I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
What does Psalms 32:8 mean?
God teaches by his word, and guides with the secret intimations of his will. David gives a word of caution to sinners.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 32:8
I will instruct thee - Many interpreters have understood this to refer to God - as if he were now introduced as speaking, and as saying that he would be the guide of those who thus submitted to him, and who sought him by penitence and confession. But it is more natural to regard the psalmist as still speaking, and referring to his own experience as qualifying him to give counsel to others, showing them how they might find peace, and with what views and feelings they should come before God if they wished to secure his favor.
Key words
- Maschil
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Maschil. (q) "intellectum tibi dabo", V. L.
- Maschil
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Maschil. (q) "intellectum tibi dabo", V. L.
Context in Psalms 32
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Psalms 32 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book II. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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