Tied to a Fencepost
Psalm 32
This psalm is a fantastic prayer that covers the complexity of confession, forgiveness, and restoration. For Christians like me who try to compress it all into “forgive me for my many sins,” we need this prayer to guide us into life giving blessing.
Psalm 32 is a song “of David” that focuses almost exclusively on confession, forgiveness, and restoration. It begins with this simple statement: “blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven” (1) and ends with “be glad in the Lord” (11). The beauty and transforming conviction of the song lie between these two bookends.
The song opens with two verses extolling the blessing of forgiveness: the Lord covers our sin (1), and the Lord no longer counts our iniquity against us (2).
The next two verses pointedly describe life under the convicting hand of the Spirit of God. When we sin, God’s hand is heavy upon us (4) which results in groaning all day long (3), our strength drying up (4), even our bones wasting away (3). This is the Old Testament way of saying that while there is a passing pleasure of sin (see Hebrews 11.25), the wages of sin is always death (see Romans 6.23). But David is saying more than just our sinful actions bring pain into our lives. David is confessing that when we sin, when we break fellowship with God, when we rebel against Him, His convicting hand is heavy upon us, a heavy hand that we can try to ignore but can’t escape.
In verse 5, David demonstrates how he found freedom from the heavy hand of the Lord: acknowledging his sins to the Lord (5), no longer trying to hide his sin (5), and confessing them to the Lord (5). Notice that this is what brings about forgiveness: “and You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (5).
The next verse is the call to all of God’s people to do what David did, to stop hiding their sin and confess their sins to the Lord. We are urged to pray like this at a time when the Lord may be found (6), which implies that the burden of conviction and the heavy hand of the Lord could be replaced by a hardened heart if we are not careful. If you are under the conviction of the Spirit, rejoice! Now is the time to take refuge in the Lord.
The next four verses seem to be the attempt of a forgiven sinner to teach sinners to confess and repent (see Psalm 51.13). When the Lord no longer counts our sin against us, He becomes our hiding place (7) and preserves us from trouble (7).
While David writes verse 8 as a word from David to his fellow sinners (“I will teach you in the way you should go”), I also hear it as a word from the Lord. Through this song, through the testimony of David, God is lovingly saying to us, to me, that He wants to teach me in the way I should go. I don’t think it is misusing the text to hear God speaking through David to us, entrusted with the word of reconciliation, God through Him calling sinners to be reconciled with God (see 2 Corinthians 5.20).
Verses 9 and 10 go together as a word of warning, but English translations hide the original Hebrew text. Verse 10 is easy enough with this simple contrast: “many are the sorrows of the wicked” (10), those who refuse to confess and repent. In contrast, the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds those who do confess and live a life trusting the Lord (10). But the image of verse 9 needs more attention.
Our English translations present the image of a horse being guided by a bit and bridle, only following the direction of the rider because the bit forces it to obey. The warning then goes something like this: don’t be like a stupid animal that can only be guided by pain and force. Instead, joyfully submit to the teachings and ways of the Lord. That will preach.
But the actual Hebrew paints a different picture.
The Hebrew literally says, “to restrain not to come close to you” (9). Consider this explanation from Duane Garrett’s commentary on Psalm 32:
Although the idea that one needs a bit and bridle to force the animal to come near makes sense, the Hebrew means “to restrain not to come close to you” which implies the opposite meaning. It is important to understand that this is not a tamed or broken beast that, even if stubborn, will accept a bit in its mouth and then can be led about according to the owner's wishes. In this context, the Hebrew does not simply mean animals “which have no understanding” as though the point were that all horses or mules are by nature stupid….this horse and mule are untrained. The “bridle and halter” are of harnesses of rope used to control a dangerous, untamed beast that might “approach” the owner with ill intent. The translation “bit” is incorrect and misleading. Therefore, the animal is not domesticated and has not yet learned to submit to having a bit in its mouth. It may bite or kick, and it must be kept restrained with ropes. The point is that sinners are hostile to God and will be treated accordingly until they recognize their guilt. (Duane Garrett, Psalm 1-72, Pillar Old Testament Commentary, 325).
In other words, don’t be like a wild animal that must be tied up, or it will hurt somebody. This is the image of living in sin, a wild beast hostile to God who will be treated accordingly until they confess and repent. This echoes the heavy hand of God (4) upon the unrepentant David.
The beauty of this prayer is the clear offer of restoration should we only confess and repent. All we have to do is to acknowledge our sin to the Lord (5), stop trying to hide it or justify it (5), and instead of being a wild and rebellious beast (9), submit to the way you should go (8) and trust the Lord (10).
What happens when we do that?
David gives his personal testimony in the last two verses (10-11): the steadfast love of the Lord surrounds those who trust in Him (10) and gladness and joy (11) replace the groaning (3) of rebellion.
The amazing hope of the gospel is that all that is required of sinners like me is to confess, repent, and trust in the Lord, so that I can be reconciled with a Holy God. I don’t have to earn my way back. I don’t have to repay the Lord for my rebellion. The Lord does not put me on probation. My forgiveness is not tethered to a performance review. If I confess my sin, He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sin (see 1 John 1.9).
Sounds like the gospel to me.
Before I close, I do want to go back to one phrase in verse 2. Hear the full verse again: “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” What is a deceitful spirit? Could it be the one who deceives himself into believing his sin is not sinful? Is this another picture of the untamed beast who must be locked up, kept away from the Lord?
Father, in the midst of this prayer is a dangerous trap that I fall into so often: deceiving myself that my sin is not sinful and that I have nothing to confess. And knowing that, I am grateful for the heavy hand of the Lord, grateful for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Father, please lay that hand heavy upon me so that my groaning under Your heavy hand never turns into a hardened heart. I don’t want to be like a stubborn animal tied to a fence post, kept away from a loving God by my own deceitful spirit.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven.