Psalm 32 | Suffering and Unrepentant Sin
Psalms and Suffering • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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SERMON TITLE: Suffering and Unrepentant Sin
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 32 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 6-8-25
TURN MIC ON / WELCOME
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
SERIES INTRO
We’re continuing our series looking at some of King David’s psalms that address the topic of suffering. There are many aspects to suffering — many reasons for our suffering — that David touches on in his psalms that are important for us to consider. So — whether or not you’re in a season of suffering — suffering has a way of showing up — often unexpectedly. Yet — for the follower of Jesus — suffering is an opportunity. For suffering is an opportunity to grow spiritual for those of us who follow a Savior who experienced suffering.
Now — for sure — suffering is not easy opportunity to grow — often suffering comes when life is the most challenging. But — in another sense — suffering is one of the easiest opportunities to spiritually grow — because — when life is most challenging we’re forced to change in some way.
So let’s continue to see how our Christian faith offers a different opportunity in these hard moments of life: an opportunity to become more like our Savior — Jesus — who — in love for us — experienced suffering, trials, persecution, hardships, rejection, hatred — you name it — he experienced it so that we might have hope in the midst of the sorrows we face.
Yet I know that not all of us believe in Jesus. But all of us have experienced suffering — or know others who’ve experienced it. And — if you’re honest — it’s scary. Because there’s no good answer offered by our world, society, and culture as to why we suffer — and even more importantly — how to suffer well. There’s just a huge hopelessness — thus many turn to coping mechanisms to numb themselves — drugs, alcohol, binge watching Netflix — or give up on life altogether in a seemingly never-ending depression.
But is that all there is — is that the best offer on the table in a world full of suffering? It’s not — thank God it’s not.
And that’s what we’re exploring in this series as we look at some of David’s psalms — including today’s psalm — psalm thirty-two. So — if you have your Bible — please turn there — to psalm thirty-two. We’ll begin in verse one where David writes…
A Maskil of David. 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!
Last week we looked at the importance of prayer — today we address a somewhat unpopular aspect to suffering: Suffering we experience due to unrepentant sin in our life. But there’s good news in this not so good news — unrepentant sin need not be cause for our suffering. There is hope — even for those whose suffering is due to their own sin.
THE UNREPENTANT
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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.
And skipping to verse nine we read…
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. 10a Many are the sorrows of the wicked…
a
Did you notice how David describes the consequence of his unrepentance? Similar to last week’s psalm — David says his bones are wasting away. If you recall — last week — we don’t know if David’s suffering was self-inflicted or caused by others. But — here — this is self-inflicted suffering. Yet he uses the same phrase “my bones waste away” which means his sorrow and suffering has affected all of who he is — down to his bones.
Well how do you know that this is self-inflicted suffering? By the way David personally takes responsibility — in other verses in our psalm — by using the phrases “my sin” — twice — and “my iniquity” and “my transgressions” to describe the cause of his suffering — we’ll look at that more closely in a moment.
Yet — it’s not just the act of sinning that’s the cause of his suffering — David’s unrepentance is also a contributor. Unrepentance that he describes in the psalm with a command when he says to not be like a horse or mule which must be curbed — or restrained — by a bit in its mouth.
THE BLESSED
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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.
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REPENTANCE LEADS TO BLESSING
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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. 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.
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REPENTANCE LEADS TO JOY
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10b 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!
a Earlier we saw the command to not be like the stubborn horse or mule. Here — the commands are much more positive.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice! And shout for joy! Why? What’s the source of our glad rejoicing and shouts of joy? This truth: Steadfast love surround the one who trusts in the Lord.
LISTEN TO GOD!
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7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
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This is God acting in these verses. It’s God who is instructing and teaching us in the way we should go. It’s God who’s giving us counsel — who’s attentive to what’s going on in our lives.
CONCLUSION
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PRAYER
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BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)
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God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
