Walking With God # 11: Pause and Reflect, Psalm 32

Introduction: Some of you know that I have a dog, a 3-year-old Australian Shepherd named Gus. Gus’s full name is Augustus McCrae Franklin, sometimes called Guster. I named him after two of television’s best friends- Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove, & Burton Guster from Psyche. Besides my wife, Gus may be my best friend, but I don’t take Becky on any walks.

I walk Gus twice a day, once around the block in the morning after I get back from working out, and twice around the block at night before it gets dark. When we’re walking, Gus likes to stop a lot. He’s got a super sniffer. We don’t make it 2 feet at a time before Gus has to stop and smell the remnants of another dog. If we go past a tree or a bush, Gus has to leave his mark on it. We’re pausing a lot more than we’re walking, but when we’re walking, we’re really on the go. We’re moving.

I wonder if our walk with God is similar to my walk with Gus. When I’m trying to walk Gus, I just want to get the walk over. I don’t want to stop to sniff a smell or take a tinkle on every tree. I want to get home so I can get on with my day or be done for the night, but Gus is enjoying his walk. He’s pausing on his way- smelling is how he reflects on who has gone this way before him.

We’ve been surveying the 1st volume of the psalms, Book 1, Psalms 1-41, on Walking with God. There’s a word used semi-frequently in the psalms, the word is selah. Selah shows up 3 times in Psalm 32.

A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. 1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 5I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. 7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Psalm 32 is one of the penitential psalms (repentance) & a “psalm of instruction.” Contemplation (maskil)- an uncertain musical term that probably refers to a type of song or poem- one to think about, or meditate on. Selah- in musical terms, it probably denotes a rest or a pause- a rest as it relates to music, a pause to reflect on the meaning. From this psalm I want us to pause and reflect on 3 things:

1. On the BLESSING of Forgiveness, vss. 1-2

David announces two blessings here, 1st, on the person whose transgression is forgiven & whose sin is covered, and 2nd, on the person to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, & in whose spirit there is no deceit. Blessed (ashre)- speaks of a person who is characterized by happiness or who is highly favored. The reason I said that David announces 2 blessings, rather than pronounces 2 blessings is this- Ashre is not pronouncing blessings on someone else or praying for them to be blessed. Ashre happens when you see a person, or a group of people, in a particular set of favorable circumstances. It’s the difference between pronouncing “God Bless You,” or announcing, “you are so blessed.”

It’s the same word Jesus would have used in the Beatitudes- Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, & those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Why are these people blessed?Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven, they shall be comforted, they shall inherit the earth, they shall be filled, they shall obtain mercy, they shall see God, they shall be called sons of God.

Ashre- (wisdom word) aimed at persuading the listener to see that a certain kind of person is in a state of blessing. In Psalm 32, it is the person who has been forgiven of their sins. Being forgiven of sins is a state of blessing!

E.g., I well remember when I was forgiven, September 10, 1989. In 3 days, it will be 36 years since the day that I was forgiven of my sins. I was 13 years old. 3 years earlier I made a profession of faith & was baptized, but I know that I was not saved. Looking back on it, what actually happened to me when I was 10 is that I gained an awareness of my sin. All that means is that I knew if I died I would go to hell, & that was a miserable state. Fast forward 3 years to the day I was saved, I woke up feeling something different. That morning, I asked my mom if I could wear my suit to church. I only had the one & I never wanted to wear that thing, but that day was different. I don’t remember anything Wayne Boyles said, but when the invitation started I beat it down the aisle to him. I was saved before I got there. I felt so light, so free, so happy!

That’s ashre! Forgiveness is a state of blessing. Do you have it? Have you been forgiven for your sins? If you know what forgiveness feels like, then pause to reflect on that feeling. Selah

2. On the Burden of SIN, vss. 3-5

David describes the burden of sin with 3 different words: transgression, sin, & iniquity. Transgression (pesha)- crime, offence, the violation of a law, evildoing. What makes it evil is that it is a violation of God’s nature & authority. Alexander Maclaren describes it- “You do not understand the gravity of the most trivial wrong act when you think of it as a sin against the order of Nature, or against the law written on your heart, or as the breach of the constitution of your own nature, or as a crime against your fellows. You have not got to the bottom of the blackness until you see that it is a flat rebellion against God himself.”

Sin- any thought or behavior that is contrary to God’s Word or character. I want to teach you a simple definition of sin- sin is anything we think (point to head), say (point to mouth), do (hold out hands), or don’t do (put hands behind back) that is against God’s will, way, or Word. In the ancient world the term was used in archery to describe a person who shoots at a target, but they fall short or miss the mark. The target is God’s law; this word describes our failure to measure up to it. Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Iniquity- the state of being guilty by having committed an offense. Any activity that is corrupt, twisted, or crooked. James Montgomery Boice explains that it rounds out the other terms in this way: “The first describes sin in view of our relationship to God. It pictures us as being in rebellion against him. The second word describes sin in relation to the divine law. We fall short of it and are condemned by it. The third word describes sin in relation to ourselves. It is a corruption or twisting of right standards as well as of our own beings. That is, to the degree that we indulge in sin we become both twisted and twisting creatures.”

The internal weight of unconfessed sin creeps into our bones. When we keep silent about it, when we keep it closed up within ourselves, it affects the soul, of course, but we begin to feel it in other areas. We don’t feel it as much when we are children, but the older we get, the more experience we have with sin, and it begins to affect us from the inside out. Our spirit & our bodies groan from the weight of sin.

The weight of sin becomes crushing as we feel God’s heavy hand upon us. We have this internal moral compass that tells us something is off- we’re violators, we’ve missed the mark, we’re guilty. My vitality- strength of life. Romans 6:23 is clear, “the wages of sin is death...”

Sin sucks the life out of us like the summer sun dries up a puddle. What should we do with our sin? Acknowledge it. What should we do with our iniquity? Uncover it. What do we do with our transgressions? Confess them to the Lord. Sin is a burden that we can be free of.

Even right now, if you feel the weight of your sin, God wants to forgive you of your sins, but you need to confess them. 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you know the burden of sin, and you have received forgiveness, then pause to reflect on that.

3. On the BLOOD of Jesus, vss. 6-7

David says it is for this cause (reason) that godly people pray, because God is a forgiving God. How is a person forgiven?

Godly- faithful, pious, loyal to God. Think about who this psalm started with- a violator of God, one who does not measure up to His standard, guilty. How does someone like that become godly?

God has to do something for them they cannot do for themselves- IMPUTATION. In vs. 2 David said that the blessed person is the one to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. Impute- to consider or reckon. It is an accounting word, a bookkeeping term. Our life is a ledger of everything we’ve ever done. Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Who did God lay our iniquity on? If God has not written our iniquity in our ledger, on whose ledger did it go? In Romans 4:6-8, Paul quotes vss. 1-2 to describe imputation, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Romans 4:24-25, It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Imputation is the great exchange of our wrongs for Jesus’ righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21, For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God wrote our sins in Jesus’ ledger & wrote Jesus’ righteousness in our ledger. For the violator of the law, Jesus is our hiding place (covering). For the sinner who misses the mark, Jesus preserves us from trouble (keeps us safe from distress). For the guilty, Jesus surrounds us with songs of deliverance. He rescues us from our sentence. Ephesians 1:7, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Jesus took the burden of our sins so that we could receive the blessing of His forgiveness. Selah means to pause and reflect. Today we’re reflecting on the blessing of forgiveness, the burden of sin, & the blood of Jesus that paid for our forgiveness. The ultimate method of pausing & reflecting on what Jesus has done is by observing the Lord’s Supper.

We’re going to close our service by observing the Lord’s Supper. Will our deacons please join me down front & begin preparing the table. While they are doing that, let me say a few things.

1st, we may not be having an invitation right now, but God’s invitation never closes.If after the service, you want to visit with me for prayer or counsel, I will be available for you.

2nd, if this is your first visit with us, I’d love to meet you after the service.

3rd, I want to explain what the Lord’s Supper means.

LORD’S SUPPER: There are 2 elements in the Lord’s Supper- the bread & the cup, & these are symbolic of Jesus’ body & blood. The bread is unleavened because leaven symbolizes sin. Jesus’ body had no sin, but all our sins were laid on His perfect body. When Jesus was crucified, His righteous blood flowed & washed our sins away. At our church, we believe this symbol is only meaningful for those who have already trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins & identified with Him publicly through baptism by immersion. If that’s you, feel free to take it with us.

If that’s not you, then we’re praying for you that this remembrance of the Lord’s death will convict you to trust Christ as your Savior. For those who have trusted Christ, the scripture says we should examine ourselves. Let’s have a moment of silence to confess our sins to God.

Deacons will pass out the elements. There are 2 cups stacked on top of each other, so be sure to get both. While they are distributing the elements, we will sing Thank You Jesus. After everyone is served, we will have a prayer of blessing for the bread & cup & take it together.

PRAYER OF BLESSING FOR THE BREAD & THE CUP | Matthew 26:26-30, 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body. EAT BREAD

27Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. –DRINK THE CUP

29But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

- Close with Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus