Psalm 32:6 Study Bible: For this, let everyone who is faithful pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.

◄ Psalm 32:6 ►

Therefore let all the godly pray to You while You may be found. Surely when great waters rise, they will not come near.

Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to You
This phrase calls the "godly" to action, emphasizing the importance of prayer. The Hebrew word for "godly" is "חָסִיד" (chasid), which refers to those who are faithful, pious, and devoted to God. This term is often used to describe individuals who live in accordance with God's covenant, highlighting a life of righteousness and devotion. The call to "pray" underscores the intimate relationship between the believer and God, suggesting that prayer is not just a ritual but a vital communication with the Divine. Historically, prayer has been a cornerstone of Jewish and Christian practice, serving as a means to seek guidance, express gratitude, and request forgiveness.

while You may be found
This phrase suggests a sense of urgency and opportunity. The Hebrew root "מָצָא" (matsa) means "to find" or "to encounter." It implies that there is a favorable time for seeking God, a window of opportunity that should not be missed. This echoes the biblical theme of seeking God earnestly and diligently, as seen in Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near." The historical context of this urgency can be linked to the understanding that life is fleeting and unpredictable, and thus, one should not delay in turning to God.

Surely when great waters rise
The imagery of "great waters" rising is evocative of chaos and overwhelming circumstances. In the Hebrew Bible, water often symbolizes both life and destruction. The "great waters" can be seen as a metaphor for trials, tribulations, or divine judgment. This phrase may remind readers of the Flood narrative in Genesis, where water was used as a means of judgment but also as a path to new beginnings. The historical context of ancient Israel, with its reliance on seasonal rains and the threat of floods, would make this imagery particularly poignant.

they will not come near him
This assurance provides comfort and protection to the godly. The phrase suggests divine protection, where the faithful are shielded from overwhelming trials. The Hebrew word "קָרַב" (qarav) means "to come near" or "approach," indicating that while challenges may arise, they will not overtake or harm the one who is under God's protection. This promise of safety is a recurring theme in the Psalms, where God is often depicted as a refuge and fortress for those who trust in Him. Historically, this assurance would resonate with believers facing persecution or hardship, reinforcing their faith in God's providential care.

Persons / Places / Events

1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of Psalm 32, David is a central figure in the Old Testament, known for his deep relationship with God, his psalms, and his reign as king of Israel.

2. The Godly
Refers to those who are devout and faithful to God, seeking His presence and guidance in their lives.

3. Great Waters
Symbolic of overwhelming troubles or adversities that can threaten one's peace and security.

Teaching Points

The Urgency of Prayer
The verse emphasizes the importance of seeking God in prayer before times of trouble arise. It is a call to be proactive in our spiritual lives.

Security in God
When we are in right standing with God, symbolized by being "godly," we have the assurance that He will protect us from overwhelming circumstances.

God's Availability
The phrase "while You may be found" suggests that there are opportune times to seek God, and we should not delay in turning to Him.

The Power of Community Prayer
The call for "everyone who is godly" to pray highlights the strength found in communal prayer and the collective seeking of God's presence.

Symbolism of Water
Understanding "great waters" as symbolic of life's challenges can help us recognize the importance of spiritual preparedness and reliance on God.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the urgency of seeking God in Psalm 32:6 compare to other scriptures that emphasize timely prayer and repentance?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are among "the godly" who are encouraged to pray in this verse?

3. Reflect on a time when you faced "great waters" in your life. How did your relationship with God provide security during that time?

4. How can we encourage and support each other in communal prayer, as suggested by the collective call to prayer in this verse?

5. What practical steps can we take to seek God "while He may be found," and how can this be integrated into our daily lives?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Isaiah 55:6
This verse encourages seeking the Lord while He may be found, paralleling the urgency in Psalm 32:6 for the godly to pray.

Matthew 7:24-27
Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish builders connects to the idea of being secure when "great waters rise," emphasizing the importance of a strong foundation in God.

James 5:16
Highlights the power of prayer from the righteous, aligning with the call for the godly to pray in Psalm 32:6.

Sermons

On Seeking God	T. Taylor, D. D.	Psalm 32:6
Prayer the Proof of Godliness		Psalm 32:6
The Duty of Prayer	T. Mortimer, B. D.	Psalm 32:6
The Experimental Pardon of Sin Sought by Prayer	T. T. West, M. A.	Psalm 32:6
A Song of a Saved Soul	Joseph Pearce.	Psalm 32:1-7
Pardon of Sin the Only True Means to Happiness	T. Taylor, D,D.	Psalm 32:1-7
Persuasions to Seek After the Blessedness of Pardon		Psalm 32:1-7
Sin and Forgiveness	A. Maclaren, D. D.	Psalm 32:1-7
Sin Forgiven	J. H. Jowett, M. A.	Psalm 32:1-7
The Blessedness of Forgiveness	T. Vincent, M. A.	Psalm 32:1-7
The Blessedness of Forgiveness	H. Law, M. A.	Psalm 32:1-7
The Blessedness of Pardon		Psalm 32:1-7
The Gate to the Confessional	M. R. Vincent, D. D.	Psalm 32:1-7
The not Imputing of Sin	John Donne, D. D.	Psalm 32:1-7
The Pardon of Sin		Psalm 32:1-7
The Penitential Psalms	M. R. Vincent, D. D.	Psalm 32:1-7
True Blessedness	S. Guthrie, D. D.	Psalm 32:1-7
Divine Forgiveness	C. Clemance	Psalm 32:1-11
The Attitude of the Penitent	C. Short	Psalm 32:6-11

People

David, Psalmist

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Cause, Distress, Flood, Floods, Godly, Mayest, Mighty, Nigh, Offer, Overflow, Overflowing, Overtake, Prayer, Reach, Rise, Rush, Saint, Saintly, Surely, Waters

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Psalm 32:6

     4260   rivers and streams
     4903   time
     8265   godliness
     8438   giving, of time
     8491   watchfulness, divine

Psalm 32:1-11

6175 guilt, removal of

Psalm 32:5-6

5812 concealment
8628 worship, hindrances

Library

A Threefold Thought of Sin and Forgiveness
'Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.' --PSALM xxxii. 1, 2. This psalm, which has given healing to many a wounded conscience, comes from the depths of a conscience which itself has been wounded and healed. One must be very dull of hearing not to feel how it throbs with emotion, and is, in fact, a gush of rapture from a heart experiencing in its freshness the new joy …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

December the Thirtieth the Blessedness of Forgiveness
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven." --PSALM xxxii. It is the blessedness of emancipation. The boat which has been tethered to the weird, baleful shore is set free, and sails toward the glories of the morning. The man, long cramped in the dark, imprisoning pit, is brought out, and stretches his limbs in the sweet light and air of God's free world. Black servitude is ended; glorious liberty begins. It is the blessedness of education. For when we are freed we are by no means perfected. …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Self-Scrutiny in God's Presence.
ISAIAH, i. 11.--"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." These words were at first addressed to the Church of God. The prophet Isaiah begins his prophecy, by calling upon the heavens and the earth to witness the exceeding sinfulness of God's chosen people. "Hear, O heavens, and give ear O earth: for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Confession of Sin Illustrated by the Cases of Dr. Pritchard and Constance Kent
See, dear friends, the value of a truthful grace-wrought confession of sin; it is to be prized above all price, for he that confesseth his sin and forsaketh it, shall find mercy. Now, it is a well known fact, that when God is pleased to bestow upon men any choice gift, Satan, who is the god of counterfeits, is sure very soon to produce a base imitation, true in appearance, but worthless in reality: his object is deception, and full often he succeeds. How many there are who have made a worthless confession, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 11: 1865

Bit and Bridle: How to Escape Them
After a man is pardoned, anxiety is awakened as to how he shall be kept from sin in the future. The burnt child dreads the fire; and although his burns have all been healed, he dreads the fire none the less, but all the more. These who have been scorched by sin tremble at even a distant approach to the flame. You will always know whether you are delivered from the guilt of sin by answering this question--Am I delivered from the love of sin? He who lost his way yesterday feels his need of a guide …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Heroes and Heroines (Whitsunday. )
PSALM xxxii. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. This is God's promise; which he fulfilled at sundry times and in different manners to all the men of the old world who trusted in him. He informed them; that is, he put them into right form, right shape, right character, and made them the men which they were meant to be. He taught them in the way in which they ought to go. He guided them where they could not guide themselves. But …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Pardon and Peace
(Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.) Psalm xxxii. 1-7. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Faults Committed in this Degree --Distractions, Temptations --The Course to be Pursued Respecting Them.
As soon as we fall into a fault, or have wandered, we must turn again within ourselves; because this fault having turned us from God, we should as soon as possible turn towards Him, and suffer the penitence which He Himself will give. It is of great importance that we should not be anxious about these faults, because the anxiety only springs from a secret pride and a love of our own excellence. We are troubled at feeling what we are. If we become discouraged, we shall grow weaker yet; and reflection …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Of Confession of Our Infirmity and of the Miseries of this Life
I will acknowledge my sin unto Thee;(1) I will confess to Thee, Lord, my infirmity. It is often a small thing which casteth me down and maketh me sad. I resolve that I will act bravely, but when a little temptation cometh, immediately I am in a great strait. Wonderfully small sometimes is the matter whence a grievous temptation cometh, and whilst I imagine myself safe for a little space; when I am not considering, I find myself often almost overcome by a little puff of wind. 2. Behold, therefore, …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Letter iii (A. D. 1131) to Bruno, Archbishop Elect of Cologne
To Bruno, [8] Archbishop Elect of Cologne Bernard having been consulted by Bruno as to whether he ought to accept the See of Cologne, so replies as to hold him in suspense, and render him in awe of the burden of so great a charge. He advises him to seek counsel of God in prayer. 1. You seek counsel from me, most illustrious Bruno, as to whether you ought to accept the Episcopate, to which it is desired to advance you. What mortal can presume to decide this for you? If God calls you, who can dare …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Tears of the Penitent.
Adversity had taught David self-restraint, had braced his soul, had driven him to grasp firmly the hand of God. And prosperity had seemed for nearly twenty years but to perfect the lessons. Gratitude had followed deliverance, and the sunshine after the rain had brought out the fragrance of devotion and the blossoms of glad songs. A good man, and still more a man of David's age at the date of his great crime, seldom falls so low, unless there has been previous, perhaps unconscious, relaxation of the …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

The First Disciples: iv. Nathanael
'Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48. Nathanael saith unto Him, Whence knowest Thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

David's Sin in the Matter of Uriah.
"And David said unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.' And Nathan said unto David, 'The lord also hath put away thy sin; then shalt not die.'" The sin here referred to is that of David in the matter of Uriah. A strange and sad event--taken in all its circumstances and connections, it is without a parallel. But the circumstance most to be lamented, is that mentioned by the prophet, in the close of his message--"By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Out of the Deep of Sin.
Innumerable troubles are come about me. My sins have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look up; yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.--Ps. xl. 15. I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.--Ps. li. 3. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.--Ps. xxxii. 6. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Grace and Holiness.
"Now God Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."--1 THESS. iii. 11-13. There are few more precious subjects for meditation and imitation than the prayers and intercessions of the great Apostle. …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Epistle Xlvi. To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem .
To Isacius, Bishop of Jerusalem [159] . Gregory to Isacius, &c. In keeping with the truth of history, what means the fact that at the time of the flood the human race outside the ark dies, but within the ark is preserved unto life, but what we see plainly now, namely that all the unfaithful perish under the wave of their sin, while the unity of holy Church, like the compactness of the ark, keeps her faithful ones in faith and in charity? And this ark in truth is compacted of incorruptible timber, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Description of Heart-Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 The holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity' calls here for heart-purity, and to such as are adorned with this jewel, he promises a glorious and beatifical vision of himself: they shall see God'. Two things are to be explained the nature of purity; the subject of purity. 1 The nature of purity. Purity is a sacred refined thing. It stands diametrically opposed to whatsoever defiles. We must distinguish the various kinds …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Of the True Church. Duty of Cultivating Unity with Her, as the Mother of all the Godly.
1. The church now to be considered. With her God has deposited whatever is necessary to faith and good order. A summary of what is contained in this Book. Why it begins with the Church. 2. In what sense the article of the Creed concerning the Church is to be understood. Why we should say, "I believe the Church," not "I believe in the Church." The purport of this article. Why the Church is called Catholic or Universal. 3. What meant by the Communion of Saints. Whether it is inconsistent with various …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den? …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Godly are in Some Sense Already Blessed
I proceed now to the second aphorism or conclusion, that the godly are in some sense already blessed. The saints are blessed not only when they are apprehended by God, but while they are travellers to glory. They are blessed before they are crowned. This seems a paradox to flesh and blood. What, reproached and maligned, yet blessed! A man that looks upon the children of God with a carnal eye and sees how they are afflicted, and like the ship in the gospel which was covered with waves' (Matthew 8:24), …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Consolation
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the LORD 's hand double for all her sins. T he particulars of the great "mystery of godliness," as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel ministry, "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Man's Inability to Keep the Moral Law
Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? No mere man, since the fall, is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but does daily break them, in thought, word, and deed. In many things we offend all.' James 3: 2. Man in his primitive state of innocence, was endowed with ability to keep the whole moral law. He had rectitude of mind, sanctity of will, and perfection of power. He had the copy of God's law written on his heart; no sooner did God command but he obeyed. …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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