treat it as if it wasn't there!

#3 Synonym for confession;

"I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord";

The stress of the word is on declaration of fact!

* What is Confession then as defined by verse 5? What should we learn?

#1 Simply making known to God our sin!

#2 Confession, negatively, is not putting the wraps over it, not hiding it, not treating it as if it didn't exist.

#3 Declaration of fact to YHWH.

* The Direction of confession = "to the Lord"

Who else can forgive your sin, lifting the weight of it off of you?

* How are man's problems in general dealt with today?

What will man's solution be minus? 3 very important things!!

* Ps 32:5; Response of God to confession! Restoration

And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah.

#1 This emphatic personal pronoun indicates that God's response to confession is personal.

#2 God's response is immediate, no delay; stands first in sentence.

#3 It dealt with the issue, with real issue, sin.

32:6-8 We see what flows out of confession and restoration in the life of the believer.

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found;

- This term "godly" takes in 2 ideas:

#1 its calling these people grace people because of what God has done for them.

#2 They are that kind of people because of what they are like; what their lives are characterized by.

"In a time when you may be found" expresses a note of urgency;

- What is in view here in the context is that the prayer to YHWH that is in your best interest is immediate when sin occurs, not days or weeks later, after the discipline has set in.

Ø 32:7 The results of Restoration

The relief and provision that comes from confession!

#1. A restoration to personal fellowship, communion with God.

#2. The 1st benefit of restored fellowship is that He is our "hiding place."

#3. Restoration of his personal confidence, that his life is now on the right track.

#4. Restoration from pressures. "Thou doest preserve me from trouble;"

#5. Restoration of Joy in his life.

"Thou doest surround me with songs of deliverance."

Ø 32:8-11 Teaching and Exhortation from David that flow out of his

experience!

Who is the "I" doing the teaching? Is it David? Or is it God?

Vs:8 is a great promise! I will instruct you and teach you.

Are you teachable?

- From God's standpoint we are not teachable apart from being in a right relationship with Him.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;

"I will counsel you with My eye upon you."

Observations on counsel:

1. Ex 18:13-27 here ya'atz refers to what comes out of age and experience.

2. Isa 46:9-11 We see very strongly here God's plan and purpose!

3./4. both demonstrate a characteristic of the Messiah, of Christ.

#3 Isa 9:6; #4 Isa 11:2

5. It is important to distinguish the counsel of God from the counsel of man. Prov 19:20-21!!

6. Ps 33:10-11 God's plans and counsel stands for generations, even down to today.

Who does God have His eye on?? Psa. 33:18

Ø 32:9 Retrospection: Looks back at the suppressed conscience!

Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

What can we say about the brute beast, horse/mule that's also evident in the believer who suppresses his sin?

#1. Brute beasts have no common sense, no understanding.

#2. The brute beast will not follow with out the bit/bridle, will not follow with out force.

The exhortation here is RESPOND to God's teaching and instruction in the course of your daily lives so that you don't need the bit and bridle routine.

Ø 32:10-11 Conclusion of the Maskil, the instruction!

Many are the sorrows of the wicked;

But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.

Ø 32:11 The Response of the Righteous enveloped by grace.

Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones,

And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.