My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 32
1 A Maskil of David. 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!
David was a man after God’s own heart, and yet he struggled with sin issues, sin such as murder, adultery and deception. He was a man who sought the Lord and yet fell violently into sin, into a darkness that enveloped him, that pulled him into conflict with the One he loved. He was under the hand of God, and he kept silent. Confession and repentance for this man of God was refused.
He would not admit his sin! It would cost too much, (from a purely human standpoint).
How often have you experienced the hand of God on your life? In the darkness, in the quiet of your soul, you have a balance sheet, a kind of ledger that you base decisions on. You weigh the pros and cons of each decision you make in your life, some of which are instantaneous, and some of which you spend time deliberating, considering the cost of certain actions.
Deciding to commit adultery with Bathsheba was an instant decision. (2 Samuel 11:2-3) David’s decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba did not consume much of David’s time.
A different story when it comes to cleaning the mess up. David spent nights tossing in his bed, conjuring up plans of action, determining methods of escaping the hand of God on his life, calculating his next move, trying to minimize the damage and maximize the benefits. He was running the numbers, and by his calculations he had to bury the sin!
First off, a little deception! Let’s pull an innocent man, no the victim of David’s sin, into the mix!
Call for Uriah and deceive him, appeal to his desire to serve the King, offer him a privilege of rest and renewal with his wife. David didn’t see the godliness of Uriah – how could he, his vision was clouded with his sin! Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, the man David cheated against, came to David and humbly served him, seeking David’s welfare above his own. He slept at the door of the King’s house, ever ready to serve!
David was in a bad place! He couldn’t cajole Uriah to be with his wife! David got the poor man drunk, tried to bribe him, sought to puff him up, and what became of it? Uriah served his King.
David had a decision to make. He consulted his ledger of options, and decided after serious calculation through the night, that Uriah had to die!
Note that David’s decisions caused one man’s death, one man becoming an accomplice, and one child’s eventual death. One woman became a byword through Israel, and yet attained the position of queen eventually. And the king was in sin!
Joab obeyed his king and abandoned the godly man Uriah in battle. Uriah died without any knowledge of the treachery going on in his world. The sacrifice had to be made based on David’s cold and calculating schemes.
And David fell deeper into the darkness, struggling against the chains of his own making. His self inflicted burden weighed him down and tore at his sleep. Constant raging in his soul all the day long. A never ending slavery to the decisions he made based on his calculations, his balance sheet of pro and con.
Sometimes the love of God draw’s us to His side. Sometimes the pain and agony of our current situation pushes us to the Fathers side. This concept of realizing our position before our Father is a recurring theme in my thinking lately. (Consider Parable Surprises – Lost Son).
When you are in the dark spot, that period of time that the struggle with choice is so fierce, when your calculations sheet of obedience/disobedience is tottering back and forth, remember the great love of God. Remember the first time you found the great forgiveness of God. Remember the freeing grace that opened up opportunities and confidence for your heart.
Confess you sin. Admit it to God, at least primarily. Agree with God in the existence and offence your action(s) have on the Father. Find forgiveness at the foot of the cross.
If you have sinned against someone, ask them for forgiveness.
Romans 5:20 …where sin increased, grace abounded all the more
He has provided grace that abounds. The calculation sheet during times of darkness does not consider the grace of God. It is uncalculatable!
Psalm 32:5 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.
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