Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Psalms 32
Metaphysically Interpreting Psalms 32:1-11
32:1Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
32:2Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no guile.32:3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away
Through my groaning all the day long.
32:4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:
My moisture was changed as with the drought of summer.32:5I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
And mine iniquity did I not hide:
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah;
And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.32:6For this let every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found:
Surely when the great waters overflow they shall not reach unto him.
32:7Thou art my hiding-place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble;
Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance.32:8I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:
I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee.
32:9Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding;
Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in,
Else they will not come near unto thee.32:10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he that trusteth in Jehovah, lovingkindness shall compass him about.
32:11Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous;
And shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
October 25, 1903: Psalms 32:1-11
The value of confession is not appreciated as it deserves by the majority of people, especially those who have been influenced largely by the so-called rational view of life. Such look upon the devout Catholic, who goes weekly to the priest to “confession,” as the simple victim of a church “fake.” They relate instances where pure-minded girls confess regularly their little shortcomings to bibulous, gluttonous and licentious priests. They scout the idea that such representatives of God have any power to forgive sins. Yet the fact is patent to all who have observed that the confession does a marvelous work for the devotees.
The remorse that secretly eats at the vitals of one who has done a wrong is cast out, and light-hearted freedom fills the soul. The mind accepts the authority of the priest, as a representative of God, regardless of his character, and this forms in the mind a battery of strong spiritual ideas, that prevents the inflow of the mortal thought floods with which we are surrounded. When these “great waters overflow” they cannot reach such an one. Instruction and willing obedience to the light of Truth is what the soul craves.
Some people think the Lord should drive men into righteousness as beasts are driven, with bridle and goad. It is the “eye” of spiritual discernment of Truth that leads to a willing obedience. This brings rejoicing. “Rejoice, ye righteous, and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” When this inward joy comes as the result of a right relation between us and the Divine Law, we should express our happiness. If the desire to shout comes over you, and it surely will, if you have realized forgiveness, do not suppress it, but as the psalmist suggests, “ shout for joy.”
But when David “kept silent,” and allowed remorse to gnaw at his brain, his “bones waxed old.” The inference here is that he felt the presence of the Spirit, but resisted it. He was not only suffering from what he knew was sin, but he was also obstinate. He knew the law of spiritual forgiveness, but would not yield to it. Obstinacy is a resisting state of mind, and its tendency is to make the muscles, nerves, and, in fact, the whole body tense and brittle.
Deaf people are always obstinate, disobedient to the softening love of the Spirit that would gladly forgive every sin. It is found by metaphysicians that earache in children is healed by denying disobedience. This resisting thought of the spiritually disobedient corrodes the flow of nerve-fluid, and dryness ensues; the hearing is dulled and the bones get brittle. Hence David's statement, “My bones waxed old,” and “my moisture turned into the drought of summer,” is literally true.
Someone has said, “True confession implies your viewing the fact (of sin) in the same light in which God views it.” This being true, we see how quickly our sins are wiped away, when we come into consciousness of the sinless mind of God, who is of “too pure eyes to behold iniquity.” All sins are transitory states of thought without a foundation. When the light of Absolute Goodness is turned upon them, they dissolve like snow in summer time.
[By a] daily habit of prayer and thought cleansing, sinning thoughts are actually dissolved. Thus it is found that the Irish domestic is robust and happy while the lady of the house is a melancholy invalid. With one the mind is unburdened every week, washed clean of every sin, while the other carries about year in and year out the sinful thought and its effect, which settles back into the subconsciousness and finds vent in some bodily discord. Thus confession of sin, with faith in forgiveness, dissolves the error thought, and cuts off its effects in the body. This is what David discerns as a state of blessedness.
August 25, 1940: Psalms 32:5
The last part of today's lesson, an extract from Psalm 32, supplements Psalm 51, the evidence of forgiveness being cumulative. While on the subject of sin and repentance, it is in order to note the part that joy plays in the transformation of man. Both Psalms in this lesson mention joy, and its importance in the overcoming of sin cannot be overemphasized. “Sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death,” but when it is interrupted and cut down in its growth, man gains nothing by continuing in sorrow and remorse. He loses instead, for while he indulges in such unwholesome states he cannot contemplate Truth or entertain the Spirit of truth, the Comforter.
The orthodox believer says that Jesus Christ bore our sins, taking upon himself the sins of the whole world; yet Jesus could say, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” Without joy no one can realize forgiveness or be made aware of the loving-kindness of God.
– UNITY magazine.
July 24, 1949: Psalms 32:1-5
Whose transgression is forgiven? The transgression of everyone who truly repents of his wrongdoing and who turns from it to right thinking and living. “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.”
Is anyone altogether free from sin? No. Everyone at some time or other has fallen short of the mark of perfection and lost the consciousness of his oneness with God.
What is one of the most difficult sins to overcome? Hypocrisy, because the man who gives himself over to it lacks sincerity of heart. Deceit, treason, and treachery belong in the same class of sins. Overcoming them calls for the complete transformation of a man's life and character.
Is it the right course for us to ignore our falling short in the hope of thus overcoming it? No. To ignore it not only does not relieve us of the consciousness of sin; it increases our burden. We must repent; we must undergo a complete change of heart and turn from wrongdoing to right doing before we can become aware of God's forgiving love. “I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-04-2013
