Blessed assurance | Psalm 32

G'day everyone, my name's Lindsay and I have

the privilege of reading God's Word for us this

morning. As Tony said, we're reading from Psalm

32. Hear these words of God. Of David Amaskal.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose

sin the Lord does not count against them, and

in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away, threw my groaning all day

long. For day and night your hand was heavy on

me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of

summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and

did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will

confess my transgressions to the Lord and you

forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all

the faithful pray to you while you may be found.

Surely the rising of the mighty waters will not

reach them. You are my hiding place. You will

protect me from trouble and surround me with

songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and

teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel

you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like

the horse or the mule which have no understanding,

but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they

will not come to you. Many are the woes of the

wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds

the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord

and be glad, you righteous. Sing. all of you

who are upright in heart. Good morning. My name

is Nick and I presume I haven't met most of you,

but I'm very glad to be here with you this week.

Michael and I actually did five years of preaching

training, no, one year of preaching training

together five years ago. which I reckon means

we have the same like one or two strengths and

the same 100 weaknesses. So there you go. It's

good to be here with you this morning. I want

to start with this. I want to start with a personality

test with you this morning. If you have a spouse

or a sibling or a friend, you can do it on their

behalf if you would like. And here's the question.

Are you an oversharer or an undersharer? Oversharer,

undersharer. Which one are you? Take a minute

to think that through if you would like. Ponder

which one you think you might be. Here's my thoughts

on it. Oversharers, what do we love about them?

We love that they're like a puppy. The zeal,

the energy, the fact that you can get all the

goss from them in one conversation. Oversharers,

that's what we love. I love the fact that you

never have to guess how they feel. You can just

see it on their face, the excitement, the terror,

the shame, the love, the joy, it's all there

mixed in together. What's wrong with over -sharers

though? Just would they ever be quiet? Over -sharers,

come on. Which is why we love under -sharers,

right? You go and talk to someone who doesn't

share very much and you ask, how are you going?

And they say, good. How was your week at work?

Good. How's the family? Good. Should we finish

this conversation? Very good. That's under sharers,

which if you're an over sharer and you meet an

under sharer, that is the perfect storm. They

are like a deer in the headlight stuck there

listening to you while you prattle on. Over sharer,

under sharer, which one are you? You can talk

about that over morning tea. This morning we're

looking at Psalm 32 and Psalms in the Bible are

kind of like songs, songs on their own. They

often tell a story. There's a kind of a theme

that runs through Psalms and through songs and

so here too we have a Psalm or a song of David

that tells a story from his life. But like songs,

Psalms also a part of an album, a bigger story

that all the little songs fit together. to tell

and therefore this is a song of David but within

the album it is a song for us. And so as we come

to Psalm 32 this morning, the question I want

to put to you is what is more dangerous for a

Christian to be an oversharer or an undersharer?

Which one of those is worse? I ask the question

because in normal life, right, we would say it's

the oversharer. We think gossip is the issue.

That's the thing that's problematic. I was at

a hairdresser recently, maybe this has happened

to you, where I'm just there kind of minding

my own business, getting a haircut, and the bloke

next to me is just falling apart telling his

life story. And there's a part of me that's like

a nosy teenager, just like craning in desperate

to hear all the details, all the kind of things

that have gone wrong in his life, really wanting

to know. It's like an episode of Neighbours.

It's incredible. And there's a part of me that's

like, dude, I'm just here for a trim, like kind

of, you know, chill out a bit. Because we think

over -sharers are problematic. In normal life,

we prize self -control. The British idea of a

stiff upper lip. We like to have a sense of restraint,

measuredness, decorum, civility. But in Psalm

32, spiritually speaking, that's dangerous. Our

propensity to bury things down, to hide parts

of our lives, our propensity to under -share,

is not good. The headline of Psalm 32 is that

God is not looking for people who look put together

but people who openly confess and divulge and

share their sin. To frame it as a personality,

God is not looking for people who say nothing.

He's looking for people who share every flaw

and failure when they confess. And you might

want to ask yourself, how are you going with

that? As we jump in this morning, there's three

parts to this psalm. In verses one to two, David

gives us the goal. He kind of does things in

reverse and gives us the application up front.

Then in verses three to seven, we get the back

story. And then in verses eight to 11, we get

some instructions. A goal. a backstory, some

instructions. That's where we're heading. Firstly,

the goal in verses 1 and 2. Here's the goal up

front. Here's what David wants you to get out

of this Psalm. Verse 1, here it is. Be happy.

Be happy, that's what blessed means at the start

of this Psalm. Blessed, it's the idea of joy,

a good life, the feeling of having it all together.

Before you leave today, the goal for the psalmist,

the thing he wants you to experience and feel

and know is blessing to be happy. Why? Because

of forgiveness. Verse 1 and 2, look at what they

say. Blessed is the one, happy is the one whose

transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not

count. against them. Psalms are poetry, right?

They kind of need to be read slowly to get the

treasure out of the details. And here's one thing

to notice. Notice he uses three different words

for sin, followed by three different words for

forgiveness. Three words for sin, verse one,

transgression. It's the idea of rebellion, treason.

Verse 2, sin, it's the idea of failure, falling

short, missing the mark. Verse 2 again, it says

sin but in some older translations it says iniquity.

It's the idea of perversion, a way of taking

life and twisting it, bending it in directions

it's not supposed to go. Three different words

for sin, why three? because it's supposed to

reflect our total corruption. Three words, three

different definitions to say that we rebel against

God, that we fail Him, we let others down, that

we don't live in the way we're meant to because

we're constantly bending life out of shape. It's

the totality of sin in our lives, the muck, the

shame, the wrongheadedness, the mistakes, all

of that three words for sin met with three words

of forgiveness. There's a famous parable of the

Christian life called the Pilgrim's Progress.

It's kind of an oldie but a goodie, and maybe

you've read that story before. And in the story,

a Christian, who's the aptly named main character,

he has this thing called a burden. It's this

kind of weight that bears down. I think we're

supposed to see it as kind of a rock or a bowl

or something on his back that just weighs down

on him. And in the parable, it's very clear that

his burden is his sin, this thing that he can't

shake, this weight that bears down on his life.

And in the parable, he comes to the cross, the

place where Jesus died for the sins of the world,

and as he walks towards it, kind of stumbling

and heaving because of the weight, as he gets

to the cross, the thing that finally happens

is the burden falls from his back. The story

says this weight, loosed off his shoulders, it

fell from his back and suddenly he's free. In

the story, Christian, he starts kind of jumping

for joy, he's dancing around, he's ecstatic,

his life has changed, his burden has gone and

because it's an old story, this is how I put

it, it says he was merry of heart. Mary of heart

because the burden of his sin has gone and in

this Psalm that is forgiveness. Forgiveness in

the Old Testament, it connotates the idea of

a load being lifted up, the weight of guilt being

taken away, lifted off you by God. Maybe you've

had that experience where you've stuffed up with

a friend or a family member and it just kind

of gnaws at you all day. That feeling of regret,

guilt, disappointment, wishing you could go back

and rewind again and again. And so then you go

and you see them and you've kind of got a speech

prepared and you confess and you say you're sorry.

And the moment this passage is trying to describe

is the moment where they say, thanks so much

for your apology, but don't worry about it. You're

totally forgiven. don't mention it. And so you

hug and you make up, maybe you share a cup of

coffee, and that feeling you had is completely

gone. And this Psalm is trying to describe that.

That feeling of reconciliation, the feeling of

sin disappearing from your shoulders, total forgiveness

from God. And in our world, where we stuff things

up most days, most hours, most minutes. Where

we make mistakes, get things wrong, do it again.

The psalmist wants to say that knowing forgiveness

like that is happiness. That's what it means

to be blessed. To know that you are forgiven

by the one who made you. That is what it looks

like to be merry. hearts. Three words for forgiveness

that we've seen. One is forgiveness. The other

at the end of verse one he says it's when sins

are covered over, wiped clean from your record.

In verse two it says it's when God doesn't count

your sin against you. He refuses to write down

what you've done. For the psalmist that is what

God has done. That's what He's done for you,

but there's one thing you must do. You cannot

be self -deceived. Verse 2, I don't know if you

noticed how it finished, but have a look again

what it says. Translation, David was once an

undershera. And that brings us to his backstory

in verses three to seven. As we said, this is

poetry and here's something that might be helpful

for you. English poetry is of almost no use to

reading Old Testament poetry. So if you did English

at school, congratulations, it's not going to

help because in the Bible, Poetry doesn't rhyme

with words that sound similar. It often rhymes

with ideas that mean something similar. So I'll

give you some examples. When I say, roses are

red, violets are blue, I can't remember the rest

of the poem, but neither can you. In that poem,

which I think is pretty good, by the way, what's

the words that rhyme? It's blue and you. They

sound similar. That's how kind of modern English

poetry works. But in the Bible, it's the meanings

that rhyme. So here's some examples of that.

Air and breath. So they don't sound similar,

but they're similar things, aren't they? Air

and breath, we can see that. Another one, quick

and slow. Again, they don't sound similar, but

what's the rhyming thing there? It's the opposites,

quick and slow. One more, straight and narrow.

Don't sound the same, but they're kind of similar

descriptions. So that's the principle. Listen

again to verse 3 and see if you can spot the

ideas which match. Here's what it says. Verse

3, when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through

my groaning all day long. When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away through my groaning all

day long. What are the ideas that go together

there? It's the quietness of silence with the

loudness of groaning. So what's David trying

to say? He's trying to say in his attempts to

cover up his sin, to stay silent about what he

had done, it groaned loudly within him. It's

a paradox. He's trying to describe a time when

he was in so much self -denial, so silent, working

so hard to suppress what he had done that it

felt like it was killing him loudly inside. His

guilt, his shame. In verse 3, he says he can

feel it in his bones. Verse 4 says he feels like

a plant or a carcass left out baking under the

sun. Just lifeless, dying. barren, dry. In his

silence, maybe you've done this as well, he tries

to ignore it, tries to push it away, tries to

think about something else and it eats away at

his soul. See David thought this would make him

happy. He believed the lie that ignoring his

sin would give him peace and yet what it actually

brings is sorrow and sadness. Which is exactly

why, in verse 5, he changes strategy and finally

speaks to God. Verse 5, he comes out into the

open, doesn't he? And he acknowledges what he's

done. He doesn't cover it up. He lets it all

out. He says it out loud. He becomes an over

-sharer. Instead of silence, he speaks. And the

thing that he finds is forgiveness and happiness.

Pure bliss to be forgiven by God. And if that

was true for David, then why on earth would we

cover up our sin ourselves? Why would we cover

up our sin? I remember when I was a kid, I was

playing at home in the backyard and I tore down

a branch from the tree in our backyard and as

a little kid that looked like half a forest.

And mum was quite smart. I think it was about

12 o 'clock. And mum came out and she said, your

father's going to deal with this when he gets

home at 5 o 'clock. And so I had five hours to

sit and think about my sin. Thinking's the last

thing I actually did though. I got out there

and I thought, OK, maybe I can kind of hoist

the branch back up into the tree and hopefully

dad doesn't notice. I think one point, maybe

the idea was to... to put it in the neighbour's

backyard and blame their cats or something like

that. I reckon if it happened again, I would

try and blame climate change. It was nature.

It wasn't me. Who knows how it happened? Sorry,

Dad. But the reason this story sticks out is

that Dad came home, and clearly he could see

what was going on, the elaborate cover -up operation.

And he walked over and he said, Totally forgiven.

Don't sweat it. And we went off and played together

or something like that. Turns out, next time

I confess my sin to him, it did not go that way.

I got in a lot of trouble. So that was a kind

of a once -off operation. But the thing that

sticks out is that moment, this great teaching

moment. Father and son. Sins forgiven. Pure Why

would we cover up our sins ourselves when God

our Father can cover them up Himself? Why would

we cover up our sin? That's what Jesus' blood

was spilt for. The Bible talks about the redness

of His blood making our sinfulness as white as

snow. removing our sin as far as the East from

the West. God making atonement for our sins so

that we might be righteous in His sight. Verse

7, I love verse 7. David says that instead of

a fearful judge, God was a hiding place from

all that He had done. So why would we cover up

our sin when we have an offer like that? It's

been great spending time with your church this

week. I've really enjoyed being part of different

things. Sundays, Bible studies, ministries during

the week. And one of the things about joining

another church for a little while is you start

to notice the things that really stick out that

are different to your church. So one of the things

that really stands out to me is that this place

was definitely some kind of carpet or furniture

store. The fact that you have this wooden runway

kind of going through the middle of the auditorium,

that sticks out. The random pillars just jotted

around. You can definitely see what this building

used to be. I actually wonder if you could use

the windows to your advantage though. Like you

could put a different family each week in the

display cabinet at the front. And as people walk

past you could show them the finished product

of what Jesus could do to you. So that's a free

one from me. The other great thing is we hang

out with Michael. It's been nice to catch up

with him. And one of the things I've noticed

about him is he loves to use Siri. to do all

his work for him. So he's got Thelma in the office

and a Thelma in the pocket, which I think is

pretty neat. The problem with Siri, though, is

Siri keeps spelling my name wrong, which I think

she's doing deliberately. And so maybe that's

something that elders could work on together

to get back at Siri on my behalf. Now, what does

that have to do with anything? Siri doesn't listen

properly, but there's two instructions left in

this passage. Make sure you listen properly to

these. Two instructions. Listen carefully. Here's

the first one in verse eight and nine. We'll

read it together. I will instruct you and teach

you in the way you should go. I will counsel

you with my loving eyes on you. Do not be like

the horse or the mule, which have no understanding,

but must be controlled by bit or bridle, or they

will not come to you. That's the text. That's

the first instruction. Do not be stubborn like

an animal. That's the message for us this morning.

Do not be stubborn like an animal. Now, I don't

know your heart. You don't know mine. But I think

we can both bet that there is something we have

each said or thought or done where our current

default setting is to say it's not that bad.

Whatever it is for you, maybe we kind of play

the blame game, put it on someone else. Maybe

we kind of downplay it, it's not a big deal,

everyone's overthinking it, it's a minor sin.

Maybe we just feign ignorance, we pretend we

never did it, wipe it from our memory. But whether

your sin is as bad as an affair, or a serious

addiction, or as benign as a white lie, don't

make the mistake of being a fool. The psalmist

says denial is foolish. In his words, to do that

would be to be like a wayward animal refusing

to turn left All right, refusing to come to water

and foolish especially because you're refusing

forgiveness. Refusing the offer of God to have

the weight of your sin lifted off you. The offer

of blessed happiness in Him. Because what's the

thing that's happening here? It's not saying

you're foolish because you need to be more serious

about what you've done. It's not saying you're

foolish because really you should have known

better. It's not saying you're foolish because

you've got to do a better job. It's saying you're

foolish because you're denying the one person

who can pardon your sin. We're like Adam and

Eve in the garden, bare naked, and we're playing

with fig leaves, trying to cover it up ourselves.

When there is one standing there waiting to forgive

us. waiting to help. So point blank, let me ask

you this question. Is there an area of your life

right now where you are acting the fool and trying

to cover something up? Is there something going

on in your life where you need forgiveness and

mercy and grace? Don't leave today without asking

God. to offer you that. Instruction one, don't

be stubborn like an animal. Instruction two,

we'll finish with this, do rejoice in God. Do

rejoice in God. You see it in verse 10 and 11.

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's

unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in

him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad you're righteous.

sing all you who are upright in heart. Three

times in those verses, not the totality of sin,

not just the totality of forgiveness, but the

total experience of joy and happiness and glory

in God. And that's what this passage is all about,

receiving the blessedness, the happiness of knowing

God's grace for you. Dalrath Davis tells the

story of a prisoner who finished his time in

prison and because of what he'd done he kind

of ruined all his relationships with his family

and he kind of broken trust, he sent them bankrupt

and so as he leaves prison he writes them a letter

saying I'd love to come and visit and so what

I'm planning to do is to catch the train past

your house and if you'd like to see me just put

a white ribbon in a tree as I go past and I'll

know that you want to welcome me in and if there's

no ribbon that's totally fine I'll go to the

next station and I'll never see you again. And

so he sends this letter and he gets on the train

and as you can imagine he's pretty nervous thinking

about what's going to happen on this train and

with this tree and as he goes close to where

this tree is he's so nervous and sweaty and and

worried that he asked the passenger next to him

to kind of tell him what's on the tree. He goes

and sits on the other side and just covers his

eyes and waits to hear what happens. And as the

train goes past, he says, please tell me what

was on the tree. And the guy says, there's no

ribbon. There's hundreds. The tree is just covered

white from head to toe. There's white ribbons

everywhere. I think your family really wants

to see you again. And you can imagine the joy

and the glee and this guy's excitement that this

family that he has trashed and ruined and driven

away has not been driven away. That they want

him back. That he's been forgiven. And that is

the joy of forgiveness. The joy of knowing that

God sent His Son to make us right with Him. That

He spills the blood of Jesus to make us white.

That He doesn't spare anything for our sake.

The joy that not just our God, but He's become

our Father. And that He wants us to enjoy it.

To have the security of knowing that will never

be stripped from us. To have the assurance that

we're known and loved. to have the joy that the

past doesn't matter, that the things we've let

God down with and others with are no longer on

our record, to have the joy and blessing and

happiness of His grace. And so each week, as

we've done today, we do confess our sin. We do

open up and tell God and tell each other what

we've done. but not so that we can be sour and

look down on ourselves, but so that we can turn

our eyes to the brilliant, marvellous, glorious

forgiveness of God who has covered up our sin.

Amen.