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Chuck Smith on Psalm 32

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PS32

The following is adapted from the commentaries of Chuck Smith, available at the Blue Letter Bible.

1  Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:
my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity have I not hid.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD;
and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee
in a time when thou mayest be found:
surely in the floods of great waters
they shall not come nigh unto him.
7 Thou art my hiding place;
thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule,
which have no understanding:
whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,
lest they come near unto thee.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked:
but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous:
and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Psalm 32 is thought to have been written at the time of David’s sin with Bathsheba. After the prophet of God, Nathan, had come to him and spoken to him of that sin.

The prophet Nathan came to David and said, “David, there was a man in your kingdom who is an extremely wealthy man. He had many servants, many flocks. Now next door to him there lived a very poor man who had just one lamb. And the lamb was like a child. It went to bed with him. It ate at his table, and it was just a pet, a family pet. Now this very wealthy man had friends come for dinner and he ordered his servants to go and by force take the one lamb from his poor neighbor and kill it in order that he might feed his guests.” And David became very angry and he said to the prophet, “That man shall surely be put to death.” And Nathan said, “David, thou art the man!”

Now David’s response was the right one—repentance. David’s actions were terrible, indeed, and the Scriptures in no way seeks to excuse the actions of David. This is thought to be a psalm that relates to that period of David’s life when he was going through this guilt of sin and when he was trying to carry it. He was trying to hide it. He was trying to bury it while going through the guilt of this illicit affair. And this particular psalm relates to this time in his life.

David begins the psalm by saying,

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psa 32:1).

Oh, what a happy moment it is when I have that assurance that my transgression has been forgiven, that my sin has been covered.

Now David goes on to express when he was trying to cover the whole thing and hide the whole thing and the reaction that it had upon him.

When I kept silence (Psa 32:3)

That is, when I was trying to hide it, when I would not confess, when I would not bring it out and confess.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long (Psa 32:3).

Did you know, you may try to hide your sins, you may try to cover your guilt, but it will find a way out. With guilt there is always the developing subconscious desire for punishment, which, if I cannot find a relief for this guilt, I will begin some abnormal behavioral pattern by which I am seeking to be punished. And I will start just doing weird things because I am feeling guilty and I want someone to punish me. I want someone to say, “Hey, man, you are weird. You’re crazy. Something is wrong with you. You ought to go jump off of the pier.” “Oh, thank you, brother. I needed that.” Now I feel relieved from my guilt; someone has punished me.

When I was a kid I had no problem. My father took care of my guilt complexes very efficiently. And the old apricot tree, those switches always stung, but it sure got rid of my guilt complex. It was healthy, psychologically. But now I am older, no one to take me into the bedroom and apply the psychology. And so I have to do things, abnormal things, neurotic things, in order to be punished. Get people to punish me. Don’t tell Romaine I said it, but this is why he is such a fantastic counselor. I mean you come in and he will lay it on ya! If you are wrong, I mean, he will tell you. And you go home relieved. You get angry with him because he is so straightforward, but I mean he will just tell you what a rat you are, you know. And he doesn’t realize it, I am sure, but from a psychological standpoint it is very healthy. We see them storming out of here sometimes, steam coming out of the top of their head. And we say, “Well, they have been counseling with Romaine.” He is so good.

But when you are trying to hide and cover your guilt, there is an inward roaring that is going on all the time. This inward turmoil. “When I sought to keep silent, my bones were waxing old because of the roaring all the day long.”

For day and night thy hand was heavy on me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer (Psa 32:4).

“Boy, I will tell you. My life just became all dry. Just like a drought in summertime, no moisture, no life. Felt like I was dying.” The Selah brings an end to that strophe of the psalm, and now we move into a new direction.

The first is the endeavor to cover the sin, the endeavor to hide the guilt. But now as we move into the new direction.

I acknowledged my sin (Psa 32:5)

Now the Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). So,

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin (Psa 32:5).

Now, in the Hebrew language there is here the intimation of an immediate process. In other words, “The moment in my heart I said, ‘I am going to confess my transgressions,’ in my heart. Before I could ever get the words out of my lips, God had already forgiven me.” God is only looking for the change of the attitude of your heart. The moment in your heart you say, “Oh God, I am sorry. I am going to confess. I am going to get it right with God.” In that very moment, God’s grace comes flowing over your life and the sins are all obliterated. Why should we carry guilt, why should we carry the sins, when God is so ready to forgive, so ready to cleanse, so ready to pardon? “The moment I said, ‘I’m gonna confess,’ Thou forgavest my transgressions.”

Now we enter into the third strophe.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when you may be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near unto him (Psa 32:6).

Surely all of us ought to be seeking God, because of His love, of His grace, and of His preserving power. In the times of these great waters, in the times of tragedy, it shall not touch you.

For thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance (Psa 32:7).

So another Selah. We enter into a new strophe of the psalm. “God is my hiding place. He is my preserver from trouble. He encircles me with songs of deliverance.”

Now in verse 8 we have a whole change of voice, and God is now responding to the psalmist. Up till now David has been speaking of God and his relationship to God, but now God responds to David, and David writes God’s response to him. Now this is God speaking to David. God said,

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way in which thou shalt go: I will guide you with my eye (Psa 32:8).

The steps of a righteous man are order of the Lord. God said, “I will teach you and instruct you in the way that you shall go. I will guide you with My eye.”

Be not as a horse, or a mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in a bit and a bridle, lest he comes near to you (Psa 32:9).

So God is saying, “Don’t be like stubborn mule where you got to put a bit in its mouth in order to guide it.” Now a bit is painful when you jerk on it. But the bit is put in the mouth of a mule or a horse in order that he might be led. That you might have control. So that he doesn’t walk or step all over you. You put the bit in their mouth, and if they don’t hearken or respond to your reign upon them, then you pull on the bit and it jerks the mouth. And it is painful, but you get the message. You are led.

Now God is saying, “Hey, I don’t want to lead you that way. Don’t be stubborn like a mule. Where I have to use harsh methods to lead and guide you. I want to guide you with My eye. Okay, that way, son.” We are the ones that make it tough on ourselves when we rebel against God. When we won’t listen to God. When we are insensitive to God, then He has to get rough. God doesn’t delight in the painful processes. God didn’t want to send a whale after Jonah; it was just that was the only way that He could get his attention. God doesn’t want to lead you in a painful process. He doesn’t want to bring painful experiences into your life in order to get your attention, in order to change your directions. So He is saying, “Look, be sensitive. You’ll beat him. I will guide you in the right way. I will guide you with My eye. Don’t be like a horse or a mule; you’ve got to put a bit into its mouth in order that you might lead so that it won’t step on you and all.”

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusts in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart (Psa 32:10-11).

Imagine what an interesting experience it would be for you, if as you read the psalms, you actually followed the exhortations. When it says, “Be glad in the Lord,” just be glad in the Lord. When it says, “Rejoice,” then you should rejoice. And if it says, “Shout for joy,” try it sometime. Would you join me in that? Let us shout for joy unto the Lord!

Comments

  2. It’s good to understand what David went through, after all it is for our learning. Wow

    What heart he had toward God, toward God’s trust, toward others by his example, and the one who stepped up and helped see who that “man” really was.

    Doesn’t anyone need any yelling at? Reproof?

    Why is that sometimes we react in an old man nature way? That’s a question only you can answer. Here’s my yelling, just get over yourself and Obey God, for get who’s saying the reproof. Just forget it, Hey. It’s God that is helping you and of course the person blowing the wissle.

    I’m vary good at this, and all I do is,
    focus on the information at hand,
    look at there heart trying to help you,
    And look for the Word that will help you, HEY after all It’s God’s Word, not the persons words reproving you. that will help to.

    Just because someone doesn’t have tack, doesn’t mean it’s not the Word of God.

    thanks Chris,

    Happy Speaking God’s Word,

  3. It’s always a comfort to see God’s love for David despite his major mess ups.
    I’ve experianced the “Eye” and the “Bit”. I’m thankful for all of God’s leading!

  4. It’s interesting to me that in Psa 32:9 God lists the mule AND the horse. Why not just list one or the other? There’s a juxtaposition here.

    A mule has been endowed by the Creator with self preservation. It is a loner animal and if it feels self is threatened it will refuse to budge to preserve self over what it’s owner wants it to do.

    A horse on the other hand is spirited and will rush into battle and/or run headlong disregarding danger. It is a herd animal.

    So often the Lord speaks to us and either out of selfishness or unbridled disregard we choose our own way rather than Gods. Our steps are either selfish in nature or reckless.

    • 1Ch 22:8
      A time of peace from our loving Father of perfection always comes to prefer ease and pleasure over gratitude, over acknowledgement of His benefice. Rare are those who come to know the blessed condition David relates in this psalm within longer eras of peace. This is the condition of sin. Rejoice, the very power of recreation is gifted to faith. Forgiveness, justification, righteousness, sanctification and holiness is the response from our Father of light for whosoever will believe in Him. His righteousness, the righteousness of God is the Living Water of Life proceeding from His throne. Worship Jesus Christ, our God and our Redeemer.
      Isa 54:5, For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
      Isa 63:16, Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

    • Interesting observation Tess. Planted within each Christian is a seed of faith…it is there replacing that old seed of fear. For He has not given us a spirit of fear but of love,power and a sound mind. Fear will keep people in captivity, thus the mule or horse aptitude. Faith on the other hand produces confident mobility as our feet tread upon the land Daddy God has given us. Faith is a servant pulling out the weeds of fear.

      A side note…..it has been raining a lot here in my part of the world. And it struck me just how generous and over the top our Creator is with gifts. I have seen first hand just how far a 1000 gallons of water will go…not far at all. I have watched as the truck loaded with a 1000 gallons of water is sprayed on sod and the ground just sucks it up. So during this rain these last couple days, it is easy to see God’s abundance…the ditches are deep with water. The sky is full of moisture for miles and miles and miles. And the rain is abundant for hours and hours and hours.

      What is my point?

      So it is with Daddy God pouring out His Grace and Glory on His kids. If our spirit eyes would only open, we would actually see there are more with us than with the world. There is a supply of Grace. There is so much Grace that even in the ditches of our life we are covered with His protective hand. Just think if each of us focused in our asking, giving Him praise. The gardens of our lives would also be over flowing and the fruit of the spirit would be overflowing in the markets of this world.

      Have a great moisture filled week,
      Shalom

      Mark (Cov)

  5. We’ve gotten7 inches of rain yesterday and today Mark. All day yesterday and all night and part of this morning thunder rolled as rain fell from heaven. I love thunder. To me it has always been the sound of God’s voice. I count myself blessed to have always viewed it that way. It always makes me think of God’s majesty and greatness.

    2 Samuel 22:14-15 (NKJV)
    “The Lord thundered from heaven,
    And the Most High uttered His voice.
    He sent out arrows and scattered them;
    Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.

    Job 37:3-5(NKJV)
    He sends it forth under the whole heaven,
    His lightning to the ends of the earth.
    After it a voice roars;
    He thunders with His majestic voice,
    And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.
    God thunders marvelously with His voice;
    He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

    Psalm 29:3
    The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters.

    Revelation 14:2
    And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

    Revelation 19:6
    And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

    Thank you Father,Abba for being in the storm.

  6. Seven inches….WOW.

    Did you know the seventh letter in the Hebrew alphabet is “zayin”? It is shaped like a sword pointed down. You mentioned 7 inches and I thought of zayin…His Word pouring out of heaven which ties right in with scripture you are bringing up. The sword of the spirit is kept within our hearts and out of our heart, our mouth speaks. And as we speak in agreement with God’s Word that Word goes out and will accomplish mighty things. And it all began because He poured out His Word and His Word will not return void.

    In Hebrews 4:12 speaks of His Word…that it is sharper than any two edged sword and that sword can even discern thoughts of the heart. And just as the water pouring out of heaven finds even the smallest pore, the tiny-est crack to fill it and saturate it so is His Word. Like a sword, the light of His Word will and is exposing and filling voids. And just as 7 inches of rain will cause every critter out there to run for cover, so it is with His Word. My thoughts are here because as I went to get something out of my truck just before we had a deluge here a couple of days ago, a snake zipped by me. That critter knew it was fixing to pour and it was running for cover…I think we both jumped. As so it is with the darkness in this world.

    God’s Word is boiling into the dark parts of mans heart…the governments of this world where Satan has tried to hide are feeling the pressure of His Word. As they try to hide the deceitful plans they made in little dark corners of government, light is pushing, pushing pushing and making them surface for we are fast approaching the time where no man can hide from truth. And so as this end time is filled with the knowledge of His Glory, the enemy of God will be finally exposed for all to see and a final choice will have to be made by all here on this planet. The choice of…Are we on The Lord’s side? Do we accept Jesus, The Messiah, as Lord of Lords.

    Here is another side note. The letter zayin is one of the Hebrew letters with a crown on it. Cool huh.

    Well, I hope I did not bore you. You mentioned “7” and then in the text of this blog water, moisture, and a stubborn mule was mentioned. Next thing I knew my mind was on King Jesus, The Messiah and how His perfect Word like a sword (7, because you had 7 inches of rain)is flooding this world making darkness so uncomfortable that it can no longer hide.

    Enjoy today, rest in Grace…..
    Shabbat shalom
    Mark (Cov)

    • Thank you so much Mark. Here is an article I thought you’d enjoy about Zayin. Our God is such an Amazing God and He has venerated His Word even above His name.
      http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Zayin/zayin.html

      What a joy it is to have His Word and to have a God who, when we seek Him, delights to make Himself known in ways that delight the heart and mind and give peace, comfort, protection and care to our souls.

      Everyone who begins to truly study and seek the Lord through His Word and with the help of the Holy Spirit finds riches upon riches and treasure beyond comprehension. You know we often get side tracked into the study of what man thinks of the Word rather than the study of the Word itself.

      We often begin to have a relationship with religion rather than with God. If we will set aside man’s opinions in favor of true relationship with God there is such a glory waiting for us.

      I’m blessed by your words and the insights you share about the God you so obviously love and worship.

      Thanks you!

      P.S. I love you too Donna. What a wonderful thing to have such sisters and brothers to share with.

      • Went to the website…..that’s pretty neat. And yes Daddy God…well, I’m just thankful and I do love Him. I don’t always understand but I am a seeker and desire to know Him. And that is exactly what Habakkuk 2:14 is all about. For the longest I kept reading, even heard it spoken that the earth would be filled with His glory. The truth is the earth is already full of His glory. Everyone forgot to read each word and the one word missed was “knowledge”.

        And yes that word is in the Hebrew text. It is yada, which you can find right here on BLB. When you break it down and look at each of the three Hebrew letters it is amazing. Yes, the hollywood characters have had a field day with the Hebrew word yada. But it means in its most basic form, to know and have the desire to know intimately.

        I was explaining it to some friends yesterday like this: When a couple first gets married they naturally are getting to know each other and therefore are intimate. But as time goes forward they learn they did not really know each other. Over the years, the quiet smiles and a simple holding of the hand, or that glitter or even that glaze in the eye speaks without a word being said. There is a trust built and you just want to be near that person, even if they are in the other room. Why? Because the hearts have embraced.

        In Genesis 4 Adam knew Havah, or Chavah which is how you spell/say her name in Hebrew. But lets think this through a bit. Adam and Havah worked together, they strolled through The Garden together, they stepped on each others toes and still enjoyed life together. They played together, watched the fish in the streams and observed deer play tag together. My point is they were together. They shared life. Hollywood would draw a seductive picture but lewd seduction is love gone amuck…it is deception. And here is why I chose to share Eve’s real name in Hebrew text. When you place an “A” in front of her name it spells love. Ahavah is love. You see, Daddy God made Havah then presented her to Adam. As Father God, He gave her as a wife. And he, Adam, fell in ahavah with Havah. It is such a beautiful circle. In Hebrew, as we add a letter the word grows and so contains more meaning. You see havah means to give. Then with the “a” added she, the gift, gave love, which was a gift from Daddy God. I hope I am explaining it well enough…love from the very beginning was a gift from God. And now you know why when a man finds a wife, he has found favor because it is a love gift straight from God. To abuse that gift is to abuse Daddy God…and here is one last thing which I will let you chase. Within the word ahavah, there is a pointing to The Messiah. And of course we know The Messiah was a gift. Circles upon circles…..but as we get to know and have knowledge of God (remember the Hebrew text)we learn He does things that are woven in a circle. Part of His heart is that as one circle is connected to another, and to another, and to another the family grows.

        The world, on purpose, mocks and makes a presentation of what they call love. But it is in no way ahavah. Adam yada havah…and then he found ahavah…..Adam knew a gift, and then he found love.

        So, with no worldly yuck or perversion Habakkuk 2:14 means…..as the people seek to know the heart of God, not just what He can do for us on the surface but intimately seek Him and His heart… just to be near Him then the glory that is already here will flood our awareness. The light will be so bright, that it will be time for us to be caught up and become one. He will embrace us and we will enjoy a meal as we celebrate becoming one.

        Maybe I’m just an old softy, a poet with a desire…but I truly just want to know my friend. God has done so much for me so yes I ahavah.

        Have a great week…don’t forget to say good morning to Daddy God and express your ahavah one to another because they shall know us because it is real.

        Mark (Cov)

        • Mark cov,
          Our daddy is amazing. He woke up at 3 this morning and took me to isaiah 11:2 he specifically took me to the word knowledge and we went on a wonderful walk then landed here…keep walking my brother

          One God…One Son…One Way…..through him, his spirit, and his word…

          With the love of God
          Donna

  7. May “YHWH” The Creator of All Bless Those who Love Him!
    May His Spirit Fall Upon Open Hearts!
    May “Yeshua” Our King and Savior Return with Thunder!
    Love You Guys
    Child Of God
    Donna

  8. Papa Chuck Smith was a wonderful godly man. We shall not see the likes of him again in our lifetime. Keep up putting his writings for us to learn from on this site. Thank you.