PSALM 32
The thirty-second Psalm provides us with the perfect road map for our Christian walk. It outlines the principles of godly living that, if followed, will ensure our spiritual health every day. It is amazing how much powerful "medicine" that the Lord can pack inside such a tiny capsule. At just eleven verses long, it packs a mighty wallop!
"Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no guile." (Psalm 32:1, 2). Our God delights in mercy. He doesn't forever hold our sins against us;
but, through our Lord Jesus Christ, He has blotted out our transgressions, and
erased our sins. As far as the east is
from the west - that's how far God has removed our iniquities. He demands that we be without guile
(deceitfulness), however, in our dealings with Him. If we pretend not to hear Him, or try to hide
what we do from Him, He will know it.
Just as we are not pleased when our children pretend they didn't hear us
when we know that they did, God wishes us to respond the first time when He
speaks. When we respond to God, we enter
into this blessed state of grace. Being
justified by faith, we now have peace with God through the Lord Jesus, and
access to God's great grace.
"When
I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me:
my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I
acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto
the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." (Psalm 32:3-5). The acknowledgement of our sin is a key
principle in being transformed into what God wants us to be. We must agree with God. When He is dealing with us in a particular matter
and we are unwilling to own it, His hand will be heavy on us, and it will be as
though we are drying up spiritually. Once
we come clean and confess that thing to the Lord, however, He forgives us, and
we find freedom once more in Him.
"For
this shall every one that is godly pray
unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of
great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding
place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with
songs of deliverance. Selah." (Psalm
32:6, 7). NOW is the time when God can be found. We can't afford to wait until tomorrow when He
is dealing with us today. "For He saith, I have heard thee in a
time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2). It is when we are in a right standing with
God, and are "prayed up," that we need not fear the storms and floods
of life. Oh, they will come; but when
they do, we can know that we can rise above them because we are walking with
the Master of the sea. He will be a
hiding place from the tempest, and a cleft in the rock. He will shelter us from the storm's ravages, and
we will come out on the other side with a song of deliverance on our lips.
"I
will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose
mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy
shall compass him about." (Psalm
32:8-10). God is instructing us every day. He teaches us in a multitude of ways. He speaks through His Word, He speaks through
others, and He speaks through circumstances in our lives. His goal is that we learn to respond to Him instantly
when we feel the prompting of His Holy Spirit nudging us. When my children were young, they had to be
corrected with stronger measures when they were belligerent. Afterwards, I would only have to give them the
"eye," and they would know exactly what I meant. Some folks, sadly, have to be harnessed and
bridled, and must be jerked this way and that to get them to respond to what is
right. They suffer many sorrows because
they won't trust the Lord to work what's best in their lives. Mercy will surround the soul who trusts in
God. He will be like a tree that is
planted beside a river: always nourished by the life-giving stream that flows
from the throne of God.
Comments
Post a Comment