Psalms 32

Psalms 32THEME: A psalm of instructionThis psalm has been called a spiritual gem; yet it has been misunderstood. The title is: “A Psalm of David, Maschil.” Maschil means “to give instruction” or “to understand.” This Hebrew word is used especially as it relates to the future of Israel. I can’t help but think of the seminaries today that have gone intellectual, depending on high-powered personalities and promotional programs and that type of thing to sell themselves. They emphasize the intellectual. It would be nice if they would turn to this psalm and find out that God has a future for Israel, but it requires a little spiritual gumption to get the point. I want you to see how the word maschil is used in connection with the nation Israel. In Dan_11:33 we read, “And they that understand [maschil] among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.” Again, in Dan_11:35 we read, “And some of them of understanding [maschil] shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Dan_12:3 says, “And they that be wise [maschil] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” In Dan_12:10 we read, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise [maschil] shall understand.” In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus, in speaking of the time of the trouble coming in the future for the nation Israel, says in Mat_24:15, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand [maschil]:).” The Lord was saying that when they see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, it is time to run for their lives. I don’t know what the abomination of desolation is. I have read quite a few books by men who thought they knew what it is. It took some of them two or three chapters to make it clear that they didn’t know what it is. I can say it in one sentence: I don’t know what it is. I am not looking for the abomination of desolation; I am looking for the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that at the end of Mat_24:15 the Lord said, “…whoso readeth, let him understand.” In the Book of Revelation, chapters 6-18, we are told more about the Great Tribulation period. In Revelation 13, which tells us about two beasts and the world dictatorship that is coming, we read, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Rev_13:18). Numerous books have been written about the number 666. Do you want to know what that number means? I can give you an answer: I don’t know!

Those who have written the books about the number 666 don’t know eitherthey just think they know. It will be a day when God will reveal Himself to His people. Psalms 32 is a maschil psalm. It will be instruction for God’s people in a future day. Right now it is a psalm of instruction for us. Psalms 32 has been called a penitential psalm, that is, a confession of David. I disagree with that. Psalms 51 is David’s prayer of confession after Nathan said to him, ‘Thou art the man" (2Sa_12:7). In that psalm he asks for forgiveness. In Psalms 32 is the record of the confession, the forgiveness received, and the blessedness of his complete restoration. In Psa_51:12-13 David says, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” David promises if the Lord will forgive him for his sin that he will teach sinners His ways. That is what David is doing in Psalms 32instructing. So Psalms 32 is not a penitential psalm, but one of instruction.

Psalms 32:1

David is giving instruction here. He is telling us that he had made his confession to God, was forgiven, and had found complete restoration. He found shelter in God and was given a song of deliverance. The word blessed in this verse means “happy.” We have seen this word before in Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psa_1:1). The blessedness in Psalms 1 is that which only a perfect man can enjoy. I don’t know about you, but I am not perfect. Psalms 1 actually speaks of the Lord Jesus who was the perfect man. “Blessed is the man that walketh not …that standeth not …and that sitteth not” (Paraphrase mine). That tells what the perfect man does not do. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD …” (v. Psa_1:2).

That Law condemns us. It did not condemn the Lord Jesus Christ. The law written in commandments and ordinances cannot give man blessedness. It demands a perfect obedience which man cannot attain, and thus it pronounces a curse on him. Gal_3:10 tells us, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” There is no man who can honestly say that he measures up to God’s Law. If you can say that you measure up to the Law, then you can ask the Lord Jesus to move over from the right hand of God because that is your seatyou are perfect.

Friend, neither you nor I are perfect, but the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect. In Psa_32:1 it is the blessedness of a man whose sin has been forgiven. Christ died for our sins; and, in His death as substitute for sinners, He met and satisfied the righteousness of God. So now the holy God can be a just God and a SaviorHe can be just and the justifier of all those who believe in Jesus. When faith is exercised in Christ, it is counted for righteousness. In Rom_4:5 we read, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” In this way thousands of Old Testament believers, beginning with Adam and Eve who looked for the Seed of the woman, were saved in anticipation of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. David is expressing the blessedness, the happiness of a man whose sins had been forgiven.

Psalms 32:2

God does not impute sin (or make sin over to the sinner) who trusts in Christ. That sin was put on Christ, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom_4:25). “He knew no sin, but was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (Paraphrase mine). What a wonderful thing God has done for us in Christ! David relates his experience in trying to hide his sin.

Psalms 32:3

He had sat on the throne, looked around at the crowd, and said, “Nobody here knows what I have done. Nobody knows about my sin. I have hidden it pretty well.” But David’s conscience bothered him. In fact, this verse tells us that even his bones bothered him. He began to lose weight, and his friends around him became uneasy. They felt that he needed to see a doctorthat he was probably suffering from some serious disease. But he just kept going through this agony from day to day.

Psalms 32:4

If you are a child of God, you can sin, but you cannot get by with it. That is the difference between the saved and the unsaved man. If you are a man of the world, you can get by with your sin temporarily, but a child of God cannot. The hand of God was heavy upon David day and night. Paul says, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1Co_11:31-32). If we do not judge ourselves, then God is going to judge us. God takes His own child to the woodshed for punishment. Sometime after David’s sin, the prophet Nathan came to David to reprove him, and he said, “David, I have a little story to tell you.” This is the story: “…There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man …” (2Sa_12:1-7). Then David confessed his sin.

Psalms 32:5

This is good instruction for you and me, is it not? If you are out of fellowship with God today, David in this verse tells about the way back. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn_1:9).

Psalms 32:6

When David refers to the “floods of great waters,” I think he is referring to the flood of Noah’s time. Noah was in the ark when the Flood came, and that flood which destroyed others simply lifted him up because he was in the ark. The waters of judgment could not reach Noah. There is going to be another time of great judgment coming upon the earth, but it will not be a flood of water; it will be fire. What can you do at a time like that?

Psalms 32:7

This verse ends with the word Selah, which means “to stop, look, and listen.” Think over what has been said. Selah is a musical rest, and I have a notion the orchestra did not play at this time, nor did the chorus sing. It was a time of silence so you could think over what had been sung. Think it over, friend. Have you lost fellowship with God? Do you need a hiding place? Well, God can be your hiding place.

Psalms 32:8

You have to be very close to the Lord if you are going to be guided with His eye. Now God uses a humorous comparison.

Psalms 32:9

There are many Christians who do not orbit in the will of God. They are way up in space; yet God will guide them by His overruling providence, as we learn in the little Book of Esther. He compares a believer who will not be led by God to an old hard-headed mule. It reminds me of the man in Texas who visited his friend who owned a little donkey. They hitched it to the wagon intending to take a ride and visit some mutual friends. Before they got in the wagon, the owner reached into the wagon, took out a two-by-four, and hit the donkey over the head.

The man asked his friend, “Why in the world did you do that?” His friend replied, “I do that to get his attention.” Many of us are like that donkey. That is why Scripture says, “Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle.” This psalm closes on a high note.

Psalms 32:10

Whoever you are and wherever you are, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can lift up your heart in great joy to God.