Psalms 32:1

Blessed [is he whose] transgression [is] forgiven,.... Or "lifted up" (m); bore and carried away: sin is a transgression of the law; the guilt of it charged upon the conscience of a sinner is a heavy

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. The Title, "Maschil," is explained by the Hebrew cognate verb (Psalms 32:8), "I will thee" ['askiylkaa].

Psalms 32 Maschil; or, an instructor. This Psalm is most fitly so called, because it was composed for the information of the church, in that most important doctrine, concerning the way to true blessedness. They are blessed whose sins are forgiven, ,2. Confession of sins giveth ease to the conscience, . God’ s promise to them that trust in him, . I did indeed say that they, and they only, were blessed, that did not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, & c., but did delight in and meditate on God’ s law, ,2. And it is true, this is the only way to blessedness. But if inquiry be made into the cause of man’ s blessedness, we must seek that elsewhere. All men having sinned and made themselves guilty before God, and fallen short of the glory of God, and of that happiness which was conferred upon their first parents, now there is no way to recover this lost felicity, but by seeking and obtaining the favour of God, and the pardon of our sins; which is the very doctrine of the gospel; to the confirmation whereof this text is justly alleged, ,7. Our sins are debts, and they need forgiving; they are filthy and abominable in God’ s sight, and need covering.

Psalms 32:1 « [A Psalm] of David, Maschil. » Blessed [is he whose] transgression [is] forgiven, [whose] sin [is] covered.A Psalm of David, Maschil] i.e. Giving instruction, or making prudent; for David here, out of his own experience, turneth teacher, Psalms 32:7, and the lesson that he layeth before his disciples is the doctrine of justification by faith, that ground of true blessedness, Romans 4:6-7. Docet igitur hic Psalmus vere preciosus praecipuum et proprium fidei Christianae caput, saith Beza, This most precious psalm instructeth us in the chief and principal point of Christian religion; and it differeth herein from the first psalm, that there are set forth the effects of blessedness; but here the cause: Quomodo etiam est Paulus cum Iacobo conciliandus, saith he. Ver. 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven] The heavy burden of whose trespasses is taken off, as the word importeth, and he is loosed, eased, and lightened. Sin is an intolerable burden, Isaiah 1:3, such as presseth down, Hebrews 12:1; a burden it is to God, Amos 2:13; to Christ it was, when it made him sweat water and blood; to the angels, when it brake their backs, and sunk them into hell; to men, under whom the very earth groaneth, its axle tree is even ready to crack, &c.; it could not bear Korah and his company; it spewed out the Canaaanites, &c. Oh, then, the heaped-up happiness of a justified person, disburdened of his transgressions! The word here rendered transgression signifieth treachery, and wickedness with a witness. Aben Ezra saith, David hereby intends his sin with Bathsheba; and surely this psalm and the one and fiftieth may seem to have been made upon the same occasion, they are tuned so near together. Whose sin is covered] As excrements and ordure are covered, that they may not be an eyesore or annoyance to any. Sin is an odious thing, the devil’ s drivel or vomit, the corruption of a dead soul, the filthiness of flesh and spirit. Get a cover for it, therefore (sc. Christ’ s righteousness, called a propitiation, or coverture, and raiment, Revelation 3:18), Ut sic veletur, ne in iudicio reveletur, that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear.

(1, 2) Transgression—sin—iniquity.—The same terms used here to express the compass and heinousness of sin are found, though in different order, in Exodus 34:7. For St. Paul’s reading of this passage, see Romans 4:6-7.

PSALM XXXII True blessedness consists in remission of sin, and purification of the heart, 1, 2. What the psalmist felt in seeking these blessings, 3-5. How they should be sought, 6, 7. The necessity of humility and teachableness, 8, 9. The misery of the wicked, 10. The blessedness of the righteous, 11. NOTES ON PSALM XXXII The title of this Psalm is significant, לדוד משכיל ledavid maskil, A Psalm of David, giving instruction, an instructive Psalm; so called by way of eminence, because it is calculated to give the highest instruction relative to the guilt of sin, and the blessedness of pardon and holiness or justification and sanctification. It is supposed to have been composed after David's transgression with Bath-sheba, and subsequently to his obtaining pardon. The Syriac entitles it, "A Psalm of David concerning the sin of Adam, who dared and transgressed; and a prophecy concerning Christ, because through him we are to be delivered from hell." The Arabic says, "David spoke this Psalm prophetically concerning the redemption." The Vulgate, Septuagint, and AEthiopic, are the same in meaning as the Hebrew. Verse 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven] In this and the following verse four evils are mentioned: 1. Transgression, פשע pesha. 2. Sin, חטאה chataah. 3. Iniquity, עון avon. 4. Guile, רמיה remiyah. The first signifies the passing over a boundary, doing what is prohibited. The second signifies the missing of a mark, not doing what was commanded; but is often taken to express sinfulness, or sin in the future, producing transgression in the life. The third signifies what is turned out of its proper course or situation; any thing morally distorted or perverted. Iniquity, what is contrary to equity or justice. The fourth signifies fraud, deceit, guile, c. To remove these evils, three acts are mentioned: forgiving, covering, and not imputing. 1. TRANSGRESSION, פשע pesha, must be forgiven, נשוי nesui, borne away, i.e., by a vicarious sacrifice for bearing sin, or bearing away sin, always implies this. 2. SIN, חטאה chataah, must be covered, כסוי kesui, hidden from the sight. It is odious and abominable, and must be put out of sight. 3. INIQUITY, עון anon, which is perverse or distorted, must not be imputed, לא יחשב lo yachshob, must not be reckoned to his account. 4. GUILE, רמיה remiyah, must be annihilated from the soul: In whose spirit there is no GUILE. The man whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is hidden, God having cast it as a millstone into the depths of the sea; whose iniquity and perversion is not reckoned to his account; and whose guile, the deceitful and desperately wicked heart, is annihilated, being emptied of sin and filled with righteousness, is necessarily a happy man.

1, 2. The blessedness of forgiveness. See Romans 4:6 ff. for St Paul’s use of these verses. Blessed] Or, Happy. Cp. Psalms 1:1. The first beatitude of the Psalter is pronounced on an upright life; but since “there is no man that sinneth not” (1 Kings 8:46), there is another beatitude reserved for true penitence. transgression—sin—iniquity] The words thus rendered describe sin in different aspects (1) as rebellion, or breaking away from God: (2) as wandering from the way, or missing the mark: (3) as depravity, or moral distortion. Cp. Psalms 32:5; Psalms 51:1-3; Exodus 34:7. Forgiveness is also triply described (1) as the taking away of a burden; cp. John 1:29, and the expression ‘to bear iniquity’: (2) as covering, so that the foulness of sin no longer meets the eye of the judge and calls for punishment; (3) as the cancelling of a debt, which is no longer reckoned against the offender: cp. 2 Samuel 19:19. and in whose spirit there is no guile] No deceitfulness. The condition of forgiveness on man’s part is absolute sincerity. There must be no attempt to deceive self or God. Cp. 1 John 1:8.

Blessed is he ... - On the meaning of the word “blessed,” see the notes at Psalms 1:1. See the passage explained in the notes at Romans 4:7-8.

1. Covered—This is the literal signification of the Hebrew word, and is here used synonymously with forgiven, as if, when sin is pardoned, it is hidden, put out of sight; that is, it was without further judicial recognition.