5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity I covered not; I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah, and *thou* forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us [our] sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
And coming to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have abundance of bread, and *I* perish here by famine. I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he rose up and went to his own father. But while he was yet a long way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his bondmen, Bring out the best robe and clothe him in [it], and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:
And they that remain of you shall waste away through their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also through the iniquities of their fathers shall they waste away with them. And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, through their unfaithfulness wherein they were unfaithful to me, and also that they have walked contrary unto me,
For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, be clear when thou judgest. Behold, in iniquity was I brought forth, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 32
Commentary on Psalms 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 32
Ps 32:1-11. Maschil—literally, "giving instruction." The Psalmist describes the blessings of His forgiveness, succeeding the pains of conviction, and deduces from his own experience instruction and exhortation to others.
1, 2. (Compare Ro 4:6).
forgiven—literally, "taken away," opposed to retain (Joh 20:23).
covered—so that God no longer regards the sin (Ps 85:3).
2. imputeth—charge to him, and treat him accordingly.
no guile—or, deceit, no false estimate of himself, nor insincerity before God (compare Ro 8:1).
3, 4. A vivid description of felt, but unacknowledged, sin.
When—literally, "for," as in Ps 32:4.
4. thy hand—of God, or power in distressing him (Ps 38:2).
moisture—vital juices of the body, the parching heat of which expresses the anguish of the soul. On the other figures, compare Ps 6:2, 7; 31:9-11. If composed on the occasion of the fifty-first Psalm, this distress may have been protracted for several months.
5. A prompt fulfilment of the purposed confession is followed by a prompt forgiveness.
6. For this—that is, my happy experience.
godly—pious in the sense of Ps 4:3.
a time—(Isa 55:6); when God's Spirit inclines us to seek pardon, He is ready to forgive.
floods, &c.—denotes great danger (Ps 18:17; 66:12).
7. His experience illustrates the statement of Ps 32:6.
8. Whether, as most likely, the language of David (compare Ps 51:13), or that of God, this is a promise of divine guidance.
I will … mine eye—or, My eye shall be on thee, watching and directing thy way.
9. The latter clause, more literally, "in that they come not near thee"; that is, because they will not come, &c., unless forced by bit and bridle.
10. The sorrows of the impenitent contrasted with the peace and safety secured by God's mercy.
11. The righteous and upright, or those conforming to the divine teaching for securing the divine blessing, may well rejoice with shouting.