THE VALUE OF GODíS FORGIVENESS

 

 

Psalm 32:1-11

 

Prayer

 

Let me set the stage.

King David was walking on the roof of his palace (II Sam. 11:2).

 

 

He paused to look down on the city below.

He saw a woman taking a bath on the roof of her house.

 

 

She shouldíve had on clothes.

She shouldíve bathed inside the house.

 

 

At the risk of sounding like a sexist, adultery sometimes happens when         

women arenít as modest as they should be.

The other side of this is that this womanís indiscretion didnít absolve David.

 

 

He didnít have to commit adultery.

But he sent messengers to find out who this woman was.

 

 

Her name was Bathsheba.

She was married.

 

 

Her husband was out on the battlefield.

David invited her to the palace.

 

 

He got her pregnant.

It was a sin he decided to cover it up.

 

Bathsheba was married to a man named Uriah.

David sent for him.

 

 

He told Uriah to go home;

And spend the night with his wife.

 

 

He wanted Uriah to sleep with his wife so he would think that he was the       

father of Bathshebaís baby.

But Uriah DIDNíT go home.

 

 

David found out about it.

He sent for Uriah a second time.

 

 

He got him drunk;

Told him to go home a second time.

 

 

But Uriah STILL didnít go home.

So David arranged to have him killed on the battlefield.

 

 

He married Bathsheba.

And acted like nothing ever happened.

 

 

But God didnít let him get away with it.

Davidís conscience bothered him.

 

 

He was tormented;

And ashamed.

 

 

Edgar Allan Poe wrote a story called, ìThe Tell-Tale Heart.î

The main character killed a man.

He buried the manís body in his basement.

One night, the killer heard a heartbeat.

 

 

Beat, beat, beat (on chest).

It was his own heart.

 

 

But he thought it was his victimís heart.

His conscience was bothering him.

 

 

He went to bed.

He couldnít sleep.

 

 

He heard it.

Beat, beat, beat (on chest).

 

 

He was afraid.

He broke out in a cold sweat.

 

 

He lost his mind.

Thatís what King David was going through.

 

 

His conscience bothered him.

Approximately one year passed.

 

 

And the prophet Nathan showed up.

He confronted David with his sin.

 

 

David quickly confessed.

He asked God to forgive him.

 

And God did.

This brings us to the first two verses of todayís text.

 

 

ìBlessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is coveredî

(Psa. 32:1).

ìBlessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in        

whose spirit there is no guileî (Psa. 32:2).

 

 

The word ìblessedî means ìhappy.î

Here are four things that will make you happy.

 

 

To have:

          Your transgression forgiven,

          Your sin covered,

          Your iniquity not imputed to you,

          Your spirit free of guile.

 

 

1st---It will make you happy to have your transgression forgiven.

The word ìtransgressionî is a strong word.

 

 

It means your ìdefiant disobedience.î

Or your ìdeliberate rebellionî against God.

 

 

Thatís what David did when he committed adultery.

He knew it was wrong.

 

 

But he did it anyway.

Do you do that?

 

 

Do you do things that you know are wrong?

If the answer is yes, youíre committing transgressions.

Youíre deliberately defying God.

The word ìforgivenî means ìcarried away,î or ìremoved.î

 

 

And David was saying, ìIt will make you happy to have your deliberate        

defiance of God carried away or removed.î

2nd---It will make you happy to have your sin covered.

 

 

The word ìsinî is not as strong as the word ìtransgression.î

We can sin without deliberately defying God;

 

 

Sin out of ignorance;

Sin by mistake.

 

 

The word ìcoveredî means ìconcealed,î or ìput out of sight.î

And David was saying, ìIt will make you happy to have your sins concealed

or put out of sight.î

 

 

3rd---It will make you happy to have your iniquity not imputed to you.

The word ìiniquityî means ìcrookedness,î or ìdistortion.î

 

 

David was suppose to reflect the image of God.

But his adultery distorted the image of God.

 

 

Do you do that?

Do you give people the wrong impression of God?

 

 

A woman stopped her car at a traffic light.

The light turned green.

 

 

 

The car in front of her didnít move right away.

She started blowing her horn, shaking her fist and yelling.

 

 

A policeman tapped on the window of her car.

He arrested her;

 

 

Took her to jail.

Later, he released her.

 

 

He said, ìI saw those stickers on your car: ìChoose Life,î ìWWJD,î

ìFollow Me to Church.î

ìI saw the way you was acting.î

 

 

ìI thought you was a car thief.î

The phrase ìnot imputed,î means ìnot charged,î or ìnot counted.î

 

 

And David was saying, ìIt will make you happy to have your distorted         

example of God not counted against you.î

4th---It will make you happy to have your spirit free of guile.

 

 

The word ìguileî means ìdeceit,î or ìa lie.î

David tried to deceive people by covering up what he did.

 

 

He tried to live a lie by acting like nothing happened.

Do you do that?

 

 

Try to deceive people by covering up the sin in your life?

Do you sin and act like nothingís wrong?

 

 

 

David was saying, ìIt will make you happy to stop the deception and admit  

the truth.î

He was miserable trying to live a lie.

 

 

But the forgiveness of God turned that around.

Verses three and four are very important.

 

 

Theyíre saying unforgiven sin can affect your health.

This is what one of Jobís friends tried to tell him (Job 8).

 

 

It just so happens that he was wrong in that case.

But David said, ìWhen I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my        

roaring all the day long.î

 

 

ìFor day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:î

ìMy moisture is turned into the drought of summerî (Psalm 32:3-4).

 

 

He said, ìWhen I kept silence;î

ìWhen I tried to act like nothing happened;î

 

 

ìWhen I tried to live a lie;î

ìMy bones waxed old.î

 

 

ìI was aging.î

He was suffering physically.

 

 

He said, ìI roared all day long.î

ìI was groaning;î

 

 

 

ìOh me! I wish I hadnít done that.î

He was suffering emotionally.

 

 

 

He said, ìDay and night thy hand was heavy upon me.î

ìI was under conviction.î

 

 

ìGod wouldnít let me forget my sins.î

He said, ìMy moisture is turned into the drought of summer.î

 

 

ìI cried until I couldnít cry anymore.î

Unconfessed sin made him tired.

 

 

It made him grow old before his time.

It was separating him from God;

 

 

And breaking his heart.

I wondered if the medical profession believes that unconfessed sin can affect         

our health.

 

 

Dr. Karl Menninger is a famous psychiatrist.

He said, ìIf we could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their

sins were forgiven, SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of them could walk   

out the next day.î

 

 

An unnamed doctor said, ìUnconfessed sin leads to guilt.î

ìGuilt is like a red light on the dash of your car.î

 

 

ìWhen a red light appears on the dash of your car, you need to stop and do

something about it.î

ìWhen you feel guilty, you need to stop and do something about it.î

I wondered if any preachers believe that unconfessed sin can affect our        

Ýhealth.

Rev. Brian Bill said, ìAnger and bitterness can come AS A RESULT OF      

UNCONFESSED SIN.î

 

 

He said, ìUlcers, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and lower back  

pain can come from CONCEALING OUR SINS.î

I wondered if the Bible says anything about unconfessed sin making us grow          

old before our time.

 

 

I remembered that God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of  

knowledge of good and evil.

He said, ìIf you do, you will surely dieî (Gen. 2:17).

 

 

They sinned.

And the moment they sinned, they started aging and dying.

 

 

Before they sinned, they possessed eternal life.

After they sinned, they aged and died.

 

 

Letís go back to David.

The prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin.

 

 

It was embarrassing.

But it was also one of the best things that ever happened to him.

 

 

He said, ìI acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.î

ìI said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD;î

 

 

ìAnd thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinî (Verse 5).

David didnít make any excuses.

He didnít blame Bathsheba.

He didnít gloss it over.

 

 

He talked about ìmy sin,î ìmine iniquity,î ìmy transgressions.î

And God forgave him.

 

 

Two women were sitting in Church when the preacher condemned adultery.

ìAmen, Brother.î

 

 

Lying.

ìPreach it.î

 

 

Murder.

ìTell it like it is.î

 

 

Gossiping.

ìHeís done quit preaching and gone to meddling.î

 

 

They were sinning.

They didnít want it pointed out.

 

 

We canít do that.

We have to be honest;

 

 

To admit the extent of our sin in all of itís awfulness.

Iíd rather overstate my sin to God than to understate it.

 

 

He knows my heart.

If Iím honest about the awfulness of my sin, He will forgive me.

 

But if I keep trying to live a lie, He wonít.

I wondered if Jesus believed that unconfessed sin can affect our health.

 

 

I didnít find a direct statement about this.

But He connected healing and forgiveness.

 

 

He told several different people, ìThy sins are forgiven.î

And when His enemies challenged Him, He proved His right to forgive sins   

by healing those people (Matt. 9:1-7; Mark 2:1-11).

 

 

Jesus healed the man who had been cripple for thirty-eight years.

He told that man, ìsin no more, lest a worse thing come unto theeî (Jn. 5:14).

 

 

Some say He meant stop sinning.

Or you will be sick again and it will be worse than being crippled for thirty-eight

years.

 

 

Others say He meant stop sinning.

Or you will be cast into hell.

 

 

I canít settle the debate.

But itís obvious that unforgiven sin would be a disaster for this man.

 

 

Paul was talking about Communion when he said, ìhe that eateth and  

drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not         

discerning the Lord's body.î

ìFor this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.î

 

 

ìFor if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.î

ìBut when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not  

be condemned with the worldî (I Cor. 11:29-32).

He was saying, ìMany are sick and dying because of sin.î

ìIf we seek forgiveness, God wonít have to judge us.î

 

 

ìBut if we donít seek forgiveness, He will have to judge us.

ìIf He doesnít judge us, He will have to condemn us with the lost.î

 

 

Thatís why God chastens unforgiven believers with sickness and death.

Itís so He wonít have to cast us into the Lake of Fire.

 

 

Itís brought about by the love of God.

Paul said, ìwhom the Lord loveth, He chastenethî (Heb.12:6).

 

 

But letís be very careful.

It would be wrong to say that all sickness is the result of unforgiven sin.

 

 

Jesus was plain about that (and the story of Job is too).

But Jesus and His disciples passed a man who was blind from birth.

 

 

His disciples asked, ìMaster, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he    

was born blind?î

ìJesus answered, Neitherî (Jn. 9:2-3).

 

 

He was born blind so I can demonstrate the power of God.

Paul was shipwrecked on the Island of Melita.

 

 

A poisonous snake bit him (Acts 28:1-6).

Those with him said, ìthis man is a murderer.î

 

They believed he was being chastened by God.

But when Paulís arm didnít swell up they changed their minds and said he is

God.

They were wrong on both accounts.

But the thing that I want you to see is that SOMETIMES sickness is the result        

of unforgiven sin.

 

 

James said, ìIs any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;          

and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the     Lord:î

ìAnd the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;î

 

 

ìAnd if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven himî (James 5:14-15).

Letís go back to our text.

 

 

In verse 6 David said, ìFor this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in         

a time when thou mayest be foundî (Verse 6a).

He was saying, ìPray for forgiveness while you can.î

 

 

Itís a mistake to assume that you have plenty of time to seek forgiveness.

Make things right with God before He decides to chasten you.

 

 

In verse 6 David also said, ìSurely in the floods of great waters they shall not         

come nigh unto himî (Verse 6).

Trouble will come into your life.

 

 

But if you are a forgiven person, you will have Godís help.

In verse 7 David said, ìThou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from        

trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.î

 

 

This is Davidís about face.

He went from trying to hide his sin to letting God hide HIM from his sin;

 

 

 

From being chastised by the heavy hand of God to being protected by the    

heavy hand of God;

From crying until he couldnít cry anymore to being surrounded with songs of        

deliverance.

 

 

In Verse 8 David said, ìI will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which    

thou shalt go:î

ìI will guide thee with mine eye.î

 

 

David has some words of advice.

ìBe ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding:î

 

 

ìWhose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto  

theeî (Verse 9).

Donít be like a wild horse.

 

 

Donít be like a hard-headed mule.

You have to put a bit and bridle in their mouth or they wonít come near you.

 

 

Weíve all heard the story about the man who hitched up a mule.

He took a two-by-four and hit him over the head.

 

 

ìWhy did you do that,î someone asked?

ì Because I have to get his attention?

 

 

If you need to seek forgiveness, donít wait until God has to get your attention.

Donít wait until He has to put a bridle of discipline on you.

 

 

David closed on a high note.

ìMany sorrows shall be to the wicked:î

 

ìBut he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.î

ìBe glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous:î

 

 

ìAnd shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heartî (Verses 10 and 11).

Unforgiven people will face hardship.

 

 

Forgiven people will receive mercy.

Thatís something that we should rejoice and shout about that.