Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.  It is a wonderful thing to receive and a wonderful thing to give.

However, I wonder if there is something even better.

Psa. 32:0         A MASKIL OF DAVID.

Psa. 32:1         Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

                        whose sin is covered.

²           Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,

                        and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Psa. 32:3         For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

                        through my groaning all day long.

⁴           For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

                        my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

Psa. 32:5         I acknowledged my sin to you,

                        and I did not cover my iniquity;

             I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”

                        and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Psa. 32:6         Therefore let everyone who is godly

                        offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

             surely in the rush of great waters,

                        they shall not reach him.

⁷           You are a hiding place for me;

                        you preserve me from trouble;

                        you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

Psa. 32:8         I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

                        I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹           Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

                        which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

                        or it will not stay near you.

Psa. 32:10       Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

                        but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

¹¹          Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,

                        and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Commenting on vss. 8 and 9, Derek Kidner writes,

“This is the Lord’s reply to David (see on 12:5, 6), and through him to the rest of us, since the command of verse 9 is in the plural. Coming where it does, its call for a teachable spirit drives home the lesson of verses 1–5 in a positive form. If forgiveness is good, fellowship is better; if we have experienced God’s heavy hand (4), we should appreciate and seek his gentler touch. But the well-known   rendering in AV, ‘I will guide thee with mine eye’, which suggests our responsiveness to his glance, is not accurate, although there is a similar thought in 123:2, where the servant watches for the master’s signal. The point here is God’s vigilance and intimate care, … with my eye upon you; our response is in verse 9.”^[1]

I was especially struck by the comment by Kidner, “If forgiveness is good, fellowship is better; if we have experienced God’s heavy hand (4), we should appreciate and seek his gentler touch.”

Yes!  Even though this psalm is about forgiveness, it is about so much more.  It is about obedience to God, an obedience that should be prompted by the mere loving eye of God.

When I was little—and even not so little—there was a certain look my mom or dad could give me that clued me in to what I should be doing, or, more often than not, what I should not be doing.  I could ignore their look, but it usually ended badly when I did.  My parents were loving people, who forgave an awfully lot of my stupidities and rebellions.  However, I was wiser—and happier—when I heeded “the look.”

Oh, God, just for today, help me to know that I am forgiven!  Help me also to delight in being guided by your loving heart and eyes!  And may all my readers also enjoy the happiness of being forgiven and of forgiving others, but also may they revel in the deep joy of your guidance!

^[1]https://accordance.bible/link/read/Tyndale_Commentary#22328