Psalm 89:32

32 then I will punish their transgression with [a] rod, and their guilt with wounds.

Psalm 89:32 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 89:32

Then will I visit their transgression with the rod
That is, of men; as in ( 2 Samuel 7:14 ) , the Lord making use of men to chastise his people by, as he did of the neighbouring nations of the Jews, when they sinned against him; and so the Targum interprets it here,

``I will visit their transgressions by the hands of the tribes of the ungodly;''

or with such afflictions as are common to men, ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 ) , in a kind, humane, moderate way, in measure, in judgment, and not in wrath and hot displeasure; or in such like manner as a man chastises his children, which is in love, ( Deuteronomy 8:5 )

and their iniquity with stripes;
such as diseases of body, loss of relations, crosses and disappointments in the world; not with the stripes of divine vengeance, of vindictive justice, such as Christ, the surety of his people, endured for them; but with the scourges of a father, ( Isaiah 53:8 ) ( Hebrews 12:6 ) .

Psalm 89:32 In-Context

30 If his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments,

31 if they defile my statutes and do not keep my commandments,

32 then I will punish their transgression with [a] rod, and their guilt with wounds.

33 But I will not break off my loyal love from him, and I will not be false against my faithfulness.

34 I will not defile my covenant, or alter what proceeded from my lips.