PSALM 32 - TRANSGRESSION, CONFESSION, FORGIVENESS, TRANSFORMATION

PSALM 32

TRANSGRESSION, CONFESSION,

FORGIVENESS, TRANSFORMATION

INTRODUCTION: On a timeline, Psalm 32 should follow Psalm 51. Therefore, it would still relate to David’s repentance after sinning with Bathsheba and having her husband, Uriah the Hittite, murdered. David is recalling what he has learned about sin, confession and forgiveness and teaching those truths to others. David uses three words for sin. According to the notes in the John MacArthur Study Bible:

transgression…sin…iniquity. Three key OT words for sin occur, viewing it respectively as rebellion, failure, and perversion.

Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Susan: Blessed has the connotation of contented and at peace, fulfilled.

Susie: Blessed is the exact opposite of how David felt before he confessed his sin and repented. God’s forgiveness removes the weight of guilt on our shoulders.

Susan: By removing the weight and pressure of sin, God enables you to be able to live with Him in the totality of relationship for which you were created. Intimate relationship with God is the essence of what Adam and Eve had in the garden before the fall, before their disobedience.

Psalm 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Susan: God relieves us of the deadly weight of our sin when He forgives us and we receive that gift of forgiveness.

Susie: For Christians, God imputed our sins onto Jesus and nailed them to the cross. We sometimes take that weight back by harboring a sin rather than confessing it and allowing God to cleanse us from it.

Susan: When we have trusted and surrendered our lives to Jesus, God does not see our sin. He sees us through the filter of Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Susie: In order to be happy, content, at peace we simply need to confess and genuinely repent of our wrongdoing, trusting Jesus to do the work of making us right with God.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 32:3-4 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

Susan: When David was trying to keep his sin hidden, it caused him great distress . . .

Susie: . . . even to the point of feeling physically ill and older than his years. The conviction of what he had done weighed heavily on his mind.

Susan: David felt dried up, spent as if working in the summer heat. I wonder if God had not pressed so heavily upon him, if David would have repented as quickly.

Psalm 32:5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Susan: When David recognized the gravity of the transgression he had exacted toward God, he was breaking under the weight of it. Then he ceased trying to hide from God and became transparent before the One who sees everything anyway.

Susie: When David threw himself on God’s mercy, God in His lovingkindness forgave him. David had a marvelous understanding of the blessing that occurs when guilt is lifted and God’s love shines through.

Psalm 32:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

Susan: Do not put off confessing sins and let them pile up. Do not confess everything in one fell swoop once or twice a year as if God is a cosmic slot machine pouring out forgiveness on your timetable. Do not use the Lord as an emergency room doctor. He is supposed to be our intimate friend, and we should talk with Him daily. There is an empty space that should only be filled with God. Many people are trying to fill that spot with addictive behaviors rather than keeping short accounts with God in order to maintain our intimate friendship with Him.

Susie: It is not that God hides from us. However, if we continually hide from Him, we find it increasingly difficult to connect to Him in prayer. Confession needs to be a moment by moment occurrence in order to prevent building up walls between us and the Lord. Those who maintain their relationship with God will not be overwhelmed by literal floodwaters or waves of temptation and trial.

Psalm 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Susan: David felt secure in the arms of his God.

Susie: Like a small child buries her face in her mother’s side when a stranger speaks to her, we can run to God as our refuge and protection, our hiding place.

Susan: David felt surrounded by an army of praise leaders. Later in Israel’s history, King Jehoshaphat had the singers lead the army into battle singing songs of praise (2 Chronicles 20:20-22).

Susie: Many of the psalms are “songs of deliverance.” David’s trust was in God’s ability to protect and provide for him and the nation of Israel.

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Susan: After learning about forgiveness and its personal application, David moves to discipling others.

Susie: We can read David’s promise to teach others about confession and forgiveness in Psalm 51:

Psalm 51:13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.

Psalm 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

Susie: David, in a picturesque way, is telling the people not to be stubborn.

Susan: Cooperate with God. He sees and knows what is best for you, what is going to bring you into full bloom, to mold you into the purpose He has for you, that He may be glorified through you.

Psalm 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.

Susan: For the wicked there will be sadness and trials.

Susie: The wicked may seem to prosper for the moment . . .

Susan: . . .but in the scope of eternity, their suffering will be extremely long – forever.

Psalm 37:7-11Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Susie: By contrast, those who trust in the Lord, who lift their prayers to Him, will have peace no matter what their circumstances.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Susan: When we trust in God and rely on His wisdom to guide us in the safety of His direction, we have abundant joy.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Susie: Our joy does not depend upon our outward circumstances but on the deep hope we have because of Jesus and on the sovereignty of God to work even “bad” things for our ultimate good.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Susan: Our joy depends on the strength of our relationship with God. That relationship is strengthened when we hang our certainty on Jesus’ righteousness.

Susie: Our ability to rejoice in all circumstances comes from time spent with the Lord by reading His word, praying, and worshipping Him.

Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

QUESTIONS

1.               What do the words transgression, sin, and iniquity each mean?

2.               What does blessed mean?

3.               What do we need to do in order to feel content and at peace?

4.               How did David feel before he repented and confessed his sin? Have you ever felt that way?

5.               How often should we confess our sins?

6.               Who is our hiding place, our place of security?

7.               As David taught others, he told them not to be like a horse or a mule. What did he mean by that?

8.               Do circumstances have to be perfect for a Christian to be at peace? Why or why not?

9.               Upon what does our joy depend?