Catholic Commentary on Psalm 32

"Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." (Psalm 32:1)

The Blessedness of Forgiveness

Psalm 32 is the second of the seven Penitential Psalms and one of the psalms St. Augustine loved most. He reportedly had it inscribed on the wall beside his bed so it was the last thing he saw before sleeping. It opens with a beatitude of forgiveness: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. Three words for sin and three words for forgiveness: transgression is lifted away, sin is covered, iniquity is not counted. The completeness is deliberate. God's forgiveness is not partial. It addresses every dimension of human failure.

David then describes what happens when sin is not confessed: When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. The unconfessed sin is not neutral. It has a physical and emotional weight. It produces the groaning that David identifies not as external circumstances but as the consequence of refusing to acknowledge what he knows to be true. Suppressed guilt does not dissipate. It accumulates.

The Act of Confession

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. And you forgave the guilt of my sin. The relief is immediate and total. This is the dynamic of the Sacrament of Confession: the weight that accumulated in silence is released the moment it is named before God. The Catechism teaches that the movement from concealment to acknowledgment is itself a grace, the work of the Holy Spirit convicting of sin and drawing the sinner toward the mercy that is always available (CCC 1455).

Be a Mule No More

God speaks from within the psalm: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. The concluding exhortation is vivid: do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle. The person who requires painful external compulsion before they respond to God is less rational than an animal, because they are resisting the one who loves them. Surround the Lord with your songs, rejoice in him, and receive the steadfast love he pours out on those who trust him.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the bones-wasting groaning of unconfessed sin is a familiar inner experience for most people, even if we do not name it as such. The relief of confession is also available to most and rarely taken. Psalm 32 is the testimony of someone who tried concealment and found it unbearable, who tried confession and found it liberating. Go to Confession. Let the bones find rest.

Prayer

Lord God, blessed is the one whose sin you do not count against them. I acknowledge my sin to you. I do not cover up my iniquity. Forgive the guilt of my sin and surround me with songs of deliverance. Be my hiding place, my deliverer, the one who preserves me. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

32
The Joy of Forgiveness
(Romans 4:1–12)
Of David. A Maskil.* 32:0 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.
 
1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.† 32:1 LXX Blessed is he whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered; cited in Romans 4:7
2 Blessed is the man
whose iniquity the LORD does not count against him,‡ 32:2 LXX Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him; cited in Romans 4:8
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
 
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
Your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was drained § 32:4 Or my vitality was turned
as in the summer heat.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not hide my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let all the godly pray to You
while You may be found.
Surely when great waters rise,
they will not come near.
7 You are my hiding place.
You protect me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will give you counsel and watch over you.
9 Do not be like the horse or mule,
which have no understanding;
they must be controlled with bit and bridle
to make them come to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
 
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones;
shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

*^ 32:0 Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142.

†32:1 32:1 LXX Blessed is he whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered; cited in Romans 4:7

‡32:2 32:2 LXX Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him; cited in Romans 4:8

§32:4 32:4 Or my vitality was turned

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