Psalm 21:1-2 - March 30, 2009

Ps 32:1-2 "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." NIV

Forgiven, covered and pure in heart, these are the makings of a joyful life. I John makes it very clear that all men have sinned. Every person is living under the consequences of the sin nature at work in our inner most being. The good news of Psalm 32 is that there is relief from the impact of sin upon our emotions. Have you ever felt the internal pressure that comes from knowing that your conscience is not clean? Have you ever struggled with the double mindedness that comes when you are not being fully honest with yourself or others? David understands this reality. He has felt the peace of a pure heart and the pain of a heart that is standing on questionable ground and he is testifying to the joy of being forgiven. ”Blessed (happy) is the man whose transgression has been forgiven him.”
When we have confessed our sins to the Lord and experienced the comfort that comes from a clean conscience then something is released inside of us.
The nature of conviction is like a stream with a dam in it or a body with too much caffeine. The inner man was designed to function from a place of internal peace that enjoyed unhindered intimacy with God. When the conscience became violated through the sin nature entering the human race man is now subject to guilt. Immediately upon sinning Adam and Eve were driven from their confident relationship with God into a place of shame and hiding. They could no longer stand before God without feeling the internal pressure of their own actions like a fire shut up inside. God had not spoken a word to them and yet their own conviction drove them to make fig leave coverings and to hide from God’s presence. David has felt the sting of sin’s impact upon his heart and he is calling to those who will listen, pointing the way back to peace. “Let your sins be forgiven. Get right with God, face what you have done!” It is a call to return to the shelter of the love of God. Peter echoes the power of love in 1 Peter 4:8-9 when he writes “love covers over a multitude of sins.” There is a love from God so deep that He provided his own Son as a sacrifice so that the impact of our sins could be lifted off of our hearts. We were never created to carry that weight and when sin is present, pressing against the human heart it bends us like a tired laborer carrying more bricks than his back can bear.
When our hearts are not burdened with the power of conviction our steps are lightened and our emotions renewed. David understands this like so few people. Not only has David understood the internal weight of a wounded conscience, he knows the power of self-deception. David has lived under the impact of his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. For many months he knew the pressure of trying to cover up the evidence of his sin. He lived for many months under the Lord’s conviction, all the while scheming to cover his sins. He created a series of deceptions to try to outrun the consequences of his adultery and murder and yet God still exposed him in due time. For a season David lived with a spirit that was not facing his actions, denial, deception and abuse of power were swirling around him constantly until finally he broke under the confrontation of the prophetic word. In due time David was restored but only after facing his sin not just in his actions but in his heart. David now knows both the oppression of a heart under discipline of God, and the joy of being restored to a right standing. There is freedom in facing your sin in the presence of God and with that freedom comes fullness of joy.