Psalm 32:1–11 (ESV):
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.
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 as by the heat of summer. Selah
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
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
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.
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!
This psalm is a lesson not to hold onto guilt and sin. Instead of wrestling with the internal conflict, you can acknowledge your sin to God and be forgiven. It may seem a scary thing to do, but surely it is better than ‘groaning all day long’ and wasting away.
David uses three words for wrongdoing in this psalm, showing that in whatever way you can get it wrong, he did it all! He had rebelled against God (transgression), he had gone away from the way of life he knew he should be on, he had not met the standard God required (sin) and had acted in a corrupt, twisted manner (iniquity). David’s confession was difficult because he had to realise the enormity of his actions. He had to acknowledge that he had fallen short of living a life that was acceptable to God, he had also wantonly turned away from what he knew was right in order to become corrupt through his decisions and actions. This shows the completeness of David’s wrongs. No wonder it was hard for him to accept let alone admit! It is no surprise that it took him a while to come to terms with it himself and then approach God with it. It can be the same for you can’t it? When you completely mess up, let yourself, others and God down, causing chaos, pain and corruption through your choices, it is hard to admit isn’t it? It is much easier and pleasant to try to justify yourself and make excuses for why you behaved that way, yet that does not deal with the internal distress that you experience, it does not lead to forgiveness or relief. It just leads to internal anguish and even physical suffering. Have you had enough of these results of your sin?
At this point in his life, David had become fed up with the internal anguish he felt about his wrongdoings. He had had enough of moping about and the incessant guilt that played around in his head. Have you ever felt the same? Where guilt dances around your mind and you feel ashamed and surrounded by accusation and pain when you have sinned? It is quite normal to feel that conviction and personal disappointment. Many others, including David have felt like that. He realised that even though admitting his sin felt like an enormous thing to do, that there would be no relief if he didn't. He knew he had done wrong in God's eyes and therefore if he wanted to make things right he had to be honest with God about it. It always feels awkward when you have to apologise doesn't it? Yet you know the relationship will benefit, but it is uncomfortable to acknowledge out loud what has happened and try to make amends. However, just like David in this psalm we can see that the faint glimmer of the hope of forgiveness and restoration is better than the internal and physical shame you bear.
David was suffering physically as well as emotionally and mentally for whatever it was he had done. He knew the sin had separated him from God, and this was causing him anguish. Even though he knew he had to go through the emotional upheaval of confession, he hoped through admitting it and apologising, that God would hear and forgive. It is difficult to hear your sin out loud, to confess what you have done wrong. There’s an embarrassment, either because you know you should have done better or because you are ashamed to admit the truth of what you have done. It clearly took David a while to come to the point where he could even express what he had done wrong to God as he admits that, 'my strength was dried up' by the time he did so. David endured the discomfort of unforgiveness, guilt, shame and pain for some time before he had enough of it, before the pain outweighed the embarrassment. Sometimes you too bear the shame for a long time because you try to hide or discount your wrongs due to fear or embarrassment. Yet you cannot escape your mind. You may not want to admit it, but you know that something you have said or done, or the motive in which you did something was wrong. This develops to cause internal discomfort and can lead to physical illness - David explains this well in this psalm. We know that David suffered for a while with being unforgiven as his, ‘bones wasted away’ and he had no strength left. That doesn’t happen overnight, he carried the guilt shame and internal anguish around with him for a while and it affected his body and mind. This can happen to you too when you fail to confess and repent of your wrongs. Sadly, sometimes people need to feel the guilt and shame and the detrimental effect this can have on body and mind before they’re able to approach God and know the relief and comfort of His forgiveness and restoration. David felt it. He eventually got to the point where he was more fed up with the pain of his error than fearful and ashamed of admitting it.
Are you fed up with the pain and remorse of your iniquities? Do wish to receive forgiveness? If so, you can. You do not have to wait, you can know God’s forgiveness and restoration right now. You do not need to wait and suffer any more for what you’ve done wrong. David endured hardship and heartache before he came to God for forgiveness. His recommendation is that you can come to God any time, and sooner is better so that you do not suffer as much - you can experience forgiveness and relief right now! David says, ‘I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity…..and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’. When you apologise to God, don't cover it up or leave anything out. If you want to know freedom and relief like David did be honest about what's gone wrong, how you're feeling about it and ask Him to forgive and restore you. God will do it.
God has dealt with any wrong you have done through His son Jesus. You do not need to suffer for it as Jesus already has, your suffering does not add to repentance. You can live free because Jesus took all the embarrassment, pain, shame, guilt and punishment upon himself as he died, so that you do not have to bear the weight of it. Are you accepting the forgiveness and freedom Jesus died for today? When you do you will know the relief, peace, joy and comfort of God’s forgiveness. Then you can, ‘Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!’
