Devotion 9.3.23

Psalm 32

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. Selah

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. Selah

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. Selah

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.

My favorite meme I have seen recently is the one that basically says, "The sin I like to point out is others." What, me sin? Hardly.

Going back to Christ's "Sermon on the Mount," Christ does note rhetorically that we point out the speck of dust in another's eye when we cannot see the log in our own (Matthew 7). Yet, we live in an increasingly secular society that does not confess God and its institutions are reflective of that movement, but rather than repent of our own sin, we lecture and point fingers at people for falling away from God and their sin.

David's wisdom, though, tells us differently in today's psalm. The godly sin, and blessed is the man whose sin and iniquity are forgiven and covered. David notes the pain and agony of a sin unconfessed to God as his bones wasted away. God's hand is heavy on the one who does not confess His sin, so to David, and us, there is joy in this confession and absolution.

As we seek to share the Word of God to those who do not know Him, perhaps we undertake this psalm as a prayer of sharing God's Word to the lost. Maybe knowing the joy of a confessed and forgiven sin is what they need to hear. God's gospel message is powerful so as we develop relationships with others, as those grow, maybe the opportunity to share grows as well.

I've heard recently that the psalms are a great portal into a relationship with God. Today's is just such an example as we draw closer to Him for forgiveness and growth.