The Joy of Forgiveness
A Psalm of David. A Contemplation.
“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 the 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 you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and 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!”
This is one of my favorite psalms for many reasons. First, the psalmist describes a time when he committed some kind of sin and suffered for it. “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.” There’s nothing so heavy as the weight of unconfessed guilt.
“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.” When we confess our sins, God will forgive us completely. Psalm 103:12 tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” One pastor of our acquaintance is fond of saying that God throws our sins into the sea of forgetfulness and puts up a “No Fishing” sign.
“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.” Because of God’s forgiveness, we can pray in emergencies and trust God to deliver us.
“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.”No matter what we are suffering, we can still turn to God as a spiritual hiding place.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
else they will not come near you.” We can confidently claim God’s guidance, no matter what the situation. But we must be willing to be guided. Rebellion gets us nothing.
“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!” For David, God has forgiven and is guiding and he is rejoicing.
APPLICATION: As I am writing this, I am watching CNN coverage of the war in Israel and the Israeli response. How can we possibly apply this optimistic psalm to such a horrific situation? What about those who have been slaughtered? Were these people particularly sinful that they should die in such a horrible fashion? What about those who have been taken hostage and are being killed one by one as Hamas attempts to use their lives as bargaining chips? Have they done anything to deserve such a terrible fate? One family member whose mother is a hostage has described his mother as a wonderful woman whose only interests have been to help the underprivileged. How can we say that such a woman deserves to suffer in this fashion?
One of the wonderful things about the psalms is that they don’t sugar coat the facts of life. The writers of the psalms don’t pretend that everything is fine; some of the psalmists practically scream “Why?” at God. Bad things happen to good people and the righteous can be slaughtered by the wicked. Life does not come with guarantees that all will be well. Bad things happen-accidents, cancer, strokes, loss of a job, loss of friends or relatives. But even when terrible things happen, we can still turn to God and trust in Him. Even when everything is collapsing around us, God is still there and God remains sovereign.
The attacks on Israel are only the most recent in centuries of such attacks. But how can we affirm that God is our hiding place when we have been carried off by terrorists? How can we trust God’s guidance when we don’t know whether or not we will live to see tomorrow? Even when the worst happens, God is still there and He will give us the strength and the courage to endure whatever comes.
Perhaps you feel that you are at the end of your rope and you can’t endure any more suffering. Turn to God. Let God be your hiding place spiritually and emotionally. Trust Him; He is able.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to put their trust in You. Give them Your assurance in their hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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