4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, nor my burden be heavy upon thee.
And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it kill us not, and our people. For there was deadly alarm throughout the city: the hand of God was very heavy there;
For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as a firebrand. My heart is smitten and withered like grass; yea, I have forgotten to eat my bread.
And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he laid them waste, and smote them with hemorrhoids, -- Ashdod and its borders. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
And see, if it go up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, it is he who has done us this great evil; if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that touched us; it was a chance [that] happened to us.
Oh that there were arbitration for a man with +God, as a son of man for his friend!
For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand cometh down upon me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; no peace in my bones, because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink, they are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day. For my loins are full of burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am faint and broken beyond measure; I roar by reason of the agitation of my heart.
Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. When thou with rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely, every man is vanity. Selah.
Their visage is darker than blackness, they are not known in the streets; their skin cleaveth to their bones, it is withered, it is become like a stick.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 32
Commentary on Psalms 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 32
Ps 32:1-11. Maschil—literally, "giving instruction." The Psalmist describes the blessings of His forgiveness, succeeding the pains of conviction, and deduces from his own experience instruction and exhortation to others.
1, 2. (Compare Ro 4:6).
forgiven—literally, "taken away," opposed to retain (Joh 20:23).
covered—so that God no longer regards the sin (Ps 85:3).
2. imputeth—charge to him, and treat him accordingly.
no guile—or, deceit, no false estimate of himself, nor insincerity before God (compare Ro 8:1).
3, 4. A vivid description of felt, but unacknowledged, sin.
When—literally, "for," as in Ps 32:4.
4. thy hand—of God, or power in distressing him (Ps 38:2).
moisture—vital juices of the body, the parching heat of which expresses the anguish of the soul. On the other figures, compare Ps 6:2, 7; 31:9-11. If composed on the occasion of the fifty-first Psalm, this distress may have been protracted for several months.
5. A prompt fulfilment of the purposed confession is followed by a prompt forgiveness.
6. For this—that is, my happy experience.
godly—pious in the sense of Ps 4:3.
a time—(Isa 55:6); when God's Spirit inclines us to seek pardon, He is ready to forgive.
floods, &c.—denotes great danger (Ps 18:17; 66:12).
7. His experience illustrates the statement of Ps 32:6.
8. Whether, as most likely, the language of David (compare Ps 51:13), or that of God, this is a promise of divine guidance.
I will … mine eye—or, My eye shall be on thee, watching and directing thy way.
9. The latter clause, more literally, "in that they come not near thee"; that is, because they will not come, &c., unless forced by bit and bridle.
10. The sorrows of the impenitent contrasted with the peace and safety secured by God's mercy.
11. The righteous and upright, or those conforming to the divine teaching for securing the divine blessing, may well rejoice with shouting.