Confess and Be Forgiven – Psalm 32

A text – Psalm 32

¹ Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
² Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ While I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin. 

⁶ Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. 

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
⁹ Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    else it will not stay near you.

¹⁰ Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

A reflection:

This psalm of David is a plea that people who have sinned might confess their sins to the Lord so that they can be freed from being destroyed by the guilt and other consequences. An exceptional Old Testament scholar, James Limburg, points out that in this psalm four different words are used for sin, perhaps none of which means what we might traditionally think of when we use the word sin:

Verse 1 speaks of transgression, from the Hebrew word pasa; the sense is rebellion, like the rebellion of children against parents. Second, the word sin itself is used when the Hebrew word hata is found in the psalm, which has the sense of missing a target. Third, when we see the word iniquity, the Hebrew word is awon, which means to be bent over, twisted, or crooked. Finally, deceit is used when the Hebrew word is remiyah, which has the sense of being treacherous, or not reliable, like a weapon that backfires or cannot be depended on.

In sum, according to this psalm, the person is happy who is not rebelling against God, whose life is on track, straightened out, and marked by integrity.

Isn’t it amazing what we can learn from a Hebrew scholar? Sometimes choosing to do the wrong thing leaves us feeling we have broken a relationship through rebelling, sometimes leaves us knowing we missed or just got it wrong, sometimes leaves us feeling twisted or bent out of shape, and sometimes leaves us knowing people cannot depend on us to do the right thing. And each of these consequences can eat us up over time. David, who surely knew a lot about choosing to do the wrong thing, wanted to persuade his audience to make things right with God and be forgiven.  Confession leads to relief, which leads to joy. God is gracious and merciful.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your generous forgiveness of sins and your abundant goodness and mercy. Thank you for the poetry of David. Help us to live in forgiven relationship to you and to one another. Amen.