Psalms 32:1-11: a reflection

1Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man to whom the LORD doesn’t impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah. 5I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 6For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him. 7You are my hiding place. You will preserve me from trouble. You will surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you. 9Don’t be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you. 10Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in the LORD. 11Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!

This psalm opens with a beatitude of relief and joy: blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered; blessed is the one against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit. To be forgiven, to have one's sin covered and no longer held against them, is named as one of the deepest blessings a person can know. The psalm is a celebration of what it feels like to be free of guilt.

But David also describes the misery that came before that relief, the toll of unconfessed sin. When I kept silent, he says, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long; day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength dried up. Hiding his sin, refusing to confess it, ate at him from the inside. And then the turning point: I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin. The moment he stopped hiding and confessed, forgiveness and relief came flooding in.

This psalm charts the way from the misery of hidden sin to the blessedness of forgiveness, and the path runs through honest confession. If you are carrying unconfessed sin, you may know the toll David describes, the inner heaviness, the sapped strength, the groaning. The relief comes not by hiding it longer but by bringing it into the open before God. Confess your sin honestly, and discover the blessedness of being forgiven, of having your guilt lifted, of finding God to be your hiding place, surrounding you with songs of deliverance. Do not stay silent. Confess, and be free.

Lord, David knew the misery of hidden sin, his strength sapped, his bones wasting, until he confessed and you forgave, and joy came flooding in. Where I am carrying unconfessed sin, give me the courage to stop hiding and bring it honestly to you. Let me know the blessedness of being forgiven, my guilt lifted, and find you to be my hiding place, surrounding me with songs of deliverance. I confess to you now; make me free. Amen.