Psalmen 32:1

The Psalm begins with the celebration of the happiness of the man who experiences God's justifying grace, when he gives himself up unreservedly to Him. Sin is called פּשׁע, as being a breaking loose or tearing away from God; חטאה, as a deviation from that which is well-pleasing to God; עון, as a perversion, distortion, misdeed. The forgiveness of sin is styled נשׂא (Exo 34:7), as a lifting up and taking away, αἴρειν and ἀφαιρεῖν, Exo 34:7; כּסּה (Psa 85:3, Pro 10:12, Neh 4:5), as a covering, so that it becomes invisible to God, the Holy One, and is as though it had never taken place; לא חשׁב (Sa2 19:20, cf. Arab. ḥsb, to number, reckon, ου ̓ λογίζεσθαι, Rom 4:6-9), as a non-imputing; the δικαιοσύνη χωρὶς ἔργων is here distinctly expressed. The justified one is called נשׂוּי־פּשׁע, as being one who is exempted from transgression, praevaricatione levatus (Ges. ֗135, 1); נשׂוּי, instead of נשׁא, Isa 33:24, is intended to rhyme with כּסוּי (which is the part. to כּסּה, just as בּרוּך is the participle to כּרך); vid., on Isa 22:13. One "covered of sin" is one over whose sin lies the covering of expiation (כּפּר, root כף, to cover, cogn. Arab. gfr, chfr, chmr, gmr) before the holy eyes of God. The third designation is an attributive clause: "to whom Jahve doth not reckon misdeed," inasmuch as He, on the contrary, regards it as discharged or as settled. He who is thus justified, however, is only he in whose spirit there is no רמיּה, no deceit, which denies and hides, or extenuates and excuses, this or that favourite sin. One such sin designedly retained is a secret ban, which stands in the way of justification.

This psalm is entitled Maschil, which some take to be only the name of the tune to which it was set and was to be sung. But others think it is significant; our margin reads it, A psalm of David giving instruction, and there is nothing in which we have more need of instruction than in the nature of true blessedness, wherein it consists and the way that leads to it - what we must do that we may be happy. There are several things in which these verses instruct us. In general, we are here taught that our happiness consists in the favour of God, and not in the wealth of this world - in spiritual blessings, and not the good things of this world. When David says (Psa 1:1), Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, and (Psa 119:1), Blessed are the undefiled in the way, the meaning is, "This is the character of the blessed man; and he that has not this character cannot expect to be happy:" but when it is here said, Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, the meaning is, "This is the ground of his blessedness: this is that fundamental privilege from which all the other ingredients of his blessedness flow." In particular, we are here instructed, I. Concerning the nature of the pardon of sin. This is that which we all need and are undone without; we are therefore concerned to be very solicitous and inquisitive about it. 1. It is the forgiving of transgression. Sin is the transgression of the law. Upon our repentance, the transgression is forgiven; that is, the obligation to punishment which we lay under, by virtue of the sentence of the law, is vacated and cancelled; it is lifted off (so some read it), that by the pardon of it we may be eased of a burden, a heavy burden, like a load on the back, that makes us stoop, or a load on the stomach, that makes…

Ps 32 This wisdom psalm of confession and thanksgiving encourages and exhorts the godly to learn from the psalmist’s experience of sin, denial, confession, and forgiveness. This psalm was one of the seven psalms of penitence used in the early church (also Pss 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). 32:1-2 The Lord’s forgiveness restores people to fellowship with him, clears them of guilt, and gives them great joy. Paul quoted this text when explaining justification by faith alone (Rom 4:4-8).