Psalm 32 (1928 BCP)
Psalm 32 (1928 BCP) is the penitential thanksgiving Beati quorum, appointed at Evening Prayer on the Sixth Day in the Psalter of the American Book of Common Prayer (1928). It moves from the blessedness of forgiveness, through the bodily misery of concealed sin and the freedom of confession, to trust, divine instruction, and public rejoicing.
Text in the 1928 Psalter
The Prayer Book prints the whole psalm under the Latin incipit Beati quorum. The first six verses make confession neither self-excusing nor despairing: the sinner does not hide unrighteousness but acknowledges it before the Lord.
BLESSED is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, * and whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth no sin, * and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 For whilst I held my tongue, * my bones consumed away through my daily complaining.
4 For thy hand was heavy upon me day and night, * and my moisture was like the drought in summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee; * and mine unrighteousness have I not hid.
6 I said, I will confess my sins unto the LORD; * and so thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.
7 For this shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee, in a time when thou mayest be found; * surely the great water-floods shall not come nigh him.
8 Thou art a place to hide me in; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; * thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
9 I will inform thee, and teach thee in the way wherein thou shalt go; * and I will guide thee with mine eye.
10 Be ye not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding; * whose mouths must be held with bit and bridle, else they will not obey thee.
11 Great plagues remain for the ungodly; * but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD, mercy embraceth him on every side.
12 Be glad, O ye righteous, and rejoice in the LORD; * and be joyful, all ye that are true of heart.
Confession and forgiveness
Psalm 32’s threefold language—sin forgiven, covered, and not imputed—was taken up explicitly by Saint Paul when he argues that righteousness is reckoned apart from works. Its “no guile” also prevents forgiveness from being reduced to concealment: the psalm contrasts the silence of verses 3–4 with truthful confession in verses 5–6.
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Augustine reads the psalm’s opening not as a reward for self-justification but as deliverance by grace through a confession that refuses guile. His interpretation is especially attentive to the movement from inner concealment to the heart’s honest address to God.
“I said, I will confess, not against God … but against myself, my unrighteousness to the Lord.”
“Not by their own merits will they be holy, but by that acceptable time, that is, at His coming, who redeemed us from sin.”
This accords with the Prayer Book text: confession is not an achievement that purchases mercy. It is the unguarded turning of the sinner toward the God who forgives, preserves, and teaches.
A Christian and Anglican reading
The New Testament citation in Romans places Psalm 32 within the apostolic proclamation of justification by faith. In the Prayer Book’s corporate use, the same psalm gives the Church words for penitence while leading it beyond private remorse to prayer, obedience, and joy.
Alexander Maclaren notes that the three expressions for sin and the three expressions for pardon are deliberately cumulative rather than redundant.
“The accumulation of synonyms not only sets forth various aspects of pardon, but triumphantly celebrates the completeness and certainty of the gift.”
That observation helps explain why the psalm refuses both moral evasiveness and fear. “Forgiven,” “covered,” and “not imputed” name one merciful divine action from different angles; “no guile” names the integrity proper to receiving it.
“There is only one deliverance from an accusing conscience which does not murder the conscience, and that is that we should find our way into the peace of God which is through Christ Jesus and His atoning death.”
The final verses keep pardon from becoming passive. God’s promised instruction (“I will guide thee with mine eye”) is followed by a warning against the uncomprehending horse and mule; mercy surrounds the one who trusts, and the psalm ends in the shared gladness of the righteous.
“No need for force, no need for bit and bridle, no need for anything but the glance of the Father, which the child delights to obey.”
Prayer Book use
The 1928 monthly Psalter appoints Psalm 32 for Evening Prayer on the Sixth Day. Its sequence is well suited to the Office: after the Church has heard and confessed the Word, it gives voice to pardon, trust amid “great water-floods,” and rejoicing in the Lord. It may therefore be sung or said as the Church’s Scripture, not merely selected as a private devotional text.
See also
- The Psalter (1928 BCP)
- Daily Office (1928 BCP)
- General Confession in Morning Prayer (1928 BCP)
- Absolution in Morning Prayer (1928 BCP)
External links
References
- ↑ The Protestant Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church (New York: The Church Pension Fund, 1928), The Psalter, Psalm 32, Beati quorum, Sixth Day, Evening Prayer; Justus Anglican, “The Psalter: Psalms 1–50”. The wording was compared directly with the local transcription at
sources/justus1928/Psalms1.htm. - ↑ The Protestant Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), The Psalter, Psalm 32:7–9, Beati quorum, Sixth Day, Evening Prayer; Justus Anglican, “The Psalter: Psalms 1–50”.
- ↑ The Protestant Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1928), The Psalter, Psalm 32:10–12, Beati quorum, Sixth Day, Evening Prayer; Justus Anglican, “The Psalter: Psalms 1–50”.
- ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1769), Romans 4:6–8, quoting Psalm 32:1–2; Bible Gateway, “Romans 4:6–8 (KJV)”.
- ↑ Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 32, §5, trans. J. E. Tweed, in Philip Schaff, ed., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 8 (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888), revised by Kevin Knight; New Advent, “Exposition on Psalm 32”.
- ↑ Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 32, §6, trans. J. E. Tweed, in Schaff, ed., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 8 (1888); New Advent, “Exposition on Psalm 32”.
- ↑ Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Psalms, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness,” on Psalm 32:1–2 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1892), section II; Christian Classics Ethereal Library, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness”.
- ↑ Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Psalms, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness,” on Psalm 32:3–4 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1892), section III; Christian Classics Ethereal Library, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness”.
- ↑ Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Psalms, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness,” on Psalm 32:8–9 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1892), section III; Christian Classics Ethereal Library, “A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness”.