4 When by day and by night Thy hand is heavy upon me, My moisture hath been changed Into the droughts of summer. Selah.
For consumed in smoke have been my days, And my bones as a fire-brand have burned. Smitten as the herb, and withered, is my heart, For I have forgotten to eat my bread.
And the hand of Jehovah is heavy on the Ashdodites, and He maketh them desolate, and smiteth them with emerods, Ashdod and its borders. And the men of Ashdod see that `it is' so, and have said, `The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'
For Thine arrows have come down on me, And Thou lettest down upon me Thy hand. Soundness is not in my flesh, Because of Thine indignation, Peace is not in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities have passed over my head, As a heavy burden -- too heavy for me. Stunk -- become corrupt have my wounds, Because of my folly. I have been bent down, I have been bowed down -- unto excess, All the day I have gone mourning. For my flanks have been full of drought, And soundness is not in my flesh. I have been feeble and smitten -- unto excess, I have roared from disquietude of heart.
Turn aside from off me Thy stroke, From the striving of Thy hand I have been consumed. With reproofs against iniquity, Thou hast corrected man, And dost waste as a moth his desirableness, Only, vanity `is' every man. Selah.
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.