LISTEN TO: Matthew West, "Forgiveness"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMn0QNdiuGE
Psalm 32 Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Our God, you bless everyone
whose sins you forgive
and wipe away.
2 You bless them by saying,
“You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them,
and now I forgive you.”
3 Before I confessed my sins,
my bones felt limp,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Night and day your hand
weighed heavily on me,
and my strength was gone
as in the summer heat.
5 So I confessed my sins
and told them all to you.
I said, “I’ll tell the Lord
each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me
and took away my guilt.
6 We worship you, Lord,
and we should always pray
whenever we find out
that we have sinned.
Then we won’t be swept away
by a raging flood.
7 You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.
8 You said to me,
“I will point out the road
that you should follow.
I will be your teacher
and watch over you.
9 Don’t be stupid
like horses and mules
that must be led with ropes
to make them obey.”
10 All kinds of troubles
will strike the wicked,
but your kindness shields those
who trust you, Lord.
11 And so your good people
should celebrate and shout.
As a young girl, I remember being prepared for the sacrament of reconciliation (or penance, as it was called in those days). One summer I was carrying a weight of guilt on my shoulders. I confessed to the priest that my friends and I had eaten half the rhubarb plants that was growing out back, and failed to tell my mother how these plants had disappeared. I was feeling badly ever since. Now, this act wouldn't crack the top ten list of most grievous sins committed by humankind. David's psalm, though written ages ago, captures what happens to us when captive to sin -- and when we are freed by confession and the mercy of God.
When we carry a burden of unconfessed sin, unresolved guilt or shame, it is like the "heavy heat of summer, sapping us of strength." Imagine being outdoors at the height of summer, no sunblock, hat or sunglasses to protect you. No water or shade to mitigate the effects of the relentless heat. That's how David describes the presence of sin in our lives: like a hot glaring sun boring into us from which there is no escape. Such scorching heat causes our bones "to go limp." Our natural strength leaves us -- we are fit to be swept away by any gust of wind, any ocean wave -- any guilty thought.
Although we all sin, David reminds us we are not created to live with sin. We are created for the freedom of forgiveness. We care created to come to God confidently and confess, and receive God's forgiveness and be absolved of guilt. God is always ready to point out to us the path we should follow. David assures us that God is our teacher in the path of life, and will watch over us. As a result, David proclaims:
You are my hiding place!
You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart
because you have saved me.
Under the hot sun of sin, God is our cool, refreshing "hiding place," a place that keeps us safe, protects us, and as only David could proclaim, a place where we find songs for our hearts. We sing because God has forgiven us, removed our guilt and shame and restored us to our right mind and the true path. Our hearts were made for singing, not for sinning.
What do we need to confess today? Take a moment and sit with God. Ask God for the desire to forgive and to let go of any weight that holds you back. Are you suffering heat stroke of the spirit from hanging on to sins and resentments? Ask for God's forgiveness and let your life be restored. Instead of envy or jealousy, or hatred, imagine your heart filled instead with songs that fill you with happiness and restore strength to our bones. Take David's advice, who confidently confessed his sins to God and discovered freedom for his soul.
Pray: "God, Help me today to confess my sins to you, to let go of resentment or a hurt and make room so you can place a song in my heart. "
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