Psalm 32

Intro

This summer we are going to be going through some of the most famous Psalms

Throughout the 5 Psalms that we go through you’ll see that we need God in every aspect of our life

We will see how the author of each Psalm shows us a different reason for why we need God

Today we are going to be talking about Psalm 32

Psalm 32 is a Psalm by David where he gives us a personal example to prove to us that we need to do what he did

Verses 1-2

Psalm 32:1–2 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.

David starts out this Psalm by telling us that if your sins have been forgiven — you are blessed

It doesn’t matter what your circumstance in life is, your financial standing, if things are going good or bad, he said YOU ARE BLESSED

Let that sink in

David from the jump tells us that no matter what — if you are forgiven you are blessed

That flies in the face of everything that the world tells us

Yet you are blessed if Jesus has forgiven your sin

Verse 3-4

Listen to what David said happened to him when he didn’t confess his sins

Psalm 32:3–4 ESV

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

David tells us that when he kept silent — didn’t confess his sins — he felt as though he was wasting away

The picture of his bones wasting away is literally David saying he was constantly sick

It’s as if he was continuously becoming weaker and weaker

David likens it to the Lord placing his hand upon him and continuously pressing down — harder and harder — to the point where David felt like he was at his breaking point

He said it’s like you are in the middle of the summer, and doing physical labor — with no end in sight

This is a perfect description of what living with unconfessed sin is like

I couldn’t describe it better if I wanted to

David said blessed is the man who’s sins are forgiven and his iniquity isn’t counted against him

But on the contrary the person who’s sins are not forgiven — who hasn’t confessed them — the hand of the Lord is upon them

They are suffering and in agony continuously

There is no relief for someone who is in constant sin

There is no joy or peace — it is just constantly getting worse

David from his example is telling us how he feels — and if we are being honest it’s the exact same way we feel

We feel this way all the time when we have sin we haven’t confessed

Verse 5

But listen to what he said:

Psalm 32:5 NET

5 Then I confessed my sin; I no longer covered up my wrongdoing. I said, “I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord.” And then you forgave my sins. (Selah)

David after being afflicted day and night constantly over his sin finally confessed it to the Lord

Confessing our sins means this:

The act of admitting one’s wrongdoings with the intent of turning to God instead of their wrongs

Confession of sin is admitting that we are did something and turning from it to God

That is what David said he did

He no longer tried to cover up his sins and instead confessed them to the Lord

In doing so we see that the Lord forgave his sins

The Lord took him from a place of affliction — a place of constantly agony and pain to now a place of blessing

From suffering to a place of blessing

That’s all because he confessed his sins

All because David stopped trying to cover up his sin, stopped building a web of lies to hide behind his sins, and instead confessed them to the Lord

Verse 6-8

Psalm 32:6–8 ESV

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.

David then continues by imploring all of us to do the same thing

That we must confess our sin while we still have the opportunity

One day Jesus will come back and it will be to late to ask for forgiveness

He tells us that if we confess our sins to God that no matter how high the waters of life rush and feel like we are being over taken — David said they will never reach us

When we feel like we are drowning in life remember that because our sins are forgiven we are blessed

Jesus is our hiding place, he preserves us, he delivers us

We cannot and David made that very clear, but he tells us that Jesus can

That the Lord will instruct and teach us

He will guide us where we are to go, and will be constantly with us

But only if we confess our sins

Only if we repent of the wrong and evil

We are all sinful, John says it like this

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We have sin that is keeping us far from God that makes us feel anguished and abused

So David is encouraging us and challenging us to repent and confess our sins to God before it’s to late

Verse 9-11

Here is how David ends the Psalm:

Psalm 32:9–11 ESV

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 challenges us to not be an idiot but instead to repent from our sin

Don’t be like a donkey who doesn’t understand and only listens when there is pain

Instead confess your sins and go back to God

Those who are in sin are full of sorrow — remember what he said in verses 3-4

But we who confess are sins are surrounded by the love of the Lord

We can be glad and rejoice because the Lord forgives our sins

Takeaways

I want to give you two takeaways from Psalm 32

The first one is:

Confess your sins quickly

David makes it clear — if you confess your sins Jesus will forgive them

If you don’t and try to hold them all in you are only destroying yourself

You can’t save yourself, you can’t fix your sin, you are only hurting yourself

So confess your sin

David made it clear in verse 6 there will be a time when you can no longer confess your sins — so don’t wait

Don’t wait until you are on your death bed to confess because we aren’t promised tomorrow

James 4:14 NET

14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

We are not promised tomorrow — we don’t know the future

Don’t wait to confess your sins

The second takeaway:

Jesus guides the forgiven

The second thing is that the Lord is with those who are forgiven

He tells us that if we confess our sin that God will be with us

That He will be our hiding place, that God will preserve and protect us

David tells us that if we confess our sins that Lord will be with us, guiding us and instructing us

He will be near to us

But this only comes if we confess our sins

The opposite is also true — if we don’t confess our sins God is far from us

He will not guide us or protect us

Conclusion

We must confess our sins

We have no hope in life outside of confessing our sins

Don’t wait until it’s to late, go to God now!

He is faithful and just to forgive us!