Psalm 32

A Maskil of David.

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

This is the first use of the word “blessed” in this way since the first two psalms and the third and fourth of eight uses in Book 1. This makarism is a statement describing someone who is blessed, that is well-off in God’s eyes. It is a good thing to have your transgression forgiven, to have your sin covered, to have your account wiped clean of iniquity, and to be honest about your sin. We don’t know if this was composed in relation to David’s very public sins of adultery and murder, but it was no doubt employed at that time as a means of instructing others. This really is a wisdom psalm, although it also falls into the category of penitential, a prayer of repentance and request for forgiveness. David incorporates all three major words for sin to communicate the expanse of his sin and the three ways that God deals with our sin -- forgives, covers (atones), doesn’t count against us (justifies). The key to unlocking forgiveness begins with our willingness to be honest with God, to have no deceit in one’s spirit. Deceit is the attempt to conceal often by hiding key information. You can be both literally honest and deceitful at the same time. It is lying while telling the truth. Perhaps this is what David perfected in the days following his crimes which he thought to be secret but to a few. He went on as normal, pretending nothing had changed, all the while hiding a secret that would eat away at him. In the process he became more judgmental, more quick to see the sin in others because he was so acutely aware of his own. This becomes clear when Nathan exposes his sin with a story. David sees the sin of the man in the story, but not his own. David of course lived 1,000 years before the means of atonement and justification were perfected on the cross, but since God exists in the eternal present, the blood of Jesus still covered David, the blood of his descendant, the blood that could be traced to the adulterous union. What a blessing! What a good thing to be forgiven. If God forgave David, he will forgive you. It begins with honesty. 

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up [my vitality was changed] as by the heat of summer. Selah

David describes what it is like to keep a dark secret. These verses remind me of classics in literature -- The Tell Tale Heart, The Scarlet Letter, Crime and Punishment where the primary character is burdened with a secret sin. The attempts to cover-up, the lies, the constant fear of getting caught, of not keeping all of the lies untangled -- it can steal your joy and your productivity. I honestly don’t know how criminals do it, but it still must be torturous still. First there is the fear of exposure. If the light were shone on my secret sins, what would others think? What would become of my reputation? What would my family and friends think? I would be forever diminished in their eyes. Second, there is the fear of facing God and having to give an account. God gave me unlimited patience and grace and I returned the favor by indulging in rebellion. There has to be an accounting, a reckoning with a just God. Third, there is the thought of what my sin has done to others. Sin always has a communal effect. My sin has brought pain and wounding to some and neglect to others. When you think about it, sin is not something to be mocked as a relic of an oppressive religion. It is a reality that everyone must face. To deny it is to become sin-sick, to suffer under its weight, all while not believing that it exists. While there are sins that are taken to the grave, more often than not, they come out, much to the relief of the one bearing them. If confessing your sin to another seems daunting (and as a Protestant, we don’t have a good way of doing this), then begin by confessing them to God. In Jesus He is faithful and just and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Using the same three words he used earlier -- sin, iniquity, and transgression -- David admits his guilt to God. The first is stated as an affirmative action: “I acknowledged my sin to you.”  Then it is stated in the negative: “I did not cover up my iniquity”. And then again as an affirmative: “I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” Each of these words for sin highlights a different effect. “Sin” is missing the mark, a failure of purpose. The purpose of the arrow is to hit the mark on the target. Sin is failure to fulfill the purpose for which we were made -- to reflect the image and glory of God. “Iniquity” describes what sin does to us both internally and externally, referring to the disharmony inwardly and the relational wounding that it causes others. “Transgression” is a violation of the law, not just the laws written in the Bible, but natural law as well. Living outside the boundaries as God has prescribed them also brings a different kind of pain. When the psalmist acknowledges the reality of his situation, God’s response is immediate: “He forgave the iniquity of my sin.” The disruption in the relationship is no more. Just like that, God takes action to remove the thorn in your side, the splinter in your hand, or the gaping head wound that is sin. The New Testament parallel is I John 1:9, and it couldn’t be clearer. Like windshield wipers constantly clearing the windshield, so our God continually wipes away our sin when we are honest with Him about it. However, our pride often keeps us from confessing our sins. It’s much easier to point at others. Let that be one of the triggers that prompts me to confess. Every time I’m tempted to judge others critically, let me hold up a mirror to myself and acknowledge that I’m as much in need of God’s grace as they. 

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

This is ultimately a wisdom psalm, and so at this point, the psalmist delivers the “therefore.” The lesson to be learned here from David’s experience is clear: Confess your sin before it’s too late. That is the type of prayer that David is referring to of course. It’s the only prayer that’s been offered at this point in the psalm, a prayer of confession. If you are godly, if you are the least bit sensitive to the reality of God in your life, then pray before it’s too late. The image here is of a flash flood coming down a wadi in the desert, or in the American southwest, an arroyo. If you are in the path of this fast-moving and suddenly rising water, you must get to high ground immediately. Every year people die in these floods, and it must have happened in the ancient world as well. The phrase “at a time when you may be found”, suggests that someone is looking for you. Does this suggest that God is seeking us, seeking a relationship with us and waiting for us to make the move? That would be consistent with what Jesus taught about the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep. One can imagine such a sheep lost in the wilderness as a storm breaks and the flood waters rise, crying out for the shepherd to rescue before it’s too late. There is a point where it’s too late to cry out to the shepherd. That is the point of death itself. How many people enter a Christless eternity, crying out too late for forgiveness? Be sure that the consequences of your sin are like a sudden rising stream that will sweep you away to death if you do not cry out in confession. When you do, God becomes for you a hiding place, a place of safety from trouble. You can tell Him your secrets and He will forgive. He will surround you with shouts (songs) of deliverance. One imagines the shepherd shouting for joy when the sheep is found, rescued from certain death. This is our God, singing in a loud, shouting voice, celebrating that what was once lost has been found. 

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

Now the LORD himself speaks. God himself offers to instruct me on the way to go, the way of wisdom. The LORD will counsel me with his eye upon me. Don’t be like a dumb animal that must be guided by painful experience. You are better than that. You are made in the image of God with wisdom and free will, don’t act any less than that. It’s like I’ve told my kids many times, “you can learn the hard way or you can learn the easy way.” The easier way is the way of trust. The hard way is the way of rebellion and its terrible consequences personally and relationally. In David’s case his adultery became very public and the shame of it trailed him for the rest of his life. This is the way of the donkey, being jerked around by forces greater than and beyond your control, a slave to the master of sin. The easier way is to take God at his word and follow his statutes. Your wayward heart may question it, the culture may tell you that God is flat wrong, but that should not matter. If the one who knows you and the world He made best tells you, “this is the way, walk in it,” then you better walk in it. I’ve learned things the hard way. I’ve willfully sinned and paid the price. However, that hasn’t always been enough to keep me walking in wisdom. May the profound truth of this text speak to me in moments when I’m tempted to be a “dumb ass.”  Act like a human being, not an animal. The world tells us to act like animals, after all, that’s all that we are, animals who stand at the top of the evolutionary ladder. But we are more than that. We are immortal beings creating in the likeness of the most beautiful, most glorious Being in the universe. Act like it. 

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Continuing in the theme of how the foolish suffer, the words of wisdom that follow remind that the wicked are surrounded by sorrows, but the faithful ones are surrounded by the LORD’s steadfast love. How true this is when you think of the dysfunctional, broken families and people that choose a life of crime or moral compromise only to reap a bitter harvest upon themselves and their children. The way to break that cycle is prescribed in this psalm: come clean before God and experience his forgiveness. Let him rescue you from the raging torrent that will certainly sweep you away before it’s too late. Don’t be stupid. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If the LORD was singing and shouting in verse 7 over the rescue of his lost one, we are called to do the same in verse 11 -- to be glad in the LORD, to rejoice, and shout for joy! This is the appropriate response to the LORD’s salvation -- sing and shout for joy. It’s one word in Hebrew. “Make a loud joyful sound, and if possible make it musical!” What other religion so frequently prescribes that its adherents sing for joy? Surely this is unique among the world’s religions. Core to this celebratory posture of the upright is the belief that God is a God who saves, one who rescues us from certain death and sets us in a secure place, a God who turns things around in surprising ways, a God for whom only a spontaneous, exuberant shout seems appropriate when we realize what He has done for us.  Joyful worship is preceded then by an experience of rescue -- specifically in this context of rescue from the ravages of sin on the body and soul. If you’ve been sin sick and by the grace of God recovered, you can’t help but sing and shout. Don’t hold back the next time you have an opportunity to worship with the people of God.