Psalm 32:1-6 Complete Jewish Bible
32 (0) By David. A maskil:
(1) How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven,
those whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
because of my groaning all day long;
4 day and night your hand was heavy on me;
the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah)
5 When I acknowledged my sin to you,
when I stopped concealing my guilt,
and said, “I will confess my offenses to Adonai”;
then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)
6 This is what everyone faithful should pray
at a time when you can be found.
Then, when the floodwaters are raging,
they will not reach to him.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Sin, Guilt and Your Health – A Health Devotional.
This morning, during my quiet time with God, I was reading Psalm 32 and was reminded of the connection between sin, guilt and health. In this Psalm, David writes when he tried to hide his adultery, sending Uriah to his death, refused to confess his sin that he felt weak and miserable and that he groaned all day long. He also writes that his strength evaporated like water in the dry summer heat.
After reading two other Psalm 32 devotionals, I knew that I wanted to write on this topic of sin, guilt and our health and the interrelationship between them.
Sin, Guilt and Health – What the Bible Says
Psalm 32:1-6 Amplified Bible
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, favored by God] is he whose transgression is forgiven,
And whose sin is covered.
2
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute wickedness,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all the day long.
4
For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me;
My [b]energy (vitality, strength) was drained away as with the burning heat of summer. Selah.
5
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And I did not hide my wickedness;
I said, “I will confess [all] my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
6
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;
Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.
Those who work in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and social services are often confronted with a strong correlation between what is happening in a person’s heart and mind and what is being displayed in that person’s body.
God’s word speaks into this connection and then goes deeper, for it tells us that there is a connection between the state of our body and the state of our soul.
In Psalm 32, David speaks very personally to God, acknowledging the heaviness he experienced when he hid in the shadows and refused to confess his sin against Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah (see 2 Samuel 11).
And through David, the Spirit teaches us that there is a link between a tortured conscience and lack of repentance, and our physical wellbeing.
Those who were in David’s immediate company may not have been aware of what was going on inside him spiritually, but they could not have avoided the rather obvious manifestations of what was happening to him physically.
The description he provides adds to the account he gives elsewhere: “My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off” (Psalm 38:10-11). It’s a quite devastating picture.
David recognized his condition for what it was: a punishment.
The Bible makes it clear that there is a natural outcome to lust, excess, and a disregard for the commands of God (see Romans 1:24-25)—all of which David was guilty of. Mood swings, frailty, weight loss, sleeplessness, a deepening sense of rejection, melancholy, anxiety, and despair often haunt individuals who are seeking to hide their “secret” sin from God and deny it to themselves.
What restored David was not a health kick or getting to bed earlier but rather dealing with the root cause—his sin: “I acknowledged my sin to you … and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).
God kept His hand heavy upon David until Nathan showed up and told him a story which convicted him.
Then David left his throne, placed his sin into God’s hands and asked Him to help him deal with it. It is a blessing to us when God does not allow us to forget our sin—when we feel physical heaviness because of our spiritual sickness.
It is His means of bringing us to do what we most need: to confess it and ask for forgiveness for it.
Fortunately we have a God who loves us incredibly and because of this, he freely reveals his mercy, he forgives us of our sins when we confess our wrongdoings.
Because of the magnitude of his mercy and his forgiveness of our sins, believers should be able to freely surrender over any guilt or shame that they feel.
God does not want us to experience the heaviness associated with chronic guilt.
His desire is that we live in peace and joy which is available to us when we confess our wrongdoings and believe that God gives us mercy, forgives us.
Peace and joy are health-promoting compared to chronic guilt which can be damaging to our health in more ways than anyone dares to acknowledge.
Are we harboring sin?
Do not cloak it; confess it. David experienced liberating relief from his pain and distress when he sought God’s forgiveness.
You too can know that joy, for the promise of God’s word is that
“if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
A Few Questions to Reflect On:
Are you holding on to guilt and shame because of some past or current sin in your life?
Are you perhaps weak and miserable or plagued with a chronic health related condition – Headaches, High Blood Pressure, tiredness, fatigue, heart ailments that could be caused by the physical strains of coping with long-term guilt?
As soon as possible, to rule out any potentially serious disorder, go see your Primary Care Medical Team for proper assessment, evaluation and treatment
How about issues of anxiety, mood disorders, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, mood swings, irritability, shorter than usual temper control etcetera.
As soon as possible, seek out Licensed Professional Mental Health providers for a proper clinical assessment, evaluation, and therapeutic treatment modalities.
Relieving The Burden of our Guilt and God’s Grace
Psalm 32:6 Amplified Bible
6
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;
Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.
Psalm 32 reminds me that a moral compass is embedded within everyone’s heart. When we do not chart our lives by that compass, we feel genuine guilt.
David spoke to that reality in Psalm 32. He had made a total mess of his life. His moral failures included adultery, conspiracy and murder. David acknowledged that when we mess up, we are eaten up inside if we keep quiet until a someone tells us a story, we convict ourselves. David had an inner urge to confess his sin.
Once confronted by Nathan, thus came his release. David confessed his sin to the Lord. Yes, there were people in his life with whom David needed to come clean. But only God could grant the full pardon his soul craved. When we mess up, our guilt is first of all toward our Creator, whose law we have violated.
How do you find real forgiveness?
If you have not confessed sins which you feel guilty of, I urge you to prayerfully make that confession to God so you and those around you or those you will soon meet, can return to feeling peaceful and joyful, which is God’s will for your life.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 42 Complete Jewish Bible
Book II: Psalms 42–72
42 (0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?
4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.
6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”
12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, 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). 