Psalm 32 – When I kept silent my bones wasted away
Why does silence cause such devastation in us?

David wrote, “When I kept silent my bones wasted away”. But why? What was it about David’s silence that brought about such internal devastation? Does silence still do that to us today? And is it for the same reason?

Psalm 32 - When I kept silent my bones wasted away is article #32 in the series: Psalms. Click this button to view all titles for entire series.

Wait. How did we get such a pleasant image when the title is “When I kept silent my bones wasted away?

It’s because I pulled out one verse from the eleven that make up the Psalm.

And yet, while the one verse sounds negative, the overall Psalm really is incredibly positive. If we understand what it means. What it’s instructing us to do.

So don’t worry, there will be an image to match the title.

And a brief explanation of why the Psalm is so positive.

Not to mention, why I chose this one verse to write about.

Psalm 32

Psalm 32 

Of David. A maskil.
	 	 
Ps 32:1 Blessed is he 	 	 	 	 
whose transgressions are forgiven, 
whose sins are covered. 

Ps 32:2 Blessed is the man 	 	 	 	 
whose sin the LORD does not count against him 
and in whose spirit is no deceit. 

Ps 32:3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away 
through my groaning all day long. 

Ps 32:4 For day and night 
your hand was heavy upon me; 
my strength was sapped 
as in the heat of summer.

Selah 	 

Ps 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you 
and did not cover up my iniquity. 
I said, “I will confess 
my transgressions to the LORD”— 
and you forgave 
the guilt of my sin.

Selah 	 

Ps 32:6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you 
while you may be found; 
surely when the mighty waters rise, 
they will not reach him. 

Ps 32:7 You are my hiding place; 
you will protect me from trouble 
and surround me with songs of deliverance. 

Selah 	 

Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; 
I will counsel you and watch over you. 

Ps 32:9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, 
which have no understanding 
but must be controlled by bit and bridle 
or they will not come to you. 

Ps 32:10 Many are the woes of the wicked, 
but the LORD'S unfailing love 
surrounds the man who trusts in him. 

Ps 32:11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; 
sing, all you who are upright in heart! 

Background on Psalm 32

Psalm 32 is the second of the so-called penitential psalms. The others are Psalms 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. But the psalm might better be called “a psalm of instruction” from the title word maskil, which seems to mean “the giving of instruction.” Psalm 32 is the first of twelve psalms that bear this title.

The psalm should probably be interpreted in connection with Psalm 51, which is David’s great psalm of repentance. David had sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and had then manipulated the plan of battle to have her husband, Uriah, who was a soldier, killed. He had tried to ignore or hide the sin for some time. But when the prophet Nathan came to him to expose the transgression, David confessed it and was restored.

Psalm 51 is the immediate expression of that confession and restoration. It breathes with the emotion of the moment. Psalm 32 seems to have been written later than Psalm 51, after some reflection, and may therefore, as Leupold suggests, be “the fulfillment of the vow contained in Psalm 51:13: ‘Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ ” That “teaching” may be the maskil which is Psalm 32.  ¹Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 277). Baker Books.

What is it that David kept silent about?

David’s sin sounds almost minor with that one sentence above to explain it. David had sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and had then manipulated the plan of battle to have her husband, Uriah, who was a soldier, killed.

Likewise, David doesn’t seem at all like his bones were wasting away with only one sentence to convey the alleged turmoil within him. He had tried to ignore or hide the sin for some time.

Finally, David’s restoration also seems quite simple and straightforward with just one more sentence to cover it. But when the prophet Nathan came to him to expose the transgression, David confessed it and was restored.

The adjacent image is getting more like something that fits the title now.

In the first image, we saw doves, the castle representing the Kingdom, and sunshine even in the mountains.

But now, while David is keeping silent (from God), the sun is in the distance. There are clouds and snowcapped mountains between the man and the sun.

So while all is well in the first one, all is not well in the second one.

They show the difference between when we interact with God and when we don’t.

But still, was it really that bad?

Let’s take a look at a passage in 2 Samuel where David is confronted with what he did.

You’re welcome to read 2 Samuel 11 if you aren’t familiar with the details of what led to the rebuke we’re about to read.

God sent Nathan, a prophet, to tell Daniel a story. A story David thought was literally true. Then he found out it was true, but it was an allegory – a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning.

Nathan Rebukes David

11:1; 12:29-31 pp — 1Ch 20:1-3

2Sa 12:1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
2Sa 12:4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

Thinking it was an actual event, David has a natural reaction to what Nathan told him.

2Sa 12:5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

David had no idea the [punishment he just stated was for his own deeds.

While that’s true, it does show David’s state of mind, assuming he thought about what he’d done. Given other Psalms, we know David was aware of his actions and the consequences stemming from them. Including adultery and a dead husband.

2Sa 12:7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

2Sa 12:11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ”

David himself prayed to God to tell him if there was anything in him that needed to be changed.

The strongest such statement is in Psalm 139, where David asked God to “Search me, know my heart, test me”.

If you haven’t already read it, I hope you take the time to do so. That’s a prayer we should all pray, on a regular basis.

2Sa 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Unlike so many people today, David didn’t fight what Nathan said. David knew it was true and accepted it. He didn’t try to deny it. Appeal it. Claim bias. Say, “So what if I did?”

Also unlike so many people today, David knew there were consequences to his actions. Nathan addressed those next.

Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Yes, there is a difference between forgiveness of sin and suffering consequences for our sins. Forgiveness is from God. It’s more focused on the next life. Consequences, even with forgiveness, are the things that are going to happen in this life as a result of the things we did.

We have no absolute immunity. We cannot do whatever we want and hope to completely escape all blame and consequences. Forgiveness means Jesus pays the debt for our sins. But Jesus’ death does not absolve us of consequences in this life.

And David surely suffered consequences.

2Sa 12:15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
2Sa 12:18 On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

And that was only the beginning. There’s so much more that happened after this.

Next, we see how David reacted.

2Sa 12:19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

2Sa 12:20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

2Sa 12:21 His servants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!”

2Sa 12:22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

David went into the house of the LORD and worshiped! There was no sulking. No talk of trying the judge (God) for treason. No disobeying or ignoring God’s judgment. And no transferring to another God.

That probably seems so weak to many people today. Today, we ignore what we did, pretend we didn’t do what we know we did, or hope others won’t realize the truth about what we did. Just owning up to it and taking the consequences feels like a thing of the long distant past.

And then …

2Sa 12:24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25 and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

2Sa 12:26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

2Sa 12:29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 He took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. He did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

And then, life as King went on. No, the consequences were not finished yet. But David did turn back to God.

As to God’s feelings about David, remember part of what Paul said about David in Acts, in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch:

In Pisidian Antioch

 

Ac 13:13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.”

Ac 13:16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.
“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

Ac 13:23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
…

Those aren’t words spoken about someone who turned away from God.

Conclusion – Psalm 32 – When I kept silent my bones wasted away

Yes, the image with God’s Kingdom so far away, on the other side of the darkness and the mountains of troubles, seems impossibly far. It did for David. And David was troubled by that. God sent Nathan to confront David. And David immediately confessed his sins. Yes, consequences followed. But they were only for this life. They weren’t forever. They weren’t what we call as Christians, the second death.

For us today, we most likely don’t have a Nathan. Accountability, like so many other decent traits, is frowned on. People today are more likely to tell us to fight than to admit wrongdoing.

That’s wrong. And yet, it’s obviously a temptation that so many people succumb to.

We need to keep that first picture in mind. God’s Kingdom really is near. And it’s really worth pursuing.

And no, we probably won’t have a Nathan. But we do have the Holy Spirit. The thing is, God gives us the free will to ignore the Holy Spirit. I have prayed in the past, and will continue to do so, that when I choose to ignore Him, He’ll keep after me until I do acknowledge Him.

As Peter answered Jesus when so all His followers abandoned Him except the twelve:

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

Jn 6:60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

Jn 6:61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”

Jn 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Jn 6:67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

Jn 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jn 6:70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)  

Ultimately, the question for us is this. When we know we have something to confess to God, will we be strong enough to do it? Or will we try to hide from God? Try to pretend to ourselves that it didn’t happen?

The choice is critical. It’s the difference between being one of the masses who deserted Jesus, or one of the few who stayed with Him.

Of course, we can return later. And the Holy Spirit will be quietly prompting us to do that. Although, one time I prayed for God to hit me with a (spiritual) 2×4 (piece of lumber). He did. And I’m grateful for that.

But if we’re too busy denying, protesting, pretending, or whatever, will we remember what we used to have? Will we remember that God is waiting to welcome us back?

Or will we close the door on our Nathan (if he/she does exist), on the Holy Spirit, and wander on over to the larger door?

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Images by Bing Chat GPT-4 and Image Creator with DALL-E 3, based on cwgsu requests.

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Footnotes

• 1
  Boice, J. M. (2005). Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (p. 277). Baker Books.