2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12 record the sad background
to our Psalm, Psalm 32. In a day when we hear
of the moral failure of some spiritual leaders,
it is interesting to recall that the man after
God's own heart suffered a similar episode in
his life. Adultery with Bathsheba was followed
by the murder of Uriah, her husband, in an attempted
cover -up by David. For a year, David's sin was
a deep, dark secret. But what was a whispered
secret on earth was an open scandal in heaven.
As it says at the end of 2 Samuel 11, The thing
that David had done was evil in the sight of
the Lord. God sent his prophet, Nathan, to confront
David regarding his sin. In verse 7, Nathan,
this is chapter 12 now, Nathan then said to David,
you are the man, that is you are the man who
is guilty. Thus says the Lord God of Israel,
It is I who anointed you king over Israel, and
it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul.
I also gave you your master's house and your
master's wives into your care, and I gave you
the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had
been too little, I would have added to you many
more things like these. Why have you despised
the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight?
You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with a
sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and
have killed him with the sword of the sons of
Ammon. Now, therefore, the sword shall never
depart from your house, because you have despised
me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite
to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold,
I will raise up evil against you from your own
household. I will even take your wives before
your eyes and give them to your companion, and
he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight.
Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this
thing before all Israel and under the sun." Then
David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the
LORD. Psalm 51 is David's more full confession,
written near the time of his repentance. In it,
David in part, promises God that he will teach
transgressors the Lord's ways. Our text for today,
Psalm 32, may well be his fulfillment of that
vow. For after reflection upon that total experience,
He writes Psalm 32, where we now turn in the
Word of God. Psalm 32 is a didactic psalm, a
teaching psalm, in which the Lord teaches us
his ways. In it we find words of instruction
from a man who learned the hard way, the price
of refusing to repent of sin. I say he learned
the lessons the hard way. But then haven't we
all chosen that method of soul education at one
time or another? The fact is that all of us sin.
Sin is a common experience to us. The most godly
among us are sometimes guilty of doing evil in
the sight of the Lord. The real critical issue
is our response when we sin. There really are
just two possible responses. We can harden our
hearts in stubbornness, or we can open our hearts
in repentance. In this psalm, David teaches us
about what happens with each of those responses.
Stubbornness, he tells us, brings separation
and misery. He tells us in this psalm that in
the first place stubbornness results in God's
conviction. When we are stubborn about our sin
and refuse to acknowledge it, God brings guilt
to us. When sin is covered up, even physical
and emotional consequences can occur. Now while
it is certainly true that not all illness is
caused by sin. We need to note that it can be
caused by sin. Warren Worsby has written, many
people who are going to the doctors to take care
of their symptoms ought to go to the Lord to
take care of their sins. This does not mean that
all sickness is caused by sin, but it does mean
that unconfessed sin can cause sickness. David
agrees with that. I want you to look at verses
3 and 4 again, which we read earlier. David says
in these verses that his body was wasted and
in pain during that period of months when he
refused stubbornly to acknowledge his sin. When
he rather tried to cover it over and hide it
deceptively. He indicates that he grew old. during
those 12 months or so in which he was stubborn
against God. He indicates to us in the poet's
language that his spirit was depressed, that
there was a heaviness about his whole life. His
energy level was drained, his vitality gone.
It was like a brook in a summer drought. It was
no longer present. He was a man who had dried
up from the inside out because he refused to
deal with his sin. Stubbornness brings separation
and misery. It results in conviction. But it
also results in discipline. Do not be as the
horse or the mule which have no understanding,
whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold
them in check. Otherwise, they will not come
near to you." He suggests here that beyond the
conviction that God brings to us when we are
stubborn about sin, God also brings discipline.
That is, God actively intervenes in our lives,
bringing us into check. just as a horse or a
mule has to be brought under control so God puts
bit and bridle into us and into our mouths and
on our lives so that we can be brought under
His control. This is God's discipline. Have you
ever thought about the difference between a horse
and a mule? A horse is wild and impulsive, hard
to tame. I remember when I was about 13 years
old, we got a new pony that had only slightly
been broken. And it was my challenge, which I
was excited about, to break that horse. And I
did in time, before I was broken, fortunately.
The first time I got on that horse, I did not
put a saddle on. I simply put the bridle in his
mouth and jumped on his back. And we took off.
And he bucked and ran and came right up to a
barbed wire fence and stopped just like that.
He waited about two seconds and with one leap
jumped over the barbed wire fence and went on
his way with me still on his back. Horses are
impulsive. They have to be broken. Some of us
are like that in our sin too. But then there's
the mule. The mule is different. The mule is
slow. The mule is self -willed. The mule is hard
to direct and to get moving. And some of us are
like that when we are stubborn against God. The
lesson that we see here is that stubbornness
brings discipline from God, not only guilt and
conviction. Refusal of God's gentler guidance
brings the harsher bit and bridle to turn the
sinner from his way. But then David tells us
that when we are stubborn about our sin, it results
in sorrows. Look at verse 10, the first part
of the verse. Many are the sorrows of the wicked.
Guilt is a sorrow. Conviction is no fun. It can
even affect us emotionally and physically, as
David says. I can assure you from personal experience
that the bit and bridle are not fun at all. They
are sorrowful to wear. But many are the sorrows
of the wicked. Beyond the sorrows we've talked
about are the natural consequences of our sin.
Let me tell you, David experienced sorrow upon
sorrow throughout the rest of his life because
of that year of stubbornness against God. Many
are the sorrows of the wicked. There are the
sorrows of broken relationships, fractured friendships.
There are the sorrows of seeds that are sown
that bear terrible fruit. I think of that parent
who leaves the home, forsakes the partner, perhaps
to live with someone else. And not only is there
the hurt to the spouse, but let me tell you something
about the seeds that are sown, the lives of those
children. that experience what it means to be
forsaken like that. I have a good friend who
made that tragic decision. Although he came back
to his wife eventually, his children have borne
that sorrow. And his only son has now followed
his father's footsteps in a broken marriage.
Many are the sorrows of the wicked because of
the seeds that are sown in the lives of others
around us, even innocent people. Stubbornness
with our sins brings misery and separation. David
wants to write that in indelible letters on our
hearts today. On the other hand, there is a happier
lesson. It is the lesson about repentance. David
knew what it was to be stubborn against God.
But when he was confronted by Nathan, finally
he repented. I have sinned against the Lord,
he says. Repentance brings restoration and happiness.
How blessed, he says, is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. David describes
repentance four -fold in verse Five. In the first
place he says that repentance is toward God.
Repentance is directed toward God, against whom
our sin also is primarily directed. When he wrote
that great psalm of confession, Psalm 51, David
said, against thee, thee only. Have I sinned
and done that which is wicked in your sight?
Wait a minute, David. What about Bathsheba? What
about Uriah, David? What about the child born,
David? What about the nation that looked to you
as an example, David? But David recognizes that
all of these were also affected. Yet there is
a higher lesson. And it is this, that when you
and I sin, though others may be involved in it,
the real focus of our sin is that it is against
God. It is God's commandment regarding adultery,
which David broke when he sinned with Bathsheba.
It was God's commandment against murder. that
he transgressed when he arranged for the death
of Uriah on the battlefield. It is God who gave
value to life. It is God who honors purity. And
David realized that his sin, while it was involving
others around him, was ultimately directed against
God. So he repented to the Lord. I acknowledge
my sin to thee, he says. He recounts his statement,
I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.
There are times when we have to go to others
to make things right, to ask forgiveness for
the offense that we have committed against them.
But we have to realize that it begins by coming
to God in confession. and repenting of our sin
to Him. Repentance is toward God. Repentance
involves an open, unguarded admission of what
I've done. David is that way. He says, I acknowledge
my sin. My iniquity I did not hide. I will confess
my transgressions. David has now shunned deceit
in which he had lived for a year. David now turns
away from trying to hide his sin and he draws
back the covers so that God may see it. He opens
the door of his heart and he asks God to sweep
clean his house. Here we see what repentance
really is. It is an open and unguarded admission,
oh God, I have sinned. in your sight. It's not
named something else. The finger is not pointed
in a different direction. David did not say,
but if Bathsheba had only bathed in the house
instead of on the rooftop, he said, I have sinned.
I have sinned. We have not repented, folks, when
we blame others. We have not repented when we
call it a mistake. Or we seek some other way
to excuse our actions. It is only when we pull
back the covers and we say, God, here is the
mess. And I have sinned against you. And then
David tells us that repentance is a thorough
confession of personal responsibility. My sin,
he says. My iniquity. when he calls it his sin,
he's talking about his own missing of the mark.
That he has turned from the way that God had
directed him. When he speaks of his own iniquity,
he is using a word that refers to perversion
or to crookedness in one's character, one's behavior.
The word transgression deals with rebellion.
It means to separate two parties. The idea is
to go beyond the limits of what is allowed between
the two. David went beyond the limits of what
God allowed in his fellowship with David. He
transgressed. David says, I bear full responsibility
for it. That's what repentance is. And repentance
is a desire for change in one's life. A desire
for a complete break with what has gone on in
the past. He talks about this briefly in Psalm
51. In these words, do not cast me away from
thy presence. Do not take thy Holy Spirit from
me. He says, create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. David
says, I want a new beginning, Lord. I am turning
my back on where I've been and what I've done.
I want to start again a new beginning. That's
what repentance is. Now, quite honestly, when
we repent to God, we cannot say, God, I promise
you I will never do this again. I will never
sin again. If we make that kind of promise, we're
making a vow that we cannot keep. Because we
will sin again. Perhaps not in the same way.
But we will sin again. But our heart attitude
must be one of saying, God, I am starting over.
And I no longer desire that. I want the ways
that please You. Lord, teach me Your ways. That's
what repentance is. Repentance is not cheap.
Repentance is not bubbling up a quick prayer
to God and then it bursts and it's gone. But
repentance... is a deep, heartfelt turning to
the Lord from where we've been and saying, God,
I want a new direction in my life. That's how
he describes repentance, and he encourages us
to take the step. David does, and God does. David,
in verses 6 through 9, talks about this. In verse
6, it's David himself speaking. He said, let
everyone who is godly pray to thee in a time
when thou mayest be found. You see it's the godly
who will give heed to this exhortation. It is
the ungodly who hardens his heart, who is stubborn.
It is the godly man who, recognizing his sin,
repents. And so David says, let everyone who
is godly pray to thee when you can be found.
David acknowledges an important truth here. And
when we realize we've sinned, we must repent
quickly. Because God does not promise to indefinitely
extend the period of grace. Seek the Lord while
he may be found, says Isaiah. Call upon him while
he is near. And so when I sense that conviction
in my life, at that moment, What I need to do
is to open my heart to God in repentance. David
says corrective discipline will not be required
when we do this. Surely in the great flood of
waters they shall not reach Him. The flood of
waters perhaps is a poetic expression of troubles
and tribulation that God sends to the one who
does not repent. But when the godly man turns
to the Lord, when he can be found and praised
to him in repentance, then he avoids those troubled
waters. He says, then God becomes a hiding place.
Thou art my hiding place. Thou dost preserve
me from trouble. Thou dost surround me with songs
of deliverance. For a year David had known only
lamentation. and dirges. He had no songs of deliverance
in his life. He was captive by his own deceit
and stubbornness. But now he says, oh God, you
have become my hiding place. Lord, you are my
refuge. You are my shelter. You keep me from
trouble. And you surround me with songs of deliverance
now that I have repented. Aren't those encouraging
words to you and to me? when we need to repent?
Is your life filled with songs of deliverance
today or with lamentation as David's was? Stubbornness
brings misery and separation. Oh, but the joys,
the joys of repentance, the joys of bowing low
and bending the head, the joys of humility before
God and pulling back the covers and saying, God,
here's what I've done. And God then sweeps it
clean. He washes away the iniquity. He covers
it over. And songs of deliverance erupt in the
heart. Songs of praise to God. Then God seems
to speak in verse 8. That seems to be the best
understanding of this verse. It says, I will
instruct you and teach you in the way which you
should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon
you. The same thrust as the previous verses here,
actually. But God is promising his eye upon the
one who repents. That is his gracious care for
the welfare of that soul that bows the knee and
bends the head. But then he gives that warning
that we've looked at already, the warning that
if we do not repent and we remain stubborn, then
we will be broken as though we were brute beasts.
We are encouraged to repent by David and by God.
Then we see what repentance produces. In verses
1 and 2, we are reminded that repentance produces
restored fellowship in the first place. He says,
when one repents, his transgression is forgiven.
The sin is covered over. The Lord no longer imputes
iniquity or guilt to that one. That is, it's
no longer counted against him. Repentance actually
does produce a free heart and a new beginning.
The sense of cleansing. How long has it been
since you've known that cleansing of God in your
life? Repentance brings that. Oh, it's possible
for you and for me to still feel guilty even
after we've repented. Sometimes that guilt comes
from our own selves. Psychologically, for some
reason, we continue to make ourselves feel guilty
after God has already forgiven. We ought to believe
what God says here about forgiveness and covering
and no longer counting it against us. Really
enter into that and believe it and no longer
point the finger at ourselves. God doesn't want
us to make ourselves feel guilty. There are times
too when false guilt comes from Satan. When even
after we have confessed to the Lord and our sins
are removed, Satan enters into the picture and
begins to accuse us before God and accuse us
to ourselves. And again, we don't have to listen
to what he says. For he has no basis of accusation
when God no longer counts sin against us. Restored
fellowship is one of the results of repentance.
The second one is found in verse 11 That's joy,
restored joy. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
you righteous ones, he says. Shout for joy, all
you who are upright in heart. To be upright in
heart means that one has dealt honestly with
his sin. It doesn't mean sinlessness, for we're
all sinners. But the one who is upright in heart
has been upfront about his sin. He's no longer
pulling David's trick during that year. No longer
trying to hide it. He brings it right up to God
and repents of it. That is the upright man and
he is filled with joy. There is restored joy
for the one who repents. David in Psalm 51 gives
us another result of repentance and that is restored
usefulness. I read earlier verse 11, do not cast
me away from thy presence, do not take thy Holy
Spirit from me. We need to understand that David
wrote this a thousand years before Pentecost,
when the Holy Spirit came to indwell every believer.
In his time, the Holy Spirit came to only selected
people, to indwell them. He would come upon them
to enable them to serve God in some special capacity.
It's not a matter of salvation in verse 11, it's
a matter of service. David is saying, God, don't
take your Holy Spirit from me in my service.
In other words, he's saying, Lord, make me useful
yet to your purposes. Again, in verse 13, he
says, then when you have done this, I will teach
transgressors thy ways. Sinners will be converted
to thee. The fact is that we are not very useful
to God at all. when we are stubborn about our
sin. But when we are upfront about it and when
we repent of it, then we are restored in our
usefulness to God. We can still serve God. We
can still be involved in teaching others. We
can still see the fruit of sinners being converted
to the Lord when we have acknowledged openly
our sin. Just a couple of closing thoughts as
we bring this message to a close. One thought
is this, the longer I remain stubborn about my
sin, the greater the natural consequences when
I finally do repent. That seems to be a principle
in God's Word. The longer I remain stubborn about
my sin, the greater the natural consequences
when I repent. When I repent, my guilt is gone,
but God often allows the consequences to be carried
out as a reminder to us of what we've done and
as a lesson to others of the price of sin. The
longer I refuse to repent, the longer I cause
my heart to remain stubborn against God, the
more consequences are going to accumulate so
that when I do finally repent, there will be
more of them to yet be fulfilled in my life.
How wise then to repent soon, quickly. Then I
notice too that the deeper I repent of my sin,
the greater the deliverance. Repentance cannot
be done well superficially. Repentance must involve
us deeply in our souls. The deeper we repent,
the greater our deliverance. It may be that the
reason some of us are yet struggling is that
our repentance has not been very thorough. Someone
has said the less you spare yourself, the more
God will spare you. In other words, the idea
is if I spare myself a deep repentance, then
God is not obligated to spare me. But the less
I spare myself in my repentance, the more God
will then spare me later. The fact is that we
all sin. I am a sinner, though redeemed, talking
to a company of sinners, most of whom I trust
are redeemed. But we are all sinners, whether
redeemed or not. The critical issue is how we
respond to our sin, whether it is stubbornness
or it's repentance. If we respond with stubbornness,
then we will receive misery and separation. If
we respond in repentance, then we will receive
restoration and happiness. That's why David begins
the psalm by saying how very blessed in great
multitude are the blessings of the man who has
repented and whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sin is covered. That verb covered is an
interesting one. It means to fill in the hollow
spots of something. So that as you fill in the
hollow spots, they are covered. That's the thought.
A lot of work has been done. Thank the Lord in
this parking lot over here. As that was done,
some huge machines were brought in to fill in
some of the low spots and to take off the high
spots. As those low spots were filled in, they
were covered up, you see. The picture is that
in our lives, sin is that which eats away inside
of us and leaves hollow spots. When we repent,
God graciously begins to fill in those hollow
spots so that they are covered. How would you
respond today to what God is saying? Through
David, the repentant one. Let's pray. Perhaps
you've come to worship this morning and your
life has been freshly swept clean by confession
and repentance. But it may be that as you sit
there and hear the Word of God, He is dealing
with you over some area of your life where there
has been disobedience and you've been stubborn.
And your vitality is drained. You're wasting
away because of your refusal to repent. My friend,
God desires for you today not to have to wear
the bitten bridle. But while he may be found
that you might repent, so that then he might
forgive your transgressions and fill in the hollow
spots that sin has made. I'd like for us to just
take a few seconds and allow you time to respond
to the Lord. Will you repent today, now, at this
moment? Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near. Now it may be
that you need someone else to talk to. We have
pastors who would be delighted to meet with you
personally. In a few moments when you complete
your registration form, just mark on there that
little box that says, I need to talk to someone.
Your repentance may begin this morning and this
hour, but it needs to be thoroughly finished
and you need somebody's help to help you sort
out. what that means, what that involves. Give
us that privilege, won't you? Just before I close
in prayer, I wonder if there's someone here,
or some several, who would say by the uplifted
hand, I am this morning a repentant one like
David. God has dealt with me and there is cleansing
going on in my life today. Thank God. I am a
repentant one today. Would you lift your hand?
I'd like to pray for you. Yes, God bless you.
Many hands. Thank you. Now, is there someone
here who would honestly say, I am a stubborn
one? I'm not ready to repent, but I wish you
would pray for me. My heart is hardened and I
am miserable. And I sense separation. Please
pray for me. Is there someone who would say that?
God bless you. How I appreciate your honesty
about that. Is there someone else? Just lift
your hand and put it down. Quickly. Father in
heaven, I pray for these who have lifted the
hand for different needs. But who have responded
to some extent to your Holy Spirit's working,
I pray that you will bring that to full fruitfulness
in their lives. And may all of us know the meaning
of you as our shelter and our refuge. May we
have songs of deliverance that would abound in
our lives because we have dealt honestly with
our sins. In Jesus' name, amen.