In Church History: A Penitential Psalm

Psalm 32 is one of the 7 Psalms that have traditionally been called the Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51,102, 130, 143). They have a rich history in the life of the church.

The first work that Luther published in German was his Explanation of the Seven Penitential Psalms in the year 1517. He set forth the doctrines of human sin, the grace of God, and comfort of the gospel in a way that was accessible to common people (www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc7.ii.ii.xv.html). Luther’s intent in this publication was to edify his congregation. This exposition prepared the way for the 95 Theses, the first of which calls for repentance—When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent,” He called for the entire of life of believers to be one of repentance (http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm).

This psalm was Augustine’s favorite. While on his deathbed, he had the words of Psalm 32 inscribed on his bedroom wall, so he could read them and be reminded both of his sinfulness and of God’s grace (Word, Craigie, p. 268). This psalm fits well with Agustine’s motto: the beginning of knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner (intelligentia prima est ut et noris peccatorem) (Delitzsch, Psalms, p. 393).

In the Psalter: Thanksgiving and Wisdom

Psalm 32 is not only a Penitential Psalm, it also has the characteristics of a Thanksgiving Psalm (vv3-8) and a Wisdom Psalm (vv 1-2, 8-11). Indeed, it seems to be an adaptation of a Thanksgiving psalm to the wisdom tradition (wisdom= vv1,2, 8-11; thanksgiving= vv3-7) (EBC, p. 270). Psalm 32 picks up on the wisdom theme introduced to us in the First Psalm where the Blessed man is described. For the first time since Psalm 1, the word Blessed is used. We understand then that the Blessed man of Psalm 1 is not blessed not because he has no sin, but because his sins are forgiven.

The Message of the Psalm

The Psalmist begins with the conclusion (vv1-2). In every sermon preparation class I have ever had, the professors always taught us to start with the conclusion in writing the sermon. I have a hard time with that because I am always surprised by what I find in the text. So, I have no idea where this sermon is going, and we will all by surprised by the ending. The best novels are those whose endings shock the authors themselves.

An Unexpected Conclusion

David here begins his song with the refrain. The conclusion that he reach is hilariously unexpected. It is the same conclusion that Paul reached on the Damascus Road, that shut the Temple gates in Acts 21:30, that conquered Rome and transforms human cultures, that ignited the reformation, that divides the so-called evangelical world today, and that radically gladdens sinners. Psalm 32 is a studied reflection of the surprising kindness of God in forgiving sin and the resulting joy that comes to those whom God justifies.

Based on the Word of God

How does David know that those whose sins are forgiven, covered, and not counted against them are blessed? He reached such a conclusion because of His own experience with God. David’s conclusion is not based on merely the subjectivity of personal experience. Its foundation is rooted in Scripture. It is faith created by the Word of God. Most commentators feel that this psalm was written after Psalm 51. David knew that the law provided no sacrifice for his highhanded sin of adultery, murder, and shame. Yet, he fled to God casting himself on the mercy of God.

Two Common Conclusions

Why is this conclusion so unexpected? Why would David do this? Is this not insane? Is this not suicide? David knows the penalty is death. This has huge implications. He knew well Saul’s story. He was intimate with God’s judgment on the house of Saul. On the one hand, why not hide? Why not make an alliance and hold on to life and power as long as you can? Why not cast off all restraint and plunge into unspeakable evil? Why run to the very God who threatens you? David did not run out to Goliath saying, “Save me, Goliath!”

On the other hand, why not come to the conclusion that God is soft on sin? He really does not care. After all when Nathan approached David, David was securely on the throne, and no enemy was knocking on the door. All Israel was united under his rule. In fact, David was at the top of his game. A reasonable man would conclude that not only did his indiscretion not incur God’s displeasure, but God was blessing him.

These two reasonable conclusions about God are deadly, but they are the unsurprising conclusions that most people reach. People generally either think of God is a harsh, killjoy against whom they rebel in casting off restraint or God is aloof and doesn’t care. The one justifies sin as a brave rebellion; the other justifies sin by covering it in the politically correct language of a culture in moral decline.

Faith Created by the Word of God

In the same law from which David learned his guilt before God, he learned of the gracious character of God. A towering character in the law books is Abraham. David knew that the law says, Abraham believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). In fact, David uses the same word, counts (Ps. 32:2), as is used of Abraham in Genesis 15:6. Could David take the case of Abraham and conclude that God may yet be gracious to him and count him righteous by simply trusting His mercy? Paul reached such a conclusion by bringing the case of Abraham and David together in Romans 4 (v 3 and 6-8).

Notice in Paul’s mind there is no difference in saying, by faith we are counted righteous and in saying, sin is not counted against us. If we are going to have joy and victory, we must connect the forgiveness of our sins with the doctrine of justification by faith. So much misery and unhappiness exists today in the lives of professing believers. Ascetic practices and self-condemnation in an attempt to atone for sin while trusting Jesus are robbing a multitude of the happiness of knowing their sins are forgiven. It is a contradiction to trust Jesus and live under condemnation.

Paul brings together in Romans the Law and the Prophets as an OT witness to the truth that there is only one way to be saved. God must count you righteous or impute His righteousness to you through faith in Christ alone.

Let me preach the gospel to you today. There has been a triple imputation. When Adam fell, God counted us all in sin and under the reign of death. God is right in this. Something is wrong, desperately wrong in the world. It is sin serving death. In every generation and all over the globe the problem is the same—sin and death.

When it pleased God, He sent His Son born under the law, subject to the law of God—the same law that clearly shows every man to be under the reign of sin. Christ, the Son of God, lived a sinless life and offered Himself in our behalf to satisfy the justice and turn away the wrath of God. If He had no sin, how could he be cursed of God? God counted Him guilty of our sin, that is, God imputed our sin to Christ. Christ in His death for us, put away our sin, and in His resurrection is the ground of our justification. In the same way that God counted Him, the Sinless One, guilty of our sin, God now counts His righteousness to us, the sinful ones, when we believe. Through faith God unites us to Christ, so, as Lee says, what is true of Christ is now true of us.

Do you see what a wicked thing it is to trust Christ and live under self-imposed condemnation? Do you see what a sinful, joy killing, prideful thought it is to think that in some way we may merit one second of divine favor? Like David, the very God who threatens you, is the one to Whom you must flee for mercy.

The superscription attributes this psalm to David and designates it a maskil. The same root is found in verse 8 in the words instruct and teach. As a result some say the psalm is a teaching psalm. Every psalm that has this superscription could not be so characterized. Whatever the term means, all would agree it impacted the way the psalm was accompanied and sung. Music is interpretation. Music should invoke feelings. As we approach this psalm, we must not only understand its message, but we also must feel its truth. Our affections for Christ are to be awakened in the message of this song.

Reflecting on the kindness of God in dealing with sinners we see:

Happiness comes to us through God’s Justification of Sinners by faith alone (vv1-2).

To be blessed means happy. This psalm not only speaks to our
standing with God but also our state in God. Those who are happy in God are not those who have not sinned, but the rather those whom God has forgiven their sin. The law promised blessing to those who kept it and cursing to those who broke it. We live in the blessing of God because of the merit of Christ. Christ not only paid for our sin, he purchased our blessedness. This is why the psalmist two times calls those blessed whose transgression is forgiven, sin is covered, and iniquity is not counted. There is no difference between transgression being forgiven and sin being covered and iniquity not being counted. To be justified is to be forgiven transgression, have sin covered, and iniquity not counted.

          Notice these verses use three different words for sin. Transgression is rebellion against God; sin is turning away from what pleases or glorifies God (c.f. Rom 3:23); iniquity is the conscious intent to do wrong. The poetic use of these synonyms for sin is intended to show us the full dimensions of human evil (Craigie, Word, p. 266).

          The psalmist also, in parallel structure, uses three different words for forgiveness. Forgiveness means carried away—the removal of sin, guilt, and the remembrance of it; covered is the gracious act of atonement that reconciles us to God and is the ground of not incurring God’s displeasure; counted declaring us not guilty.
          If the three words for sin show us the totality of human evil, the three words for God’s dealing with our sin show us the sin overwhelming greatness of God’s grace. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
          These verses beg for two things. First, what these verses beg for is implied in the meaning of terms. In the OT and the NT, there is not a hit of the putting away of sin without payment. God’s justice must be satisfied. If forgiveness is to have sins carried away, someone must carry them. If sin being covered is atonement, there must be blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat that covers the broken law of God (Boice, p. 279). If iniquity is not counted to us, it must be counted to someone. This psalm calls for someone to pay for our sin. God on the basis of the merit of Christ justifies sinners. He delights in doing so. What an amazing conclusion!

Justifying Faith Always Produces True Repentance (vv3-5)

          A second thing these verses beg for is repentance. Sin is forgiven, covered, and not counted in those who are without deceit. Forgiveness is conditioned on confession of sin. We are justified by faith in Christ alone, but that does not mean that repentance is not necessary. True repentance immediately follows faith. It is produced by faith. Paul called for repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). It is a mistake to think of these two words as mutually exclusive ideas. There is no faith without repentance, and there is no repentance without faith. Where there is deceit, there is neither faith nor repentance.
          Faith and repentance are not the same things, but they are inseparable graces. The one is produced by the other. Both are the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Some today want to make both faith and repentance into human works. In Romans 4, Paul destroys that idea. Paul held faith and works in antithesis. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Rom 4:4, 5).
          The psalmist recounts his own experience of the discovery and confession of his sin.
First, notice psalmist recounting the deceitfulness of his sin (vv 3-4). His silence was his attempt to conceal his sin. This is borne out in the words he uses in his confession in verse 5—acknowledge, cover, and confess. He refused to the make a connection between the state of his mental, emotional, and physical deterioration and his sin. You can see in verse 3 inward struggle that impacted him in his health in verse 4. He refused to see that God’s hand was heavy on his life.
We tell ourselves we can handle our sin. We can control our impulses. We won’t do the thing again. We can overcome our indiscretions. We rationalize and tell ourselves we should not feel bad. We compartmentalize our sin, so that we disassociate it from the rest of life. It is as if we are not the ones committing our own sin. Acts of homosexuality, adultery, and sexual promiscuity belong to a private disassociated world. Pornographic addiction is reasoned to have no impact on relationships. We are like the person in his car that is singing like a rock star not realizing that everybody can see him. Don’t you realize that God’s hand is heavy upon you?
We know the story of how Nathan went to David and told him a parable of a rich man and poor man, of the rich taking the poor man’s lamb, and feeding his guest. David was angered. Nathan said to David, You are the man. David confessed his sin. (2 Sam 12)
Notice David recounting the confession of his sin (v 5). He uses all the words for sin that he used in verses 1-2 only with even more emphasis—sin, iniquity, transgression, iniquity, sin. To further show the intensity of his confession, David used three words for confession—acknowledge, not cover, and confess. This is a picture of confession without deceit. It was complete, comprehensive, nothing held back.
The Lord’s response was immediate. David awakened from the deception of so-called secret sin and uncovered his sin. Immediately, God covered it. Look at the second and third lines of verse 5—I said I will confess and you forgave.
This is like the prodigal son, who in the pigpen of sin, said I will arise and go to my Father, and I will say to him, Father I have sinned.... The next thing we read is that while he was a great way off, his Father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Before the son could open his mouth, the Father was embracing him.
This is repentance brought about by faith. In faith, we see the glory and mercy of Christ. The sight of such mercy teaches us to love God and grieve over and hate our sin. Repentance is a change of mind about God and sin brought about by faith.
To think that God will not forgive or to think that He will overlook sin is to be without faith and repentance. Repentance as Luther stated is a grace that remains. It is not something believers do once. It is a disposition of heart and mind that turns from sin to God. It’s not that Christians don’t sin. They do. They just repent. If they don’t repent, they are not Christians.

God is Mightily for Those Whom He Forgives (vv6-11).

As those who stand forgiven we have every reason to glad in the Lord and rejoice and shout for joy (v11). God is not only not against us, He is mightily for us in Christ. All joy and all gladness that is grounded in some other reality other than God’s grace to us in Christ is a nothing more than a short-lived hallucination, a mirage, in the dry desert heat of fading life that is headed to hell. Baseless joy is nothing more than a thrill ride on a rollercoaster that has lost its track at the bottom of the hill. Gladness in God is so different. It is grounded in the finished work of Christ in our behalf.
In these verses final verses (vv6-11), the psalmist gives us a series of contrasts that magnify how God is for us.

He Hides, Preserves, Surrounds us with Shouts of Deliverance. (vv 6-7)

Based on his own thrilling experience of divine mercy, David admonishes the godly to call out to God in this day of grace. Who are these godly ones? They are sinners who repent. David reasoned that if God had been gracious to him, others can dare to think that God would deal kindly with them too.
Look how God is for those who call on Him. Not only is He found of them, in the deluge of judgment, He hides, preserves, and surrounds with shouts of deliverance.
Isaiah said, Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon (55:6-7).
How different the wicked! They are not sensible that a day is coming when God’s wrath without mercy will overwhelm them like a sudden deluge that unleashes the uncontrollable power of a flood. Flee to Christ. He will hid you, preserve you, and surround you with shouts of deliverance. There can be no presumption that we will ever have another opportunity to repent, to cry out to God for mercy than right now. The danger of the unrepentant man cannot be exaggerated.

God Guides us in this Life (vv 8-9)

God is mightily for us in that He guides us. He is not giving us some one size-fits-all advice for better living. Intimately, His eye is on us. Who’s looking out for you? Bill O’Reilly? Look at the contrast in freedom of God guiding His own and how a horse or mule is guided. God guides His own.
The wicked are not teachable. God restrains them in their sin. Yet, they are insensible to their sin and the cause of all their misery.

God Surrounds those who trust Him with Steadfast Love (v10)

          Verse 10 brings us right back the truth of justification by faith alone. Those who trust in the LORD are surrounded by God’s loving kindness. If we are justified by faith alone, if trust is necessary to be surrounded by steadfast love, then, what does it mean to have faith? Saving faith involves 3 things. First, saving faith involves knowledge of the content of faith, the information to be received, understood and believed (Faith Alone, 77-78). Second, saving faith involves intellectual assent or acceptance of the content of the gospel. We know the content of the gospel, and we either believe that Christ lived a perfect life, died for our sin, and was raised for our justification, or we don’t (Getting, p 168). Third, saving faith is personal trust and reliance on Christ and the gospel. This is what the psalmist is getting at here. This is the affective element of faith. We know the gospel and have heartfelt love and affection for Christ. Saving faith not only knows the content of the gospel and gives assent to its truth, it is also awakened to the sweetness, loveliness, and beauty of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Faith Alone, 85).
Not so the wicked. Many know the propositions of the gospel and give assent to their truth. Yet, they lack any affection for Christ. Even the devils have knowledge and give assent to its truth, but they hate Christ. As surely as God’s surrounds His people with His beauty, He surrounds the wicked with sorrows.
Conclusion:      Let’s look for Christ in this psalm. We can see Him sing this psalm in the congregation. He knew the blessing that would come to us when our sin would be counted to Him and His righteousness counted to us. He stands ready to forgive our sin. Trust Him, acknowledge your sin, confess your sin, and he will forgive. The totality of our sin was laid on Him so that we may be glad and rejoice in Him.
He has surrounded us with shouts of deliverance from the end time judgment of God. He took the full deluge of God’s wrath; He drank the bitter cup of divine justice and cried, It is finished. He surrounds us with God’s loving kindness.
          As we come to the Lord’s Table, we come realizing that we are justified by faith alone.

Blessed is the One Whose Transgression is Forgiven