The Joy of Being Forgiven
Modified from a Sermon preached April 16, 2024.Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
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
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.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
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.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Psalm 32
Its a popular topic lately - what is biblical manhood? How can we produce manly Christians? And, this is a worthwhile endeavor. The loudest voices in this discussion speak much about fighting against secular culture, they speak for family values - excellent things, to be sure. And these men seem to practice what they preach. And an important, key feature of this movement is that men should’t just be revolutionaries and fathers, but they should also be jolly. We should be joyful reformers. And, while this certainly deserves nuance, it is true. We should be joyful.
But, and this is related to that feature of joy, I’d like to suggest that there is one element of biblical masculinity that is sorely missing from this discussion - both from public discourse and practice. That element is the confession and repentance of sins.
Who would dare call King David anything other than manly? He was a musician, a poet, and a warrior King . Saul slayed his thousands, David his tens thousands! David beheaded a giant, was surrounded with mighty men! Yet, David was also incredibly sinful.
And he spoke and wrote of confession and repentance. And he led in repentance. And in a world searching for a north star for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, what is needed is men who not only teach on being forgiven - we need men who lead in it as well. And we need this because those who are far from God need to be forgiven. Those who Love God need to approach the throne of mercy and continue to confess their sins.
It is quite manly to be forgiven! It brings true joy. We all need true joy, and true joy can demonstrate to an unbelieving world what it looks like to be forgiven.
As we walk through Psalm 32, we’ll see the Joy of being Forgiven, The Example of being Forgiven, and Instructions on being Forgiven
First, Let’s look at the Joy of being forgiven.
In the first 4 verses of Psalm 32, David describes being forgiven in two steps - first, he talks about the positives of being forgiven, then the negatives of being silent regarding sin. The positive side starts with one, potent word - blessed.
“Blessed is the one who’s transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (vv 1-2)
Here’s an important question - what does blessed mean?
I mentioned earlier “joyfulness” and its importance, and while blessed is certainly more than joy, it cannot be less. We see in Psalm 1 that the man who delights in God’s law is blessed, and we see here that the man who is forgiven is bless.
And this blessedness, if we connect it as well with what Jesus is describing in Matthew 5 (which I think we ought to), blessed might be defined as God’s favor and nearness to you, which results in joy even in sorrow. We’ll come back to that in a moment.
David tells us that those who have been forgiven are blessed. Notice that this is a passive thing. We do have responsibilities, but as Paul tells us in Romans 4, this is not about works - this is about being forgiven. It is something that is done to us.
But why do forgiveness and blessedness go together? Briefly, look how David describes being forgiven:
First, this word for forgiven carries the sense of something being “lifted” off of us. As the Suffering Servant lifts our sorrows and carries our griefs, our transgressions have been lifted away.
But more than that, they have been covered. The imagery is that our sin is taken off of us, set down, and buried.
It’s as the old world was covered with water in the days of Noah - it exists no more.
Its as Pharaoh and his chariots are covered by the Red Sea - they exist no more.
It is as the refuse in the camp of Israel - taken and buried out of the sight of the Lord.
Verse 2 continues this by stating that God does not count us as guilty! The forgiven are innocent before the Lord and we have no deceit within us!
So why do blessedness and forgiveness go hand in hand? Because stained as we are, we cannot enjoy the presence of God. The distance between God and the creature is so great that we cannot have any fruition of him as our blessedness and reward UNLESS something radical takes place (WCF 7.1). God can’t even look upon us in our sin! So, it must be lifted, buried so that we may be counted as innocent and without deceit. In short: No God, no Joy.
But, and we can’t ignore this, where does that sin go? It doesn’t just vanish. It isn’t like an unpaid parking ticket shoved in the glovebox, out of sight, out of mind. W.S Plumer note that there isn’t a statute of limitations on sin! IT isn’t time and distance that removes sins, it has to be covered! What is it that covers our sins?
It’s Christ’s blood.
We are able to put on the gentle yoke of Jesus Christ because He put on our sin. He wore our sin and bore God’s wrath. It was placed on His shoulders. His blood covers our sin.
But what about the negative side? David writes that when he was silent - and the context makes it clear that David is talking about confessing his sin - that his bones wasted away, that he was groaning and moaning. He was, day and night, touched by the heavy hand of the Lord.
Spurgeon writes that “while he was silent in his sin, he was certainly not silent in his sorrow.”
Plumer again that grief was drinking David’s “blood and spirit.”
Is this true? Do you ever feel this? Have you sat on a sin, or perhaps you’re sitting on a sin even now, that is consuming you?The poetry here is beautiful, and so accurate. Hiding sins produces wasted men and women. We groan, we moan, we grumble. We cry out like wounded animals. It consumes our life. And praise God that it does - it is the Lord’s hand that produces this pain, this sorrow, this misery.
How deadly would our sin be if it did NOT eat at our conscience? It is the same with disease - praise the Lord when the symptoms show up, or else you might never know what ails you! Look to Romans 1! Those who have SUPPRESSED the truth in unrighteousness are led further and further into wickedness. J.C. Ryle has said that the chains we cannot see are the most dangerous. Praise God when His heavy hand alerts us to our sorry state.
Before we look at what we are to do, it might be helpful to consider where David was when he wrote this. Chronologically, this Psalm comes after Psalm 51 - where David confesses the sins he committed against Uriah and Bathsheba, which were ultimately agains the Lord.
So consider this: David wrote these psalms after learning that his family would be torn asunder, and that his son would die. That means that David both found true, blessedness in being restored to His Lord - a blessedness that did not remove the sorrow of his family, but gave him joy within it. Remember, when David’s son dies he arises and worships God! But also, in that same context, David considers to be the surpassing pain is that of the separation between him and God.
We often underestimate the pain of separation, and also the joy of restoration. As Christians, as Evangelists, as missionaries, as pastors, we ought to lead with the joy of forgiveness!
Now aware of the joy of being forgiven, what is David’s example of being forgiven?
In verse 5, David, knowing this truth, says that he acknowledges his sin, and does not cover it. He lets God cover it because he can’t cover it . He says “I will confess my transgressions. And this is the example we should follow - we should be grieved unto repentance (2 Cor.f 7.8-13), the good kind of grief! And we should be those who confess our sins because we know that we have a Savior who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins!
And what is the result of David’s confession? He is forgiven. And David's conclusion is one that we cannot miss, both in our own lives and in our communication of the gospel to others.
Look at verse 6, “Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer a prayer to you at a time when you may be found.”
Do you sense the urgency here? Isaiah 55.6 echoes the command - seek the Lord while he may be found! Call upon him while he is near! Or in 2 Corinthians 6 - do not receive grace in vain, now is the time, now is the day of salvation.
David has felt the pain of separation and the joy of restoration. This is his wisdom: Don’t wait! Come now!There will be a day when it is too late. Come. Now, offer the prayer now. There is a rush of waters coming. There is trouble brewing. Cry out - be delivered from the waters of judgment! Be hidden by the Lord, He will deliver you. He will preserve you. He will surround you with deliverance. Come today!
Our sins are not too many if we only but cry out to Him. He will rescue you. You only need to confess to him, to be found in prayer. If you do this, he will forgive you!
This is the message of the Son of David as well - “Repent and believe, the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1.15).
Is this our message? To those we love? Is it a message we let change our own hearts? David’s example is one we should not ignore - God is mighty to save, and mighty to forgive. All people, every, must come to the end of themselves and confess. Even kings. Especially kings.
The Psalm concludes with David giving Instruction on being forgiven.
There is a question about whether or not this is David speaking, or the Lord. Ultimately, this is God’s Word. The Lord is speaking, but given the letter’s structure, it seems more likely that David is now offering instruction out of his experience.
The wisdom that David gives comes out of the deep well of experience - David has every right to teach about confession and repentance, he has every right to talk about being forgiven.
Why?
Because he was forgiven much.
Matthew Henry writes that “Those who are themselves taught of God, ought to tell others what he has done for their souls.” Having a history that is full of sin and being forgiven doesn’t remove your credibility. It is the credibility that the Gospel is powerful. That God is mighty to save, and that He saves sinners.
Do you ever think like me, that you need to be fully put together before you can do evangelism? Or, that you history disqualifies you from talking to a non-believer, so you have to hide it and pray no-one finds out?
Why do we think that way? Is it because we are afraid that our hypocrisy will be pointed out? Is it because we want to appeal to others from a position of superiority? This is foolish thinking David doesn’t appeal as a king, he appeals as a sinner!
Why would presenting ourselves as without sin give any weight to our proclamation of the riches and beauty of sins forgiven? Who could possibly understand the forgiveness of God better than one who has been forgiven?
And, to correct a dangerous thought - this doesn’t mean we get jealous of crazier testimonies.
It also doesn’t mean we over embellish our pasts, or turn our testimonies into horror stories. Instead, it means we appeal not as a perfect saint, but a forgiven sinner.
So David’s experience is behind his exhortation. What is that wisdom? Look at verse 9, “Don’t be like a horse or a mule!”
There is disagreement about what this verse means, but the clearest example is that a stubborn horse or mule will not come to its master without having the bit and bridle shoved into its mouth. It will stray as often as it gets a chance.
And again, David speaks from experience. He needed a fierce “mouthpiece” from the Lord. He needed a potent bit and bridle. It was the Prophet Nathan!
What pain! What horrible pain! How much better would it have been for David to hear the misery of his heart and to come to the Lord immediately! Instead, he was drug to the his master.
To those who teach and lead, we must instruct others and lead others to confess while there is time, to confess now because living in unconfessed sin and disobedience is an attempt to wrench our lives from the gaze of our King
But His hand will touch us. His bridle will go into our mouths. The sorrows of our sin will surround us, we will feel the pain that the wicked feel. The instruction of David is “don’t be like me. Don’t wait. Don’t wait for the Lord’s Hand to break you. Let the Kindness of the Lord lead you to repentance. Don’t remain silent. Acknowledge your sin. David leads by example, and we must as well.
It is important to note a few final things:
First, If you want to raise of a generation of Christians who embrace God’s Law, who Love Jesus, who have backbones - that means sons and daughters who fear God more than they fear man, who love God more than they love the world, and who walk in the Wisdom of the Word - if we want to raise up men and women like this in our families and in our churches, we must teach confession, repentance, and forgiveness. And we must teach it from our experience, being known as confessing, repenting, and forgiven men and women.
We want bold, counter-cultural, Christ-centered, family oriented Christians. And we want them to be joyful. So we must instruct them to confess, but more than that, we must lead in our confession of sin.
Second, the blessedness and joy that bookends the psalms is not an exclusively future reality. You can have that blessedness today. You do that by finding your sin today, calling out to God today, and by seeking the forgiveness of the one who is faithful and righteous to forgive. This command is to all that hear the Word of the Lord - cry out to your Savior! If King Jesus is not your Savior, He can be today. Seek Him while there is still time! Tomorrow is not promised!
And if Christ is your Savior, Scripture tells us that Christians are to live lives of confession of sin, leaning into and trusting God’s forgiveness. This is not an element of shame, but it is the way that we love and adore the power of the Gospel!
Finally, take heart. We are slow to confess, slow to repent, and it can be troubling to approach the throne of grace. But, as W.S. Plumer notes, “God is more ready to forgive sin than we are to forsake it, or confess it.” Jesus died for your past sins, and your future ones - He knows the missteps you will make. He died for those as well.
He is as ready to cover those sins as any other, so do not fear. It is a light yoke that we wear when we join ourselves to Christ. He has placed the burden on Him.
David concludes:
“Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” What a great command from the Lord - enjoy the fruition of His blessedness and reward!
