Tuesday prior to Lent 1

 

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Psalm 32:1-7—key verse 7a—The Psalm appointed for this coming Sunday is an exuberant proclamation of the happy and blessed state of those who experience God’s forgiveness. Blessed…Blessed. Repetition underscores—are forgiven…are covered…does not count against him. Repetition with variation emphasizes and illumines. Paul will pick up on this theme in Romans 4:6-8.

Psalm 32 – The Blessing of Forgiveness, protection and guidance

This psalm is simply titled A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. According to James Montgomery Boice, the Hebrew word for Contemplation (maskil) might be better understood as “instruction.” This is the first of twelve psalms with this title. It is full of instruction and contemplation, and it is worthy of meditation, as indicated by the frequent repetition of Selah, three times in only eleven verses.

The psalm itself does not tell us the specific occasion in David’s life, which prompted this song. In Psalm 51 – which was clearly written after David’s sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah – David promised to “teach transgressors Your ways” (Psalm 51:13), and this psalm may be the fulfillment of that vow. John Trapp said that Psalm 32 and 51 are “tuned together.”

It is a Psalm of penitence, but it is also the song of a ransomed soul rejoicing in the wonders of the grace of God. Sin is dealt with; sorrow is comforted; ignorance is instructed.

This was Saint Augustine’s favorite psalm. Augustine had it inscribed on the wall next to his bed before he died in order to meditate on it better. [2]

 Collect for Psalm 32: Lord God, you desired to keep from us your wrath and so did not spare your holy servant Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our sins. We are your prodigal children, but we come back to you confessing our sins. Embrace us that we may rejoice in your mercy together with your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  [3]

Collect for Tuesday before Ash Wednesday: God our Father, teach us to cherish the gifts that surround us. Increase our faith in you and bring our trust to its promised fulfillment in the joy of your kingdom. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen  [4]  -21 February 2023

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[1] Woodcut by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, a nineteenth-century German artist known especially for
his book ‘The Book of Books in Pictures’ ©WELS permission granted for personal and congregational use.
[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-32
[3] Collect for Psalm 32. For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
[4] Ibid, Collect for Tuesday before Ash Wednesday