Happy Is The One Who Is Forgiven (Psalm 32)
We are sinners who live in a fallen world and there are times when we sin. That is the honest truth of the matter. I am sick and tired of hearing people say that the Church is filled with hypocrites. Those people don’t know what they are talking about. The Church is the least hypocritically place in all the Earth. It is where those people who know that they are sinners come together, knowing that they are in need of forgiveness by the finished work of Christ.
Those people who believe themselves to be okay and not in need of salvation, who don’t come to church on Sunday, those are the true hypocrites in this world. We know we are sinners. We know we fail. We know we are in need of the forgiveness found only in Christ. That is why we are here.
With that being said, we know we need forgiveness, but we still act like fools at times and don’t seek forgiveness when we sin. And that is the point of this psalm today. Blessing and happiness are found when we receive forgiveness, therefore we should go to Him when we’ve sinned.
Happy Is The Forgiven One (Genesis 32:1-2)
“Blessed” means “deep happiness”. And that matters greatly in the interpretation of this psalm. We discussed this long ago in Psalm 1. And this deep happiness comes to the person who is forgiven.
We understand this. God the Son took on human flesh and paid the punishment for our sin. He took our sin upon Himself, and we can be forgiven because of that. And we sing song after song on Sundays telling of the tremendous joy and happiness of being forgiven.
This forgiveness is deep. The person’s “sin is covered”, or hidden so that God does not see it (Psalm 32:1). And the “Lord counts no iniquity”, or does not count his sin against him (Psalm 32:2).
We should always count it as a tremendous blessing that our sins are forgiven, that the Lord is not counting against us anymore because of the finished work of Christ.
But as we move on in this text, we understand that this text is not just about eternal salvation and forgiveness. It is also about sins in the here and now. It’s also about not having the discipline of the Father hanging over our head. This will become more and more plain as we move through the text.
When we are able to walk in this life, free from guilt and free from the frustration of sins we are trying to hide, there is great joy and happiness.
Miserable Is The Guilty One (Psalm 32:3-5)
There are many similarities to Psalm 51 in this psalm. And so, we assume that it came out of the same event.
Psalm 51, we know, was written after the ordeal with Bathsheba. David had committed adultery with the wife of Uriah and had Uriah murdered to cover it up. But God sees everything. And within himself, David knew that he had done a terrible evil.
The lost person is miserable due to guilt over sin. And since they are without Christ, that is just where they are until they receive forgiveness of sins that can only be found in Christ.
When the Christian is miserable it is different. They are trying to hide their sin and cover it up on their own. David was hiding his sin. He kept silent concerning his sin (Psalm 32:3). And if we are right, then he did everything he could to keep people from finding out that he was in sin. And this covering made him feel as if he was wasting away due to guilt over his sin.
Most of you know from experience that a troubled conscience can have quite an effect on a person. It can eat away at us. Many of the people in therapy today are trying to find answers where they cannot. Not all. I do believe that mental illness exists. But how many people in therapy today are there because of personal guilt that they have no possibility of getting rid of apart from Christ? How many Christians are trying to get rid of the feelings of guilt that they have apart from seeking God’s forgiveness.
So what we see here is that God’s disciplining hand was upon David. And it was a loathsome thing for him to bear (Psalm 32:4). And that makes complete sense because being disciplined is no fun at all.
Spankings were not fun as a kid, and they are not fun as an adult either.
“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11 ESV)
We feel miserable amid the discipline of the Lord. And so, the question arises. Why would you decide to continue in your sin and continue to feel the discipline of the Lord? It’s miserable.
We see in this description from David that sin brings shame and a troubled conscience. There is an interesting thing that takes place in the life of a believer. Because they have placed their faith in the Lord, God is displeased with the Christian’s behavior when they sin, but not displeased with them. And this is because we are counted righteous in Christ even as we live in rebellion.
But God has set us apart from the world to live for Him. And God will not ever be satisfied with his people living in rebellion against Him. So, sin brings with it shame and a troubled conscience. It brings with it a miserable existence.
There is genuine happiness and joy to be found in knowing that we are forgiven. We understand that as Christians. But what about the things that take place in the here and now. What about the here and now? What about God’s displeasure at our gossip? Rebellion against authorities in our lives? Lying?
We need to repent of our sin and ask God’s forgiveness and understand that He truly has forgiven us in Christ. And unless we do this, we will not find the deep happiness that David discusses in this text. Our lot will be misery as the crushing weight of guilt holds us down.
Go Quickly For Forgiveness (Psalm 32:6-9)
David’s miserable experience is now supposed to teach people to go to the Lord immediately. Don’t tarry! Don’t stay under that discipline and troubled conscience for long. Repent and return to the Lord (Psalm 32:6).
Those who repent and turn to the Lord quickly will find a blessing in their quick return. The time of great trouble will not touch them. Psalm 32:6 describes a flood. And the picture is that, for those who quickly return to the Lord, they will be in safety and the great flood waters of trouble will not touch them. They will not have to go through the misery that David went through when he was hiding his sin. So those who run to the Lord for forgiveness will find themselves kept safe by the Lord (Psalm 32:7).
The teaching here is easy to understand, especially when we consider the misery David described earlier. When our conscience is eating us up because we have actually sinned, then there is only one place to go and that is to the Lord. And we should do it quickly!
Great turmoil is avoided if we go to the Lord for forgiveness quickly rather than hesitating and putting it off.
Rejoice In Your Forgiveness (Psalm 32:10-11)
The wicked do not know the happiness that comes from being forgiven. And because of this David says that their sorrows are many (Psalm 32:10).
It is not so for the Christian. The one who is forgiven knows well the happiness of the Lord, and it is because they are surrounded by God’s “Hesed”. I bring this up over and over again, because it is found throughout the psalms. “Hesed”, which is translated “steadfast love” is God’s “faithful love”. It is an intense and deep love for His people, and David here says that the forgiven person is surrounded by God’s faithful love for us.
This should cause our hearts to rejoice (Psalm 32:11). It makes us glad and fills us with singing.
Believers should be overflowing with joy because they understand well their forgiven state. The burden has been lifted and God does not see our sin.
Conclusion
We know that we fail. We know that we will fall under the discipline of the Lord, because we are God’s people and He loves us. But we also know that we don’t need to hide our sin, for that will only cause us misery. Let us go quickly to the Lord when we fail and His forgiveness will bring us tremendous joy.
R. Dwain Minor