The title of Psalm 32, our new study, is “A Psalm of David, Maschil” We know from the title that David is the author of this sweet Psalm.  The word ‘Maschil’ is the word, which means ‘to give instruction’.  This Psalm was probably written after David sinned with Bathsheba.  He even had her husband murdered.  It follows in order of history after Psalm 51.  I would like to entitle our study of Psalm 32, “Instructions On The Plight Of A Sinner”.  The word ‘plight’ means a dangerous or distressed condition or predicament. 

I want to look at this Psalm under four headings; The Confidence Of The Sinner (Vs. 1-2), The Conviction Of The Sinner (Vs. 3-5), The Conversion Of The Sinner (Vs. 6-9), and The Confession Of The Sinner (Vs. 10-11).

Let us look this week at ‘The Confidence Of The Sinner’ in verses 1-2, which says, “Blessed is he whose transgression if forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”

May we look first at the ‘Testimony Of Confidence’.  David begins these verses with the word ‘Blessed’.  It sounds like one of the beatitudes from our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount.  The word ‘blessed’ is in the plural.  Oh, the blessedness’s of God’s dealings in mercy with the sinner.  There are double joys, the bundles of happiness, and the mountain of delight for the sinner who has experienced the converting mercies of God.

In these verses we also find by the way of instruction ‘The Titles Of Confidence’.  David mentioned four titles for sin in our text. You may say how can one find confidence in the titles for sin?  When we realize the horrible pit from which our God dug us, we will rejoice with great confidence.  The four titles are: transgression, sin, iniquity, and guile. (Vs. 1-2)

The first word for sin is ‘transgression’ which in the Hebrew is the word ‘pesha’.  It means to go beyond the boundary or to break away from the absolutes of God’s authority.  Oh, let us be careful to realize God has some absolutes that must never be crossed.  The second title is the word ‘sin’ which in the Hebrew is ‘chatach’.  This means to miss the mark so as to not share in the prize.  The third title is ‘iniquity’ which is in Hebrew ‘avon’.  This means to be turned away from a proper course, morally distorted or perverted in what is contrary to justice.  The fourth title is ‘guile’ which in Hebrew is ‘remijah’.  This means to fraud, deceit, or to trick.

Let me bring to our attention ‘The Treasure Of Confidence’.  We have looked at the titles for sin and now we find a great treasure in what David tells us that must be done to remove these sins.  There are four acts mentioned in this ‘Treasure Of Confidence’.

The first is that transgressions must be ‘forgiven’.  The word, ‘forgive’, means to be borne away completely by a vicarious sacrifice.  Calvary bore all my transgressions away. ‘My sin not in part but the whole, was nailed to the tree and I bear it no more’.  The second act in this treasure is that sin must be ‘covered’.  The word ‘covered’ means to hide from the sight, to take from the memory.  Our Lord by an act of His sovereign will has decided to remember our sins no more.  The third act is that our iniquities will not be ‘reckoned to our account’.  It is a business term where Christ places His righteousness to our account and takes away our sin.  The fourth act is that guile must be ‘destroyed from the soul’ of the redeemed. These truths are not only in the Psalm, but also they are Pauline in nature.  Paul said in Romans 4:8, “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD will not impute sin.”  No wonder David, as should we, breaks out in joy unspeakable when he realizes that his sins were gone.