There’s a song for everything. Would you agree? How often does it happen in your life that a song hits you at just the right time? The music and poetry and emotion can overwhelm you. No matter what you’re feeling or facing, there’s a song for that! God knows that. That’s why he put a book of songs in the Bible. Did you know that? Which book of the Bible is full of songs? Psalms. Psalms are God’s songs. While we don’t have music for them, we have their beautiful, personal words. On these Lenten Wednesdays, we’re going to look at a psalm each week. They are songs for our hearts. No matter what you’re feeling or facing, there is a psalm for that.
Starting today on Ash Wednesday. What is it in our hearts that we especially focus on on Ash Wednesday? Our sin and our guilt. There’s a psalm for that. Actually, there are seven psalms for that. Out of the 150 psalms, seven psalms are called the “Penitential Psalms.” Have you heard that phrase before? The “Penitential Psalms” all focus on sin and repentance and forgiveness. There are seven of them: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. Tonight we’ll focus on Psalm 32.
Here it is:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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! (Psalm 32 NIV)
“Blessed.” We’ve heard that word a lot lately. A month ago, we heard a sermon on the Beatitudes. Jesus talked about who is blessed in his Sermon on the Mount. To be “blessed” is to be a recipient of God’s grace. According to King David, who is blessed? The one whose sins are forgiven. Notice that David doesn’t say, “Blessed are all the perfect people.” I suppose that’s true too, but how many people would that involve? One: Jesus! Instead, you are blessed if your sins are covered. You are blessed if God doesn’t count your sins against you. Sounds great, right?
So it’s surprising what David admits next, “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 knew that people are blessed whose sins are forgiven by God. So what did David do? He kept silent. He covered up his sins. He refused to confess his sins. Why would he do that? That doesn’t make sense! If God forgives our sins, why did David keep silent and try to cover up his sins? Well, why do you do that? Why do I do that?
I guess it goes back to the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, God came looking for them. God always looks for sinners like a shepherd looks for his lost sheep! But when God came looking for them, what did Adam and Eve do? They hid. Did God find them? Of course he did! So what did Adam and Eve do? They blamed each other. They blamed the snake. They did everything they could to hide themselves and to cover up their sins. That’s what’s built into our sinful natures. From birth, our first instinct when we sin is to hide it. To cover it up. To lie.
What have you hidden in your life? What sins have you done everything in your power to cover up? I bet there as things you did as a kid that you’ve never, ever let anyone know about. But that doesn’t stop when you grow up. What are you hiding right now? What lies do you continue to tell to other people so they don’t know the truth? What steps do you continue to take in your life to cover up what you’ve done and who you are? What do you keep silent and refuse to confess?
You can feel it, can’t you? Guilt is something you can feel. It affects your whole body. “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.” It’s like stepping out into 100 degree heat, and instantly you feel tired and drained. That’s what guilt does. That’s what lying does. That’s what hiding does. “My strength was sapped.” The weight of a guilty heart.
But, thankfully, you don’t ever have to live that way. You don’t have to live with a guilty heart. “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.” This song for a guilty heart tells us the solution for a guilty heart: “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD. And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” The answer to sin isn’t to hide it or ignore it. The answer is Jesus—the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
King David is a perfect example of that. This song isn’t just a made-up song. It’s rooted in real life. David committed adultery, had someone murdered, and then covered it up for a full year. His strength was sapped! But God sought him. God sent the prophet Nathan to David to convict him of his sins. Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7). And David repented. He said, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13). And do you know what Nathan said to him immediately? “The LORD has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13). No conditions. No, “we’ll see.” No, “do this.” “The LORD has taken away your sin.” Forgiven!
God doesn’t forgive like we often pretend to forgive. He doesn’t just say the words, while harboring resentment inside. Instead, we hear three different phrases about the fullness of God’s 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.” When you confess your sins to Jesus, your sins are forgiven. Your sins are covered by Jesus’ blood. Your sins are so far gone that God will never count them against you. Whatever makes you feel guilty, “the LORD has taken away your sin.” Acknowledge your sin to the LORD and trust in God’s forgiveness.
That forgiveness carries over into every area of life: “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.” God’s forgiveness carries over into every area of life. If you can trust God for forgiveness, you can trust in him for everything. If God takes care of your greatest need, he will take care of all your needs. So pray to him while he may be found. Today! Trust in him when the waters rise.
You have a hiding place. I love that phrase. David says to the LORD, “You are my hiding place.” What a turn of events. When we sin, what do we do from God? We hide from him! But when David knew God’s forgiveness, what did he do with God? He hid in him. God isn’t someone you hide from. God is someone you hide in. Can you see the difference? This is what it means to have a God of grace! We don’t have to hide from him. Ever! Instead, we can hide in him. We take to him our sin and guilt, and he takes them away. We take to him our fear and our anxiety, and he shelters us. By the grace of God in Jesus our Savior, God isn’t someone you hide from. God is someone you hide in. With David, we can say to God, “You are my hiding place.”
That’s what David wants to teach us. He says, “I will instruct 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. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.” David urges us to learn from his example. Don’t be as foolish as David was when he covered up his sin and suffered needless anguish. Don’t be like a stubborn donkey that has to be dragged along by force. Instead, run gladly to the LORD’s unfailing love and hide yourself in him.
That will make you sing. “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Maybe it’s no coincidence that the man who knew God’s forgiveness so deeply and personally was the one who wrote half of the psalms. God’s forgiveness makes you sing! When you have a guilty heart, there’s a song for that! “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.” “God, you are our hiding place.”
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