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PSALMS CHAPTER 32
OBSERVATION STAGE
The purpose of
the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand within the
normative rules of language, context and logic 
.which largely limits the observer to the
content offered by passage at hand. Other passages must have a
relationship with the context at hand, such as a Scriptural quotation or
reference in the passage at hand. This will serve to avoid going on
unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more importantly, it will provide the
framework for a proper and objective comparison with passages located
elsewhere in Scripture.
Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.
(v. 1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,
(v. 2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
(v. 3 NAS) When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
(v. 4 NAS) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat [lit. droughts] of summer;
(v. 5 NAS) I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;' And You forgave the guilt of my sin."
(v. 1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, (v. 2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Notice that the three nouns used for sin cover every kind of sinful expression of mankind:
(v. 1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" =
[TWOT #1846a, vol 2 pp. 741-42]:
"This masculine noun designates those who reject God's authority... Predominately pesha' is rebellion against God's law and covenant and thus the term is a collective which denotes the sum of misdeeds and a fractured relationship [with God]. Not only does pesha' create a gulf between God and man, it generates distortions within himself, i.e., a tendencey to hide his actions (Job 34:6), deceitfulness (Prov 28:24), apathy (Ps 36:1), illness (Ps 107:17), a love for strife (Prov 17:19), a sense of enslavement (Prov 12:13), easily angered (Prov 29:22), hypocritical worship (Isa 58:1) and a sense of defilement (Ezk 14:11). In one case, pesha' is depicted as a heavy, crushing wieight (Isa 24:20)."
(v. 4:7 NAS) " 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.' "
Paul renders the Hebrew word "pesha" = "transgression" in Psalm 32:1 for his letter to the Romans in verse 4:7 in the Greek as "anomiai" = "lawless deeds" which accurately reflects the idea of deliberate violation of a known law of behavior, with the Jew and the Mosaic Law especially in view as part of the context theme begun in Romans 3:1.
Psalms 32:3-4 describes the author, David, (ref. Ro 4:6), during a particular time when he kept silent about certain sins before God. He tried to hide his iniquity, neither acknowledging, nor confessing his transgressions to God. Hence he was deceitful about his sins by not confessing them to Him. So he did not receive God's forgiveness nor the emotional and physical blessings that accompany it.
(v. 1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" =
[TWOT #638d, vol 1 p.277]:
"The basic meaning of the root is to miss a mark or a way.... the concept of failure is implied... the object is either God or His laws... In so acting, man is missing the goal or standard God has for him, is failing to observe the requirements of holy living, or falls short of spiritual wholeness. Thus like other words related to the notion of 'sin' it assumes an absolute standard of law. But, whereas pesha' signifies a revolt against the standard,' and 'awâ means either 'to deviate from the standard' or 'to twist the standard,' hata' means 'to miss, to fall short of the standard."
(v. 2 NAS) "How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." =
[TWOT, #1577a, vol 2 p. 650]:
"Iniquity, guilt or punishment for guilt... The noun is a collective [which reflects a pattern of behavior]. The widow of Zarephath complains to Elihah that he came to 'bring my perversion/iniquity... (singular) to remembrance" (1 Kgs 17:18)... It denotes both the deed [sin] and its consequences [punishment], the misdeed and its punishment.
Notice that the three words, rendered "transgression', 'sin', and 'iniquity' overlap in meaning, and cover all that man does outside of the will of God.
" 'Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD will not take into account.' "
Paul renders the Hebrew word "pesha" = "transgression" in Psalm 32:2 for his letter to the Romans in verese 4:8 in the Greek as "hamartian" = "sin", singular which is a broad term for all that man does outside of the will of God, i.e., all of his iniquities.
which accurately reflects the idea of deliberate violation of a known law of behavior, with the Jew and the Mosaic Law especially in view as part of the context theme begun in Romans 3:1.
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, (ps 32:2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
The three verbs in verses 3:1-2 express a complete and absolute forgiveness of all sins in whose spirit there is no deceit, (ps 32:2b), i.e., when those sins are acknowledged (confessed) to God, (vv. Ps 32:35):
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" =
"nasa" literally means "carried away." It connotes the act of removal of sin, guilt, and the remembrance of sin
[TWOT #1421, vol 2 pp. 600-601: 'No doubt the classical expression of this meaning is to be found in Ps 32:1, 5. Sin can be forgiven and forgotten, because it is taken up and carried away']
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" =
"kasa" means "is covered" It depicts God's grace when via an atonement for sin by which the sinner is reconciled to God and the individual's sin is a matter of the past, so that the LORD does not bring it up anymore as a ground for His displeasure. It is as if the sin is hidden.
[TWOT #1008, vol 1 pp. 448-449: 'It is probably the meaning 'hide' that leads to the sense, forgive. In the well-known verse, Ps 32:1, 'cover'... is paralleled by 'forgive'. The word is used in ps 32:5 in the sense of 'hide.' Psalm 85:2 is very similar and has the same parallel 'forgive'. This sense also occurs in Neh 4:5 where the parallel is 'blot out'. In prov 17:9 and 28:13 the meaning is likely 'conceal'... It has been argued, more on the basis of 'atone' which some translate 'cover,' that the OT sacrifices merely covered sin until it was dealt with de facto on the cross. This view of course has the truth that the blood of bulls and goats could not pay the price of sin in the OT. But it seems that we should say that the OT sin was indeed forgiven by God on the basis of the final sacrifice to come. The OT sacrifices were symbolic and typical but the forgiveness was real.]
(ps 32:2 NAS) "How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." =
"hashab" means "counted" or "imputed". In verse 2 it appears in the negative, i.e., does not impute or does not count. It expresses God's attitude toward those forgiven as not having their iniquity counted against them.
[TWOT #767 vol 1 pp. 329-330: 'More significantly, God is spoken of as imputing. Abraham believed God and God 'counted' (imputed) it to him for righteousness (Gen 15:6...). David states that the man is blessed to whom the LORD 'imputes' not iniquity (Ps 32:2...)]
So verses 1 & 2 contain the phrase rendered "How blessed is" which describes an individual (1) whose transgression is forgiven (2) whose sin is not covered (3) whose iniquity God does not impute to him (4) With the phrase "How blessed is.." which is repeated, there is an expression of joyous expectation of blessing in these verses due to confession of ones sins which is contrasted with the picture painted in vv. 3 & 4 wherein is described much physical and emotional distress as a result of being silent about ones sins before God.
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, (ps 32:2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (ps 32:3 NAS) When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. (ps 32:4 NAS) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat [lit. droughts] of summer; (ps 32:5 NAS) I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;' And You forgave the guilt of my sin." =
"ruach" = "spirit."
The meaning which best fits the context is the human mentality. Since it is implied that the particular spirit in view in this verse can have deceit, and since the spirit is depicted as a man's, then the word rendered "spirit", (Heb 'ruach'), in this context refers to the human mentality which is stipulated as needing to be without deceit relative to being honest about ones sins before God such that one qualifies for forgiveness by confessing them.
[Compare TWOT #2131a vol II p. 837]:
("ruach" = "spirit") "The principle of man's rational and immortal life, and possesses reason, will, and conscience." The phrase "and in whose spirit there is no deceit' qualifies the one who receives complete forgiveness from all offenses toward God stipulated in ps 32:1 and 2.
The meaning of the phrase "without deceit" is established in the next three verses. Notice the phrase "When I kept silent about my sin" in verse 3:3 which being silent caused the author's body to waste away, his vitality to drain away, (ps 32:3-4). And when the sin was acknowledged before God through confession, forgiveness was the result, (ps 32:5). Hence the phrase "without deceit" which is stipulated as necessary in order to receive forgiveness has in view not hiding ones sins, i.e., a complete confession of them in order to receive forgiveness. The phrase "and in whose spirit there is no deceit" cannot refer to one who is never deceitful, for there is no one who never deceives except the Messiah Himself, Jesus Christ.
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, (ps 32:2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (ps 32:3 NAS) When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. (ps 32:4 NAS) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat [lit. droughts] of summer; (ps 32:5 NAS) I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;' And You forgave the guilt of my sin." =
Verses 1 and 2 reflect on how blessed is the forgiveness of ones sins before God in whose [human] spirit there is no deceit relative to sins committed during a particular time; i.e., ones sins are acknowledged/ confessed to God by a believer and not hidden from God wherein one keeps silent about them. Contrary to some who hold that ps 32:1 & 2 have justification by faith alone unto eternal life in view, verses 3-5 continue the context of ps 32:1 & 2 which is the forgiveness of current sins through confession by a believer. Notice that verse 3 begins with the phrase "When I kept silent about my sin..." referring to David, a believer, which immediately connects to and continues what is being said in verses 1 & 2 relative to forgiveness of sins. The book of Psalms, which is largely the work of David, to which Paul testifies, depicts David as a believer who repeatedly looks to the LORD GOD for deliverance from his enemies and for forgivenenss of his sins.
"Is not my house right with God? Has He not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will He not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?"
[Notice that David refers to an everlasting covenant that God has made with him, one which includes a promise of salvation which has been arranged and secured in every part. So forgiveness of current sins as stipulated in Psalm 32 cannot be about a promise of salvation, for that David has already received through God's everlasting covenant with him which is secure]
2 Sam 23:5 corroborates the context of verses Ps 32:1-2 being a particular time in ones life relative to particular sins being acknowledged and forgiven by a believer. So verses 3 and 4 of Ps 32 speak of a particular time in author David's life when he kept silent about his sins as opposed to being without deceit before God. So in his spirit there was deceit, (ps 32:2c). At that time when there was deceit in his human spirit, (for he kept silent about his sins), David did not receive the blessedness of forgiveness but instead received the opposite:
(v. 3b) "My body wasted away through my groaning all day long. (v. 4) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat [lit. droughts] of summer."
So confession of sins committed during a particular time brings forgiveness and an emotional and physical well being to the believer.
Thus verses 3-5 continue the subject of the blessedness of temporal, (moment to moment), forgiveness begun in vv. 1-2, pointing to a time in author David's personal experience of the consequence of keeping silent about his sins and not being without deceit before God. Verse 5 then provides the means by which one is to receive the blessedness spoken of in vv. 1 & 2: to do the opposite of keeping silent to God about ones sins, to acknowledge them, to not hide ones iniquity but instead in ones spirit be without deceit about them, (v. 2b), to confess ones transgressions to God; in other words, as verse 2c says to be as one, "in whose spirit there is no deceit," relative to ones sins before God. This results in the blessedness of forgiveness spoken of in verses 1 & 2 and at the end of verse 5.
(ps 32:1 NAS) "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, (ps 32:2 NAS) How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (ps 32:3 NAS) When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. (ps 32:4 NAS) For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat [lit. droughts] of summer; (ps 32:5 NAS) I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;' And You forgave the guilt of my sin." =
Temporal forgiveness of a believer includes being blessed with an emotional and physical well being - a part of the believer's restoration of daily fellowship with God which occurs when he confesses his sins to God. the reception of eternal life is not in view in Psalms 32
Notice that when David kept silent about his sin, as an example to all believers, "[his] body wasted away through groaning all day long. Day and night God's hand was heavy upon [him]; [his] vitality was drained awayas with the fever heat of summer." Hence unforgiven sin breaks a believer's blessed relationship - fellowship with God and causes physical and emotional stress. On the other hand, verses 1 & 2 describe a believer (1) whose transgression is forgiven (2) whose sin is not covered (3) whose iniquity God does not impute to him (4) and in whose spirit [human mentality] there is no deceit, i.e., when there is honest acknowledgment/ confession to God of those sins, (ps 32:5). So forgiveness of a believer's confessed daily sins is in view resulting in restoration of fellowship with God. Justification by faith alone in Christ alone before God unto eternal life is not in view. Eternal life is not received via confession of sins, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that one cannot confess future sins that are as yet unknown which one has not committed yet; nor is confession what Scripture stipulates as to what one must do to receive justification unto eternal life. The context implies a particular time and a number of particular sins that David, a believer, had committed to which he remained silent, suffered and then changed his mind and confessed before God. At this time David was a believer, (cref. 2 Sam 23:5), justified by faith unto eternal life - where he is providing an example of himself as a believer relative to temporal forgiveness of confessed sins to all believers.