Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 32:10
Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
10. The warning given in the preceding verse is confirmed by the contrast between the lot of the ungodly and the faithful.
many sorrows ] Calamities and chastisements. The LXX has , scourges. Cp. Job 33:19.
mercy ] Lovingkindness (Psa 31:7; Psa 31:16; Psa 31:21; Psa 33:5; Psa 33:18; Psa 33:22). The clause may also be rendered, with lovingkindness will he compass him about. Cp. Psa 32:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked – The meaning here is, probably, that those who will not submit themselves to God in the manner which the psalmist recommends; who are like the horse and the mule, needing to be restrained, and who are to be restrained only by force, will experience bitter sorrows. The psalmist may refer here, in part, to sorrows such as he says he himself experienced when he attempted to suppress the convictions of guilt Psa 32:3-4; and partly to the punishment that will come upon the impenitent sinner for his sins. The sorrows referred to are probably both internal and external; those arising from remorse, and those which will be brought upon the guilty as a direct punishment.
But he that trusteth in the Lord – He that has faith in God; he that so confides in him that he goes to him with the language of sincere confession.
Mercy shall compass him about – Shall surround him; shall attend him; shall be on every side of him. It shall not be only in one respect, but in all respects. He shall be surrounded with mercy – as one is surrounded by the air, or by the sunlight. He shall find mercy and favor everywhere, at home, abroad; by day, by night; in society, in solitude; in sickness, in health; in life, in death; in time, in eternity. He shall walk amidst mercies; he shall die amidst mercies; he shall live in a better world in the midst of eternal mercies.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 32:10
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.
The portion of the righteous and the wicked contrasted
Note the contrast in these words. The wicked, and those who trust in the Lord. And the many sorrows of the one, with the encompassing mercy of the other. The psalmist, therefore, defines wickedness as a not trusting in the Lord. This certainly is not the description that would be generally given of a wicked person. You think it too mild to give of a wicked person, simply to affirm in respect of such an one, that he is a man who places no trust in God; and yet more attentive examination will serve to illustrate that scarcely could there be a more emphatic or a more melancholy description to give of a wicked man, than to declare of him that he is the exact opposite of one who puts trust in God. Why, only consider how want of trust in God leads necessarily to all that is depraved and vicious in practice. The man who is devoid of such trust has no defence left to keep him from any one species of wickedness. What is it but trust in God–trust in His character–trust in His promises–trust in His threatenings, which lies at the foundation of all that is morally excellent? Do away with this trust, and there seems to be no safeguard left to hinder from wickedness, or allure to piety. Let this trust be wanting, and where is the motive remaining, whether to animate for duty, or to warn from iniquity? And so if we were set to delineate the moral character of the righteous, we should be tempted to say far more than that he is simply one who puts his trust in God. But because this is the real essence of his character, the root from which springs all else that is good, therefore it is after all the best description that could be given. And whilst the text tells of many sorrows that shall be to the wicked, it does not put joys as the distinguishing lot of the righteous in opposition to those sorrows. But it tells of mercy: not of joy. Let us now seek to vindicate the assertions of the text.
I. As to the wicked. Is it true that many sorrows shall be to them? It often does not seem so, but the very reverse. But wherever a man reposes his main confidence, there he rests the foundation of his peace. But as the wicked does not trust in the Lord, he must be dependent on some created source, and all such are transient and perishable. No man can satisfy the desires of the soul with anything short of God. You cannot centre your affections on any created thing. Sorrow, then, must at length be inherited by the wicked. And they accompany him now; follow him into the recesses of his soul, where conscience will speak and will be heard, and what the soul has perpetually to hear is its condemning voice. There we see how it is that many sorrows shall be to the wicked.
II. As to the righteous. Mercy shall compass him about. Mercy, that is, pity and love. He needs both, for he is a transgressor, and prone to err. Therefore he needs not only love, but pity. And they are his. They are the mercy which environ him round. Who, then, would not rather choose his portion? (R. Bickersteth, B. A.)
The sorrows of the wicked
I. Was are the wicked? Describe the character of the ungodly–
1. By their dislike to God, and contempt of His authority.
2. By their practical violation of the Divine law.
3. By their hatred of the righteous.
4. By their unregenerate nature.
II. what are the sorrows of the wicked?
1. Disappointment (Ecc 2:4; Ecc 2:11; Ecc 2:26).
2. Remorse (Mat 27:4-5; Psa 7:16).
3. Anticipation.
4. The sorrows of hell. (R. Scott.)
Mercy for those who trust in the Lord
This is most encouraging and consolatory. It refers to–
1. The supplies with which God will favour us. What is it but mercy that feeds, clothes, and provides for us according to our several necessities? We have no claim to any of these blessings on the ground of human merit. God does not feed us because we deserve this grace: it is His mercy compassing us about.
2. The compassionate regard which God exercises toward us. When we consider our manifest defects, our imperfections, our infirmities, what reason have we to fear that God should enter into judgment with us!
3. The defence with which God will surround His people. Our enemies may beset us on every side, but mercy shall compass us about: Job; Daniel. (R. Scott.)
The righteous encompassed by mercy
Gods mercies are always more numerous than we see them. We choose to call one tiring or another a benefit and a blessing because it happens to fit our desires, or, at least, our ideas of what a blessing ought to be. But we are too insensible, too short-sighted, to see all the stars of Gods goodness in the sky. Only here and there do we perceive a point of light, a larger or a lesser sun or planet. But had we finer spiritual vision, we should perceive the innumerable points of light in what are now to us but the dark interstellar spaces. The highly-sensitized plate of the astronomical photographer reveals a countless multitude of stars where a field-glass, or even a telescope, fails to discover aught but blank space. We have not gone so far yet in our spiritual perceptions–we are not yet so spiritually sensitized–as to see our sky a blaze of light. But each new revelation, each new star or group of stars, as it appears above our horizon, ought to be an evidence that the dark is not darkness, but light unperceived. The sky of life is not merely studded with mercies. It is itself mercy. (P. Du Bois.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked] Every wicked man is a miserable man. God has wedded sin and misery as strongly as he has holiness and happiness. God hath joined them together; none can put them asunder.
But he that trusteth in the Lord] Such a person is both safe and happy.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: this is an argument to enforce the foregoing admonition; if any men will be refractory and unruly, God hath many ways to curb and chastise them, and bring them to his will.
He that trusteth in the Lord; who relies upon his providence and promise for his preservation and deliverance, and commits himself to Gods care and conduct, waiting upon him in his way, and not turning aside to crooked or sinful paths for safety or satisfaction.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. The sorrows of theimpenitent contrasted with the peace and safety secured by God’smercy.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked,…. Who will not be instructed and reformed, but are like the horse and mule, without understanding; many outward sorrows or afflictions attend them; loathsome and consuming diseases come upon their bodies by intemperance and debauchery; and they and their families are brought to a piece of bread, through their vicious courses; and inward sorrows, horror and terror of mind, seize them when their consciences are at any time awakened, and are open to conviction; when a load of guilt lies on them, what remorse of conscience they feel! and what severe reflections do they make! and how are they pierced through with many sorrows! And though indeed, for the most part, wicked men have their good things in this life, and are in prosperous circumstances, and are not in trouble, as other men; yet what they have is with a curse; and they have no true peace, pleasure, and satisfaction in what they enjoy; and the curses of a righteous law; and everlasting destruction is prepared for them in the other world, when they will have many sorrows indeed; their worm will not die, and the fire of divine fury will not be quenched; there will be for ever indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that does evil;
but he that trusteth in the Lord; not in his wealth and riches, in his wisdom and strength, in himself, and his own righteousness; for such are wicked persons; but in the Lord; in his righteousness to justify him, in his blood to pardon him, in his strength to support him, and in his grace to supply him with everything necessary for him;
mercy shall compass him about; not only follow him and overtake him, but surround him; he shall be crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies: the phrase denotes the abundance of mercies that shall be bestowed upon him here and hereafter, as both grace and glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked. Without a figure he here declares what will be the condition of the rebellious and stiff-necked. (669) He mentioned before that God wanted not bridles and bits with which to restrain their frowardness; and now he adds, that there would be no end or measure of their miseries until they were utterly consumed. Although God, therefore, may spare us for a time, yet let this denunciation fill us with fear, and preserve us from hardening ourselves, because we are as yet unpunished; nor let our prosperity, which is cursed by God, so deceive us as to close our minds against reflecting on those unseen sorrows which he threatens against all the wicked. And as the Psalmist has told us, on the one hand, that God is armed with innumerable plagues against the wicked, so he adds, on the other hand, that he is furnished with infinite goodness, with which he can succor all who are his. The sum is, that there is no other remedy for our afflictions but to humble ourselves under God’s hand, and to found our salvation on his mercy alone; and that those who rely on God shall be blessed in all respects, because, on whatever side Satan may assault them, there will the Lord oppose him, and shield them with his protecting power.
(669) Fry reads, “Many are the wounds of the refractory;” on which he has the following note:- “We perceive in this place the exact idea of ושץ, in its allusion to the restive, disobedient, unyielding, ungovernable mule or horse. It is opposed to בטח, to confide in, to yield to, or succumb, as the gentle beast fully confides and yields himself to the management of his guide.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
10, 11. These verses are a summing up of the whole in the contrast of the conditions and treatment of the righteous and the wicked, and an exhortation to joy and praise by all the upright.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6). He Emphasises The Fact That The One Who Trusts In YHWH Will Be Surrounded With Mercy (10).
‘Many sorrows will be to the wicked,
But he who trusts in YHWH, lovingkindness will compass him about.’
David sums up his experience in a simple statement. Those who are wicked, (unresponsive to YHWH as David had been), will experience many sorrows, but those who respond to YHWH in faith and trust, will be surrounded by His lovingkindness and mercy, His covenant love. Here David makes clear his dependence on the grace of God, as well as the dependence of others. It is not by doing good that they will be surrounded by His lovingkindness, but by trusting in Him, but the very word lovingkindness. signifies love within the covenant and thus assumes a covenant response in David.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 32:10 Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Ver. 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked ] This is David’s doctrine (his use followeth in the next verse), Many pains, or great smarts, are for the wicked, &c. And as Luther saith, Let him that can rightly distinguish between law and gospel give thanks to God, and know himself to be a good divine; so say I, let him that is firmly persuaded of this truth here delivered know himself to be a good proficient in Christ’s school: for it is the principle of all holy learning.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the wicked = the lawless one. Hebrew. rasha. App-44.
trusteth = confideth. Hebrew. batah. App-69.
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 32:10-11
Psa 32:10-11
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he that trusteth Jehovah, lovingkindness shall compass him about.
Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous;
And shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked” (Psa 32:10). What a lie is that of Satan who advertises his way as that of “liberty,” or “freedom.” The simple truth is here bluntly stated. “The way of the transgressor is hard” (Pro 13:15). The sinful way is the way of sorrow, heartbreak, failure, and remorse.
It appears that Psalms 51 was probably written by David under the impact of the forgiveness that God bestowed upon him soon afterward; but this psalm gives the impression of being the fruit of a far longer meditation upon that event, in the course of which there is a more general statement of issues involved. This 32Psalm might therefore be viewed as the fulfilment of the vow David made in Psa 51:13.
“How stark is the contrast between Psa 32:3-4; Psa 32:11! Who should want to choose the former over the latter?
This psalm gives us a dramatic contrast between the wicked and the righteous. “The wicked envisioned here are the enemies of God; the righteous are those who live in the Covenant of their God. They are not perfect, but they confess their sins and acknowledge their duties in the household of faith.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 32:10. Righteous men often have sorrows, but they are not the sorrows of penitence like the experiences of the wicked. Mercy shall compass or surround the man who puts his trust in the Lord.
Psa 32:11. Glad and rejoice are about the same practically. The first refers especially to the state of mind and the second to the expression of it. Shout is a stronger word than rejoice. It is defined in Strong’s lexicon, “to creak (or emit a stridulous [shrill] sound).”
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Many: Psa 16:4, Psa 34:19-21, Psa 140:11, Pro 13:21, Ecc 8:12, Isa 3:11, Isa 57:21, Rom 2:8, Rom 2:9, 1Ti 6:10
but: Psa 2:12, Psa 5:12, Psa 34:8, Psa 40:4, Psa 84:12, Psa 146:5, Psa 147:11, Pro 16:20, Isa 12:2, Isa 12:3, Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8
Reciprocal: Job 21:17 – distributeth Psa 7:1 – in Psa 13:5 – But Psa 32:7 – compass Psa 33:21 – For Psa 33:22 – General Psa 71:21 – comfort Isa 50:11 – ye shall 1Co 1:28 – to bring
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 32:10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked This is an argument to enforce the preceding admonition; as if he had said, If any will be refractory or unruly, God hath many ways to curb and chastise them, and bring them to be subject to his will. They, says Dr. Horne, who are not to be reformed by gentler methods, must learn righteousness under the rod of affliction, in the school of the cross; and happy are they if their sorrows may so turn to their advantage. But happier are those who, led by the goodness of God to repentance and faith, enjoy the light and protection of mercy. For, He that trusteth in the Lord, &c. Who relies upon his providence and promise, for his preservation and deliverance, and commits himself to Gods care and conduct, waiting upon him in his way, and not turning aside to crooked or sinful paths for safety or comfort; mercy shall compass him about Namely, on every side, and preserve him from departing from God on the one hand, and shall prevent any real evil from assaulting him on the other.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The wicked can count on having much sorrow in life normally. On the other hand, those who trust in the Lord will experience His loyal love and will be able to praise Him.
Believers who sin are wise to confess their sins to God as soon after we commit them as possible. This will minimize the discipline God sends to bring us to repentance. [Note: See Swindoll, pp. 106-17.]
"The case can be made that great men and women throughout the Bible and church history have been men and women of repentance. The more we see of God and his glory, the more we become aware of indwelling sin, and therefore the more we find repentance to be a way of Life. As George Whitefield said, ’The indwelling of sin in the heart is the burden of a converted person; it is the burden of a true Christian.’ [Note: George Whitefield, Select Sermons of George Whitefield, p. 81.] Therefore it follows that the so-called penitential psalms were often on the lips of great people of God. Psalms 32 was Augustine’s favorite, even setting it above his bed that he might immediately see it upon waking. [Note: Rowland E. Prothero, The Psalms in Human Life, p. 38.] Of this psalm he said, ’The beginning of understanding is to know thyself a sinner.’ [Note: John Ker, The Psalms in History and Biography, p. 58.] Even on his deathbed he asked that the penitential psalms be written out and placed where he could see them. [Note: Prothero, p. 18.] According to Martin Luther, the greatest of psalms were the ’Psalmi Paulini’ (Pauline Psalms). He considered these to be Psalms 32, 51, 130, , 143, which were all penitential psalms. [Note: Ker, p. 58.] Of course, Scripture does not attach these psalms to the apostle Paul, yet its propriety cannot be doubted for the man who considered himself the chief of sinners." [Note: Bullock, p. 207.]
"The psalm could lead us to think through the ways in which our culture denies and suppresses and covers up all in the name of competence, prosperity, and success. For what the psalm finally commends is yielding. Against that, our social values are oriented to unyielding control." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 98.]