1 Alderwood Community Church June 6, 2010 The Habit of Confession Talking With God Part 4 Psalm 32:1-6a Intro: Psalm 32 is the second of the so called penitential psalms. The others are Psalm 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. But the psalm can also be called a psalm of instruction from the title word maskil, which seems to mean the giving of instruction. Psalm 32 is the first of twelve psalms that bear this title. The psalm should probably be interpreted in connection with Psalm 51, which is David s great psalm of repentance. David had sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and had then manipulated the plan of battle to have her husband, Uriah, who was a soldier, killed. He had tried to ignore or hide the sin for some time. But when the prophet Nathan came to him to expose the transgression, David confessed it and was restored. Psalm 51 is the immediate expression of that confession and restoration. It breathes with the emotion of the moment. Psalm 32 seems to have been written later than Psalm 51, after some reflection. This was Saint Augustine s favorite psalm. Augustine had it inscribed on the wall next to his bed before he died in order to meditate on it better. He liked it because, as he said: the beginning of knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner. Read: Psalm 32:1-6a (pg. 549) 1. The Blessing Of Forgiveness. Psalm 32:1-2 The first stanza (v. 1 2) begins by expressing the joy of the person whose sin has been forgiven. These two verses form a Hebrew poetic parallelism, for there are three side-by-side terms for sin and three corresponding terms for how God deals with sin. These are not mere synonyms but are words chosen to cover the entire spectrum of sin and the wide scope of God s salvation from it. Three Words for Sin The first word for sin is transgression (Hebrew, peshah), which literally means a going away or departure or, in this case, a rebellion against God and his authority. This is what makes sin so offensive, because it is transgression not only against other people, whom we hurt by our sin, but at its root also against God. It is why Psalm 51:4 contains the words Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. It is not that David had not sinned against others. He had. He had sinned against Uriah and also against the nation, which suffered for his sin. But in light of the enormity of his sin against God these other matters faded into the background. Alexander Maclaren captures the force of this word when he writes, 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.
2 The second word for sin is chattath (Hebrew, translated sin in verse 1). It is a nearly exact equivalent of the Greek word hamartia. Both mean coming short or falling short of a mark. In the ancient world the term was used in archery to describe a person who shoots at a target but whose arrow falls short. The target is God s law, and the sin described by this word is a failure to measure up to it. The third word for sin is iniquity (Hebrew, hawon), which the NIV also translates as sin (v. 2). It means corrupt, twisted, or crooked. 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 corrupt and corrupting creatures. Three Words for What God Does with Sin The three words for sin that I have just explained are matched in the opening stanza by a second set of three terms describing what God does with the sin of those who confess it to him. The first of these words is forgiven, and it literally means to have our sin lifted off. Before the sin is confessed we bear it like some great burden, but when we confess it to God he lifts it from our shoulders. John Bunyan captured this well in Pilgrim s Progress where he describes Pilgrim coming to the cross, at which point his burden loosed from off his shoulders and fell from off his back and began to tumble, and so continued to do so, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in and was seen no more. This is what happens to all Christians. When we confess our sin God removes it as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12) and no longer remembers it against us (Isa. 43:25). I love the words to the Hymn, It is Well With My Soul: My sin O the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part, but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! The second word that describes what God does with our sin is covered. It is taken from the imagery of the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement the high priest of Israel took blood from an animal that had been sacrificed in the courtyard of the temple and carried it into the Most Holy Place, where it was sprinkled on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. The mercy seat was the lid or covering of the ark, and the blood was sprinkled there because it thereby came between the presence of the holy God, symbolized as dwelling in the space between the wings of the cherubim above the ark, and the broken law of God that was contained in the ark itself. It thus covered the broken law, shielding the sinner from God s judgment. In Greek the word for mercy seat means propitiation, which is the act of turning God s wrath aside. In Hebrew the word is covering, the term used by David in our psalm. The third word describes what God does not do. He does not count the sin against us. The word count is elsewhere translated impute, and it is a bookkeeping term. It is the word used by Paul in Romans to explain how God writes our sin into Christ s ledger and punished him while, at the same time, writing the righteousness of Christ into our ledger and counting us as justified because of his merit. That is why Paul quotes these particular verses in Romans 4:7 8.
3 There is no greater blessing than to know that our sin has been forgiven and covered over by the blood of Christ and it is no longer counted against us. Have you experienced that blessing? If not, come to Jesus where alone that forgiveness may be found. It does not matter what you may have done. David had committed murder to cover up adultery. You may have stolen money, cheated your friends or business partners, and lied about nearly everything. You may even have cursed God. It does not matter. God will forgive and restore you. (Boice, Expositional Comm.) A. Forgiveness is based on the character of God. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:8-14 B. Forgiveness in the Old Testament. (1) To send away. (Lev. 16:20-22, Ps. 103:3) (2) To cover up. (Ex. 29:36) (3) To remove. (Ps. 103:12) (4) To wipe away. (Ps. 51:1) (5) Cast into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19) (6) Removed as far as the east is from the west. (Ps. 103:12) (7) Hid behind God s back. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. Isaiah 38:17 (8) Remembered no more. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Jeremiah 31:34 (9) They shall be white as snow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Isaiah 1:18 C. Forgiveness in the New Testament (1) God s gracious forgiveness. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God mad you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its
4 regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14 (2) A debt we could not pay. (Matt. 6:12; 18:23-35) (3) God s pardon of our sin. (Acts 17:30; Ps. 103:10) (4) Based on the death of Christ. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God s grace that he lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8a 2. The Misery Of Unconfessed Sin. Psalm 32:3-4 When he was silent and did not confess his sin, he was weakened physically and grieved inwardly. The hand (or power) of the Lord was heavy on him, meaning that God dealt severely with him. When he said my bones wasted away he was saying that his entire body was affected. The result was that his strength was sapped (or dried up) as in the summer heat. This expression may refer to physical illness with burning fever, or it may describe in poetic language that his guilty conscience was burning him up. This describes the condition of any believer who is trying to ignore his or her sin. 3. The Practice Of Confession. Psalm 32:5-6a David explains how God forgave his sin once he had confessed it. God forgave it completely and immediately. It was not brought up again. Notice that verse 5 contains each of the three words for sin used in verses 1 and 2: transgressions, sin, and iniquity (NIV sin ). At the beginning of the psalm the words were chosen to cover the scope of sin in all its diverse aspects. Here the words recur to show that all David s sin was confessed he did not hold back from confession in any area and thus that all his sin was forgiven. David confessed it all, and God forgave it all. The slate was wiped clean. Notice also that the forgiveness was immediate. I think this is the best thing of all, and probably David did too because of how he writes. Notice how the words follow one another. David said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD. Then immediately: and you forgave the guilt of my sin. At the right margin of the Psalm are three occurrences of the word selah, which probably means pause and take notice. One occurrence of the word is immediately before verse 5, after David s description of the debilitating effect of unconfessed sin on him. The next occurrence is immediately after verse 5, after the words and you forgave the guilt of my sin. We are to pause and reflect on that. But notice this important thing: there is no pause within the verse, no hesitation whatever between the confession of sin and God s forgiveness of it. David said, I will confess my transgressions, and that, as soon as he did, God forgave him.
5 That is an insight into God s nature by him who is himself God, and it should be the greatest possible encouragement to each of us, for we are all sinners. God is ready and even yearning to forgive and restore us fully if only we will confess our sin and come to him believing in Jesus Christ, who has made atonement for it. And he will do it right away. A. What is involved in confession? (1) Coming into God s presence. Some people avoid God because of guilt. Some say they do not feel worthy to come into God s presence. (2) Taking responsibility. (Hybels- a man who was an adulterer, cheater and liar.) As long as you are making excuses for your sin, you will never experience the peace and joy of forgiveness. You must acknowledge your responsibility. Don t blame your circumstances, your parents, your spouse, your boss, your co-workers, your temperament, the devil or your past. Ultimately, sin occurs as an act of the will. You choose to sin! (3) Being honest with God. Acknowledge, Confess Greek- Homolegeo For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Psalm 51:3-4 B. Making confession a habit. (1) Confess your sins daily. Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication (2) Ask God to search your heart. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (3) Confess then consecrate. Head to toe In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
6 have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. Romans 6:11-13 (4) Meditate on God s gracious and complete forgiveness. Communion a celebration, a loving reminder of our total and complete forgiveness in Jesus.