Psalm 32 English Standard Version
Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil[a] of David.
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[b] 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.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
Notice the first two verses of Psalm 32 tell us about a threefold liberation—our transgressions forgiven, our sins covered, and our sin is not counted against us.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, bless my soul and pass the joy!
But then we run headlong into this qualifier: “… in whose spirit is no deceit.”
In deceit we deliberately misrepresent ourselves; we retreat to our secret places, we deliberately and with much malice, give a false impression of our goodness.
Does God then count our sins against us?
I am still forgiven, but there is little less magnitude of max joy to pass around!
Deceit is about our deliberately, intentionally initiating a “secret conspiracy” to cover ourselves up, starting with covering up our failures even unto ourselves.
Without much effort at all we will immediately, if not sooner deny our sin, we will white wash it, reason it away, we will rationalize it out of existence, make excuses for it, compare ourselves to others whom we judge to be worse sinners.
From all of our best, worst efforts, to wall ourselves away from the bitter reality of exactly what is in front of us, with our deceit we no longer sense God’s grace.
Psalm 32:3-4 English Standard Version
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[a] as by the heat of summer. Selah
David himself confesses the dangerous effects of the magnitude of his deceit .
And his own personal awareness of God doing a “romp and stomp” on his soul.
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away …. through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped.”
Talk about “Where’s the joy?”!
It was more like David was killing his own Joy with every secret effort he made.
But then David came to his senses:
Psalm 32:5 English Standard Version
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
David acknowledged the magnitude of his deceit to God, no longer tried to cover it up, no longer tried to keep it locked up behind a thousand doors, locked up by a thousand and one different misshapen keys, deep in unwritten secret places.
With deceit finally confessed, sin is covered by God’s forgiving, healing grace.
When we deceive ourselves, we try to hide our sin.
When we deceive ourselves, we try to reason with our sin.
When we deceive ourselves, we try to rationalize it away.
Reasoning with sin is quite literally and scripturally impossible.
Rationalizing it away is quite literally and scripturally impossible.
When has anyone ever long kept a secret hidden away from God?
Isaiah 1:18-20 English Standard Version
18 “Come now, let us reason[a] together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 2:1-4 English Standard Version
The Mountain of the Lord
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,[a]
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
The reality is that mankind will be judged by God and God alone
The reality of it all is the “nation of sin” will be judged by God alone.
The reality of it all is the relationship between man and sin will be judged.
The reality is God judges both the “nations of man” and “nations of sin” either trying to “live” in close harmony with each other or “at each other’s throats.”
The reality is God alone judges the maximum strength, durability of the walls these two “nations” have constructed to hide their efforts from “prying eyes.”
1 Chronicles 28:9 English Standard Version
David’s Charge to Solomon
9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
But there are only two true hiding places.
The Mountain of God – where we will all gather to learn only of His ways.
The Cross of Jesus Christ where Christ settled the matter – once for all time.
John 19:28-30 English Standard Version
The Death of Jesus
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Our choices are crystal clear – believe God is deliberately trying to hide Himself from us, therefore we try hiding our sin from God, to live in harmony with sin, all the while moaning and groaning, crying and whining from our inequalities,
Or… Just brutally surrender ourselves to the .01% possibility of irrepressible joy.
Psalm 32:6-7 English Standard Version
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
“You are my hiding place,” the psalmist says to God.
Being covered by Grace is so much easier that covering over our deceit.
Being covered by Grace is so much better than covering over our deceit.
Being covered by Grace is so much healthier than covering up our deceit.
Being covered by Grace is so much the wiser choice than destroying our Joy.
Will we this day … Receive this Grace for the very first time?
Will we this day … Receive a fresh anointing of this Grace today?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the name above every other name. Your name is like a fortified tower in which I can find safety and security. When I am troubled, I can find refuge and peace in your name. When I feel weak, I can find refuge and strength in your name. When I feel overwhelmed, I can find refuge and rest in your name. When I feel surrounded by pressures on every side, I can find safety, stability in your name. Your name is revealed! Your name is beautiful, Lord, help me to rely on you. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 
Thanks
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