Songs of Summer 4 | Blessed Forgiveness

These are the buzz, kissable dandelion fuzz. I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer.

In Romans chapter 4, the Apostle Paul writes of the blessedness of being forgiven by God. When he does, he references David's words in Psalm 32. Open your Bible with us to Psalm 32 and follow along as we consider what it means to be happy and forgiving.

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 hospitality of the bishop and the overwhelming weight of sin in his heart, Valjean almost can't help himself. In the middle of the night, he goes and 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, says, "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. He tells the constable to let him go, saying, "You've done your duty, but let him go."

Once again, he 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, you have the scene of Valjean before the altar, kneeling.

Confessing in contrition to God because he had just experienced the blessedness of forgiveness, would you open with me to the Psalms? Turn to 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. Psalm 32, beginning at verse 1. This is called a Maskil, or a contemplation of David, King David.

A contemplation as he writes: "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 acknowledged 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. 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 and your forgiveness. I pray that...

All of us here today would know experientially, not just intellectually or theologically, the reality of the blessedness of being freed from the burden of sin, 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 experience 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 of blessing. The first time 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: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the meek; blessed are the merciful; blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness." He continues through these blessings.

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. If there's anything that you remember from the Declaration of Independence, it's...

Probably, we've been endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, it's not just in this nation that our founding documents proclaim the pursuit of happiness; it exists among every people group throughout the world. Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, wrote that all men seek happiness. I assume that all of you seated here today, in some way, shape, or form, are pursuers and 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 to trust in the Lord.

In Psalm 128, verse 1, it states, "Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways." Here we have another equation for blessing. In Psalm 32, verse 1, it 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 or achieved great success.

The greatest promotion, a big amount of money from a significant deal, or winning the lottery may bring temporary joy and happiness. However, if you ask those who have experienced these moments about their lasting joy, it often fades 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 just that—passing. There is no lasting happiness without forgiveness.

Now, that word "forgiveness" means to lift up, to take up, and to carry away. 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 heavy burden to carry. Who among us has experienced the heavy burden of sin? Anyone? All of us have experienced this burden 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 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 specifically chose the words he did.

Basically, all three of these words communicate the general idea of something that is against God's nature and character. They point to things that we would classify as sinful. However, there is a specific difference among iniquity, transgression, and sin. It would be like saying a twin-engine turboprop and a biplane are both 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 distinctions.

So, what is sin? Simply put, sin is missing...

The term "sin" refers to missing the mark. It originates from an ancient Latin word that meant to be guilty. Historically, it was used in medieval times in association with an archery game. When archers shot at a target, if they missed the mark, they were considered sinners; they had missed the target. This term can also be applied to actions we might refer to as a trespass—an unintentional transgression against something contrary to God's nature and His law. His laws are simply an expression of His nature.

You can unintentionally sin. For example, if you are hiking in the hills around North County, where there are many trails, you might come around a corner and encounter someone who says, "You're on private property; you need to get out of here." If you respond, "I didn't know," you have trespassed unintentionally. While that is understandable, you still need to leave.

Sin encompasses any action, thought, or word that is contrary to the nature and character of God and His law. The Apostle Paul describes this in Romans chapter 3 when he states, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." We have all missed the mark of God's glorious perfection; we have all failed.

David speaks of sin, which can be either intentional or unintentional. Intentional sin is referred to as transgression. Transgression differs from mere trespass in that it is willful. It occurs when you see a sign that says, "This is private property; do not cross," and you choose to ignore it, saying, "Forget them; I'm going to do what I want." This willful act is what David classifies in Psalm 19, verse 13, as presumptuous sin.

Charles Spurgeon, speaking on the Lord's Day, Sunday, June seventh, 1857, said, "All sins are great sins, but yet some sins are greater than others." Every sin contains the venom of rebellion and is full of the essential marrow of treacherous rejection of God. However, some sins exhibit a greater development of the essential mischief of rebellion and display more of the brazen pride that defies God.

Most High, He had a way with words. He says there are some transgressions which 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 the missing of the mark. Transgression is an intentional trespass. Thirdly, we have what David refers to as iniquity. Iniquity is still deeper than the others because not only have you trespassed, not only have you transgressed, but now, after doing so, you have premeditated to continue in unrepentant sin. It is the decision that one makes after they have crossed the line, and it has been pointed out that they crossed the line either unintentionally or intentionally. 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 it is 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 experiential understanding 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 Second Samuel chapter 11 and recounted a story that many people know well. Even those who don't know the Bible know the story well. He wasn't where he should be; he knew where to be.

When she would come out on her rooftop patio, he knew that she would be there at a certain time, and 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. As he called for her, while her husband was away fighting one of his battles, he knew he was doing wickedly. He knew that as he took her into his arms, he was committing adultery.

When she later disclosed to him that she was pregnant, he realized that this sin would be known unless he covered it up. He knew he had to act quickly. He called to the front lines and had her husband, Uriah, sent back. He tried to entice Uriah to go home and spend the night with his wife, but he knew that this man had too much integrity to do that. Therefore, he had to continue to cover it up.

The only way he could think to do this was to premeditate and devise a plan to have Uriah killed. He knew he was committing murder, albeit through a proxy. He put out a hit, thinking he had covered it up. He tried to present himself as the champion, taking in this poor pregnant widow, claiming he would take care of her. Oh, what a wonderful king he thought he was! It seemed like the perfect cover-up.

Yet, in 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." I believe this 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...

Sin can be a hiding place for iniquity, especially when one premeditates not to confess it and holds on to it instead of making things right with God. This has a profound effect. Though you may think nobody knows, God knows, and you know. The discerning also know.

In Psalm 32, verse 3, David writes, "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 to the drought of summer." Selah. There is no lasting happiness without forgiveness. Although David may have hidden his sin from men, it was known to God. He kept it silent for a long time—nearly a year or more. During that entire time, he hid it from those in his kingdom. Nobody knew about it as he tried to present himself as the prince, as the champion. Yet, he knew, and God knew, and he was aware that God knew. There were also discerning members of his household and cabinet who knew.

David's words reflect the physical toll of a guilty conscience. The New Living Translation renders his lament as, "My body wasted away." The anxiety of a guilt-ridden conscience manifests itself physically. This is a well-known fact; even doctors have written about it in scientific journals. The anxiety stemming from a guilty conscience can lead to various physical problems.

There is not a day that goes by without doctors seeing patients who come in with gastrointestinal issues, migraines, tingling sensations, and other ailments. They try to address these issues by providing treatments for the GI tract, migraines, heart palpitations, or whatever it may be. However, a guilty conscience cannot be fixed with aspirin.

Why does the body waste away? Notice what David says in those verses: "For day and night, Your hand was heavy upon me."

Point number three on your outline: God's mercy will not allow you to live easily without repentance. Day and night, Your hand, God, 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, presents the previous equation of blessing. There we read, "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 meditates 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 is righteous and meditates 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, and the hot wind of summer caused him to wither and be dry.

The ungodly are not so; they are like the chaff which the wind blows away. David, in Psalm 32, says, "My vitality was turned to the drought of summer." David was withering. He was no longer the righteous tree planted by sustaining rivers of water; he was now 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 little word at the end of the verse: Selah. Selah is seen.

Throughout the psalm, there is a meditative pause. Essentially, what it means is that David is saying, "Listen, this is a song you're singing." At the end of this, he says, "Think about it."

Consider how casually we can come before God and sing songs. We 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? 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.

When we sing, "Take my life," we say, "All of it, Lord, I give all to You." Is that true? Is it really true? David throws out this meditative pause and says, "Listen, as I was keeping my sins silent, my body wasted away. 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? Am I 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?

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? Isaiah, 800 years ago, spoke through God to the nation of Israel. He said, "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."

So, if today, as you meditatively pause and think about David's experience under the guilt-ridden conscience of unconfessed, unrepentant iniquity, you find that you are dry and withering away, you have to ask yourself: Is it possible that God is there? Is there anything in my heart that is...

Keeping me from You, I have to honestly come before God in that way and say that. If the answer is yes, there is some burden, some weight of sin, then what? Well, look at verse 5, Psalm 32:5. "I acknowledged 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," and "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.

In verse 5, a powerful verse, David says to think about it. He wants you and me to pause and meditate upon it. There are two very important points, points number four and five on your outline.

Point four: 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 that space of 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, and all those sorts of things. 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 is acknowledging his sin privately, but there is no joy of salvation. There is just dry rot; there is no vitality, there is no life. Confession is the key, and repentance is the doorway to forgiveness.

Point number five on your outline, also from verse 5: true forgiveness can only be given by God. David said, "I acknowledged my sin, my iniquity I have..."

Opened unto you, I have not hidden it. I will confess and verbally acknowledge 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 expresses his repentance after his sin with Bathsheba, which was uncovered by Nathan the Prophet. He says, "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, and you sinned against your position as king. You sinned against the nation of Israel; you sinned against all kinds of different individuals." Yes, that's all true, and I do not wish to diminish the sinfulness of the activity he endeavored in when he committed adultery. He broke the commandments of the Ten Commandments when he coveted his neighbor's wife.

"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 honored these commandments when he was engaged in this 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. If he had not been king, he would have been put to death.

In fact, when Nathan the Prophet comes in and shares with him a story, it shows great wisdom on Nathan's part. He says, "There is a man in your kingdom. He has all kinds of fortune and everything, and he has a neighbor who is very poor. His neighbor only has one ewe lamb; that is the only possession he has. It is 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!" That was for a lamb. Then Nathan said, "You are the man! You are the man!"

Every time I have imagined that scenario, I picture it taking place privately, considering who David was and who Nathan was in their respective positions. When that confrontation happened, David had a choice. He had already shown that he would kill to cover up his sin.

Have you said you're done, Nathan? How dare you speak to me like that, you wicked, wicked servant! He could have, and yet when it came to the reality of his sinfulness, he said, "Against you and you only have I sinned and done this wickedness in your sight."

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 some guys 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!

So 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 go, "Oh, how dare this guy! In their minds, what a blasphemer! Only God can forgive sins."

Jesus then says to the crowd that is 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, I say to you, '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, and instead of imputing sin to their account, He imputes righteousness to their account. This is exactly what Paul talks about in Romans chapter 4. 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, and it took him a long time to get to this point to publicly do it. But when he did, he did it very publicly.

Would you turn in your Bibles to Psalm...?

Psalm 51, as I referenced earlier, is a corollary and 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, "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 a public and open confession of sin, I don't know what is.

David writes a song and sends it down to the chief musician of the Levites at the temple, saying, "Here you go, this is when I sinned with Bathsheba." What does he say? "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness; 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 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, and 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, and uphold me by Your generous spirit.

Confession is the key, and repentance is the doorway to forgiveness. What is David's application at the end of verse 5? Again, he says, "Selah," which means to think about it. Now he moves into verses 6 and 7. Look at this: "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."

At the end of verse 5, 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 6 in this way: "Therefore let all the godly pray to you while there's still time, that they may not drown in the flood waters of judgment." There is only one way to not drown in the flood waters of judgment: to call out to the Lord and experience His pardoning forgiveness.

In verse 7, 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, verses 8 and 9. 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.

Psalm 32, verse 8, 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 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 have already seen previously, as we've been going through the Psalms, that back in Psalm 23, God leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 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 name's sake? Through His word. He says, "This is the way; walk in it."

This principle is not just found in the Old Testament; it is present in the New Testament as well. In Second Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, Paul states, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is useful."

Useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped for every good work. To walk in the paths of righteousness, 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. So, point number six on the back of your outline: don't let stubborn pride keep you from repentance, confession, and forgiveness. Instead, Psalm 32, verse 11, says, "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart."

How can you be glad? How can you rejoice? An expression of joy comes from being accounted as righteous and upright in heart. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, the one of 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 and 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. When You look at us in Christ, all You see is His righteousness. Father, we thank You for Your forgiving grace.

Grace is not accounted to us by our religious observance or activity, but by our faith, confession, and repentance. We are told that if we confess our sins, God is 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 and the heat of iniquity. God is calling to you to turn to Him. That is what repentance is: to turn away from your iniquity and to turn to Him. Confess your sin to Him, and He will remove it and carry it away because of what Jesus did on the cross.