Changing Gravity (Psalm 32)

CONSIDER THIS

Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. He holds the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School and served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary for fifteen years. Julie is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.

This is the second of the seven Penitential Psalms (Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143). Here in Psalm 32, we see laid out before us the grammar of the penitential life—that is, the nuts and bolts of what it really means to live the life of repentance. Some regard repentance as merely the door into salvation, and do not associate it with our ongoing lives in the presence of God. However, this psalm links together the first half of the gospel (justification) with the second half of the gospel (sanctification).

Verse 1 begins with celebrating the blessedness of forgiveness: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” The psalm then just explodes with an overflow of words outlining the glorious truths of justification and the perils when we fail to confess our sins. Confessed sins are “forgiven,” “covered,” and not “count[ed] against [us]” (vv. 1–2). Sins that we fail to confess cause our bones to waste away and cause us to “[groan] all day long” and live with his hand “heavy” upon us and our strength “sapped” (vv. 3–4). But through confession, we are able to enter into the life justified before God. This is all the glorious first half of the gospel.

The psalm makes an important shift in verse 8. Now, the justified person is being instructed and taught and given counsel as to what it means to actually live a righteous life. As Christians, we are never less than forgiven sinners, but God has so much more for us! We are called to abide in him and to embody reflections of his righteousness. We are always condemned sinners fleeing to the cross, but through the power of the Spirit, we are also victorious Christians joyfully running out of his empty tomb. Forgiveness is wonderful, but fellowship with God is even greater! We should not be like a mule who resists God’s discipline and instruction, and will not come to God when he calls (v. 9). Discipleship is much more than sin management. It is moving from being captivated by the gravity of sin to being captivated by the gravity of holy love. Through the gospel, sin becomes our mortal enemy, not our secret lover. This psalm sees the whole trajectory, from justification to sanctification and, indeed, even envisions that final day when we are delivered from not only the guilt and power of sin, but even the presence of sin. On that day, we shall sing with this psalmist, “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” (v. 11).

For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent

THE HYMN

Sing Psalm 32 with the Seedbed Psalter today. We suggest the tune BEACH SPRING (“Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service”). You can hear the tune played online by Julie here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, we will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below. 

1   Bless-ed is the one whose sin is covered over by the Lord,
Whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose guilt God won’t record.
2   Bless-ed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against him,
In whose spirit no deceit or hidden sin is found within.

3   When I held my sin inside me, and kept silent in my way,
Then my bones grew weak and wasted through my groaning all the day.
4   For Your hand was heavy on me; day and night, my strength did lapse;
Sapped away as in the heat of summer’s hot, lethargic grasp.Selah

5   Then I told You of my sin, and did not hide iniquity;
I said, “I’ll confess my trespass”—You forgave, purged guilt from me.Selah
6   Therefore, let the godly pray to You while You may still be found;
Surely waters will not reach them, mighty waves that surge around.

7   For You are my place of hiding, You protect me from all strife;
And with songs of Your deliv’rance, You surround and keep my life.Selah
8   “I will teach and will instruct you in the way that you should go;
I will counsel and watch o’er you; the right path to you I’ll show.

9   “Don’t be like the horse or mule that do not understand at all;
Lest they’re led by bit and bridle, they won’t come when you do call.”
10   Many woes afflict the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love
10/11   does surround the ones who trust Him. Sing! Rejoice in God above!