Sermon on Psalm 32. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Sermon on Psalm 32 Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, What really makes a person happy? What is it that makes for a relaxed and peaceful life? If you take a look around you, at our world and our own Australian society and way of life, happiness seems to come with material possessions and personal success. A good and steady income; laws to protect your life, security for your financial future and your possessions; healthcare and a safety net of all kinds of insurances; they seem to guarantee a person s happiness. And, to be sure, these are all very important things. But is a person s happiness guaranteed by wealth and by good health? Are they a trustworthy safeguard for a carefree life, a good future? Of course we know that the Bible teaches us something entirely different. We learn that this life is only short when compared to the everlasting life that awaits a child of God. Happiness or unhappiness are relative things in the light of eternity. That doesn t mean that our life on earth ought to be a continuous vale of tears or that true happiness is something that lies in the future only. No, the Bible teaches us how we can be happy in this life on earth as well. Yet, this happiness is not found in money or possessions or health or a steady job. These things can slip away from us in the blink of an eye. No, true happiness can not be found on earth, but in heaven; meaning, it s not to be found in earthly things, but in spiritual things. So, what is this spiritual thing then that provides true and deep peace and rest to a person? It is a truly living relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ. Physical health is not the most important thing in life, spiritual health is. In fact, someone can be physically very ill, yet at peace, because he is able to put his trust in God and therefore be truly happy. While someone who doesn t know God, may be in top condition and very rich, yet be very unhappy and restless at the same time. Today we want to listen carefully to this lesson of David in Psalm 32. David teaches us to know ourselves as people who by nature stand guilty before God, but who can still, because of the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus, stand in this life free from this guilt, and live in the peace and happiness of a living relationship with God. Psalm 32 was actually the favourite Psalm of the church father Augustine, who did so very much for the church of Jesus Christ. When he lay on his deathbed, he had this Psalm written on the wall in front of him so that he could read it from his bed. Augustine once said: The beginning of knowledge is knowing yourself to be a sinner. He said that because if someone is aware of his sinfulness, he may also experience the great joy of salvation by God. And in this salvation, as the foundation of a strong connection with God, lies true happiness for man in this life. David came to see this when he confessed his sins before the Lord and received God s forgiveness. This we learn from Psalm 32: True happiness lies in the restored relationship with God 1. Sin stands in the way of this happiness 2. Forgiveness makes this happiness possible 3. Faith maintains this relationship 1. Sin stands in the way of happiness Psalm 32 is, as the text says in vs 1, a contemplation. The Hebrew word more specifically indicates that this Psalm is meant to instruct the reader. So David wants to teach the reader or hearer a wise lesson. He wants to get a message across. And he starts off his Psalm with just that: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. A person is to be congratulated, he is rich in spirit, when his sins are forgiven. And to David, we learn from the Psalm, this isn t just some theological theory. He experienced in person the 1

liberation from his sins. He speaks from experience. He personally learned what it means to have the relationship with God restored. Before he could enjoy this happiness, says our text, he lived through a period of time when his relationship with God was seriously disturbed. There was some heavy burden in his life that kept him from being close to God. David hid this burden from God. He didn t want to lay it before the Lord or he didn t dare to. Whatever the reason, he kept silent. But his silence ate away at his heart deep inside. He bottled up his sin, he didn t let it go, did not confess it. Day and night it haunted him; it put him down and made him depressed. Or was he just sick? Some say so, based on vss 3 and 4. There David speaks of his bones and vitality and strength. Could it just have been physical pain that put David down? According to some commentators David thought that God punished him for something that he done wrong. That s why he was in such a miserable state. In those days, it is said, every illness was seen as a punishment of God. However, it s not that simple. On the one hand, it is true that sickness and punishment can be related. Like in Jn. 5:14 where the Lord Jesus cures a paralysed man and then says to him: See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. But, at the same time, sickness is never a punishment in the sense of retribution. God does not make us pay for our sins, because Jesus Christ has paid for our sins. But God can chastise us to keep us on the straight and narrow. God can also use sickness and all kinds of misery to test our faith and to direct our lives. Think only of Job. He was a righteous man, yet the most terrible things happened to him. No, sickness isn t simply a punishment from God. But now, going back to Psalm 32, we read nowhere in Psalm 32 that David thanks God for healing him from any kind of disease. But we do find him thanking God for forgiveness in vs 5 where it says that God forgave the iniquity of his sin. So we may safely conclude David s body wasn t sick, but his soul was. His sin sat so deep that it affected his very bones and vitality. It just didn t let him go, it kept him prisoner. Perhaps he was physically in top condition, but definitely not spiritually. He he was so very unhappy and troubled in spirit. His sin stood in the way of his living, spiritual relationship with God. Perhaps, brs and srs, you know the feeling. That feeling of something standing in between you and God. Like there are times when you do want to be close to God, but there is something in your life that keeps you from regularly and sincerely praying to God. You don t read your Bible anymore and you only go to church because that s what you re expected to do. And yes, that feeling may be caused by (some specific) sin in your life. Something that no one else knows about. Maybe something that you did or said in the past, but didn t confess to God. Maybe there is some kind of sin in your life that you do over and over again, something you don t want to do, but can t stop doing. Maybe there is something bad in your character or something sinful in the way that you relate to people, something that you can t seem to get rid off. This may very well negatively impact your relationship with God. It is then that you realise all the more that God demands a holy life from you, but it s too hard for you. You carry a burden which you just can t let go. Or perhaps it s a bit different. Maybe there is something that you know isn t supposed to be there, because you know it is sinful, but you skilfully justify it, or you belittle it. You make up excuses to avoid the consequences. But you know that you are in fact just fooling yourself. Like, you like to gamble, buy lottery tickets and such, but hey, there s a lot of people who gamble away a lot more money than you do. Or so you drink too much every now and then, but hey, that doesn t make you an alcoholic does it? So you like to look at other women or men all the time, but hey, that s not really adultery is it? People justify their actions shamelessly: I m not all that bad, am I? Many people do must worse things than I? But at the same time you find that you can t live close to God. Your sin stands in the way of that wonderful, living, personal relationship with the God of your life. David says in vs 2: Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. In other words, blessed is the man who is honest to himself. 2

Blessed is the man who knows himself to be a sinner, as Augustine said. A person is blessed, he is spiritually richer, if he knows that he sins every day. A man is blessed if he knows that he needs forgiveness. Whoever thinks he doesn t need forgiveness, is to be pitied. David s bones wasted away, his vitality was dried up. David felt fragile and vulnerable. David felt his bones could be broken as easily as dry and dead branches. He was in fact unrepentant. And whoever doesn t repent, gives the appearance of being righteous, but he deceives himself - because everyone needs forgiveness to live a happy life. Which brings us to our second point. 2. Forgiveness makes this happiness possible True happiness lies in the restored relationship with God. David sings of that in wonderful words. God is his hiding place, he says in vs 7, God preserves his children from trouble. The oppressive feeling of sin falls away if you live in the freedom of God s grace. David rejoices with words of love and liberation. He calls on the righteous assembly to be glad in the LORD. Whoever is righteous, may cry out with joy. That is happiness, being happy with God. Sometimes, it is said, this expression of happiness seems to be lacking in our circles. Not only outsiders observe this, but also within our church brs and srs complain about it, especially the older youth. They say that we claim to be so happy with our justification in Jesus Christ, with the forgiveness of sins; but then why is the expression of this happiness often so hard to find? Why is everything so formal? Why so few smiles in church? Indeed, why is that brs and srs? Maybe we should take Augustine s words more to heart. Do we really know ourselves to be sinners? Are we truly aware of that, not just in our heads, but also in our hearts? Perhaps we don t often think about it, that we are sinful, or we justify our actions. Or perhaps it s the other way round: we talk about it so often, that it in fact hardly touches our hearts anymore. Does knowing our sins make us smile more then? No, of course not. However, to be able to experience the happiness of the forgiveness of sins, we have to be really aware from what we are saved. The difficulty with this is that it s not that simple to name your specific sins one by one. This is a common experience when we talk to unbelievers about our faith. Someone may ask you what you believe. You say that you believe that Jesus Christ is your Saviour. Then what does this Jesus save you from? You say: from my sins. Then they respond: what do you mean, sins? I do lots of good things as well. And everybody sins and does something wrong every now and then. So what am I supposed to be saved from? Well, brs and srs, if you can t answer this question for yourself, then you can t answer it for others. If you yourself can t value or experience the happiness of the forgiveness of your sins, then you can t transfer, so to say, this happiness to others. When you accept your sins as a matter of course, then you won t see the salvation for the liberation that it really is. And that is maybe where it goes wrong. We would probably show more emotion in our worship services if we truly realised that we are saved sinners. As a well know author said fairly recently: we have to put the amazing back in grace. We would probably express our happiness more if we were not so indifferent and spiritually complacent sometimes. But what can we do about it? Well, in Prov. 28:14 it reads: Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. And in 1 Jn. 1:8 John writes: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If you think that your sins are not all that bad, then you will move away from God more and more. That s why we need to examine ourselves all the time and live close to God. We need to examine ourselves to know ourselves. You have to learn to evaluate your life with a critical eye and you have to learn to radically break away from all sins, great and small. When we pray, our asking for forgiveness is usually something we do at the end, as a compulsory part of a Christian prayer. But especially when you pray to God, alone, it is good to think about the things that happened and were said that day, and to name the things that you did wrong. Because if you are able to name your sins before God, then you will realise all the more that you need God very much to forgive your many sins. 3

And you need to stay close to God in Bible study and in careful and active listening to the preaching. You need not only to hear about your sins, but also about God s love and mercy. You do not only need to get to know yourself, but even more you need to get to know God. God reveals himself to us in the Bible as the holy and glorious God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are to follow in Jesus footsteps. When you see what the Lord Jesus did and said, what his attitude was towards his neighbour, then you will see and learn how you are ought to live your life. And of course you will see very clearly where you go wrong. But you will also see God s love in his Son. You will find that God is love and that he hates sin. God is holy, yet he is happy to forgive those who sincerely repent. This is an important task for parents as well. They should not only tell their children about all the things they can do wrong, but they should also impress on their children the wonder of the grace and love of God. Not to make them careless, but to make sure that as they grow up, the children do not see God as the great Judge who follows their every move with a critical and all-seeing eye, but also as the loving and forgiving God who embraces his covenant children and helps them to make difficult choices. They should learn and see that the presence of God in their lives is worth more than anything else in this world, more than all the friends and all the popularity at school. True happiness lies in God, and in a good relationship with him, and that is the same for young and old. When you study God s Word and consider him every moment of the day, then you will also discover his close presence in your life. In vs 6 David says that we must pray at the time when the LORD may be found. That time is every minute of your life. There is a time when God will no longer be found. That is the day of the final judgement. Then everyone will have to give account of his every word and deed. But as long as you live on this earth, the way to God is open. So do not wait too long before you confess your sins. Not only because you may be called to appear before God s throne any minute. But also because the longer you wait, the deeper you will sink in the quicksand of your self-righteousness, indifference, and self justification. That is what happens when you hide your sins before God. But if you dare expose your worst sins and most sinful desires, then God will cover them up for you. If you don t keep silent about your evil before God, then God will acquit you. And then it is impossible that your joy is not visible in your life as a Christian. 3. Faith maintains this relationship We discussed the fact that forgiveness can become kind of self-evident for us. And we know that we shouldn t think of God s forgiveness as something that he grants automatically. Still we read something of this self-evidence in vs 5. David confesses his sins to God and he forgives them. There s nothing in between those two statements. Especially for the time of the OT this sounds quite remarkable. Weren t they supposed to sacrifice to the LORD first? And even more, there is nothing about starting a new life in that sentence, nothing about a promise that David made to never fall into sin again. So, does God forgive automatically after all? No, he doesn t. We may not conclude from vs 5 that a sacrifice or a resolve to never sin again are not necessary. Whoever confesses his sin, will be forgiven. But this doesn t mean that a sacrifice or repentance are not needed. They certainly are! Jesus Christ paid for our sins by his suffering and death. The sacrifices in the OT all pointed to that sacrifice in the NT. And living a holy life? That is needed as well. But this will inevitably follow from repentance, because when you confess your sins before someone, and then turn around and do that exact same sin again, then your confession was only an empty and hollow statement. Then why doesn t David mention sacrifices and turning away from sin in Ps. 32? Well, he apparently wants to emphasise the fact that forgiveness will surely be granted. John writes in that same determined manner in 1 Jn. 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 4

Basically, brs and srs, the one thing that stands in the way of our relationship with God is our pride. This pride results in a reluctance to confess our sins before God. And this pride is also how we may take the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ for granted, thinking that we are not so bad or sinful after all. But let us not forget, brs and srs, that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins. Our sins are bad enough to claim the life of our Lord. He laid down his life to save ours. How can we merely take note of such a sacrifice and take it for granted? It s rather the opposite! Our life is too short to thank God enough for such love and mercy. David uses the second half of his Psalm to point this out to us. Children of the heavenly Father should not behave like horses or mules without understanding, stubborn and proud as they are. God s hand can weigh heavily on our lives sometimes, but only to make something clear to us. We must not ignore the signs that he gives us. Likewise our conscience is an instrument in God s hands. The HC says in q/a 60: My conscience accuses me. God can and will use our conscience to make clear to us that we are on the wrong way. Whenever we hear God calling like this, we mustn t resist God s guidance like a stubborn mule, but we must listen, and let ourselves be guided. We must acknowledge our sins and confess them to God. Then God will forgive us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We will stand in life free of sin again. And that s when we will experience true happiness. And so, the last verse of our Psalm speaks of gladness and joy. This joy is only for those whose relationship with God is restored. In the midst of the congregation, that assembly of the upright in heart, God receives the thanks he is due. That s where we worship him and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 5