Psalm 32:1 – 5

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

In this psalm King David writes about the blessing of being forgiven which is an issue of overwhelming importance to all of us.  He then goes on and describes the agony he endured when he did not confess a specific sin to the Lord.  We are tempted to ask how he could be so foolish.  Yet what he describes here is something we all do often.

That is, we silently, perhaps stubbornly, try to justify some sinful way.  We can come up with all sorts of excuses, and blame shifting.  Almost anything will do rather than to bow before God and say, in the specific issue, “I am entirely wrong.  Please have mercy on me.”

As David says here, when he had been honest before God, he was assured of forgiveness.  The agonies were over.

We read in I John 1 that if we confess our sins the Lord will forgive us and cleanse us.  Are you constantly feeling the pain and frustration of guilt and a sense of pollution?  You know what to do!

David Johnston