Rev. David Holwick ZL Series on Psalms
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 26, 2000
Psalm 32:1-7
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I. Are you a happy person?
A. "Blessed" recalls the Beatitudes of Jesus.
1) Means to be happy, but in a special way. Blessed by God.
2) Christians should be the most contented of all.
3) Are you?
B. Many people are miserable.
1) Bumper sticker at Wendy's in Maryland:
"Guns don't kill people.
Postal workers kill people."
a) Many can relate to on-the-job stress.
b) Many are angry at people, if not the whole world.
c) We feel like lashing out.
2) Better bumper sticker we saw in Florida:
"Psalm 32:1 - Forgiven"
II. Releasing the burden. 32:3-5
A. Before David was forgiven, he was stubborn.
1) He expected "cheap grace" - instant forgiveness.
Thirty years ago one of Ray Stedman's youth pastors was
describing an unusual attitude his young people had.
He said they were very responsive to God and knew the
difference between right and wrong.
But many of them had the attitude that if there was
something they knew to be wrong, but they very much
wanted to do it, they will say to themselves:
'I'm going to go ahead and do it, and afterward I'll ask
God to forgive me.'"
(Stedman sermon on Romans 6:16)
Back in the 1700's the great philosopher Heinrich Heine
lay dying.
A friend visited and asked him, "Do you believe God has
forgiven your sins?"
Heine made a famous reply: "God will forgive me; that's his
job!"
(Psalms, George A. F. Knight)
B. God doesn't have to forgive.
1) Forgiveness is a gift that must be sincerely requested.
2) If you have a bad attitude - a spirit of deceit - you
will have no forgiveness at all.
C. Unforgiveness bears a steep price.
1) The spiritual is intimately tied with the physical.
2) David even felt it in his bones. He was wasting away.
a) He felt oppression. (heavy hand)
b) He felt weakness. (sapped strength)
c) He had long sleepless nights.
3) Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if
he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals
that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them could
walk out the next day.
(Rev. Ken D. Trivette, "So You Feel Like A Dog")
III. Coming clean before God. 32:5
A. Three words for sin and God's remedy.
1) Transgression. Rebellion against God's authority.
a) God forgives it.
2) Sin. Miss the mark.
a) God covers it.
3) Iniquity (sin). Crooked, straying from the right path.
a) God doesn't hold it against us.
B. God wants people who are deceit-free.
1) How can we obtain this kind of openness?
2) Confess with a broken heart.
Marilyn Manning attended a communications course a few
years back.
The instructor asked them to do something unusual: the
students were to list anything in their past that they
felt ashamed of, guilty about, or regretted.
The next week he invited participants to read their
lists out loud.
This seemed like a very private process, but there's
always some brave soul in the crowd who will volunteer.
As people read their lists, Marilyn's list grew longer.
After three weeks, she had 101 items on her list.
The instructor then suggested that they find ways to make
amends, apologize to people, or take some action to
right any wrongdoing.
Marilyn was seriously wondering how this could ever improve
her communications, having visions of alienating just
about everyone from her life.
The next week, the man next to her raised his hand and
volunteered this story:
"While making my list, I remembered an incident from high
school.
I grew up in a small town in Iowa.
There was a sheriff in town that none of us kids liked.
One night, my two buddies and I decided to play a trick on
Sheriff Brown.
After drinking a few beers, we found a can of red paint,
climbed the tall water tank in the middle of town, and
wrote, on the tank, in bright red letters:
"Sheriff Brown is a [blankety-blank]."
The next day, the town arose to see our glorious sign.
Within two hours, Sheriff Brown had my two pals and me in
his office.
My friends confessed and I lied, denying the truth.
No one ever found out.
Nearly 20 years later, Sheriff Brown's name appears on
my list.
I didn't even know if he was still alive.
Last weekend, I dialed information in my hometown back in
Iowa.
Sure enough, there was a Roger Brown still listed.
I dialed his number.
After a few rings, I heard: 'Hello?'
I said: 'Sheriff Brown?'
Pause. 'Yup.'
'Well, this is Jimmy Calkins. And I want you to know that
I did it.'
Pause. 'I knew it!' he yelled back.
We had a good laugh and a lively discussion.
His closing words were: 'Jimmy, I always felt badly for you
because your buddies got it off their chest, and I knew
you were carrying it around all these years.
I want to thank you for calling me ... for your sake.'"
Marilyn was inspired to clear up all 101 items on her list.
It took her almost two years, but became the springboard and
true inspiration for her career as a conflict mediator.
No matter how difficult the conflict, crisis or situation,
she always remembers that it's never too late to clear up
the past and begin resolution.
#4589
3) Make confession real, not rote.
4) Might be a good idea to combine confession before God with
confession to others.
IV. Don't wait till it's too late. 32:6-10
A. Many wait until the situation is overwhelming.
1) Make a habit of coming clean before God and people.
2) You will avoid much adversity, and if some still comes
you will have God's strength to overcome it.
B. God is our hiding place. 32:7
1) He will protect and shelter us.
2) He can deliver us from anything.
C. Don't be as stubborn as a mule.
1) Wicked have woes, righteous have God's love.
V. The joy of forgiveness. 32:11
A. Joy pervades this psalm.
1) It is a great release to experience God's forgiveness.
B. Letter this week from an alcoholic who is now in jail.
Sorry for the problems he has caused others.
Trying to make amends, attends A.A. and "Unshackled."
Reading the New Testament.
"I need Jesus Christ in my life."
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This sermon borrows heavily from the commentary in the Tyndale Old
Testament series, "Psalms 1-72," by Derek Kidner.
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#4589 "It's Never Too Late," by Marilyn Manning, Internet: Chicken
Soup Of The Day; July 11, 1999; copyright 1996 by Jack
Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen.
Sermon 5574 "The Scars Of Sin," by Rev. Ray C. Stedman; November 26,
1967; Message No: 1, Catalog No: 279; Peninsula Bible Church;
Palo Alto, California. From Holwick's Access 97 database.
Sermon 4233 "So You Feel Like A Dog," by Rev. Ken D. Trivette; Temple
Baptist Church; Chattanooga, Tennessee. From Holwick's
Access 97 database.
These and 16,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Commentary notes
George Knight, "Psalms," volume 1, in The Daily Bible Study Series
I. Two pictures of what God does.
A. Forgives.
B. Covers.
II. Four words for sin.
A. Rebellion. Against covenant love.
B. Sin. Miss the mark.
C. Iniquity. Crooked character.
D. Deceit. Laziness or perversion of spirit.
III. Stubbornness.
A. Psalmist expected cheap grace.
1) "It is God's job to forgive."
B. Not being forgiven made him worried sick.
________________________________________________________________________
Restoration and Its Blessings: A Theological Analysis of Psalms 51 and
32
Grace Theological Journal, V5 #2: Fall 1984; pages 247-269
Restoration and Its Blessings: A Theological Analysis of
Psalms 51 and 32
by Jack Barentsen
______________
[only a portion of the article is presented here]
Theological Analysis: The Contents of the Psalm
The main thrust of the psalm consists of its teaching on the need for confession. But two other areas are significant elements.
THE NEED FOR CONFESSION
The psalm describes life as a path to walk, as the way in which we should go (v 8). In this path there are two contrasting options. The use of contrast shows the pedagogical genius of the psalmist, because the options are either to remain in one's sin, separate from God, or to confess one's sin and have fellowship with God. The choice is either \ or; no other option is given. The purpose is, of course, "to point out the path of true happiness to sinners."50
Option 1 is to remain silent about one's sin and not to acknowledge it to God. This results in a "roaring" all day long (v 3). This is soon recognized as judgment from God, and again the sorrow is described, but this time more vividly. The vitality of the sinner is compared to the earth, cracking under the heat of the summer. Thus, Option 1 is clearly understood as undesirable because it incurs God's judgment.
But in the exhortation, this is still elaborated. Here the sinner is compared with the stubborn horse and mule. The sinner's silence is not due to ignorance, but to rebellion. On the other hand, these beasts are also animals which have no understanding. So although the sinner may be in rebellion against God, he also has to cope with unclear thinking (cf. Eph 4:17-19). However, the horse and the mule can be brought near by bit and bridle - if this is the right interpretation of v 9c .51 Likewise, God can use sorrows, which are the lot of the wicked (v 10), to draw the sinner to himself.
Option 2 is to acknowledge one's sin and confess it before God. The concept is repeated three times in v 5 . This shows that it is not a formal rehearsal of a list of sins, but a thorough exposure of one's sin before God. God responds with forgiveness, and thus deliverance is experienced (v 7).
In the exhortation, this too is expanded. Here, confession is identified with trust in the Lord, highlighting the importance of a right heart attitude in confession. As a result, the sinner is now called a righteous and upright person who may delight in the mercies of the Lord (v 11). Option 2 is the desirable one because it is the proper response to God's dsj.
UNIVERSALITY OF SIN
In presenting the options, the psalmist does not leave the reader with any choice but to be silent or to confess. The fact that each reader has sin about which to be silent or vocal is assumed. All need confession.
Just as in Psalm 51, the three most frequent words for sin here are, uvp, \wu and, afj (vv 1-2;5). In vv 1-2 these words indicate that man's life is involved in all kinds of sin, and that sin stains all of his life. In v 5 these words show that all kinds of sin are subject to God's forgiveness; there is no sin which cannot be forgiven. Sin may be universal, but there is always hope in God's all comprehensive forgiveness.
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY
The exhortation in this psalm is a plea for human action: one must turn to God. Thus, man's responsibility is emphasized, in contrast to Psalm 51, where God's sovereign grace was emphasized. But God's sovereignty is not left out of the picture here. The fact that a forgiven person can be counted blessed (vv 1-2) implies that God has been at work in that person; judgment in v 5 testifies to God's sovereignty. Similarly, the following concepts indicate aspects of God's sovereign grace: God is a hiding place (v 7); he surrounds the psalmist with songs of deliverance (v 7); he surrounds those who trust him with lovingkindness (v 10); trusting in the Lord implies that he is sovereign (v 10); and God sovereignly uses misery to lead people to himself (vv 3a,4a,9). So human responsibility is set in the context of divine sovereign grace. Therefore, this responsibility is not autonomous, but must be exercised in dependence upon God, submitting to him and acknowledging that his judgments are just. This is a responsibility of faith, not of works.
CONCLUSION
Four propositions summarize the main theological points drawn from these two psalms: (1) Man is utterly, always, from conception, and in every aspect of his relationship to God, sinful. (2) Man is wholly dependent on God for forgiveness and restoration before he can enjoy an undisturbed relationship with God. (3) Man's responsibility is humbly and in faith to confess his sins to God and to acknowledge that his judgments are just. (4) Man, once forgiven and restored, is to be happy about what the Lord has done for him, and to extol his virtues.
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