J Sermon Outline - June 19, 2016 Psalm 32 - The Honest Soul Text: Psalm 32 (ESV) 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. 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. 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. 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! Sermon Text - June 19, 2016 Psalm 32 - The Honest Soul 1. Hello, my name is Dave Strausbaugh and I am a RE at NPC. I was asked by Pastor Dave to preach as he prepares to go to General Assembly this week. We are continuing our Summer Sermon Series on the Psalms. This week we are covering Psalm 32. Psalm 32 contains foundational truth that Christians need to constantly embrace, especially in light of recent events. Let s go ahead and read the entire psalm. This is God s Word.
J 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. 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. 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. 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! Let us pray. 2. As many of you know, recently I entered the 21st century and joined the world of social media. When I survey what people are posting I find that their posts fall into 3 general categories: a. Intimate: Glimpses of daily life or milestone family or personal events. Vacations, holidays, graduation, birthdays, etc. b. Beautiful: Artistic or inspirational statements through pictures and quotes. c. Relevant: Latest news or commentary on social or political issues that people find important or concerning. Very passionate with strong opinions.
What everyone is striving to do online is to create or express something meaningful. I struggle with this as a social media rookie. My posts are pretty mundane like, I had Rice Chex for breakfast. I like Rice Chex. It tastes good. Yum. (Smiley face emoji.) Post. I get maybe 3 likes and a comment like Rockin the Rice Chex. Way to go Straus. 3. Unlike most of what we find in social media, Psalm 32 is truly meaningful. Why? In Psalm 32 David, the author, isn t talking about some momentary pleasure or expressing an emotional response to some website or video gone viral. He is talking about an issue that is fundamental to humanity - the need to confess our sin and be forgiven by God. In this psalm David applies the truth of the gospel to our lives and does so in a way that is truly intimate, beautiful and relevant. Let us explore this treasure for our souls which is Psalm 32. 4. First, some background. Psalm 32 is written by David, the famous king of Israel, and is called a maskil a Hebrew term which is uncertain but some scholars would define it as instruction. Scholars classify Psalm 32 as one of the seven penitential psalms or psalms of confession. The psalm is divided into three main sections;; first, in verses 1-7 David reflects upon the grief caused by unconfessed sin and the joy that accompanies confession and forgiveness. Second, in verses 8-10, David implores others to follow his example in trusting God and confessing sin. And finally in verse 11 David offers praise on behalf of God s people. 5. Let s start by looking at verses 1-2. 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. David begins his psalm with these profound statements that speak directly to the question which has been asked by people throughout history: How does one find blessing or joy and fulfillment? Nowadays, you see how our culture tries to answer this question by surrounding itself with a lot of substitute blessings - look at our commercials. Buy this car, eat this food, do this workout, have this relationship, drink this beer, take this pill, make this investment, use this cream, think these thoughts. And yet the more we indulge, the less we are fulfilled. This is what happens because we are not honest;; we are not honest about who we really are and what we really do - we are sinners. The manifestation of our sin plays out in the evil we do to one another and as we tragically see in the news. What is fundamental for all humanity is the need for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may enter into and enjoy God s presence forever - that is blessing and joy and fulfillment. What would be incredibly disheartening is if God were indifferent or unresponsive to our needy condition;; think about the hopelessness of our situation. But there is the good news of the gospel which is that instead of giving us the condemnation for our sins that we deserve, God allowed his son Jesus to die on the cross as our substitute, paying the penalty or the punishment for our sin. Paul states in Romans 5:6, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died
for the ungodly. By confessing our sin and trusting, by faith, that Jesus death atoned for or covers our sin, we can be forgiven by God;; that is true blessing and true joy. As Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God which is described as death;; to be forgiven by God and be in his presence forever is eternal life. I urge you, if you haven t already, by faith to claim God s free gift of eternal life today and receive his blessing. 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. 6. In verses 3-5 David provides an intimate picture of the effects of unrepentant sin and the need for confession and repentance. 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. I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover up my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Now when people think about David and sinning, his encounter with Bathsheba immediately comes to mind. That may have formed the background to this Psalm although in 2 Samuel 12 David didn t express guilt about his sin until the prophet Nathan confronted him. Historically Psalm 51 is associated with David s confession about the affair. Whether the background for Psalm 32 is the affair with Bathsheba or some other incident, David is very intimate in vividly portraying how his guilt was devastating to him, over a period of time resulting in emotional and physical anguish. The only way for his soul to find relief was to acknowledge his sin before God and trust in God s mercy for forgiveness. Being honest about our sin, whether before God, before others or even to ourselves, is very counterintuitive. If you re like me, your first response to sin is to go into sin-denial mode and find ways to ignore your guilt or rationalize your actions. In the news we ve recently seen examples of people doing this. I might be clever enough to deceive myself and others about my sin but never God. The irony is that God s grace is based on being honest about our sin - that we need a Savior. Ephesians 2:4-5 states, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. It has been said that confession is good for the soul. There is truth to that but confession is not primarily about therapy;; it is about trusting in the gospel and being honest about our sin and our need for a Savior which God provides in his Son Jesus.. 7. Verses 6-7 are beautiful passages about the assurances David has about God s faithfulness and protection. 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. These verses flow out of verse 5;; the God who has graciously forgiven David s sin will provide further comfort for David s soul. The assurance of forgiven sin drives David to deeper trust and dependency upon God which provides him with even greater peace and comfort. The imagery here is both beautiful
and powerful. Verse 6 speaks of the rush of great waters which will not engulf the godly. The ancient Israelites were people of the land, they were farmers and shepherds;; they saw the sea as ominous and chaotic. They often spoke of the sea as a metaphor for the challenges and dangers they faced. God can provide protection from the stormy seas of life for his people. Verse 7 speaks of God as a hiding place for David. The beautiful imagery is reassuring and comforting to us;; but our hiding place came at a great cost. Jesus had no hiding place when he was crucified. On the cross, he was exposed for all to see his humiliation. His enemies stood nearby and mocked and scorned him. Jesus was not surrounded by shouts of deliverance but by the insults of those crucified with him. Jesus suffered on our behalf to secure our salvation and our hiding place with God. Let us find our rest and security in Christ alone. 8. Verses 8-10 provide relevant instruction for us by contrasting the attitude of the proud and the foolish with that of the godly. 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 the 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. It is Father s Day today. One thing about us dads is that we love to give advice and some of it may even be helpful. Today, as a gift to your Dad, you should thank him to his occasionally useful advice. My son Aaron plays baseball at Ohio Wesleyan and I try to assist him by providing him insight and wisdom during the game. When he is at bat I ll make profound statements such as see the ball as though he always bats with his eyes closed. Or take it one pitch at a time;; what other option does he have? Aaron was recently named first team all conference;; I deserve some credit for that. David is basically acting like a dad in these verses;; he s giving the type of advice most dads do, which is along the lines of Don t do what I did, learn from my experience. Earlier in the Psalm David shared from his heart about unrepentant sin and he basically is saying don t be stubborn like me. Animals can be pretty stubborn;; the only thing worse than a stubborn animal is the stubborn human heart. Verse 10 is particularly relevant especially if we get discouraged by the state of the world today. Many are the sorrows of the wicked. But steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. The verse doesn t say we will be surrounded by ease or luxury or perpetual comfort, but even in the midst of trials and challenges God s love is steadfast and secure. This was true for David who experienced times of great personal blessing and times of great personal challenges. Our circumstances may change but God s love for us is a constant because of who he is and because of the work of Jesus on the cross. To quote Paul in Romans 8:38-39, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
9. The Psalm concludes in verse 11, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! The praise we find in verse 11 is an appropriate ending to this psalm. It is fitting that all of us whose whose sins are forgiven should offer praise to God;; this is the expression of a grateful heart which is the heart of worship. Psalm 32 is an intimate, beautiful and relevant expression of the gospel at work, a gospel based on being honest about our sin and the need for forgiveness, which God provides through the sacrificial work of Jesus. If you have not before, be honest before God, confessing your sin and your need for a Savior and claim the free gift of eternal life found in Jesus alone. Let us pray. Sermon - June 19, 2016 Psalm 32 - The Honest Soul 1. Hello, my name is Dave Strausbaugh and I am a RE at NPC. I was asked by Pastor Dave to preach as he prepares to go to General Assembly this week. We are continuing our Summer Sermon Series on the Psalms. This week we are covering Psalm 32. Psalm 32 contains foundational truth that Christians need to constantly embrace, especially in light of recent events. Let s go ahead and read the entire psalm. This is God s Word. J 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.
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. 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. 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! Let us pray.* 2. As many of you know, recently I entered the 21st century and joined the world of social media. When I survey what people are posting I find that their posts fall into 3 general categories: Intimate: Glimpses of daily life or milestone family or personal events. Vacations, holidays, graduation, birthdays, etc. Beautiful: Artistic or inspirational statements through pictures and quotes. Relevant: Latest news or commentary on social or political issues that people find important or concerning. Very passionate with strong opinions. What everyone is striving to do online is to create or express something meaningful. I struggle with this as a social media rookie. My posts are pretty mundane like, I had Rice Chex for breakfast. I like Rice Chex. It tastes good. Yum. (Smiley face emoji.) Post. I get maybe 3 likes and a comment like Rockin the Rice Chex. Way to go Straus. 3.
Unlike most of what we find in social media, Psalm 32 is truly meaningful. Why? In Psalm 32 David, the author, isn t talking about some momentary pleasure or expressing an emotional response to some website or video gone viral. He is talking about an issue that is fundamental to humanity - the need to confess our sin and be forgiven by God. In this psalm David applies the truth of the gospel to our lives and does so in a way that is truly intimate, beautiful and relevant. Let us explore this treasure for our souls which is Psalm 32. 4. First, some background. Psalm 32 is written by David, the famous king of Israel, and is called a maskil a Hebrew term which is uncertain but some scholars would define it as instruction. Scholars classify Psalm 32 as one of the seven penitential psalms or psalms of confession. The psalm is divided into three main sections;; first, in verses 1-7 David reflects upon the grief caused by unconfessed sin and the joy that accompanies confession and forgiveness. Second, in verses 8-10, David implores others to follow his example in trusting God and confessing sin. And finally in verse 11 David offers praise on behalf of God s people. 5. Let s start by looking at verses 1-2. 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. David begins his psalm with these profound statements that speak directly to the question which has been asked by people throughout history: How does one find blessing or joy and fulfillment? Nowadays, you see how our culture tries to answer this question by surrounding itself with a lot of substitute blessings - look at our commercials. Buy this car, eat this food, do this workout, have this relationship, drink this beer, take this pill, make this investment, use this cream, think these thoughts. And yet the more we indulge, the less we are fulfilled. This is what happens because we are not honest;; we are not honest about who we really are and what we really do - we are sinners. The manifestation of our sin plays out in the evil we do to one another and as we tragically see in the news. What is fundamental for all humanity is the need for the forgiveness of our sins so that we may enter into and enjoy God s presence forever - that is blessing and joy and fulfillment. What would be incredibly disheartening is if God were indifferent or unresponsive to our needy condition;; think about the hopelessness of our situation. But there is the good news of the gospel which is that instead of giving us the condemnation for our sins that we deserve, God allowed his son Jesus to die on the cross as our substitute, paying the penalty or the punishment for our sin.
Paul states in Romans 5:6, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. By confessing our sin and trusting, by faith, that Jesus death atoned for or covers our sin, we can be forgiven by God;; that is true blessing and true joy. As Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God which is described as death;; to be forgiven by God and be in his presence forever is eternal life. I urge you, if you haven t already, by faith to claim God s free gift of eternal life today and receive his blessing. 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. 6. In verses 3-5 David provides an intimate picture of the effects of unrepentant sin and the need for confession and repentance. 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. I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover up my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Now when people think about David and sinning, his encounter with Bathsheba immediately comes to mind. That may have formed the background to this Psalm although in 2 Samuel 12 David didn t express guilt about his sin until the prophet Nathan confronted him. Historically Psalm 51 is associated with David s confession about the affair. Whether the background for Psalm 32 is the affair with Bathsheba or some other incident, David is very intimate in vividly portraying how his guilt was devastating to him, over a period of time resulting in emotional and physical anguish. The only way for his soul to find relief was to acknowledge his sin before God and trust in God s mercy for forgiveness. Being honest about our sin, whether before God, before others or even to ourselves, is very counterintuitive. If you re like me, your first response to sin is to go into sin-denial mode and find ways to ignore your guilt or rationalize your actions. In the news we ve recently seen examples of people doing this. I might be clever enough to deceive myself and others about my sin but never God. The irony is that God s grace is based on being honest about our sin - that we need a Savior. Ephesians 2:4-5 states, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. It has been said that confession is good for the soul. There is truth to that but confession is not primarily about therapy;; it is about trusting in the gospel and being honest about our sin and our need for a Savior which God provides in his Son Jesus.
7. Verses 6-7 are beautiful passages about the assurances David has about God s faithfulness and protection. 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. These verses flow out of verse 5;; the God who has graciously forgiven David s sin will provide further comfort for David s soul. The assurance of forgiven sin drives David to deeper trust and dependency upon God which provides him with even greater peace and comfort. The imagery here is both beautiful and powerful. Verse 6 speaks of the rush of great waters which will not engulf the godly. The ancient Israelites were people of the land, they were farmers and shepherds;; they saw the sea as ominous and chaotic. They often spoke of the sea as a metaphor for the challenges and dangers they faced. God can provide protection from the stormy seas of life for his people. Verse 7 speaks of God as a hiding place for David. The beautiful imagery is reassuring and comforting to us;; but our hiding place came at a great cost. Jesus had no hiding place when he was crucified. On the cross, he was exposed for all to see his humiliation. His enemies stood nearby and mocked and scorned him. Jesus was not surrounded by shouts of deliverance but by the insults of those crucified with him. Jesus suffered on our behalf to secure our salvation and our hiding place with God. Let us find our rest and security in Christ alone. 8. Verses 8-10 provide relevant instruction for us by contrasting the attitude of the proud and the foolish with that of the godly. 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 the 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. It is Father s Day today. One thing about us dads is that we love to give advice and some of it may even be helpful. Today, as a gift to your Dad, you should thank him to his occasionally useful advice. My son Aaron plays baseball at Ohio Wesleyan and I try to assist him by providing him insight and wisdom during the game. When he is at bat I ll make profound statements such as see the ball as though he always bats with his eyes closed. Or take it one pitch at a time;; what other option does he have? Aaron was recently named first team all conference;; I deserve some credit for that. David is basically acting like a dad in these verses;; he s giving the type of advice most dads do, which is along the lines of Don t do what I did, learn from my experience.
Earlier in the Psalm David shared from his heart about unrepentant sin and he basically is saying don t be stubborn like me. Animals can be pretty stubborn;; the only thing worse than a stubborn animal is the stubborn human heart. Verse 10 is particularly relevant especially if we get discouraged by the state of the world today. Many are the sorrows of the wicked. But steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. The verse doesn t say we will be surrounded by ease or luxury or perpetual comfort, but even in the midst of trials and challenges God s love is steadfast and secure. This was true for David who experienced times of great personal blessing and times of great personal challenges. Our circumstances may change but God s love for us is a constant because of who he is and because of the work of Jesus on the cross. To quote Paul in Romans 8:38-39, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 9. The Psalm concludes in verse 11, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! The praise we find in verse 11 is an appropriate ending to this psalm. It is fitting that all of us whose whose sins are forgiven should offer praise to God;; this is the expression of a grateful heart which is the heart of worship. Psalm 32 is an intimate, beautiful and relevant expression of the gospel at work, a gospel based on being honest about our sin and the need for forgiveness, which God provides through the sacrificial work of Jesus. If you have not before, be honest before God, confessing your sin and your need for a Savior and claim the free gift of eternal life found in Jesus alone. Let us pray.*