Psalm 32: Blessed Are the Forgiven

Psalm 32:1-2.. "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."

What kinds of thoughts does the phrase "blessed are the forgiven" bring to your mind? Perhaps this phrase brings you to thoughts of thankfulness and praise to the God who has forgiven you. Perhaps this phrase brings you to thoughts of doctrine and teaching to the God who shows us that he will bless those whom he forgives. Perhaps this phrase brings you to thoughts of comfort and assurance to the God that has promised to hold you fast and bless you now that you are his child. Which of these thoughts are correct? I assure you this morning that all of these thoughts are surley correct.

Psalm 32, where David speaks of the blessedness of the forgiven, is placed in a beautiful historical setting. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he penned Psalm 51 in confession and repentance to his God. Psalm 51 is a beautiful psalm that shows us how to confess our sin to God, and it should be read and studied greatly. However, we often forget about Psalm 32. Psalm 32 was writted after Psalm 51 (the Psalms are not arranged chronologically), and tells us of the results of David's confession, that is, a lesson learned about confession and resulting blessedness. Let us look at this great lesson this morning.

In the first five verses of this psalm, David tells us about his learned lesson of confession. He tells us that when he "kept silent," his "bones wasted away," which is poetic language refering to the fact that his sin was tearing him apart as he was holding it in and not confessing it. However, David says, when he acknowledged his sin to God and did not cover up his iniquity, God forgave the iniquity of his sin. This is the lesson of confession that David learned.

In the next four verses of this psalm, David takes the lesson of confession and teaches it to others--to us. "Let everyone who is godly offer prayer to [God] at a time when [he] may be found." In the context of this psalm, we can understand this phrase to be David encouraging all people to confess their sins to God in prayer. If we do this, David teaches us that God will protect us (v. 7) and guide us (v. 8) in the way we should go. Furthermore, David tells us to not be like a horse or a mule (or an ass, to use language that might get his point across more...[I never said this blog was child-appropriate]), that is, do not be like a stubborn animal (do you see where ass comes in now?) who does not relent, but be a humble person before God and confess your sin. This is the lesson of confession that David teaches us.

In the last two verses of this psalm, David adores his lesson of confession. He tells us that "many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surround the one who trusts in the Lord." In other words, although we sin and are often distraught that we cannot please God as much as we would like to, God's love is there to forgive us and empower us to obey him. Furthermore, David says that we ought to "be glad in the Lord" and "rejoice," which shows us the great biblical principle of how conviction and forgiveness lead only to joy (see Nehemiah 8:1-12).

So, why title this devotional "Blessed Are the Forgiven" instead of "The Lesson of Confession." Well, firstly, so that y'all would read it (no one wants to read a devotional on confession, let's be honest here...but that's the problem [KEEP READING!]). But secondly, because there is great blessedness in our forgiveness, but our forgiveness must be preceeded by our confession. The pattern of this psalm is clear: David was being torn apart by his sin (conviction), then he brought his sin into the light (confession), then the Lord counted against him no iniquity (forgiveness), then he was greatly blessed. The point here is this there are overwhelming blessings in being forgiven, but we must first confess. This is the truth of Psalm 32: that the Lord promises to forgive us when we confess, and furtherore he promises to bless us beyond all measure when he forgives us.

So, how are you doing confessing your sin? For the blessing and forgiveness that this psalm teaches only comes after you confess. Stop holding onto your sin, but rather turn, confess it, and be forgiven and blessed. The Lord wants you to turn from your darkness and into the light, but you must first repent and turn from your sin (praise the Lord that he helps us with this, see Hebrews 4:16). The Lord has great blessings awaiting for those who confess their sins--blessings that far supercede the temporary pleasure of sin. Amen.