February 2008 Lectio Divina

Psalm 32
They are happy whose sins are forgiven

David speaks of the happiness of the man who is holy in God’s eyes not because of his own worth, but because God has justified him (roman 4:6)


Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.


I kept it secret and my frame was wasted.
I groaned all the day long
for night and day your hand was heavy upon me.
Indeed, my strength was dried upas by the summer’s heat.


But now I have acknowledged my sins;
my guilt I did not hide.
I said: “I will confess my offense to the Lord.”
And you, Lord, have forgiventhe guilt of my sin.


So let every good man pray to youin time of need.
The floods of water may reach highbut him they shall not reach.
You are my hiding place, O Lord; you save me from distress.
You surround me with cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach youthe way you should go;
I will give you counsel with my eye upon you.


Be not like horse and mule, unintelligent,
needing bridle and bit,
else they will not approach you.
Many sorrows has the wickedbut he who trusts in the Lord,
loving mercy surrounds him.


Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord,
exult, you just!
O come, ring out your joy,
all you upright of heart.


The joy of forgiveness is the theme of this psalm. In Christian tradition it is one of the seven penitential psalms. It was the favorite of St. Augustine. The psalm is in three parts: the first is the personal testimony of the psalmist to his experience of God’s forgiveness; the second is an instruction addressed to the congregation, possibly by the priest; finally there is a concluding call to rejoice in the Lord. The setting of the psalm is the worship of the Temple.


Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.


Woven into the exuberant joy of the psalmist is a profound analysis of the meaning of sin and forgiveness. Four different aspects of sin and forgiveness are described in the particular Hebrew words used in the opening verses of the psalm. First, sin is an offence, an act of rebellion against God, an act of disobedience which becomes a heavy burden. To be forgiven means to have the burden lifted and carried away. Second, sin is sin, wandering from God’s way and going off on our own, making a mess of things. Forgiveness means that the mess is cleaned up, put right, remitted. A better translation would be covered, or blotted out. Third, sin involves guilt, which for the psalmist led to the breakdown of his health. Forgiveness means that the Lord no longer imputes the guilt to his account. The debt is cancelled. Fourth, sin is guile, deceit, cover-up; forgiveness means that inner purity is restored: in his spirit is no guile. Repentance and confession can only come when deceit is renounced.


I kept it secret and my frame was wasted.
I groaned all the day long
for night and day your hand
was heavy upon me.
Indeed, my strength was dried up
as by the summer’s heat.


Refusing to face up to our wrongdoing, keeping it secret, stifling our conscience, means that sin becomes like a festering sore which eats away at body and soul. We groan in self-pity. We loose all vitality and enthusiasm for living, and become like a wilting plant in the mid-summer’s heat. The psalmist sees that even this self-imposed anguish is the discipline of the Lord: Your hand was heavy upon me. Lovingly the Lord brings him to the point of repentance.


But now I have acknowledged my sins…


The same words which described the reality of sin in the first part of the psalm (sin, guilt, offence) are all used to show the completeness of the psalmist’s confession. Honest confession, giving up deceit and pretence, leads to forgiveness. ‘He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.’ (Proverbs 28:18)


So let every good man…


The psalmist now turns to the congregation to exhort them to turn from their sins to the Lord and find mercy.


The floods of water


Here we have a picture of the build-up of unconfessed sin and the trouble it brings as being like a torrent rushing down a dry stream bed after heavy rain, sweeping all before it. The cries of deliverance are the shouts of joy from the psalmist’s fellow worshippers in the Temple.


I will instruct you and teach you
the way you should go;


Here begins the word of instruction from the Lord. It is the Lord who is speaking. He is the I in this verse. The verse is a prophetic word given by the priest to the newly-pardoned sinner (the you in this verse is singular) assuring him of the Lord’s guidance, but it is a word spoken in the presence of the whole congregation and is intended to encourage and instruct them too.


Be not like horse and mule, unintelligent,
needing bridle and bit,
else they will not approach you.


It is better to submit willingly to the Lord than to need his heavy hand of discipline. If we do not approach the Lord readily, to confess our sins and receive his guidance, then we are like dumb animals (horse and mule, unintelligent) needing force to make us go in the right direction.


Many sorrows has the wicked
but he who trusts in the Lord,
loving mercy surrounds him.


This verse summarizes the Old Testament teaching on the two ways. The way of life is to trust in the Lord and experience his mercy. The way of death is the way of the wicked, the way of unrelieved sorrow.


Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord
exult, you just!


The psalm concludes with a call to the congregation to join the psalmist in his joy.


Commentary from ‘The School of Prayer’ – an Introduction to the Divine Office for All Christians, by John Brook, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota (1992).