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1.
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Blessed. This word, as in Psa. 1:1, emphasizes more
than the idea of receiving good things. It suggests exhilaration — cp. v.
7: songs of deliverance. Such a “blessing” may be the
possession of the man who is without sin (Christ only — 1:1!) and
the man whose sins have been pardoned (all the rest of us —
32:1!).
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Transgression....sin....iniquity. If indeed there is
any appreciable distinction, in usage as distinct from derivation, the
references are to (1) word, (2) thought, and (3) deed.
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Forgiven. Hebrew nasa, which signifies to
be lifted up or away, as a burden being removed (cp. John 1:29).
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Sin....covered. Men, aware of their sin, seek to hide
it (cp. v. 3 with Gen. 3:8), but God is willing that it be covered (cp. v. 5
with Gen. 3:21; see Psa. 51:2,3).
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2.
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Imputeth, i.e. reckons. A key word in Paul’s
theology. See how he uses it in Rom. 4:1-8 to establish that righteousness was
imputed to Abraham by his faith (Gen. 15:6) and to David apart from works
(“I said, I will confess....”). The word does not mean a pretended
absolution, but a very real removal of sin. The truth of the matter, in Bible
expression, is that a man whose sins are forgiven is consequently sinless.
Not only does God treat him as though he were sinless, but he is
sinless! “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed
our transgressions from us” (103:12).
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In whose spirit there is no guile: 34:17,18. This
means being not like Jacob the deceiver (Gen. 27:36; John 1:47), but like Jesus
(Isa. 53:7; Rev. 14:5). It means having a spirit free from self-deception
(‘If I don’t think about it, it will eventually go away’): v.
11; Luke 11:34.
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3.
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When I kept silence (concerning my sin). Compare the
sinners in Eden hiding from the presence of the Lord (Gen. 3:8). And compare
David not wanting to see the point of Nathan’s parable until it was forced
upon him: 2 Sam. 12:1-5. So here is the silence of deception, as David attempted
to push out of his conscience the memory of his offences. But the joy of life
and fellowship with God was gone. David found himself in the condition of his
first parents, who had tried to hide in the garden from the Elohim. He had
placed a heavy lid over his conscience; but beneath the lid, the caldron boiled.
It was only a matter of time before his sins would surface again.
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My bones....Literally? Or is deep-seated anguish
idiomatically expressed as the consumer or breaker of bones (22:14; Job
30:17,30; Prov. 12:4; Hab. 3:16)?
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Roaring = Groaning (RSV, etc.; cp. Psa.
22:1).
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4.
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For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. Psa.
38:2,3 has the same background. The “hand of the Lord” often refers
to an inflicted disease: Exod. 9:3; Deut. 2:15; Acts 13:11.
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My moisture was turned into the drought of summer. When
God’s hand was upon him, he wilted like a frail plant in the heat of
summer. Contrast Psa. 1:3. But the Hebrew here is obscure; the LXX has
“while a thorn was fastened in me” — with possible reference
to the crown of thorns in Matt. 27:29 and Mark 15:17.
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5.
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It is significant, surely, that this verse comes between two
occurrences of Selah. If indeed the association of this term is with the
offering of sacrifice at the altar of burnt-offering (Introduction, Chapter 7),
nothing could be more appropriate. For that very act is associated with the
confession of sin and with the pronouncement of sin forgiven: Rom. 7:24,25; 8:1;
cp. Luke 15:18-24.
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I acknowledge my sin. Hos. 5:15; Jer. 3:12,13 (a
wonderful passage).
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I said, I will confess. This phrase seems to imply an
interval in the text here. So also, perhaps, between accusation and confession,
in 2 Sam. 12:12,13. David dwelt on Nathan’s words, probably for a long
while (see vv. 3,4 there), before saying: “I have sinned against the
Lord” — and that made his confession all the more valuable, since it
was wrung from him. For a superb sequence of Bible passages on this theme,
see:
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- Prov. 28:13: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
- Isa. 65:24:
“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and
while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
- Luke 15:18,21: “I
will arise and go to my f(F)ather, and will say unto him, ‘Father, I have
sinner against heaven, and before thee....and am no more worthy to be called thy
son.’”
- 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.”
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Thou forgavest. An ecstatic exclamation: ‘And
Thou....Thou forgavest!’ Shock, surprise, and then rejoicing at a
great spiritual miracle. “The Lord hath put away thy sin.” No
interval here, but only immediate response, as in Dan. 9:21; Jer.
29:12,13.
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6.
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For this, i.e. many others learning from David’s
experience, just as they had gloated over the contemptibility of his
sin.
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Every one that is godly. This indicates Gentiles as
well as Jews.
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In a time of finding out (the literal reading, as in AV
margin), i.e. finding out of sin (s.w. 36:2; Gen. 44:16; contrast Num. 32:23).
But, of course, the time when God “finds out” sin may also be the
best opportunity for the (repentant) sinner to “find” God! And so we
must seek the Lord while He may be found (Isa. 55:6,7).
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Surely. This Hebrew word means only, i.e. it is
only when a man is beset with the inextricable danger of his own sin that he can
appreciate the marvel of divine salvation. Those with no real sense of sin or of
forgiveness do not know the meaning of this verse.
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Floods of great waters. A reference to the days of
Noah, and the trial and judgment of a wicked world. But at the same time Noah
and his family were hidden, covered, and lifted up in God’s
Ark of salvation and protection.
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7.
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Thou art my hiding place, where I might hide from the
consequences of my own sins. God is David’s “city of refuge”,
his “strong tower” (Prov. 18:10). “He who dwelleth in the
secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty” (Psa. 91:1). For those of us who follow David’s example
and seek for forgiveness of sins, God has provided Christ as our “hiding
place” (Isa. 32:2) and our city of “refuge” (Heb
6:18).
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Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
See v. 11; 33:1-3. This phrase is specially appropriate to sacrifice in the
Lord’s sanctuary and to the priestly blessing (Num. 6:23-27). Hence the
Selah (cp. vv. 4,5). On the far side of the Red Sea, after being
delivered through the “floods”, the Israelites sang just such songs
of deliverance (Exod. 15).
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8,9.
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These are God’s words — to the forgiven
sinner, or before forgiveness? Probably the words were delivered by the prophet
Nathan.
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8.
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I will instruct (cp. Maschil in title) thee
and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. This implies a continuance in
godliness.
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I will instruct thee. Compare Maschil
(title).
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I will guide thee with mine eye is ‘I will guide
you and lead you, with my eye upon you’ — a reference (by metonymy)
to the ministering angel: Rev. 5:6; Psa. 33:18. Also compare Luke 22:61:
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.” Surely that look, to a
conscience like Peter’s, was more powerful than any bit or bridle (v.
9)!
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9.
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Another Maschil verse. The horse and mule,
needing to be held in and not allowed to come near, seem to be
fitting symbols for Amnon and Absalom; the latter was the son of a mixed
marriage (a “mule”!) (2 Sam. 3:3 — and note 2 Sam. 18:9). The
more profound meaning may be an allusion to the new and old natures in the
servant of the Lord.
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Horse....mule. Do not be as the horse or the mule,
which obey only at the application of restraint and force (Jer. 8:5,6; Prov.
26:3; James 3:3). Instead, be as the docile lamb, which obeys out of devotion
and dependence and meekness. The only “cords” which should bind the
godly to the Lord are the cords of love (Hos. 11:4), and these cannot by any
sense be likened to a restrictive harness. Forgiveness of sins is the only true
freedom. But if men will not serve God willingly, then they will be forced to
serve His purposes in spite of themselves.
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Lest they come near unto thee. Verse 6 (s.w.) has the
same reference to intense trouble. The phrase here should probably be: or
else no one can approach them.
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10.
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Many sorrows shall be to the wicked.
“Sorrows” = “sore wounds” or “scourges”
(Exod. 3:7, s.w.), the wounds inflicted upon the Israelites by their Egyptian
slave-masters. “They who would serve Egyptian gods must fall back into
Egyptian misery” (W. Kay).
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Mercy is a word with two outstanding Old Testament
meanings, both significant here: (a) forgiveness of sins, and (b) fulfillment of
God’s covenants.
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Compass him about: v. 7, s.w.
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11.
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Righteous....upright. One of God’s miracles is
that such descriptions should befit such a sinner. This verse carries us
“beyond apprehended truth into the joy of personal experience”
(Sargent).
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