This week, we take a look into the original songbook of the church, the Psalms. For centuries, the Psalms have been turned to for comfort, for rebuke, praise. We find in them the right words to speak to God.
They speak to our minds and our hearts, because they probe the range of our experiences; they deal with the pathos of human life -- i.e. David's Psalm here: Joy, Pain, Relief
I. Joy (1-2)
Joy - real joy (makarios) - "Oh how happy!" - such as is used in the Beatitudes. That's the kind of joy the world is chasing after. Everyone wants that - face it: We want what makes us happy.
-Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, a distinguishing characteristic of God's children, something that we all ought to have "joy, joy,...down in my heart" (where?). It doesn't change, or go away in bad times. What's the source? What makes it happen? Knowing we are forgiven!!!
(A. Not because of being a Law-keeper)
-blessedness is not because we have perfectly kept the Law. It's because we have broken it and are forgiven!
-Romans 4:6-8 Paul quotes these 2 verses (1 & 2) in a discussion about the fact that our personal good deeds don't save us. We aren't justified by works. The good news is: I'm a sinner, and you're a sinner, and we can be forgiven!
- Ill - "I'm OK, You're OK." someone else came up w/ "I'm OK, you're a jerk!"
how about: "I'm not OK. You're not OK, but that's OK."
we can have joy because we Law-breakers can be forgiven.
(B. Because a man can be certain of his forgiveness)
-we can also have joy because we can have a certainty that we're forgiven.
Imagine if this had read, "...whose transgressions might be forgiven, whose transgressions are likely covered..."
-"forgiven" - in the Hb came from "to carry out of sight." Gk = to release, send away.
(Jer 1:20) "In those days and at that time declares the Lord, search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I shall pardon those whom I leave as a remnant."
-If our forgiveness depended upon our own achievement, it would read something like: "...whose transgressions they might think are covered." But instead, it depends upon the goodness of Jesus: "My hope is built on nothing less than JESUS' blood and [His] righteousness!"
-Christians are more than just a people who have a keen awareness of their sins and everyone else's. They are a people with a deep joy because of a keen awareness that their sins are certainly forgiven!
C. The Joy that comes only with forgiveness
v11 - notice who David calls upon to rejoice; who is indeed happy/blessed. - righteous; upright in heart
-there's rejoicing in heaven over forgiveness - (Lk15) "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
-But there's joy for the one forgiven as well. Remember the Ethiopian Eunuch - "went on his way rejoicing"
-Ill - how would you feel if someone came into your house and offered to pay off every debt you have right now? How would the US feel if several billionaires got together and offered to try to pay off the national debt? Think about it. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. The greatest debt there ever was - the cost of it was a perfect life. Jesus hung on the cross and said a phrase found at the bottom of receipts from 1st cent. Rome "It is finished!" = paid in full.
until there comes the joy of forgiveness, there is...
II. Pain (3-4)
This Psalm is a before and after picture. This is the before part. David experiencing a great deal of pain.
A. The Cause
-unacknowledged sin. failure to confess. cf v3a and v5a. He had no forgiveness - or if he did, he couldn't fully appreciate it.
-May well have been his sin w/ Bathsheba. Like many sins, David did all he could to cover up the fact that he had committed adultery w/her and that she was pregnant from it. Had her husband come home. He wouldn't stay w/his wife. Got him drunk. He still wouldn't go. Finally, had him killed, in a cover-up sort of way. All the while, rather than admitting he was sinful, David dug himself in deeper and deeper.
(I Jn 1:8) - If we claim to be w/o sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
B. The Result
(Prov 28:13) "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper..." It's no wonder.
-v3-4 wasted away; groaning; feeling the weight of the Lord's hand; "life juices were turned into the drought of summer."
-Ill - 1963, 15 robbers stopped a royal mail train going from Glasgow to London. Made off with $7.3 mil. Confessions of the men after they were caught: Charles Wilson: "It wasn't worth it." his wife, "The nagging fear of discovery gave me a permanent headache." James White: noted that he was at the end of his tether, "I'm glad it's all over." Ronald Edwards: said he was living a crazy, unnatural life. Bruce Reynolds, "Anyone who thinks crime pays must be mad."
-Ill - Jonah. someone who was "Eaten up by unconfessed sin!"
-Ill - Sir Author Conan Doyle, mystery story writer, had a sick sense of humor. Chose 12 friends and to each he sent the same telegram: "Fly at once; all is discovered." Within 24 hours, not one of the 12 remained in the country!
-It's no surprise. How much rest is there for the person who lives a lie? The one who cheats? The person who has committed a murder or some theft? What is your "secret little sin?" Maybe no one else knows except God. How much effort has gone into covering up that sin? How often does it gnaw at you? Give your conscience a rash?
Before David experienced the joy of knowing God's forgiveness, he experienced the pain of not confessing his sin. It was only after that he could find...
III. Relief (5-7)
-the first step in an alcoholic's recovery is to acknowledge that the problem exists. "My name is Rich Bull, and I'm an alcoholic."
A. Acknowledge (v5)
confess = to say the same thing
confessing is saying the same thing that God says. most often in the Bible it means "to acknowledge," not admit.
-We need to get a grasp of what it means to confess our sins. Confession is not just a before-bed, "Forgive us of all of many sins." Confession is more like saying, "Lord, You're right. I have lots of sins!"
1. *I John 1:9 - cf to v8 - It's the opposite of saying, "I have no sin."
-Ill - Every woman likes to hear those 3 magic words from her husband; if you will use them, you can get the last word in for any argument: "I was wrong." Confessing isn't a show of weakness. It's just the opposite. It's admitting, "I am/was wrong."
If that's so easy to do, why is it so hard?!
2.It's an outward show of an inner conviction.
i.e. in Acts 19:18 - "Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing, and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all..."
-The Bible is filled w/examples of people confessing their sinfulness:
David - Ps 51:3-4
Nehemiah 1:6-7, 9:1-2
The people of Nineveh - sackcloth on everyone - even the animals!
-we have neglected the fine art of confessing. Ill - letter to the IRS, "I can't sleep; my conscience is bothering me. Enclosed find a check for $50. If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the balance."
Maybe we have lost sight of the cross. Maybe we have forgotten what Jesus suffered and how our sins caused that sacrifice.
-relief comes only when we acknowledge our sins before Him
B. Forgiveness
-Jm 5:16 - "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."
-in God's plan, you can't be regarded as forgiven until you're willing to be forgiven!
Ill - (Num 21) Moses set up the bronze serpent. It was useless until the ailing person looked at it, admitting he needed the help. Jesus said, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life."
6 reasons to confess: (Christopher Love, 17th cent.)
1. It eases and quiets the mind of the sinner
2. God loves to hear the complaints and confessions of His own people
3. It frees our hearts to ask for God's help in other matters
4. It will help make a godly sorrow in our hearts
5. It gives a great deal of glory to God
6. It will make sin more bitter to us and Christ dearer to us
C. Usefulness
Ps 51:13 - "Then I will teach transgressors Your ways and sinners will turn back to You."
-Hiding a sin makes you less useful. If you're concerned about being useful to God, you should be concerned about acknowledging your sin before Him.
Conclusion:
The Catholic Church doesn't have a corner on the market when it comes to confessing. The idea didn't originate w/them. It comes from the Scriptures - like the Psalm before us today.
The great joy of being forgiven is realized and appreciated only when we confess our sins before God
What do I want for you to do about what you've heard tonight? Simple.
Examine your heart. What is there that doesn't belong? Identify it. Be honest.
Talk to the Lord about it.
If it will help you to put it away, talk to someone else about it too.
Don't miss out on the joy of being forgiven!
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
