Blessed Are the Unburdened: A Lenten Reflection on Psalm 32

We are coming up on the first Sunday in Lent. As we approach Sunday I am looking at the lectionary texts for the day. Yesterday I took a look at the Old Testament lesson (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-7). Today I look at the psalter (Psalm 32) which we use as a liturgical response to the first lesson.

Blessed Are the Unburdened: A Lenten Reflection on Psalm 32

Lent has a way of slowing us down long enough to hear the truth we often spend most of the year avoiding. This Sunday our psalter is Psalm 32. This psalm meets us in that vulnerable space. It is an invitation to honesty—honesty about our sin, our self-deception, and the quiet relief that comes when we finally stop pretending.

The psalm opens with a declaration that sounds almost like a sigh of relief:

1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

This is not a happiness that comes from ignorance or denial or distraction. The source of this happiness is the deep, settled joy of someone who has finally come clean.

The Weight We Carry

The psalmist knows what it feels like to carry the weight of unconfessed sin.

3 While I kept silent, my body 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.

The language is physical. Sin is not merely a theological category; it is a burden that presses on the body, mind, and spirit. This the experience of grace at work—God’s Spirit stirring discomfort not to condemn us but to awaken us.

We often imagine confession as something God needs from us. Psalm 32 reminds us that confession is something we need. The psalmist’s silence is not piety; it is suffocation. The longer we hide, the more we shrink.

The Turning Point

Then comes the moment of release:

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

No bargaining. No excuses. No elaborate rituals. Just the courage to tell the truth.

Confession is never about groveling before a reluctant God. It is about stepping into the light of a grace that has already gone ahead of us. God’s forgiveness is not a reward for confession; it is the reality that makes confession possible. We confess because we trust that God is already leaning toward us in mercy.

A Shelter in the Storm

Once the psalmist steps into the truth, the tone shifts from heaviness to refuge:

7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.

The God who convicts is the same God who shelters. Lent is not a season of self-loathing; it is a season of returning—returning to the One who longs to surround us with “glad cries of deliverance.” In Christ, confession becomes the doorway to joy.

Instruction for the Journey

The psalm ends with a gentle warning:

9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    else it will not stay near you.

In other words: don’t make God drag you toward freedom. Don’t cling to the illusion that you can manage your sin on your own. Don’t settle for the slow decay of silence when the Spirit is offering restoration.

Wesley would call this the work of sanctifying grace—the ongoing shaping of our hearts so that we learn to desire what God desires. Confession is not a one-time event; it is a rhythm that keeps us open to transformation. This is why I include a Prayer of Confession in almost every worship service I plan. Responding to a call of confession, making our confession, hearing the declaration of pardon are all vital to being truly free to worship God in freedom and new life.

Lent as a Season of Unburdening

Psalm 32 is a gift for Lent because it reminds us that repentance is not a punishment. It is a release. It is the Spirit’s invitation to stop carrying what is crushing us. This season is not about proving our worthiness. It is about rediscovering our belovedness. It is about letting God remove the weight we were never meant to bear.

10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

Steadfast love surrounds us. Even here. Even now.

As we move into Lent tomorrow, may it be a season of unburdening—of telling the truth, receiving mercy, and stepping into the glad cries of deliverance that God is already singing over us.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray...

Lord, you are a hiding place and a teacher. Give us ears to hear our hearts, courage to confess our sins, and the humility to accept your pardon. Shape us by your instructing love so that our repentance may bear the fruit of joy. Amen.

Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVue). Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.