Singing Psalm 32 to not hide from your need for forgiveness
“What blessedness belongs to him Who has forgiven been, For whom transgressions have been cleared,And covered is his sin.” ~ Psalm 32:1
“Blessed is the one for whom the LORD Counts no iniquity,And in whose spirit is no taint Of insincerity.” ~ Psalm 32:2
David knew God had rescued him from the tangled net that ensnared him. He would not hide this time. Having escaped the net, he sincerely didn’t want to get entangled in it again.
Even when you wiggle out of responsibility that either comes your way or comes with roles you don’t want to take on in life for fear of or dislike for responsibility, Jesus covers your sins of omission that ensnare you in traps of selfishness.
When you do the evil you want or don’t want to do, Jesus clears your transgressions that entangle you to hide from the consequences.
You know what Jesus has done for you on both counts, and you desire to build up sincere allegiance to him that is unlike your allegiance to anyone or anything else.
You want to be willing to go through anything to not hide from or dishonor the name of Jesus. You live to enjoy him and to glorify him.
Nothing feels worse than sinning once you come to your senses, knowing that what you thought, said, or did was dishonoring to the triune God. You want to run and hide from him because of the shame of sin. But because Jesus beckons you to come to him, you do not hide! You can cry out to God for mercy and receive it instead!
With man:
“He made his own bed. Now let him sleep in it.”
“She got her just desserts.”
“We got poetic justice.”
“No mercy.”
With the triune God:
“Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” ~ Isaiah 1:18
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ~ Romans 5:10
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. ~ Luke 6:35
“Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” ~ 1 Chronicles 21:13
The triune God is just in the most merciful way possible. The Judge takes the just judgment of the condemned upon Himself so that those rightfully condemned are freed justly.
God delights in renewing minds and giving second chances, forgiveness, and mercy. He longs to be gracious to you, to redeem you, and to show you kindness. He is not like us.
Singing Psalm 32, you know that one is blessed whom the Lord forgives and whom the Lord has made to be sincere. God supplies you with what it takes for you to obey him from the heart.
His provision is what undergirds being genuine so that you not hide from being who God made you to be, not having even a trace of insincerity, willing to endure knowing that suffering will end.
We often don’t work through our sin in relationships or misunderstandings (so much time!) except when the Lord instills a combination of care and courage that moves you to listen to the heart of another and to express your heart.
“I languished, silent in my guilt; My days were filled with groans.On me Your hand pressed day and night, And heat dried up my bones.” ~ Psalm 32:3-4
“My sin I then confessed to You, Not hiding guiltiness;I said, ‘I will before the LORD Transgressions now confess.’Then You released me from my sin, And took its guilt away.” ~ Psalm 32:5
But even if that doesn’t happen with your human relationships, you’ll aim to not hide your true heart from the Lord.
Thankfully, God does not command something unless he will supply it. Because he commands his people to be strong and courageous, he supplies them with strength and courage.
He’s your best friend because he knows you best and loves you most. You can pour your heart out to him and not hide a thing knowing that he will do wonders with every honest thought, silent tear, and caring deed.
Singing Psalm 32 to not hide from the bad news to embrace the good news
Jesus asked his disciples, “Do you want to go away as well?” ~ John 6:67
Like Peter stuck with Jesus, you will want to not hide, to not miss the release from guiltiness that Jesus brings you.
The good news is great only if you will not hide from the bad news, not hide from the ugliness it transforms into beautiful.
Jesus became sin so you could become free from it.
The Holy Spirit of love and gentleness that is one with the Father and the Son guides you into that sweet fellowship where you dwell now and will dwell forever.
“Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call insight your intimate friend.” ~ Proverbs 7:4
You will not hide from the correction of the only One who has the words of eternal life so that you will not hide from Wisdom and Insight incarnate.
“Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” ~ Proverbs 9:8-9
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” ~ Isaiah 53:3
See who Jesus is on the inside and you will not hide from him but in him. You will esteem him more than anyone or anything.
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” ~ Romans 13:14
When you fail, the triune, God gives you every reason to come out of hiding, and to not hide that you have been hiding. Forgiveness, acceptance, and new purpose are waiting for you as you turn to him.
You will not hide from his instruction and guidance that then enables you to live a new life.
Your greatest prize is to peacefully dwell with Jesus. You will not hide from your best and most intimate friend.
Singing Psalm 32 to not hide from the One who sees you
“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” ~ Hebrews 4:13
Since you are naked before God anyway, you might as well open up, initiate, volunteer what is on your mind and in your heart. It’s clear that he does not want anyone in his presence whom he never knew in this personal, intimate sense or he would not have said, “Away from me, I never knew you.”
But the essence of Jesus is for you to not hide who you are but make sure he knows you. It might be expressed like this:
Come close to me. I have always known you, not because I know everything even though I do, but because my Spirit moved you to make yourself known to me so that you made it a point to not hide who you are from me and from my Father.
The fall exposes indwelling sin in all shapes and sizes. You learn in Job chapter 5 that trouble doesn’t sprout from the ground. When you were born, whether into a family or adopted into one, you were “born into trouble as the sparks fly upwards.”
You can open wide your heart and not hide from Jesus because he isn’t daunted by your honesty but has in mind the perfect plan to transform you and has placed his Spirit to indwell you and to displace sin from the throne of your life.
Jacob was transformed to Israel.
Jesus called Nathanael a true Israelite in whose spirit he found no deceit.
Jacob wrestled with God until he was blessed and changed from deceiver to devotee.
Nathanael did not hide his heart from Jesus even though it revealed hatred and bigotry against Nazarenes.
“The one who conceals hatred has lying lips.” ~ Proverbs 10:18
You will not hide but admit who you really are because the Lord hides you in his wings and shields you from the deadly arrows of the enemy even when you are your own worst enemy.
Once Nathanael encountered Jesus, his heart changed, his hatred melted, and he worshiped him.
“And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” ~ Ezekiel 39:29
You might feel at times like Job and David did that God hides his face from you.
Why is it that you want for people to want to do things with you, not for them to feel somehow obligated, under duress, or to be with you only because they think that it is the right thing to do? Could it be that the triune God, in whose image you were made, values sincerity in friendship and does not hide himself from you?
You don’t want others to just put up with you or to be kind to you because that’s what’s expected of them, even though that is where genuineness often begins and grows inch-by-inch as the Lord teaches the hearts of his people to be more like his heart – serving, gentle, lowly, merciful.
“And therefore, while You may be found, Let all the godly pray.They’ll not be harmed by rising floods.
In You, I hide in peace;You keep me safe, surrounding me With songs of my release.
Instruction I will give to you, And teach the way to go.My watchful eye will guide your steps; My counsel you will know.” ~ Psalm 32:6-8
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:9
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” ~ Revelation 3:18-19
“Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.” ~ Proverbs 15:22-23
Jesus will quiet your heart with his counsel so that you rest in him. He will draw you close to him teaching you to desire the real riches that are found only in him.
He will put joy in your voice that moves you to sing out in praise to the One from whom you do not hide but trust and cling to in covenant love for a renewed mind and a transformed life.
“Be not like senseless horse or mule, Which if you would subdue,You must with bit and bridle hold To bring him close to you.
How many griefs the wicked earns As part of his reward;But cov’nant love surrounds the one Whose trust is in the LORD.
Be glad and shout, you righteous ones, And in the LORD rejoice;And let all those with upright hearts Sing out with joyful voice.” ~ Psalm 32:9-11
June 2-9, 2023
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