Psalms 32 · The Lantern

A Psalm of David. Maschil. Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned.

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

"Blessed are they whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sins are covered" [Psalm 32:1]: and whose sins are buried in oblivion.

Here begins the fourth decade of the first fifty. And just as in the first decade there are Psalms in which mention is made of the persecution by Absalom, in the second of the persecution by Saul, in the third of the persecution by the people, so in this fourth decade the tribulation that the good suffer from sinners is treated: 2 Pet.

Happy is the man unto whom HaShem counteth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

When I kept silence, my bones wore away through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my sap was turned as in the droughts of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid; I said: 'I will make confession concerning my transgressions unto HaShem' --and Thou, Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah

People had evil thoughts. They were revealed to bring them into the open and destroy them. Once they had been killed and are dead, they would cease to exist. He who died for us would kill them. For, as long as such thoughts were hidden and not brought out into the open, it was quite impossible to kill them.

When David said, "I have sinned against the Lord," Nathan replied, "The Lord has put away your sin, you will not die." He did, however, threaten to fill his house with calamities of all kinds; here too likewise, "You put away the impiety of my sin": immediately after perpetrating such things, he is saying, I should have been consigned to death according to the law, but you appl…

Then when he says "My offense." First, he sets forth the confession. Second, he shows its efficacy, at "I said, I will confess." But because a person ought to confess two things, namely, good things omitted and evil things committed, as to the first he says, "My offense," namely, that I omitted doing what I should have done, "I have made known to you" -- not that God does not k…

For this let every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely, when the great waters overflow, they will not reach unto him.

Immediately after the sin is a fitting time for confession … since a sin that lingers is entrenched.

One who is no stranger to sin ought to immerse himself in prayers of supplication. O saving medicine! To counteract the diseases of all sinners, various remedies are offered to the ill. But this is a single remedy; if it is taken with a pure mind, the poisons of all transgressions are overcome.

Here, third, he sets forth the desire of the saints for the remission of sins. And concerning this he does three things. First, the desire of the saints for this is proposed. Second, the admonition of sinners: "Do not become like the horse." Third, the Psalm concludes with thanksgiving, at "Rejoice." Concerning the first, he does two things.

Thou art my hiding-place; Thou wilt preserve me from the adversary; with songs of deliverance Thou wilt compass me about. Selah

He caused a light to shine at the prayer of the psalmist, who said, "My Joy, deliver me from those who surround me"; this being indeed true rejoicing, this being a true feast, even deliverance from wickedness, to which a person attains by thoroughly adopting an upright conversation and being approved in his mind of godly submission toward God.

"You are my refuge from the pressures, which have compassed me about:" You are my refuge from the pressure of my sins, which has compassed my heart. "O Thou, my Rejoicing, deliver me from them that compass me about" [Psalm 32:7]: in You is my joy: deliver me from the sorrow which my sins bring upon me.

Next, when he says "You are my refuge," etc., the desire of the saints is expressed in particular. And concerning this he does two things. First, he expresses the desire to be delivered. Second, the effect of that desire, at "I will give you understanding." Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he shows whence he conceives the hope of praying.

'I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will give counsel, Mine eye being upon thee.'

Diapsalma. The answer of God: "I will give you understanding, and will set you in the way in which you shall go;" I will give you understanding after confession, that you depart not from the way in which you should go; lest you wish to be in your own power. "I will fix Mine Eyes upon you" [Psalm 32:8]; so will make sure upon you My Love.

"I will give you understanding and I will instruct you in this way in which you shall walk; I will fix my eyes upon you." The Lord promises us this understanding and shows us how we ought to receive it. "I will fix my eyes upon you": the divine good pleasure accepts what we do, approving in the present and rewarding in the future.

Second, when he says "I will give you understanding," he shows the effect of his prayer. It is God who speaks: "I will give you understanding," etc. As if God were saying: you ask me to rescue you, and I will do three things for you: I will give you the gift of understanding, I will instruct you, and I will guard you. For three things are necessary for a person from God.

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, that they come not near unto thee.

Then, as for the Gentiles who used to go after gods which were no gods, He Who was God went after them, and by His words, as by a bridle, turned them from many gods to the One. This is that Mighty One, Whose preaching became a bridle in the jaws of the Gentiles, and led them away from idols to Him that sent Him.

To have a soul and not to have an understanding, that is, not to use it or to live according to it, is a beast's life. For there is in us something bestial by which we live in the flesh, but it must be ruled by the understanding.

Then when he says "With bit," the threat is set forth. And first in the manner of a prayer. Second in the manner of a prediction, at "Many." He says therefore, "With bit," etc. Speaking metaphorically: if a person conducts himself as a person, God treats him as a person, with admonitions and teachings.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked; but he that trusteth in HaShem, mercy compasseth him about.

"Many are the scourges of the sinner:" much is he scourged, who, confessing not his sins to God, would be his own ruler. "But he that trusts in the Lord, mercy compasses him about" [Psalm 32:10]; but he that trusts in the Lord, and submits himself to His rule, mercy shall compass him about.

Many are the punishments of sinners, but those who hope in the Lord, he will surround with his mercy.

Second, when he says "Many," he predicts. And first, what is prepared for the wicked: because "many are the scourges" -- from God: Ps. 49: "I will rebuke you and set the matter before your face." From one's own conscience: Prov. 12: "One is pierced as by a sword of conscience." From authority: Rom. 13: "He is an avenger in wrath against the one who does evil": Prov.

Be glad in HaShem, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Psalms32