Psalm 32
“Happy, joyous, and free.” A promise that’s spoken frequently within the rooms of twelve-step recovery programs. For men and women stuck in the devastating grips of addiction, the thought of living happy, joyous, and free seems more like a pipe dream than a possibility. Nevertheless, both the promise and the possibility remain.
A happy, joyous, and free life is elusive for those addicts and alcoholics who refuse to admit they have a problem. But those who admit they have a problem have taken the first step toward new life.
In Psalm 32, David may not be writing about addiction to drugs or alcohol, but he is teaching us about the path to a happy, joyous, and free life—one that is no less miraculous.
Verses 1-2
“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.”
We southerners are fluent in the language of blessing:
“Bless your heart.”
“Bless you.”
“God blessed us with ______ (fill in the blank).”
We’ve robbed the word blessed of its power and depth of meaning, leaving remnants of the saccharine aftertaste that often accompanies it. And despite its frequent appearances in Southern vocabulary, it is also vague and abstract—like grabbing the wind, it just slips right through your fingers.
It’s tempting to dismiss it as an empty platitude or hollow expression, but to do so would be to lose something important David wanted to convey.
Happy or joyful are:
Those whose sins Yahweh lifted away. They no longer carry the heavy burden of sin.
Those whose sins Yahweh covered. Their sins have been put out of sight.
Those whose slate Yahweh wiped clean. There are no more charges against them.
Those who live honestly and vulnerably before the Lord. They have nothing to fear and nothing to hide.
There is nothing hollow or trite about this kind of blessing. It is wholly, powerfully transformative. The Lord takes a person who is weighed down with the heavy burden of sin and lifts it off of him. He removes their stained garments and clothes them in beautiful new garments, untainted by sin, brokenness, and shame. And he erases record of any wrongdoing. This overwhelming truth leads David to erupt with celebratory joy!
This is who and what we are in Christ. He has lifted away our sin and cast it as far as the east is from the west. It is remembered no more. He finds no guilt within us. More than that, he has covered over our sins with the blood of Christ, clothing us with Christ’s righteousness. Now we stand before him blameless, without fault, without accusation, spotless, pure, clean, unblemished.
Can you imagine what it would feel like if we lived in this reality? How much lighter and freer we would feel? How much more joyful we would be?
With that context, David's meaning of “blessed” becomes more apparent. When we see our helpless and hopeless state before a holy God, how could we not be exceedingly thankful and happy that he acted on our behalf?
Lest we overlook it, these actions are entirely of God. We did not rid ourselves of sin. He took it away. We did not clean ourselves up. He cleansed us. We did not have a clean record. But he gave us one anyway. God is the one who acts, and we are the ones acted upon. From beginning to end, it is the Lord.
Verses 3-4
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.”
David’s silence—not acknowledging his sin to the Lord—brought on great suffering. His bones weakened and gave way, unable to bear him up any longer. He groaned under the heavy burden of his sin and the Lord’s heavy hand of discipline. As a result of his silence, his strength and vitality dried up like a raisin in the sun.
Sin and its impacts grow in the dark but die in the light of exposure. Confession is the key to true freedom—freedom from shame, isolation, and a guilty conscience. It allows you to live fully known by God and others without fear of being discovered. But when we keep silent, sin festers inside us, robbing us of true peace. Just like admitting they have a problem opens the cell door and allows the person with an addiction to take their first steps toward freedom, openly confessing our sin to God enables us to live happy, joyous, and free.
When we refuse to admit our sin and continue to hide, our spiritual vitality withers, and we experience the Lord’s heavy hand of discipline—a hand not meant to crush us but to lead us back toward the path of life.
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they discipline us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)
The Lord’s discipline may feel heavy and painful, but we do not need to fear or reject it. It is a fatherly act of loving-kindness. In light of this, God’s discipline—both his corrective discipline when we sin and his formative discipline in training us in righteousness—is also his blessing and indicative of his love for us as his children.
Verse 5
“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.”
In Romans 2, Paul tells us that the Lord’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (verse 4). His discipline is a kindness toward us because it is meant to move us from the heavy burden of our sin toward the fullness of life through confession.
David says that when he stopped trying to conceal, rationalize, justify, deny, or minimize his sin and instead confessed it, the Lord was faithful to forgive him.
I love the imagery of confessing and forgiving captured in the Hebrew language. To confess means to throw or cast, and to forgive means to lift off or take away. Can’t you picture it? Throwing your sins at the Lord and seeing him gladly grab them and carry them away! Some days, I am eager and throw them with vigor. But other days, I’m so weary and broken that I can barely extend my hand. And it is then that I can imagine the Lord tenderly and patiently lifting them off of me.
How truly “blessed” we are to have such a faithful, good, merciful, and loving Father!
All of this leads David to encourage others to move toward the Lord,
Verse 6
“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.”
There is urgency in David’s appeal. He says, “Listen to me! In light of all this, don’t wait! Don’t delay. Don’t be comfortable with your sin. Don’t justify it, rationalize it, or hold onto it. Don’t hide it from the Lord. There’s no life there! Run to him. Throw it off on him. Or if you’re too tired and beaten from carrying it, lift your hand to him and let him take it. Why wait? Do it now while you can!”
The hope-filled truth of God’s forgiveness is why we can be confident and full of joy! Because “even if the waters of sin press hard, God will not allow us to drown.”¹
Verse 7
“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”
Do you feel that way? Is the Lord a hiding place for you? Or do you hide from the Lord instead? For David, the truth that God is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and abounding in steadfast love diminishes the fear and shame that might tempt a person to hide from the Lord. Instead, David finds comfort and safety in God’s presence, seeking refuge from his sin.
This comforting truth extends to us, too! God watches over us and is committed to preserving us and leading us along the path of life. His encompassing presence surrounds us—before, behind, and beside. He gathers us under his wings like a mother bird shielding her young from dangers within and without. There is no need to run or hide from God in our weakness and sin. Instead, we can run to him like a child to their father whenever fear strikes, knowing that the Father is both capable of and willing to protect us!
Verses 8-9
“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 of a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”
The speaker, whether David or the Lord, is committed to instructing, teaching, and guiding the congregation toward finding forgiveness and life in the Lord so that they may experience the “blessing” of his deliverance.
Verse 9 is the most intriguing section of this psalm because of the imagery. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Stubborn as a mule.” But why are mules so stubborn? Equine experts seem to agree that mules aren’t stubborn as much as they are self-preservationists. And they will not do anything unless they understand it and trust you.²
If I don’t trust a person’s motives toward me, I will certainly not want to be around them or allow them to lead and instruct me. Similarly, if I don’t trust the Lord who leads me, I will not follow. But more than that, I will not come near. And, as I’ve been reading through the Old Testament recently, one commonality arises time and again: God desires to be near his people. And he will do whatever is necessary to ensure that happens.
So the writer says don’t be like a stubborn mule! Don’t resist the Lord. He is for you. Trust him. Follow him. Let him lead you. Come near to him, and let him be all he wants to be for you!
Verses 10-11
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
David concludes by calling us to consider how deeply and richly blessed we are to have Yahweh as our Lord, King, and Father. To experience his forgiveness, mercy, discipline, and love in Christ—to be the recipient of such lavish gifts—leads to exceeding joy, thankfulness, contentment, and praise.
Happy, joyous, and free are the ones whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered, and in whom the Lord finds no guilt!
Love you guys,
CC
If you’d like to engage Psalm 32 further, take some time to work through the following exercises.
Engage the Scriptures
What are one or two big ideas found within this psalm?
Which verse or verses stood out to you? Why?
Explore Your Story
Are you more prone to withdraw and hide from God in your sin or run toward him? Why do you think that is?
What sin or lingering shame and guilt do you need to throw or cast to the Lord? What keeps you from doing so?
Encounter Jesus
Find a quiet place where you can sit with pen and paper. Write down the sins you are struggling with. Name the shame and fear you feel in your relationship with God regarding these sins. When you are done, read them out loud to the Lord. Or close your eyes, and as you say them, imagine yourself literally throwing them to him. Or, perhaps, extend your palm face up and imagine him lifting each one from you.
After you have completed this part, write down all the names God speaks over you (i.e., forgiven, beloved, clean). Try them on. How do these names feel on you in comparison to the other names you’ve been wearing (i.e., shameful, unforgivable, unlovable)?
Finally, take some time to thank God for being a loving Father to whom you can run,
evenespecially when you sin, knowing that you will find forgiveness and refuge in him.¹ Rolf A. Jacobson and Beth Tanner, “Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 308.
²https://mare-o-pausal.com/2022/02/03/stubborn-as-a-mule-no-not-really-1-massive-myth-exposed/ and https://www.bensonranch.com/articles/stubborn-as-a-mule/
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