Summer in the Psalms
Psalm 32: Forgiven and Free!
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
08-22-2021
David’s Mess
David stood on the roof of his palace looking out over his kingdom. It was the time that kings went off to war, but David decided to stay home for this campaign.
Something caught his eye. Or better said, someone. Bathsheba, the wife of one of David’s most trusted warriors, was bathing on the roof in the cool of the morning. She did this often as their was privacy on the roof. She thought no one could see her. But he was wrong. The lustful eyes of a bored king bore down on her bathing body.
David sent a servant to bring her to him. When reminded that she was married, David stared at the young boy long enough to let him know that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Was it rape? Maybe not technically but he was the king and as they say, it’s good to be the king.
A couple of weeks pass and Bathsheba sends a message to the king that she is pregnant. David has a dilemma on his hands and needs to find a way out.
He brings Uriah, her husband, home from the battle and encourages him to go spend some time with his wife. But Uriah messes up the plan by having more integrity than the king. He sleeps on the steps of the palace two nights in a row. David even got him drunk but Uriah remains steadfast. He will not go enjoy a night with his wife when his men are in the field.
Uriah has forced David’s hand. He is stubborn and wouldn’t play along so David hands him a letter addressed to Joab, the commander of the army. What Uriah doesn’t know is that piece of parchment is his death sentence.
In the heat of the battle, while Uriah was close to the wall, the rest of the troops were ordered to pull back and Uriah fell, a victim of a desperate king.
When he heard the news, David shrugged and said, “The sword devours one and then another.” In other words, “Good riddance.”
Bathsheba mourned for her husband and, when the time of mourning was over, she became David’s wife.
The plan had worked brilliantly. No one knew the story. David had gotten away with it. Except, that was true.
2 Samuel 11 ends with this statement:
“But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” (2 Samuel 11:27)
God sent Nathan the prophet to David with a story:
“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” (2 Sam 12:1-4)
David listened intently and then exploded with anger insisting that this man should be put to death because he had no pity.
Nathan took a deep breath and put a finger in the king’s face and said, “You are the man!”
David collapsed into complete despair and finally realize that he had sinned against the Lord.
In the book of Psalms, we read David’s journal entry concerning this event in Psalm 51. He pours out his confession to God and admits his sin. He begs God for forgiveness:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sin and blot out all my iniquity.” (Psalm 51:1-2, 7-9)
If God will answer his prayer, David promises to share what he has learned with others:
“Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” (Psalm 51:13)
This is what we see happening in Psalm 32. It is called a “maskil,” which means “instruction.” Psalm 32 is a song of wisdom used to teach others.
It is one of the seven penitent psalms - psalms of confession and forgiveness.
The great theologian Augustine loved Psalm 32 so much that he had it engraved on his wall as he was dying so he could read it and meditate on it day and night.
I believe this psalm is going to be very challenging and encouraging to us today and many of us need to hear what David has to say.
Turn with me to Psalm 32.
Prayer.
The Blessings of Forgiveness
“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2)
The psalm begins with a beatitude, much like we saw when we studied Psalm 1.
If you remember, the word “blessed” can be better translated happy. But it’s more than that. The word is actually plural so it is “the happinesses” or the “double joys.”
In these verses, David uses three words for sin and they all give a different picture.
First, “transgressions,” which means to rebel, to cross the line. This is something we do on purpose. It’s what the prodigal son did when he asked his dad for his inheritance and went off to the far country.
Second, “sin,” which means to miss the mark. It’s an archery term to denote how far away from the bullseye the arrow strikes.
Third, “iniquities,” which means crookedness, perversity, waywardness.
These three terms aren’t meant to delineate different levels of sin but put together shows what sin looks like in our lives.
But David also uses three words for God’s forgiveness.
First, “forgiven,” which means lifting or removing. David said that true happiness comes from having the boulder our transgressions lifted off our backs.
Second, “covered,” which means to conceal from sight. If we make a decision not to try to cover up our sin, then God will cover it.
The prophets spoke of this forgiveness:
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Is 43:25)
This is better than having your student debts canceled!
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19)
Third, “does not count against,” which is a courtroom term. It is picture of a judge declaring that a person is not guilty. This is what theologians call justification by faith. We see this clearly in Genesis 15:
“God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Gen 15:5-6)
This was before the law was giving. Abraham wasn’t made right by behavior but by his belief.
Paul quotes Psalm 32 to make the point in Romans:
“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4:6-8)
It’s the same with us. When we understand that God has not counted our sin against us, we will jump for joy.
David said that forgiveness of sin and the happiness of heart we gain from it is found only in God.
Now what is the prerequisite for this forgiveness that leads to extravagant happiness?
There has to be “no deceit in our spirits.” This is speaking less of not lying to others and more of not lying to ourselves.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (I John 1:8-10)
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“The lesson from the whole is this: be honest. Sinner, may God make you honest. Do not deceive yourself. Make a clean break of your sin before God.”
The Effects of Unconfessed Sin
For nine months, David kept stubbornly silent. He intentionally hid his sin. He might have even thought he got away with it.
But God doesn’t allow his children to sin successfully.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
David’s guilt was weighing his heart down. He was living in misery. From the outside, he looked like he had it altogether. But on the inside, he was a mess.
There were emotional, spiritual and physical consequences to his unconfessed sin.
Notice that it God’s hand that was heavy on him.
He writes of the same agony in Psalm 38:
“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.” (Psalm 38:1-10)
And in Psalm 102:
“For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. My heart is blighted and withered like grass;I forget to eat my food. In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.” (Psalm 102:3-6)
The result of living a double life, of always having to lie and cover up his sin took a toll on his body and soul.
One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin. Sometimes he does that through others, like Nathan. Sometimes it’s a gentle whisper and other times He uses a frying pan to the face.
The result of sin is separation from God and God will do what it takes to bring us back to Him. Remember, He will not allow his children to sin successfully.
Charles Spurgeon understood this agony and wrote about it in his autobiography:
“When but young in years, I felt with much sorrow the evil of sin. My bones waxed old with my roaring all the day long. Day and night, God’s hand was heavy upon me. I hungered for deliverance, for my soul fainted within me. I feared lest the very skies should fall upon me, and crush my guilty soul. God’s law had laid hold upon me, and was showing me my sins. If I slept at night, I dreamed of the bottomless pit, and when I awoke I seem to feel the misery I had dreamed. Up to God’s house I went; my song was but a sigh. To my room I retired, and there with tears and groans, I offered up my prayer, without a hope and without a refuge, for God’s law was flogging with me with its ten-thonged whip, and then rubbing me with brine afterwards, so that I did shake and quiver with pain and anguish, and soul chose strangling rather than life, for I was exceedingly sorrowful.”
If a 15 year old wrote this today, we would take them to a Christian counselor and try to boost his self-esteem and rid him of his guilt.
But guilt, or as the Bible calls it, godly sorrow, is a good thing for a Christ-follower.
Paul explained this to the Corinthian Christians:
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor 7:10)
I can’t lie to Maxine. We’ve been married almost 29 years and I think I’ve lied three times. All three times, I confessed to her within an hour. I’m so miserable and racked with guilt that I would rather tell the truth.
Alistair Begg writes that “deceitfulness and happiness do not sleep in the same bed.”
The writer of Hebrews quotes Proverbs to make this point:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” (Hebrews 12:5-7)
At the end of this verse, David inserts the term “Selah,” which means to pause and ponder. So we are going to do that now.
Confession is Good for the Soul
How could David have handled his guilty conscious? How do we? Some have a few dozen beers or a few gummies to try to numb the pain. Others work 80 hours a week or eat too much or go on spending sprees or watch porn to try to escape the misery.
What did David do?
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (V. 5)
First, he acknowledged his sin. In Psalm 51, he described it this way:
“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:3-4)
He gave up trying to live a double life. He gave in and made a decision to not hide from God any more.
David confessed his sins to the Lord.
Confession means to agree with God about the seriousness of your sin. When we try to hide our sin, like Adam and Eve did, we act as if sin isn’t that big a deal.
But sin is cosmic treason against a holy God. We have to confess our sin and take responsibility for our sin and repent, which simply means “a change of mind that leads to a change in direction.” This doesn’t happen just once or only on Sundays. Christianity is a life of repentance.
I’ll quote Spurgeon again:
“There are too many who make confession but have no broken hearts…no flowing tears, no humbled spirits. Know this, that ten thousand confessions madd by a hardened heart, if they do not spring from a contrite spirit, shall be only added to your guilt as they are mockeries before the Most High.”
Notice that God promises to immediately forgive not only the sin but also the guilt that accompanies it!
John wrote:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
I heard a story this week about a race at the Special Olympics several years again. The runners lined up, the gun went off and they started toward the finish line. One of the runners fell and cried out in pain. All eight runners stopped turned around and ran back to him. One girl with Down Syndrome kissed his knee to make it better. They helped him up and walked together to the finish line.
As soon as that young man cried out, the other eight responded. The same is true of our great God! If you confess your sin, He is willing and able to completely forgive you and throw your sin as far as the east is to the west.
The Protection of a forgiving God
“Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” (6-7)
David had made a commitment to teach others about this amazing grace.
If God is that good and will forgive so readily, then those who are His children should pray and “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
The little phrase, “while you may be found” should cause us to pause. God’s forgiveness is available now, today. Do not wait because there will be a day when it will be too late.
David then thinks about the wadis, dry creek beds that line the land and can become raging rapids after summer storms. Even when the waters rise, God will protect David.
In verse four, David felt oppressed by God but now he sees God as his shelter in the storm. One pastor I read said that this could translate today as a “panic room.” It’s a place where we are safe and secure in the day of trouble.
“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5)
Legend has it that hymn writer Augustus Toplady was caught in a fierce storm and take refuge in a cleft in the nearby rocks. From that experience he wrote these words:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.
Songs of deliverance from the faithful God and his responding people surround him and protect him.
The Guidance of a Forgiving God
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (8-9)
God has dealt with David’s past and now He promises to guide his future.
The pronouns change and it is now God who is speaking. God promises to instruct, teach, and counsel David “in the way he should go.”
How will he do this? Through His Word. Martin Luther wrote: “He who made you will take you to school.”
How do we grow as Christians? Through the preaching and study of God’s Word. It’s the process of sanctification, whereby the Holy Spirit is applying the Word of God in order to grow you more and more into the image of God.
There is this beautiful little phrase “with my loving eye upon you.”
This speaks of God’s watch care that we saw last week in Psalm 139. He is watching over His children with tender care and love.
God then tells us not to be like the stupid and stubborn mule that has to be controlled by bit and bridle. Don’t make God have to deal with you through His “heavy hand.”
Because God’s forgiveness we can REJOICE!
“Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
David remembers what “woes of the wicked” felt like and he doesn’t ever want to go back there again.
But he is going to trust the God that surrounds him with unfailing love. This God of grace, mercy, and loving kindness is worth trusting with our very souls.
He then gives three commands to the “upright in heart” to end the Psalm - rejoice, be glad, and sing!
Robyn gave me a beautiful book by Matt Carter and Aaron Ivy called “Steal Away Home.” It’s the story of the unlikely friendship of Charles Spurgeon, the English preacher and the freed American slave turned evangelist Thomas Johnson.
In describing Spurgeon’s conversion experience, they write:
“The love of Jesus - strong as death, fierce as hell, and lasting as eternity - completely changed Charles. And like a slave newly emancipated, drunk with joy that he is free, Charles could not be silent about the One who had released him from darkness and marked him with a life of freedom and fruitfulness.
They continue:
“When a man or woman is truly rescued by God, they cannot stop themselves from shouting from every rooftop. They can not be silenced…because once a person hears the call of heaven, they become unstoppable.”
That’s what we are going to do right now. We are going to rejoice, be glad and sing so that the whole neighborhood can hear us!
Application
But before we do, let me ask the question we’ve been asking every week - where is Jesus is Psalm 32?
Let’s look at Leviticus 16 for our answer:
“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.” (Lev 16:6-10)
David writes “blessed is the man that God does not count (impute) their sins against them.”
The reason God doesn’t count those sins against David is because those sins were placed on the head of the scapegoat, (the Son of David), and our sins were imputed to Him.
On the cross, Jesus took our sins, in our place so that His righteousness could be credited to our accounts.
Isaiah predicted the Messiah would accomplish this:
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5)
And in the New Testament, Paul wrote:
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21)
Have you been forgiven your sins? Remember that
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
And when you are clean and forgiven and free, then your soul will want to SING!
