Abundant Grace & Mercy!!!
Psalm 32
How wonderful would it be to have our debts paid for. Like removed forever…how much freedom and peace would that give us? I can’t even imagine what being debt free would be like.
Yet…there is ONE who paid a more significant debt than my mortgage.
Romans 3:23 brings home a painful truth for us all - “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
So, HIS Son paid with HIS life so that I (if I so choose) can have a restored eternal relationship with Yahweh (the FATHER) because my sins have been removed from my debt ledger.
All throughout the Old Testament God (Yahweh) is seen as the source of salvation. Many of these scriptures are found in the Book of Psalms. In this study we focus on Psalm 32 which a powerful psalm noting the abundance of God’s grace and mercy in forgiving our sins, protecting us from HIS wrath against the unrighteous ones.
Psalm 32 - A psalm of David, says…
Verses 1-2:
"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!"Right off the bat, David launches into praise. He repeatedly notes the joy that comes with the removal of our multitude of sins from our ledger. This is something that we as Christians should take note of and consider on a daily basis - God has forgiven our sins (and continues to do so when we ask).
Psalm 103:12 reminds us of this when it says - “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”
Surely, this should give us joy. Our largest, most impactful debt has not only been removed but it has been sent far away from us. Then, with such a blessing and gift, we should live lives that are reflective of this - not lives which are still steeped in the sin of this world.
Verses 3-4: "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude" Living constantly in a sinful lifestyle has consequences - emotional, spiritual and physical. In this psalm David notes the physical side of his sinful nature. The toll it takes on the body is significant.
It is interesting that David ends these verses with an ‘Interlude’ (a Selah) - meaning that he is providing the hearer (or reader) of the psalm a pause, a time to reflect on what has just been said. David is giving us time to sit back and consider the apposing sides of our nature. On one hand if we repent and ask God for forgiveness for our sins - then HE releases us of that burden. Yet, on the other hand - if we continue to willingly live in a sinful manner, then that has consequences in all aspects of our lives. It is something that we need to thoughtfully consider.
Verse 5: "Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude"After leaving us to think about the consequences of our sinful ways, David then plunges into the crux of this psalm…repentance.
Being before Almighty Yahweh, creator of heaven and earth, should humble us enough to be able to say openly and plainly to God “You know all about me LORD, but here are my sins, please take them from me!”
And in that place of repentance and the desire to have our heart condition changed, God acts. Yahweh steps forward and removes the stain of guilt. And now, some 2000 years after Jesus (HIS son) died and rose again for our sins - we are evermore blessed by the mercy and grace of God over our sins. The stains of our guilt have been washed away by the blood of Christ.
1 John 1:7 tells us… “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
In this psalm, David is providing us a foreshadowing of the work of Christ in our lives.
Then, David once again provides us with a time to pause on the impact of the truth he just shared with us. God listens to our prayers of repentance, and HE acts on them…Yahweh, the creator of heaven and earth listens to our pleas for salvation and for help. Oh! what a gloriously blessed position to be in - even the angels are not afforded this.
Verses 6-7: "Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude
It is interesting to note that David included the words “while there is still time” - David was for sure talking about the concept of reaping what you sow in life, but the reference to the wrath of God coming upon a person (or even the nations) is one that we, in these last days, should heed.
God (Yahweh) is our only hiding place. There is no-where on Earth that we can hide from our problems. Our mind and trauma follows us wherever we go. People…well people are people and they will cause problems for those around them - and so we can’t escape from people or the effects of people. So our only place and source of solace is God. It is in HIM that we will find protection (for our mind and our spirit) - and our victory (over sin and death) is only found in Him and HIS son Jesus.
The world offers us nothing - so why cling to the things of this world.
Verses 8-9: "The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”Here we find David giving us words from the LORD (Yahweh) - so we need to pay very close attention to what is said. And the words that are to follow actually fly directly in the face of westernised Christianity.
“The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you’”
If God HIMSELF is saying this…surely…surely we should hold onto this as a divine promise - right?
Romans 8:31-32 illuminates this concept when it states that… “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”
If we are in God, and have a relationship with HIM - surely ALL our hope is placed in HIM - and HE is surely going to care for us, and protect us. If that is the case then we truly should not fear anything (person or event) in this world.
Verses 10-11: "Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!"Eternal salvation is for the believer, and David is bringing this to light for us in these final verses. Eternal sorrow follows those that choose evil and live wickedly. However, unfailing love (righteous, divine love) surrounds those that trust in the LORD - therefore we should rejoice and be glad in this fact.
Our joy stems not from the emotional high of pumped up worship songs and a stage show on a Sunday morning - rather, the joy of the LORD that Nehemiah the prophet discusses in Nehemiah 8:10, is a joy that is grounded in a relationship with Yahweh, and the knowledge that HIS love and mercy endures forever and HIS love for us endures forever - and not some flood of positive emotions because life feels good.
This joy is not the happy-clappy, wierdo running around in circles waving flags all over the place (and I’m saying this as a pentecostal) - but in the deep trust in God’s faithfulness, and HIS promise of an eternity with HIM where all our pains, all our tears, all our trauma, all our struggles disappear after this vapour of a life is done.
I pray that the abundant grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, and Yahweh be upon you each and every day. May you long for HIS return in the days to come. May you seek HIM above the world. And May you go in courage and joy in all things - whether they are trials and challenges or times of comfort and peace.