Suffering With Joy

Praying the Psalms – Psalm 32

August 20, 2010

On Saturday’s we join Jenny at Just a Minute to reflect on words of a particular Psalm.  Meet me and other bloggers who enjoy short meditations on these classic  prayers.

It’s easy.  If you are a blogger, just write a post on today’s psalm with a link to Just a Minute, go there and fill out your name and post address in the Mister Linky application, and presto!  Others will find you at Jenny’s place.  If you aren’t a blogger, just enjoy reading our posts and leave a comment if you are so moved.

Psalm 32 is one of the penitential psalms of the Church and a good one to recite after confession. “Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name..” (Luke 1: 49)

v. 1-2  Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. [To be blessed is to be full of the grace of God.  God is all truth and the man who's spirit contains deceitfulness is pairing with the great Adversary who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning against God.  We must not fool ourselves or rationalize our sins, for to do that is to forgo true repentance.  When we examine our conscience we must hide nothing from ourselves or from God. We must admit all transgressions completely so that God may heal us.  Only He can forgive our sins.  We cannot forgive our own sins.]

v.3-4  When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. [With repeated, deliberate sin our body and soul waste away.  Our ability to love God, neighbor and ourselves shrivels.  We are attached to something poisonous that wastes away the good in us until we lack the strength to overcome any temptation.  God's hand leaves us no peace.  His love is so great, and His desire to unite us to Himself so powerful that He nudges us constantly until we confess. If we resist claiming our transgressions in full, we prolong our inner agony.  We can only recover by deep repentance, confession, and amendment of our life with the help of God's grace.]

v. 5-7  I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;then Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.  Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to thee; at a time of distress, in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.  Thou art a hiding place for me, thou preservest me from trouble; thou dost encompass me with deliverance. [Our safest refuge is in the heart of the Lord, the Christ whose heart was pierced with a lance, the one who hides us from evil. When our relationship with the Lord is made right, we desire to urge everyone who is God-oriented to praise Him for His eternal love of us.  The sick who have been made well by repentance are made new, and a fresh start is cause for joy.  At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Great Thanksgiving, we re-present to the Father His Son who has encompassed us with deliverance by the shedding of His precious blood.]

v. 8-11  I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eyes upon you.  Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you.  Many are the pangs of the wicked; but steadfast love surrounds him who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! [Sin is stubborn and irrational behavior, a fruit of a wrong relationship with God. We are admonished not to be senselessly stubborn, because God will curb us in His way if necessary and we will suffer the consequences of our stubbornness.  How many times have I persisted stubbornly in doing what I want rather than what God wants?  How many times do I give into bad habits I am too lazy to battle against?  Am I not the stubborn mule?  And do I not feel the whip for this stubbornness?  How much of my difficulties in life and relationships are because I won't give in to God? Lord, I need to abandon myself to You, to wrap myself in your steadfast love and not look with longing backwards to my evil ways.  Let me shout with joy from an upright heart infused with the Holy Spirit that is directed towards Thee alone.]

V. Praised be Jesus Christ.

R. Now and forever.  Amen.

Click on the link above for the reason I ended the post this way.

Tags: psalms