John Calvin Commentary Psalms 32:5

"I 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. Selah" — Psalms 32:5 (ASV)

I have acknowledged my sin unto thee. The prophet now describes the outcome of his misery, in order to show to all the accessible way of obtaining the happiness he mentions. When his feeling of divine wrath severely troubled and tormented him, his only relief was to sincerely condemn himself before God, and humbly to flee to Him to seek His forgiveness.

He does not say, however, that his sins merely came to his remembrance, for so also did the sins of Cain and Judas, although to no avail; because, when the consciences of the wicked are troubled with their sins, they do not cease to torment themselves and to fret against God. Indeed, although He forces them unwillingly to His judgment, they still eagerly desire to hide themselves.

But here a very different method of acknowledging sin is described; namely, when the sinner willingly turns to God, building his hope of salvation not on stubbornness or hypocrisy, but on supplication for pardon. This voluntary confession is always joined with faith; for otherwise, the sinner will continually seek hiding places where he may hide himself from God.

David’s words clearly show that he came sincerely and wholeheartedly into the presence of God, so that he would conceal nothing. When he tells us that he acknowledged his sin, and did not hide it, the latter clause is added, according to the Hebrew idiom, for emphasis. There is no doubt, therefore, that David, when he appeared before God, poured out all his heart.

Hypocrites, we know, so that they may downplay their evil deeds, either disguise or misrepresent them; in short, they never make an honest confession of them with a sincere and open mouth. But David denies that he was guilty of this wickedness.

Without any deceit, he made known to God whatever troubled him; and this he confirms by the words, I have said. While the wicked are dragged by force, just as a judge compels offenders to come to trial, he assures us that he came deliberately and with full intention; for the term said simply signifies that he deliberated with himself.

It therefore follows that he promised and assured himself of pardon through the mercy of God, so that terror might not prevent him from making a free and sincere confession of his sins.

The phrase upon myself, or against myself, suggests that David rejected all the excuses and pretenses by which men usually unburden themselves, transferring their fault to others or blaming other people. David, therefore, determined to submit himself entirely to God’s judgment and to make known his own guilt, so that being self-condemned, he might as one who humbly asks obtain pardon.

And thou didst remit the guilt of my sin. This clause is set in opposition to the severe and dreadful turmoil by which he says he was tormented before he approached God’s grace by faith. But the words also teach that as often as the sinner presents himself at the throne of mercy with sincere confession, he will find reconciliation with God waiting for him.

In other words, the Psalmist means that God was not only willing to pardon him, but that his example provided a general lesson that those in distress should not doubt God’s favor toward them as soon as they turn to Him with a sincere and willing mind.

Should anyone infer from this that repentance and confession are the cause of obtaining grace, the answer is simple: David is not speaking here of the cause but of the manner in which the sinner becomes reconciled to God. Confession, no doubt, is involved, but we must look beyond this and consider that it is faith which, by opening our hearts and tongues, truly obtains our pardon.

It is not to be conceded that everything necessarily connected with pardon is to be counted among its causes. Or, to speak more simply, David obtained pardon by his confession, not because he deserved it by the mere act of confessing, but because, under the guidance of faith, he humbly pleaded for it from his Judge.

Moreover, as the same method of confession should be in use among us today, which was formerly employed by the fathers under the Law, this adequately refutes that tyrannical decree of the Pope, which turns us away from God and sends us to his priests to obtain pardon.