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.
David shows us that true happiness rests on one thing alone: God's free forgiveness of our guilt and full acceptance of our persons. Without this reconciliation, men either writhe in torment or drift into deadly forgetfulness of both God and themselves, unable to imagine that He could be gracious to them at all.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 32:1-11
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding. Understanding separates man from a brute—let us not act as if we were devoid of it. Men should take counsel and advice, and be ready to run where wisdom points them the way. Alas! we need to be cautioned against stupidity of heart, for we are very apt to fall into it.
Having tasted the sweetness of pardoning mercy, David cannot doubt God will preserve him from trouble and guard him from returning to folly. God keeps His people from trouble by keeping them from sin. Now converted, he instructs others: whoever desires instruction, I will teach you in the great congregation.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 32:7-11