Songs of Summer 2 | Revelation

It's a spectacular scene at the opening of the musical adaptation of "Les Misérables." Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean finds himself under the care of a bishop because of the bishop's hospitality. There, overwhelmed by the weight of sin and the reality of it in his heart, he almost can't help himself. In the middle of the night, he ransacks the bishop's house, steals the silver, and runs away.

In the very next scene, the police bring Valjean in and drag him before the bishop. They say, "We caught him red-handed. Here's the silver that he took. He had the nerve to say that you gave it to him." The bishop, turning to look at Valjean, who is chained there, responds, "That's right. But my friend, you left so early. Surely something slipped your mind. You forgot I gave you these also. Would you leave the best behind?" He takes two silver candle holders and puts them into Valjean's bag, telling the constable to let him go. "You've done your duty, but let him go."

Once again, the bishop turns to Valjean and says, "But remember this, my brother, see in this some higher plan. You must use this precious silver to become an honest man. By the witness of the martyrs, by the passion and the blood, God has raised you out of darkness. I have bought your soul for God." Immediately following that, we see Valjean before the altar, kneeling and confessing in contrition to God because he has just experienced the blessedness of forgiveness.

Would you open with me to the Psalms, right about the middle of your Bible, to Psalm 32 this morning? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Psalm 32, we're going to stand as we read from the Scriptures this morning.

As we always do, let us turn to Psalm 32, beginning at verse 1. This is called a maskill or a contemplation of David, King David. He writes in verse 1, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit."

When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgression to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

For this cause, everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely in a flood of great waters, they shall not come near him. You are my hiding place; you shall preserve me from trouble. You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

I will instruct and teach you in the way that you should go. I will guide you with my eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding and must be harnessed with a bit and a bridle; else they will not come near you. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Father, I pray that we would shout for joy because of how great and good you are in your forgiveness. I pray that all of us here today would know experientially, not just intellectually or theologically, but that we would know experientially the reality of the blessedness of being freed from the burden of sin, of being forgiven and pardoned. God, thank you for your great grace. I pray that we would taste and see that you are good, that we would taste more of the wonder of your grace today as we consider your word.

Make us more like You. Transform us by the renewing of our minds so that we would be able to show in our lives Your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Blessed is the man. This is now the second time in our study of the Psalms together that we have what I referred to several weeks ago as the algorithm or an algorithm of blessing. The first time that we saw it together was back in Psalm 1, where David said, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he does meditate day and night."

These equations of blessings are called, in Bible speak, beatitudes. If you've ever heard that word before, you probably heard it in reference to Jesus' teaching in what is commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. It's recorded primarily in Matthew chapter 5 in the New Testament. His teaching begins with the first opening words being blessings spoken, beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness."

A beatitude is a condition for blessing. It's an equation unto blessing. That word "blessed" could also be translated as "happy." This is an equation unto happiness, which is important because we live in a nation in which our founding documents actually call for the pursuit of happiness. In our Declaration of Independence, if there's anything that you remember, it's probably that we've been endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But it's not just in this nation where our founding documents proclaim the pursuit of happiness; it's among every people group throughout the world. Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, wrote, "All men seek happiness." So, I assume that all of you seated here today, in some way, shape, or form, are pursuers, seekers of happiness. If you're a seeker of happiness, then you and I need to take careful note of the times in the Bible where we read these algorithms for blessing.

Blessed is the fill in the blank. All those things that are said after "blessed" are the things that produce happiness. The product is happiness and blessedness.

In Psalm 1, David said, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly." We studied that several weeks ago. In Psalm 2, verse 12, David says, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." In Psalm 34, verse 8, again, David says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in Him." Hammering home this point, he says it a third time in Psalm 40, verse 4: "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust." Do you think he's trying to hammer something home and make it clear? If you want to be happy and blessed today, he is very clearly saying, "Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord."

Psalm 128, verse 1 states, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways." Here we have another equation for blessing, a beatitude. Psalm 32, verse 1 says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven." Another way of saying it is, "Oh, how happy is the person who's been pardoned." The Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, once wrote, "Pardoning mercy is of all things in the world most to be prized, for it is the only and sure way to happiness."

Point number one on your outline in your bulletin is that there is no lasting happiness without forgiveness. It is true that you can experience moments of pleasure that bring the feeling of happiness, but all such things are fleeting. You can talk with people who have experienced the highest highs available—those who have won championships, received great promotions, made significant amounts of money on big deals, or even won the lottery. When you ask them about their joy and happiness, it goes away very quickly. It is here one second and gone the next. Many of you here today have experienced the fleeting nature of the pleasures of this world. In the book of Hebrews, we read of them as the passing pleasures of sin. Yes, there are passing pleasures of sin, but they are passing.

There is no lasting happiness without forgiveness. That word "forgiveness" means to lift up, to take up, and to carry away.

To lift, to take away, and to carry off. So happy is the one whose transgression has been lifted up and carried off, never to be remembered again. The picture is very clear. Transgression and sin are like a burden, a heavy burden to carry. Who has experienced today the heavy burden of sin? Anybody? All of us. All of us have experienced the heavy burden of sin in some way, shape, or form.

David says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity or does not render to his account his iniquity." David mentions here what I refer to as the trinity of wickedness: iniquity, transgression, and sin. He talks about it again in verse 5: "I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."

Clearly, these words are not used casually. There must be a reason that David would specifically choose the words that he chose here. Basically, all three of these words communicate the general idea of something that is against God's nature and against His character. All of these words point to things that we would classify as sinful.

However, there is a specific difference in the words iniquity, transgression, and sin. It would be like saying a twin engine, a turboprop, a biplane. They're all airplanes, but there are differences, aren't there? Iniquity, transgression, and sin all point to the same idea, generally speaking, but in specificity, there are differences.

So, what is sin? Well, simply put, sin is missing the mark. It is a word that came originally from an ancient Latin word that meant to be guilty. It is a term that was used in medieval times associated with an archery game. When they would shoot at a target, if you missed the mark of the target, you were a sinner; you had missed the mark.

Sin is a term that can be applied to things we would refer to as a trespass—unintentional acts that go against something contrary to God's nature and to His law. His law is just an expression of His nature. So, you can unintentionally sin, as if you were hiking out in the hills around here in North County.

There are lots of hiking trails. You come around the corner, and there's a guy standing there. He's got a gun on his side, and he says, "You're on private property. You need to get out of here." You respond, "I didn't know. I'm sorry. I've trespassed. It was unintentional." He replies, "That's fine, but you need to leave."

Sin can speak of any action, thought, or word that is contrary to the nature and character of God and to His law. It is described by the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 3 when he said, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We have all missed the mark of God's glorious perfection. We've all failed.

Here, David speaks of sin, which can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional sin is referred to as transgression. Transgression is different from a mere trespass in that it is willful. It is when you have seen the sign that says, "This is private property. Do not cross," and you say, "Well, forget them. I'm going to do what I want." You willfully move into this area. This is what David classifies in Psalm 19, verse 13, as presumptuous sin.

Charles Spurgeon, speaking on the Lord's Day, Sunday, June 7th, 1857, said, "All sins are great sins, but yet some sins are greater than others." Every sin contains the very venom of rebellion and is full of the essential marrow of treacherous rejection of God. However, some sins have a greater development of the essential mischief of rebellion and display more of the brazen pride that defies the Most High. He had a way with words. He noted that there are some transgressions that have a deeper shade of blackness, a more double scarlet-dyed hue of criminality than others. Such are presumptuous transgressions, where you know the line and intentionally cross it.

We have sin that can be unintentional, which is missing the mark; transgression, which is an intentional trespass; and thirdly, what David refers to as iniquity. Iniquity is even deeper than the others because not only have you trespassed and transgressed, but now, after doing so, you have premeditated to continue in unrepentance. It is the decision one makes after crossing the line, especially when it has been pointed out that they have crossed it.

They did it unintentionally or they did it intentionally, and they say, "I'm not leaving. I refuse to repent." That is iniquity. Here, David says, "Blessed is the man whose transgression has been forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity."

It makes you wonder: how is it possible that the sweet psalmist of Israel, the author of some 75 psalms in the Scriptures, the man after God's own heart, the man called and anointed specifically by God to be king, the man through whom God would promise that the Messiah would come, could have any understanding, experientially, of what it means to be released from the burden of iniquity, a premeditated, willful standing in unrepentant sin? How is it possible that David could ever have experienced such a thing? This man who meditated day and night upon the Scriptures—would he ever have premeditated to continue in sin?

Several weeks ago, Pastor Mark taught out of 2 Samuel chapter 11 and recounted a story that many people know well. Even those who don't know the Bible know the story well. David wasn't where he should be. He knew where to be. He knew when she would come out on her rooftop patio. He knew that she would be there at a certain time and that she would bathe. He knew who she was; he had inquired about her. He knew that she was married, and he knew that she was married to one of his top generals.

He knew, as he called for her while her husband was away fighting one of his battles, that he was doing wickedly. He knew, as he took her into his arms, that he was committing adultery. He knew when she disclosed to him later that she was pregnant that this sin would be known unless—well, he knew he had to cover it up. So, he called to the front lines and had her husband Uriah sent back, trying to entice him to go home to spend the night with his wife.

But he knew that this man had too much integrity to do that. Therefore, he realized he had to continue to cover it up. The only way he could do this was by premeditating and devising a plan to have him killed. He knew he was committing murder, although through a proxy; he put out a hit. He thought that he had covered it up and that was all she wrote. He ended up trying to look like the champion. This poor pregnant widow had no one to take care of her, so he thought, "I'll bring her into my house and take care of her." Oh, what a wonderful king! He believed it was the perfect cover-up.

Yet, 2 Samuel chapter 11, the very last verse, the very last word of the chapter, says, "But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." That, I believe, is a significant understatement. The thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

Point number two on your outline: God sees and knows all sin. The cover-up may have worked in David's kingdom, but sin cannot be concealed from God. When there is a cover-up, when there is a hiding of sin, when there is iniquity, and when you premeditate not to confess it and hold on to it instead of making it right with God, it has an effect. Though you may think nobody knows, God knows. You know, and the fact is, the discerning know also.

In Psalm 32, verse 3, David writes, "There is no lasting happiness without forgiveness." Although David may have hidden his sin from men, it was known to God. As he hid it and kept it silent, he maintained that silence for a long time.

He covered it up for nearly a year. During that entire time, he kept it hidden from those in his kingdom. Nobody knew about it as he was trying to look like the prince, trying to look like the champion. He knew, and God knew, and he knew that God knew. There were others, discerning members of his household and cabinet, who also knew.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. The New Living Translation renders that my body wasted away. The anxiety of a guilt-ridden conscience manifests itself physically. Everybody knows this. In fact, even doctors have written about this in scientific journals. The anxiety of a guilt-ridden conscience manifests itself in physical problems. There is not a day that goes by where doctors do not see people who come in with gastrointestinal problems, migraines, tingles, and all kinds of issues in their lives. They try to take care of these problems. They give them something for their gastrointestinal tract, something for the migraines, something for the heart palpitations, or whatever it may be. But there is a guilty conscience, and you can't fix that with aspirin. Amen. You can't.

And why is there that weight? Why is the body wasting away? Notice what David says in those verses. In verse 4, he writes, "For day and night your hand was heavy upon me." Point number 3 on your outline: God's mercy will not allow you to live easily without repentance. Day and night, God’s hand was heavy upon me, so that my vitality was turned to the drought of summer.

What does it mean that my vitality was turned to the drought of summer? For a review, if you would turn back with me to Psalm 1, the very first Psalm that we looked at several weeks ago. Psalm 1, verse 1 states, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he does meditate day and night." The result? He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in its season.

Whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. The author of Psalm 1, who knew the blessedness of being planted by rivers of living water as one who was righteous and who meditated in God's law day and night, had somehow, through sin, transgression, and iniquity, been uprooted from his place of blessing. He had been planted in a dry and weary land where there is no water. The hot wind of summer caused him to wither and be dry.

David, in Psalm 32, expresses this struggle when he says, "My vitality was turned to the drought of summer." He was withering; he was no longer the righteous tree planted by sustaining rivers of water. Instead, he was drought-ridden and battered by hot winds because he had moved from the place of blessing to the place of the curse. Notice how David finishes those words in Psalm 32, verses 3 and 4, with that small word at the end of the verse: "selah." Selah is seen throughout the Psalms, and it is simply a meditative pause. Essentially, David is saying, "Listen, this is a song. You're singing this song." At the end of this, he says, "Think about it. Think about it."

How casually we can come before God and sing songs! We can sing things like, "My heart's one desire is to be holy, set apart to you, God." I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but I have. Those words come out of my mouth, and I think to myself, "I don't mean that. Is that really my heart's one desire? To be holy, set apart to God alone? Is that it?" A.W. Tozer, a great Bible teacher of the 20th century, once said, "Christians don't tell lies; they only sing them in church." How casually we can sing something without thinking about it.

"Take my life," we say. "All of it, Lord. I give all to you." Is that true? Is it really true?

And so David throws this meditative pause out, and he says, "Listen, as I was keeping my sins silent, my body wasted away, and I was dry, and I was withering." Think about it. Why does he say that? Because he wants you to ask the question. He wants me to ask the question: What am I experiencing today? Is it being planted by the rivers of living water, bringing forth fruit in season and not withering? Or is it a dry place where I feel that God is distant and far from me?

Listen, if you're in the dry and weary land where there is no water, you have to ask the question: Am I there because of sin? Because Isaiah, 2,800 years ago, in Isaiah 59, I believe it is, speaks for God to the nation of Israel. He says, "My hand is not shortened that I cannot reach out to you. My ear is not closed to you, but your sin has separated you from me."

If today, as you meditatively pause and think about David's experience under the guilt-ridden conscience of unconfessed, unrepentant iniquity, you say, "That unfortunately is my experience," you have to ask, "Is it possible, God, is there anything in my heart that is keeping me from you?" You have to honestly come before God in that way and say that.

If the answer is, "Yes, there's some burdensome weight of sin," then what? Well, look at verse 5 of Psalm 32: "I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin." What's that last word? Think about it. Don't just casually pass over it and say, "Oh, those are such poetic, wonderful words," or, "Oh, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel." No, he is writing of a personal experience.

This is a corollary passage, Psalm 32, with Psalm 51, which is his repentance. Here in verse 5, David presents a powerful statement. He wants you and me to pause and meditate upon this. There are two very important points, and they are points number 4 and 5 on your outline.

Point 4: Confession is the key.

And repentance is the doorway to forgiveness. Would you notice in that verse that it is not religious activity or religious observance? I guarantee you that during the time when David was willfully unrepentant, walking in iniquity, he still went up to the temple. I guarantee you he still offered burnt offerings, peace offerings, and thank offerings. I guarantee there wasn't a moment during his time of groaning that he didn't, in his mind, say, "God, I'm sorry, please forgive me." He was acknowledging his sin privately, but there was no joy of salvation. There was just dry rot. There was no vitality. There was no life.

Confession is the key, and repentance is the doorway to forgiveness. Point number five on your outline, also from verse five, is that true forgiveness can only be given by God. David said, "I acknowledge my sin, my iniquity, I have opened unto you. I have not hidden it. I will confess." This is a verbal acknowledgment of my transgressions to the Lord. With synonymous parallelism, a device of Hebrew poetry, David emphatically proclaims in that one verse that open acknowledgment and verbal confession of iniquity, transgression, and sin are essential.

Why? Well, number one, we need to confess it to God because it is against Him that we have sinned. In Psalm 51, verse 4, David's repentance after his sin with Bathsheba, which was uncovered by Nathan the prophet, states, "Against you and you only have I sinned and done this wickedness."

Now, obviously, we could say, "Wait a minute, David. You sinned against Bathsheba, you sinned against Uriah, you sinned against your position as king, and you sinned against the nation of Israel." Yes, that's all true. This does not diminish the sinfulness of the actions he undertook when he committed adultery and broke the commandments. He coveted his neighbor's wife, and the commandments state: "Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not murder. Honor thy father and mother."

Do you think he did that when he was having this little bout of sin? Did he have no gods before the Lord? Did he honor the Lord on the Sabbath? No, he broke every one of the Ten Commandments, and if he was not king, he would have been put to death.

In fact, when Nathan the prophet comes in and shares a story, it shows great wisdom on Nathan's part. He says, "There's a man in your kingdom. He has all kinds of fortune and everything, and he has a neighbor who's very poor. His neighbor only has one ewe lamb. That's all. The only possession he has; it's like a family member in his household." The rich man had guests over to his house, and he went next door, stole this one ewe lamb, butchered it, and gave it to his guests as food. David said, "That man shall die." And that was for a lamb. Nathan then said, "You are the man. You are the man."

Every time I've imagined that scenario, I picture it taking place privately because of who David was and who Nathan was, and the position between the two of them. When that happened, David had a choice. He had already shown that he would kill to cover up his sin. He could have said, "You're done, Nathan. How dare you speak to me like that? You wicked, wicked servant." He could have. Yet, when confronted with the reality of his sinfulness, he said, "Against you and you only have I sinned and done this wickedness in your sight, Lord." Only God can forgive sin.

In Psalm 34, verse 7, God is revealing something of His nature to Moses. There, God says, "I am the one who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin."

In Luke chapter 5, there is a great story in the New Testament. Jesus is teaching in a packed room, and there are four men who bring someone to Jesus who is paralyzed. They can't get in because there are so many people, so they devise a plan: let's open up the roof and lower him down. Have you ever had a distraction? That's one.

They lower this guy down, and Jesus looks at the paralyzed man and says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." There are Pharisees in the room who think, "Oh, how dare this guy!" in their minds. "What a blasphemer! Only God can forgive sins." Jesus then says to the crowd gathered there, "Which do you suppose is easier to say? Son, your sins are forgiven?"

Or rise, take up your bed and walk. But that you might know that the Son of Man has power and authority on earth to forgive sin. "Son, rise, take up your bed and walk." He gets up and walks out. Only God in Christ Jesus can forgive and pardon sinners. Only God in Christ Jesus can cover and clear away their sin. Instead of imputing sin to their account, He imputes righteousness to their account. This is exactly what Paul talks about in Romans chapter four. He actually uses Psalm 32 and discusses Abraham, who was imputed righteousness instead of his sin. Oh, the happiness of not having sin on your and my account! Because God in Christ Jesus forgives and pardons sinners.

David acknowledged, exposed, and confessed openly his sin. Sadly, there was great callousness that surrounded the heart of David, which made it take a long time for him to get to this point and to publicly do it. But when he did so, he did it very publicly. Would you turn in your Bibles to Psalm 51? Psalm 51. As I referenced earlier, this is a corollary; this is a connected passage to Psalm 32. They were written at the same time under the same circumstances.

Notice the heading of Psalm 51 before you even get into the verses. The heading says this: "To the chief musician. A psalm or song of David. When Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba." If this is not public and open confession of sin, I don't know what is. I'm going to write a song. I'm going to send it down to the chief musician of the Levites at the temple and say, "Here you go. This is when I sinned with Bathsheba."

And what did he say? "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me. Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight, that You may be found just when You speak and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, You will make me to know wisdom."

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones that you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me by your generous spirit.

Confession is the key, and repentance is the doorway to forgiveness. At the end of verse five, David says, "Selah," which means to think about it. He then moves into verses six and seven. For this cause, everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely, in a flood of great waters, they shall not come near him. You, God, are my hiding place. You shall preserve me from trouble. You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

At the end of verse five, David proclaimed, "I confess to you, and you forgave me." You lifted the burden off my back. In another passage in the Psalms, he says, "You cast it as far as the east is from the west, never to be remembered." How is it possible that the omniscient God can no longer remember our sin? He has made a choice to no longer account it to us.

The New Living Translation renders verse six in this way: "Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there's still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment." There is only one way to not drown in the floodwaters of judgment: to call out to the Lord and experience his pardoning forgiveness.

In verse seven, the New International Version states, "You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Now we come to Psalm 32, verse eight. In verses eight and nine, the point of view and language change. It is no longer David speaking to God or to the congregation; now it is God speaking to David.

God says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. I will guide you with my eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding and must be harnessed with a bit and a bridle; else they will not come near you."

God says, "I'm going to instruct you. I'm going to lead you in the way that you should go." We already saw previously, as we've been going through the Psalms, back in Psalm 23, that God leads us in the paths of righteousness for His namesake.

How does God lead us in the paths of righteousness? Again, in a Psalm of David, Psalm 119, verse 105, we read, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." In Psalm 119, verse 133, it says, "Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me."

How does God direct you and me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake? Through His word. He says, "This is the way. Walk ye in it." This principle is not just found in the Old Testament; it is present in the New Testament as well. In 2 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, Paul says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped for every good work, to walk in the path of righteousness."

And so He says, "Walk in the path." How? God will instruct you. Be open to His instruction and don't be like the stubborn mule. Unfortunately, David, for many months, was like a stubborn mule who refused to experience God's forgiveness and grace because he was walking in unrepentant wickedness.

Point number six on the back of your outline is: Don't let stubborn pride keep you from repentance, confession, and forgiveness. Instead, Psalm 32, verse 11, encourages us: "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright of heart."

How can you be glad and happy? How can you rejoice in expression of joy? How can you be accounted as righteous and upright in heart? Blessed is the man...

Whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, the one to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. That blessing is available to any and all who call upon the Lord. Amen?

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? God, I thank you that in Christ, in your Son, there is pardon, that there is forgiveness. Jesus, you who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be your righteousness, that we might be clothed in your righteousness, covered by it, so that our sinfulness is remembered no more. Because when you look at us in Christ, all you see is his righteousness, Father.

We thank you for your forgiving grace that is not accounted to us by our religious observance or activity, but by our faith, confession, and repentance. We are told, God, that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Father, thank you for your cleansing grace.

As we stand here today, you may be in a place where you've been experiencing not the rivers of living water, but the dry wind, the heat of iniquity. God is calling to you to turn to him. That's what repentance is: to turn away from your iniquity and to turn to him. To confess your sin to him, and he will remove it and carry it away because of what Jesus did on the cross.

If that's you today and you want to experience that forgiving grace of God, as we're in an attitude of prayer, would you just lift your hand up high wherever you are? God bless you. I see you. Anyone else? God bless you. God bless you in the back. Anyone else? I see you back in the corner there.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans that whoever shall confess with the mouth and believe in the heart that Christ raised from the dead shall be saved. If you want to do that now, you can just simply...

Pray out loud where you're at with me.

Dear Lord, I recognize and acknowledge my sin. It is against You that I've sinned, against Your perfect nature. I pray that You would pardon me, not because of my works, but because of the work that Jesus did on the cross.

Jesus, come into my life. Cleanse me of sin and help me to turn and follow You by faith. In Jesus' name, Amen.