PSALM 32
THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS
Last week as we looked at Psalm 51, which emphasized David’s confession of his sin. Now, Psalm 32, that we are going to be looking at this morning, is a companion psalm to Psalm 51. They go hand in hand. Psalm 32 was most likely written around the same time or just a little bit after Psalm 51.
First John 1:9 – you all know the verse – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Last week in Psalm 51 we looked at “If we confess our sins…” David’s confession of his sins. This week, in Psalm 32, we are going to see the follow-up to that. God is indeed faithful and He forgave David’s sin. We are going to hear in David’s own words what he went through prior to his confession and then what he learned from the experience that he went through. I see Psalm 32 as the epilogue to Psalm 51.
Before we get into the text, I need to make an important point. When we came to Christ, when we first believed and trusted Jesus by faith; we asked God to save us, whenever that was -- we were forgiven of our sins. First John 2:12: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake.” Praise God! First Peter 3:18: “For Christ also died for sins once for all [He paid the penalty for our sins past, present, future], the just for the unjust…” Romans 5:8 “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The penalty for our sins was taken care of. So, in that sense we have already been forgiven of our sins, right? Taken care of on the cross. No longer under the penalty of our sin.
So, we don’t need to confess our sins in order to somehow maintain our salvation. Our salvation is secure in Christ, agreed? Security of the believer. Sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). But yet, despite all that, we are still instructed to confess our sins (see 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16). As believers we confess our sins, but why? What is the reason? It is an important theological point to make. What was broken when David sinned? When we sinned? Fellowship, right? Our fellowship with God was messed up as a result of our sin. God is holy. He cannot really have fellowship with that which is unholy. So, when we sin – and WE WILL – then we have to deal with our sins if we are going to have our fellowship with God restored. David understood this.
[Group discussion about dealing with our sin]
What are some of the results of unconfessed sin in the life of a believer? In your life, if you have unconfessed sin and you have not dealt with it, then what? It will hinder your prayer life. It will produce feelings of guilt. It causes all kinds of issues, which we are going to talk about in David’s life when we get into Psalm 32. It reduces the effectiveness of our service for God. It hurts our ability to grow spiritually. It hurts our witness, especially if others are aware of our sin. It hurts our relationships with other people.
So, we won’t lose our salvation. That is what I really wanted us to focus in on. But we could and we would miss out on some blessings that God intends for us to enjoy now.
Well, Psalm 32 begins with that title, “A Maskil of David.” Now, what is a maskil? It is a song or a poem intended to instruct or to guide. If you will notice throughout this psalm there is that little word “Selah” that appears in several different places. That is a point at which you stop and you reflect, meditatively, on what has just been said. And David is the one who is doing the instruction to us because this is a maskil of David. If you will recall from Psalm 51, verse 13, David wanted to be forgiven. He desired that. He wanted to be cleansed. He wanted to be restored back to fellowship with God. He wanted to be useful to God. And one of the things specifically he mentioned is that he wanted to teach sinners (“transgressors”) God’s ways so that they would then be able to turn back to God. So, this is what David is doing in Psalm 32. He is teaching from his own experience. He is teaching us how to confess, to repent and be restored.
READ Psalm 32:1-4
Let me talk about “blessed.” This word “blessed” is the Hebrew word Esher and it connotes the state of prosperity or happiness which results when God bestows His favor on us. We are blessed by God.
Notice there are three words for sin in v 1 and 2 that David uses: “transgression,” “sin” and then “iniquity.” Three words for sin. You need to understand the differences. “Transgression” is rebellion against God. What He has said to do, we do not do. Or what He has said not to do, we do. Clearly transgressing, going against what God has said. “Sin” is failure. It is missing the mark. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” They have missed the mark. Failure. And then the last word is “iniquity,” which is being crooked or perverted.
Then in these two verses he also has the three words that go along with them describing what God does by His mercy and grace for sinners. The first one in v 1 is “forgiven,” and then “covered,” and then “counts no iniquity.” “Forgiven” means that your sin, your transgression is taken away. It is removed. How far? Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” That is an infinite line both directions. If you are a math person you understand that the arrow in both directions means that is infinity both ways. That is a long way! And then, “covered.” The idea is that it is concealed. And the word that David used in Psalm 51 is really what I think he is getting at, “blotted out.” In Psalm 51:9 he says, “blot out my iniquities.” The idea of being covered is not just concealed, but blotted out. And then, “Counts no iniquity,” our sins are not counted against us. They are not put in our ledger. God doesn’t hold us accountable for them. All of that has already been dealt with by Jesus’s death on the cross.
Now, I want you to look at that last phrase in v 2, “in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Previously we defined confession as being “you agree with God about your sin.” Which means that you see your sin the way God sees it. So, therefore, if you are going to do that, then you better to do it honestly, without deceit. Quit trying to fool yourself into thinking that it is OK. Second Corinthians 11 tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. He fools people into actually believing that they are going to receive some positive benefit from their sin. That is Satan’s deception. Remember Adam and Eve? God had one rule for them – “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” right? And how does Satan get them to eat of it? He tells them there is going to be some positive benefit if they do. “You are going to be like God.” And they fall for it. Or Satan will say, “That sin is not a big deal” or “It is not hurting anybody. So, what’s the problem?” That is how Satan fools us.
So, in v 1-2 David is speaking from his own experience that to confess your sins honestly before the Lord (which he did in Psalm 51) and to be forgiven, cleansed and restored brings with it God’s blessing. The burden is lifted, the joy is restored. We will talk more about that later.
V 3-4, what a contrast here. David is talking about what he experienced from the time he sinned until the time he confessed, what he went through. Most scholars believe that this was a period of about a year. He says, “For when I kept silent.” This is before he confessed his sin. He was hiding it. He was thinking he got away with it. He thought that and he hid it. But something was going on inside David. And he relates to us what he experienced. “My bones wasted away,” physical illness. He was affected physically by his sin. “Through my groaning all day long.” He was in mental anguish. It affected him emotionally. “For day and night Your hand [God’s hand] was heavy upon me.” That was God’s chastisement on David. David was not a happy camper. The Holy Spirit was convicting him of what he had done. I believe that David the king had the Holy Spirit indwelling him (like the Holy Spirit indwells us). God was working on David. He was chastening him through the Holy Spirit and trying to draw David back to Him. When we are being convicted of our sin, God is trying to get us to confess it so that we would be brought back to Him and restored to fellowship. He does not want us to be out there on an island somewhere emotionally.
But for a whole year David experienced this. A deep sense of guilt engulfed David and he was miserable. He says, “My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” That is the idea of being in a spiritual wasteland, in a drought. David was impacted in many different ways by his unconfessed sin. Not just physically. Not just emotionally. But also, spiritually. What happened is – and this is what God does – He allowed David to go through all of this in order to draw him back. And when David was ready to confess his sin; when God knew that he was ready, He sent Nathan. And then that is when the confession came.
READ Psalm 32:5
That is Psalm 51 in a nutshell, isn’t it? “I acknowledged my sin,” “I will confess my transgressions,” and ‘You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” What is interesting about this verse is that David uses those same three words for sin as we saw in v 1 and 2. “Iniquity,” “sin” and “transgressions” are all there. Except this time, he personalizes them. He says, “my sin,” “my iniquity,” and then “my transgressions.” Now they have become personal.
David now is going to teach us what he learned from this experience.
READ Psalm 32:6-7
David is talking to the LORD here. Now, doesn’t v 6 sounds a lot like a warning? That is how I read it. David is implying (strongly) that we need to deal with our unconfessed sin as soon as possible. He says, “let everyone who is godly offer prayer.” In context that is talking about the prayer of confession, dealing with your sin. And then he says something interesting – “when You may be found.” The NET Bible says, “while there is a window of opportunity.” So, what’s wrong with me saying something like this: “I’m just going to sew my wild oats for a while and then when I’m ready, somewhere down the road, I’ll confess my sin and get right with God”? What is wrong with a Christian doing that?
There is a lot wrong with that. First of all, we just talked about how Satan deceives us. And that is one of ways Satan deceives us. “It is not a big deal. You can put it off.” He has got you right where he wants you. Do you know what is wrong with that attitude? You do not see sin the way God sees it. If you saw sin the way God sees it, you would not have the attitude, “I am just going to do this for a while and then when I am ready I will…” That is not how God is looking at your sin, is it?
Christians ought not to act presumptuously when it comes to the matter of forgiveness and dealing with our sin. If you have sin in your life and you haven’t dealt with it, the warning is here. You better get on with it. What are you waiting for? Deal with it. David is speaking from his own experience. He put it off for a year. You can’t assume that you will do it later because there may not be a later. That is presumption. We do not know what our life holds. You can’t assume that things will always be the same. Things can change in a heartbeat. Look at your own life.
So, confess your sin, repent of it, seek forgiveness – “Seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6). It is a very dangerous thing for a believer to continue to resist the Holy Spirit when He is convicting you of your sin.
Now, v 6, “surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach him.” Can I use an engineering analogy for you? Let’s say that you notice that there is a dam with some stress cracks in it, maybe a little bit of water seepage out of it. What are you going to do? You will investigate the cause, evaluate the extent of the problem, and formulate a solution, which will be either to repair a portion of the dam or replace the dam. What happens if you do not deal with it? And the dam breaks? That is why I love the psalmist expression, “in the rush of great waters.” That is the picture I had. It is too late. You have waited too long. That is why I see this as a warning to us. Don’t wait. Don’t assume that you will always have the time or even the desire to confess your sin and get it right. The time to do that, to do business with God in the area of your sin – whether it is a one-time thing or it is a besetting sin that you have been dealing with for years – the time to do that is right now. I believe this is at the heart of what David is saying here.
[More group discussion about dealing with our sin]
I love v 7, which goes right along with Psalm 51. David basically prayed, “Lord, I confess my sin, I acknowledge my weakness, I realize that I cannot battle this on my own. I need Your help.” And so, with that v 7 declares, “You [God] are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with shouts of deliverance.” That is the work of God in our life. “You are my Protector. You are my Deliverer. I do not just need a personal resolve to do better. I need You to change my heart. I need divine intervention. That is what I need, God. I need you to change me.” Only God can change a heart.
Well, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David now speaks the words of God Himself to us. It has gone from him speaking to God; now, all of a sudden God begins to speak, responding to David and, therefore, responding to us as well. This is what God says. The reason I know this is God speaking is because He says, “I have My eye upon you.”
READ Psalm 32:8
By the way, how does God instruct us and teach us the way to go? Through the Bible, prayer, other believers, God’s messengers, circumstances and the Holy Spirit. There are many different ways that God may use.
He is going to teach us the way to go. We are going to know. Christian, you are going to know what you should or should not do, the direction to go. It may not be what you want to hear, but you will know.
READ Psalm 32:9
Don’t be stubborn like the horse or the mule. You have to force it to obey. You have to physically force them to go. God says, “Don’t be like that! You be moldable, teachable, and follow Me willingly, voluntarily. Don’t force Me to have My heavy hand on you.”
READ Psalm 32:10
Remember, this is from David’s own experience. He saw both sides of this (God’s chastisement and forgiveness).
READ Psalm 32:11
One who has confessed (like David), has been forgiven and trusts in the Lord and lives a righteous life will have joy. And even if you ARE a believer (David was a believer), if you are living a life of sin, your wickedness will bring you sorrow. It brought David sorrow, didn’t it? He was talking about that earlier. So, David has experienced both sides of this. That is why these are such wise words because they are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit but they are from David’s own experience.
OK, application. Let’s be honest without being specific. But let’s just be honest in general – we all sin. The Bible talks about not having deceit before God, right? (For example, Psalm 101:7 and 1 Peter 2:1).) Everyone in here sins, even the best of us. We must know how to deal with our sin. It does not matter whether we sin intentionally or unintentionally. We need to know what to do when we sin. We need to have a plan of action. Do you know where to find forgiveness? You go to the Lord! “Seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6). And when do you do that? You do it right now. You do not presume. You do not wait. You deal with it.
When we go to the Lord, honestly, repentant, humble, contrite, we confess our sin and ask His forgiveness… Then what happens (according to the scripture)? God will forgive you. Now, we know that. We can look at many verses in the Bible about that. However, there may be (in most cases there will be) physical or emotional consequences for your sin. So, you confess your sin before God and He forgives you. But you are still going to have to deal with the consequences for your sin, whatever those might be.
Here is another one… You are going to have to learn to forgive yourself. You don’t know how important that is. When you have done something and you feel terrible about it and you are beating yourself up (like David was); and feeling this sorrow; then you get to the point where you give it to God and you ask sincerely for His forgiveness and you ask Him to change your heart; you are going to have to learn to forgive yourself. That is important to understand. Quit beating yourself up. Quit re-living it.
And then the last thing about this is – your sin, whatever it might be, may involve going to someone whom you have wronged. You have obviously sinned against God, but you may sin against a person as well. You may need to go to that person and get things right, ask forgiveness from them.
But if we confess our sin to God, here is the good news – we can be assured that HE will forgive us. Even if nobody else does, God does. Because He says so. He promises that. Our fellowship with Him will be restored and with it will come the joy of our salvation. Which is what David had prayed in Psalm 51.
This should make you want to sing, right? So, I chose the song, “You Are My King.”
I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I'm alive and well,
Your Spirit is within me--
Because You died and rose again!
Amazing love, how can it be?
That You, my King would die for me--
Amazing love, I know it's true!
It’s my joy to honor You.
In all I do, I honor you.