From the first time I read it ’till this day, Psalm 32 remains one of my favorite Psalms…maybe because from the first time I read it ’till now I am very aware of the merciful forgiveness I need in my life.

Verses 1 & 2,

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!”

are a comparison to the 3rd & 4th verses,

“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.”

and then verse 5a & 5b is a testimony of how he got out of verses 3 & 4 and into the feeling of verses 1 & 2,

“I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;

Verse 5c is then God’s response to David’s actions in 5a & 5b,

“And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.”

Verse 6a is then an appeal for people when necessary to seek the Lord as he did,

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;”

And verse 6b is a warning that there will come a time when it is “too late,”

“Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.”

Verse 7 is an expression of gratitude,

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.”

Verses 8 & 9 is God talking to all of us on how to avoid verses 3 & 4,

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.”

Verse 10 is David speaking from experience as to why we should heed God’s counsel in verses 8 & 9,

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.

Then verse 11 is the closing statement of encouragement and instruction,

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

So basically David in 11 verses preached to us an entire sermon on the power of forgiveness…it would take me 25 minutes to paint the picture he painted in 11 verses.

Oh how this sinful man loves and needs the reminder of this beautiful psalm. When I sin don’t wait to go to Jesus run to Him and seek Him and be made whole and then grow from that…don’t be like the horse but listen to God so that I don’t end-up in the same spot again. And finally rejoice because above I was a sinner but as a forgiven sinner I am a righteous one & upright in heart!

Tomorrow’s Reading: Job 21 & 22