THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS A psalm of frankness and confession of sin: This is the second psalm of repentance, called by some scholars, together with psalms 51, 130, and 145, ‘Pauline psalms’, (for carrying similar thought to that of the apostle Paul); as it strongly deals with the salvation work of God in the life of the repentant sinner. It is the jewel of the spiritual beauty, and of the salvation economy of God. While tears and sorrow define the sixth psalm, the first of the psalms of repentance, we feel here the extent of comfort felt by the sinner who does not hide his sin, but says: “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” (5). The main sin here is not that of disobedience, but rather hypocrisy. The key pf this psalm is the words “hide” or “keep silent”. When the psalmist hid his iniquity, he said: “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the daylong” (3); But once God exposed his sin, it was forgiven, and the psalmist sought from God to let him have no more guile in his spirit.(2), and to surround him with His mercy (10); namely, God’s love who sets a covenant with His people, and wishes for their salvation. The prophet David prayed psalm 51 when the prophet Nathan pointed his finger toward him, saying: “You are the man” (2 Samuel 12: 7). By psalm 51 David confessed his iniquity. Then he sang psalm 32, when he experienced the forgiveness of his transgression that was addressed against God Himself, as well as against Bathshebah and Uriah the Hittite. It is as though this psalm (32) chronically follows psalm 51. https://coptic-treasures.com/ This psalm has been then used in the collective worship, as is obvious in the verse 10, saying: “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him” . According to the rite of some Bezentine churches, the priest recites this psalm three times, as a kind of personal purification, and a preparation for ministering the sacrament of baptism. Whereas the Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, recite it as an evening prayer on the second day of the week (Monday). According to ‘Grotius’, this psalm was written to be sung on the day of Atonement. It was said that this psalm was the favorite of St. Augustine, who used to pray it with a sorrowful heart and tearful eyes. And when he was about to depart from this world, he asked those around him to write it -- together with the other psalms of repentance – with large letters on a big board, and place it before his deathbed; and he kept reading them with a contrite heart until his last breath. According to some scholars this psalm constitutes the following items: * A blessing uttered by the priest on a person enjoying the forgiveness of his sins (1 – 2) * An autobiography that reveals the extent of trouble that dwells of him who hides his transgressions; and the peace upon him when he confesses them (3 – 5). * A sermonic counsel presented by the priest from the actual experience of a sinner. Or it might be an antiphon sung by a choir in the temple (6 – 7). * Teaching instructions presented by the priest in God’s name, concentrating on the teaching aspect (8 -10). * A final song of praise and thanksgiving, sung by the whole congregation. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Its title: According to the Hebrew origin it came as ‘Mashil’, believed to be the name of the melody used in singing this psalm; or the name of the musical instrument used together with it; or, according to some, a word derived from a verb found in verse 8, which means (instruct, teach, put into consideration, or to make understood). In the Septuagint version it came as: “A contemplation of David” This term was repeated in 13 psalms: (32, 43, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 78, 88, 89, 142), six of which, at least, were written by David. Its general frame: 1- The divine forgiveness 1 -- 6 2- The divine protection 7 3- The divine guidance 8 -- 10 4- The divine joy 11 1- THE DIVINE FORGIVENESS: (1 – 6) “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (1, 2) A- Concerning the term “blessed”, that came several times in verses 1 and 2, see our commentary on it in psalm 1, where we said that we get The blessing in the Lord Christ, the Word of God. This psalm is called in Hebrew ‘A psalm of Asher’ – the name of one of the tribes of Israel – whose name means (the happy or the blessed one). https://coptic-treasures.com/ While psalm 1 reveals the blessing to him who is bound to the Word of God in his mind and heart, as well as in his practical behavior. Here, in the psalm of Asher, the blessing is to him “whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered” by the grace of God. It is the psalm of every man who, in his weakness deflected and lost the way, then was drawn by God’s grace; and to be true to himself and to God, he would confess his sins. While psalm 1 proclaims the blessing of the exalted life of contemplation, not separated from the daily behavior; the psalm of Asher, on the other hand, proclaims the blessing of the soul, contrite with repentance, that, by the Spirit of God, knows how to cross over to the throne of God, to take forgiveness (by force). While psalm 1 concerns him who keeps the law with spirit and truth, the psalm of Asher concerns the breaker of the law, on whom the grace of God granted the perfect righteousness of Christ. While psalm 1 talks about the Lord Christ who is without sin, the Grantor of blessing; the psalm of Asher is the psalm of the Christian who enjoys the blessing through his union with his Christ. B- In verses 1 and 2, there is is a reference to 4 terms of evil; 1- Iniquity (‘Pesha’ in Hebrew), meaning: {crossing the line somewhere}, or (committing some atrocity), in reference to a disobedience of a Lega ruler, or against the conscience of man. 2- Sin (‘hataah’ in Hebrew), meaning (missing a certain goal or sign), or (going astray from the paths of God), like a stray arrow. 3- Disobedience (awon in Hebrew), meaning (deflection from a certain route or a certain position); referring to a tree because of a violent https://coptic-treasures.com/ wind; or to a bump in the earth caused by an earthquake. This term implies all those meanings together. 4- Guile; meaning falsehood, deception, or malice, etc. To heal these four evils, the following things are needed: 1- Forgiveness: The original Hebrew word for it, means (lifting up); like when a heavy weight that burdens man’s shoulder is lifted up. If the sin implies a deed against the law, or disobedience of the divine commandment, the Lord Christ came, not to carry the doors of the gate of the city on his shoulders, like what Samson did (Judges 16: 3), but to deliver His life on the cross as a price to lift up the weight of our sins, to set us free of them; He came to call us, who labor and heavy laden to enjoy His rest (Matthew 11: 28).According to the Septuagint version it came as: “Blessed are they whose sins are covered (or left)” (1). Being unable to carry our sins whose wages are eternal perdition, we (left) them to Him, who, alone, can pay the price on our behalf, through His divine will and love. 2- Coverage: “Those whose sins are covered” (1). This does not imply disregarding the sin; but, having been clothed with the righteousness of Christ by the cross, His righteousness came to be instead of the reproach of our sins. The way the ark of the covenant is covered by the seat of mercy; through which God used to speak to His people; so it is with the cross, by it our heart is covered as a divine dwelling place, to enter with God into the debate of perpetual love, trusting that every weakness in us is covered, to carry in us the life and holiness of Christ, and to have the right , by His Holy Spirit to enjoy the fellowship with the Father, and to enter into the deposit of His glories. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 3- Vindication from the charge: “Whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (2). He did not say that he became without si; as no man, after the fall, has so become, except the incarnate Word of God, who, for our sake, has become Man, albeit being the Most High. In weakness, we may sin, but by the faith working with love, the Lord does not impute the sin to us, for He Himself pays the price; as, according to the apostle Paul: “because we judge thus; that if one died for all, then all died; and He died for all, … Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has reconciled to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5: 14-19). The sinner who enjoys the forgiveness of his sins and covering them by the blood of the Savior, and is counted as innocent, bears no guile in his heart, nor in his mind or mouth. He receives the fellowship with Christ (the Truth), to be true to himself in his repentance and confessions, as well as in his faith and trust in God, worship, praise, and thanksgiving, faithful in his relationships with God, tells Him all what goes on in his life of weaknesses, of the experience of spiritual strength, of his love or fear of God, of his desire to serve Him, and of his deep longing toward setting forth to be together with Him; faithful to the others, knows no hypocrisy, nor guile; loves his brethren, yet not at the expense of the truth; has compassion on them, yet with firmness. In the Holy Book, the word “guile” always refers to sin; being deceptive, vain, and lying. There is no faithfulness in doing wrong. Even if the aggressor is upright in men’s eyes, yet he would deceiving himself, robbing God, lying to the Almighty, and a crook to His Creator, through jumping to take a different way, other than Christ, hence, he is a robber and a thief. St. Paul quoted the two verses 1 and 2 in his epistle to the Romans 4: 6 – 8, to confirm that there is no benefit of the https://coptic-treasures.com/ literal works of the law, like the circumcision of the flesh, to get the forgiveness of sins; but the need is for the inner work of God, to reform what has deflected from its natural course.. Having heard the words of the prophet Nathan, saying: “The Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12: 13), he perceived that the forgiveness of sins is a free gift presented by God to His believers through His practical giving love; “For love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4: 8). We, as well, have enjoyed this gift through the water of baptism, where we are buried together with our Christ, and are risen together with Him in the newness of life, to bear His resurrected life, being holy members in the body of Christ. That is why, according to many fathers of the church, the psalmist, in this psalm, speaks about the grace of baptism. + It is befitting of me to counsel those who are about to be worthy of this royal gift, namely, baptism, to let them know that no sin, whatever great it is, can stand against the goodness of the Lord; not even adultery, homosexuality, attachment to whores, robbery, deception of others, drunkenness, or idol-worship; As the power of this gift and the love of the Lord, are so great to make all those iniquities disappear, and to make the sinner shine with more splendor than the sun; … Yet only if he showed a testimony of a good life. + It is faith in the Holy Trinity that grants the forgiveness of sins; It is this confession that grants us the grace of son-ship to God. + By that, you can realize the extent of your poverty, you who are received by the Lord; … how, by His grace He covered your https://coptic-treasures.com/ nakedness; …how, by the anointment, He clothes you with the fragrance of the good works; … how, by the holy oil, He makes you shine with bright light; … how, you forsake your corruption in the washing font; … how the Holy Spirit lifts you up to a new life; … how He clothes your body with splendid attire; … how the lamps you carry in your hands refer to the enlightenment of the souls; ….and how David raises his voice to you, singing the song of conquest, saying: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; whose sin is covered” (1) + He does not say: ‘Blessed is he who commits no transgression”, but says: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven”. For if you search for someone who commits no transgression, you will find none; how then could he be blessed? He is blessed if his transgressions are forgiven, and what he has committed are covered. By baptism we get the forgiveness of our transgressions, and be qualified to start a new holy life. Yet, on the way, being subjected to weaknesses, God’s mercies anticipates our continuous repentance – the second baptism – to present forgiveness to us. + All those who wish for it (namely, for forgiveness) could get mercy from God; and as we are told by the Holy Book:: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity”; namely, repented his sin, to receive the forgiveness from God. (St. Justine, the martyr) https://coptic-treasures.com/ Such blessing we enjoy through baptism and the continuous repentance, is presented to us, being the children beloved by God, who proclaim the truth of our son-ship to Him by obeying His commandment, and responding to His love. + Blessed are we, beloved brethren, if we keep the commandments of God in harmony with love; for through love, our sins are forgiven; as it is written: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity; whose sin is covered; and in whose spirit there is no guile”. Such beatitude dwells upon those chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord. According to the scholar Tertullian, the beatitude presented to those enjoying baptism -- counted as a martyrdom without blood shed – when the believer accepts the burial together with the Lord Christ, believing in His salvation work, is also presented to the martyrs whose blood is shed for the sake of faith, with no chance of getting baptism, … According to some, martyrdom is called the baptism of blood. + Another source of comfort, and an ultimate way of help, is designated by the battle of martyrdom and baptism. … Referring to the happiness of him who partakes of those things, David says: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity; whose sin is covered; and in whose spirit there is no guile”. … Nothing is imputed to the martyrs who delivered their life by the baptism of blood. So we can get the forgiveness of sins through baptism, as well as through true repentance, obedience with love to the commandment, https://coptic-treasures.com/ and enduring martyrdom. This forgiveness is set upon the blood of the Lord Christ, Grantor of the forgiveness. + Saying: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity; whose sin is covered; and in whose spirit there is no guile” ; David refers to the forgiveness of sins that followed the Lord’s coming, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirement that was against us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2: 14). We thus became indebted to the Lord; for by His cross, our sins are forgiven, and our iniquities are wiped out. “While I kept silent my bones wasted away, through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. And You forgave the guilt of my sin” (3-5) The prophet David tells us his experience: how he attempted to hide his sin, and how he kept silent for several months, probably two years after falling with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite. The child, the fruit of that sin was born before the visit of the prophet Nathan to him (2 Samuel 11: 2; 12: 14). Although he perceived his transgression, yet, because he did not seek forgiveness, he had neither peace nor comfort, and his bones started to grow old and waste away. He knew for sure that he is committed to repent, to seek the forgiveness of his sin, and to confess to Him who sees everything, and for whom nothing is hidden. a- A deadly silence: “While I kept silent, my bones wasted away” (3) David probably thought that time will put everything right. Having sinned to God, to himself, to Bathsheba, to her husband, to his people, and to his army, there was, according to him, no solution for the situation, other than to keep silent. So he did, and it so seemed that everything was going naturally as he https://coptic-treasures.com/ wished it to be. Nevertheless, his bones within his body started to grow old and waste away, and his inner being started to shake. Man often tends to postpone the confession of his transgressions until his condition gets better; yet this postponement, and keeping silent about his wrong doing, will give the sin in his depths the chance to reign a longer period in the darkness, and to assume the position of leadership of his inner life, with the sure fruit, that man’s inner being would be shaken. + While I kept silent, my bones wasted away” (3). As my lips refrained to present a confession for the sake of my salvation, my bones wasted away, and grew frail. “through my groaning all day long” (3), as my lips uttered words of blasphemy against God, in an attempt to defend myself, and to justify my transgression. + His situation looked contradictory: On one aspect he kept silent, and on another, he did not. He kept silent about what could have done him good; and did not keep silent about what bring harm upon himself. He kept silent about confessing his sin; and did not keep silent, trying arrogantly and publicly to justify his transgression. (St. Augustine) + Remember how God said on the tongue of the prophet Isaiah: “State your case that you may be acquitted” (Isaiah 43: 26). Remember as well that He will rebuke him who does not confess his transgressions; saying: “Behold, I will plead my case against you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned;”” (Jeremiah 2: 35). Search the words of the saints, one saying: “The righteous accuses himself at the beginning of his talk”, and another saying: “I https://coptic-treasures.com/ said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin’” (Psalm 32: 5).. (St. Cyril the Great) According to St. John Chrysostom, God opens before us many ways to wipe out our iniquities, one of which is to confess our sins, and to perpetually remember them, to bring ourselves into account. Man truly stands before God, and submits to Him, if he is utterly faithful to himself, confessing his sinful nature. At the same time, he would discover and experience God as the Forgiver of sins, and the Grantor of the new nature. There is no other way before man other than to start confessing his sins; saying together with the prophet Isaiah: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6: 5). Before his confession, David’s health almost wasted away and was about to collapse; his bones grew old, through groaning all day long; he came to be like a hungry lion roaring in the wilderness. The fathers often tell us their experience concerning confession:: + The wrong thought weakens, once it is exposed; like an unclean serpent coming out of its hidden dark cave, and fleeing away when exposed. The satanic thoughts have authority over us, as much as they are hidden in our hearts. (Father Moses) https://coptic-treasures.com/ + What man is ashamed to reveal, is a proof that it is bad, and a temptation from the devil. (St. John Cassian) + Nothing the devil hates more than to see his tricks exposed. (Father Dorotheos) b- The sin and the thorns of the wilderness: Having kept silent, and refrained from confessing his sin, presenting justifications for his deed, David’s life turned into a barren wilderness, that does not enjoy the waters of the divine grace, to end up producing thorns and thistles, as the natural fruition of sin. “For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (4) If, by “the finger of God” he refers to the Holy Spirit – the Author of the law – His hand supports us to live according to His statutes and commandments. But hiding our disobedience, and concealing our sins, His helping hand would become heavy on our conscience, to find no rest day or night. The divine hand that would carry us to His heavens, and lift us up to His bosom, will stand against us; How would we be able to endure it?! “The divine hand came upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel” (1 Kings 18: 46). And that same hand was very heavy upon the inhabitants of Ashdod, and the cry of the city went up to heaven” (1 Samuel 5: 11, https://coptic-treasures.com/ 12). The hand of God was heavy upon David to chasten him with the spirit of fatherhood. His child from the wife of Uriah the Hittite died soon after birth; Then came the scandal of David’s daughter ‘Tamar’ with her brother Amnon, to be a disgrace to his royal household; and ended up in the murder of his very beloved son by the hand of his brother Absalom (See 1 Samuel 13 and 14. who then, rebelling against his own father, he was killed in war (See 1 Samuel 18). God’s hand got heavy upon David to make sin bitter in his mouth; yet His other hand embraced him to support him amid his bitterness; according to words of the Song of songs, saying: “His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me” (Song 2: 6). God may deprive us of some temporal blessings to qualify us to enjoy the eternal glory; He brings us forth into tribulation, to find in Him, alone, our help. Before his fall, David used to be perpetually growing, and exultant even in the moments of his affliction, for God’s hand supported him. But having deceived been by sin, and having hidden his iniquity within himself, he got back to trouble, and the garden of his soul traversed by a river of living water, turned into a barren wilderness, or into a lamp without oil like those of the foolish virgin in the parable mentioned by the Lord in Matthew 25: 3. His heart became like a desert that produces thistles and thorns. + As you may notice in the Holy Book, sin is called a “thorn”; a thorn that not just prickles us on the outside, but pierces deep in our flesh; if not taken out completely, the little part left will hurt as though all of it is still there; and even if taken completely out, the pain caused by it will linger, and the wound will need further treatment and care for a long time until it completely heals. It is the same with sin, it is not enough to take it out, but there will be need for a long treatment of the trace of the wound it caused until it completely heals.. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. John Chrysostom) c- Reveling his sin: It was not possible for the wilderness of his heart to receive the rich grace of God to pour on him the water of God’s love, to turn it into a garden, unless he reveals his sin and acknowledges it. “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden” (5) The hand of the surgeon had to use the scalpel to open the wounds up to expose and cleanse the corruption in them. If our pride makes it difficult for us to confess our sins, humility is the only way to proclaim the truth; to get the forgiveness of our sins. And as humility exhorts us to confession, confession, in its turn, will crucify the self-ego, and teach the soul to be humble, and take away its hidden pride. And as the soul learns the true humility, it will encounter love, by which a multitude of sins are covered; and as long as it escapes from confession, it will come close to pride, and far from love, to end up losing its peace. + “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4: 8). If pride takes love away, humility makes it stronger; and can wipe sins away. Humility walks hand in hand with confession; Pride motivate us to confess that we are sinners; yet, not just by the tongue, or out of fear of the anger of men, when they see us pretend righteousness. If you wish for the forgiveness of your sins, confess them to God, for then you can say to Him: “Hide Your face from my sins” (Psalm 51: 9); and may also add: “For I acknowledge my transgressions” (Psalm 51: 3). “If we https://coptic-treasures.com/ confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness” (1 John 1: 9, 10). (St. Augustine) + If we reveal our sins, not only to God, but to those capable of treating our wounds, our iniquities will be wiped out by Him who says: “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins” (Isaiah 44: 22). (The scholar Origen) + Condemn your own sins; for that would be enough defense before Your Lord; for it would be difficult for him who so does, to fall again into sins. Wake up your conscience, your inner prosecutor; so that you will have none on the great day of judgment. (St. John Chrysostom) + The law is my helper; for through it I started to confess what I previously used to deny (that I am a sinner). I started to acknowledge my sin, and not to hide my oppression; which I started to condemn myself before the Lord, who forgave the iniquities of my heart. (St. Ambrose) David proclaims that he has not hidden his sin (5), for he knows that whoever hides his sin, does not deceive God but deceives, and destroys himself. He did not want to act like a child who, putting his hands on his eyes, thinks that others would not see him. https://coptic-treasures.com/ c- Holding fast to a life of prayer: As it is impossible for the sinner to enjoy confessing his sin, unless he practices the life of prayer, the psalmist, perceiving that all saints are men of prayer; and that prayer is the breath of those who fear God, says: “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You, in a time when You may be found” (6) God wishes to be found, to grant His godly men salvation from affliction, as though in the midst of a flood of great water; the psalmist adds: “Surely in a flood of great waters, they shall not come near him” (6) As long as we seek Go, we shall find Him; and not even “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth” would be able to come near us. Salvation depends upon God’s presence in us; It depends upon our faithfulness in prayer; to enjoy the sweetness of His dwelling, and of His salvation work. 2- THE DIVINE PROTECTION: (7) “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance” (7) God who forgives our sins through our confession, and justifies us, is our refuge, our hiding place, our rescuing ark, in which the waters of the great flood of judgment would not be able to come near us (6). He who forgives our sins will not leave us on our own, https://coptic-treasures.com/ but will keep on granting us His protection. We are committed to set forth to Him to enjoy the grace of His Holy Spirit. + “You are my hiding place’ You shall preserve me from trouble”. You are my refuge from the pressure of the sin that caused my heart to bleed. “You shall surround me with songs of deliverance”. My whole exultation is in You; Save me from sorrows, which my sins have brought forth upon me. + “Save me, O my exultation”. … If you are already exultant, why then would you seek salvation?! … Do you exult and groan at the same time?! … Yes, I exult in hope; and I groan because of my situation now! (St. Augustine) 3- THE DIVINE GUIDANCE: (8 – 10) God, the Forgiver of sins, and the faithful Refuge of the soul, is our Guide, who is ready to lead His children along His royal path; “the path of the inner righteousness”; He will keep His eyes on us, as long as we keep ours on Him. “I shall instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eyes” (8) + This psalm is known as “The psalm of understanding” I shall grant you understanding to let you perpetually know yourself; and to perpetually exult in the joy of hope before God, until you reach your ultimate home; where there is no more hope, but the true actuality. “I will guide you with my eyes” (8). I shall not turn my eyes away from you, as long as you do not turns your eyes away from me. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Augustine) “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not stay near you” (9) As long as the believer delivers his life to God, the Lord will guide him along His path, granting him the spirit of wisdom and understanding; And as long as he hold his eyes fast upon the Lord, the Lord will hold His eyes upon him. But he, who rejects the counsel of God, will become without understanding, counted by the psalmist as a horse or mule; for the understanding is what distinguishes us from the irrational beasts. By Christ Jesus – the Wisdom of the Father – we would be upgraded to become like the angels of God; And by rejecting God, we would lose even our own humanity. It would be enough for a father to look at his son; for through understanding, the son would hasten to correct his probable fault; Whereas, for the horse or the mule, the mere looks of their master would not be enough, but they would need a bit or a bridle to harness and lead them. The looks of her Savior would be enough for the humble soul, to weep together with Simon Peter who could not endure the admonishing look of His Lord during His trial; Whereas the proud soul would need the bridle of cruel temptations to make her come back close to Him by repentance, and to know the path of her salvation; Hence the psalmist goes on saying: “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him” (10) + With a bit and bridle He controls those who come near you; for under certain circumstances, they would bow their necks to God, even though against their will. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Cyril the Great) + Indeed, man has been enjoying a place of honor, but has fallen in iniquity, as it happened to Samson, who was forsaken by virtue, wisdom, and grace, and was punished by blindness and humiliation. By denying himself the light of reason, man would be qualified for the task of beasts. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) 4- THE DIVINE JOY: (11) “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (11) If the sorrow is the portion of the wicked, the double joy is the portion of the righteous, the upright in heart. The secret of this joy is “the Lord”. They rejoice in the Lord as the Forgiver of their sins, as their refuge, as the Guide of their life, and as the source of their glory. Their joy is in the Lord, not by the temporal riches, nor by the earthly things. The psalm started by giving blessing to those whose sins are forgiven; and ended by rejoicing in the Lord, and not in the riches, nor in the relief from suffering. By the forgiveness of our sins, our hearts would become faithful to God, and the Lord would proclaim His joyous kingdom in us. ------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 32 FORGIVE MY SINS https://coptic-treasures.com/ + Let Your Holy Spirit give light to my heart; Let me not hide my sins, but confess them; + Grant me pure tears, to shed them before You; Hold my right hand, to consummate Your commandment; Lead me to Your path, and fill me with Your wisdom and understanding; Cover me with Your precious blood, and do not impute my iniquity. + By You I enjoy wisdom; and without You I perish by foolishness. By You I am filled with joy; and without you, I will be swallowed by sorrow; By You, my soul would find comfort forever; and without You, I shall find no comfort. + The looks of Your eyes would be enough for me, to know Your will, and to return to You; Draw me by Your love, and make my heart rejoice by Your grace.
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