Consider Yourselves Blessed
“Consider Yourself Blessed” Psalm 32
It’s not unusual for me to strike up a conversation with people that I encounter throughout the day. And like everybody in the South, I often lead with “how are you?” And sometimes, they’ll respond with “I’m blessed.” And I wonder, what do they mean by that? What constitutes blessing for them? For some “blessed” is just another way of saying “lucky.” It seems that generally, the thinking is that blessing has something to do with pleasant circumstances, acquiring some treasured possession, or a notable achievement. We’re “blessed” if things are going our way. But is that really what blessing is all about?
What about you? Would you consider yourself blessed? Why? Maybe it’s because you’re healthy. Or you have good job. A happy marriage. Well-behaved kids (that’s a blessing every parent fantasizes about) Or maybe you feel blessed because you have some of the things you always wanted – a big house, a vacation home, a boat. I don’t know what it is for you, but most of us often think of blessing in physical terms.
This morning, we’re going to dive into a familiar Psalm that gives us some insight into what the Bible says blessing is all about. And why you and I, as followers of Jesus, should “consider ourselves blessed”
PSALM 32
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
It seems straightforward - Blessing is found in forgiveness. But why is that such a blessed thing? Forgiveness is so much more than just being granted a clean slate, a zero balance. If we stop at being cleared of wrongdoing, we’ve missed the point. The goal of forgiveness is restoration to relationship.
In any relationship, an offense, a wrongdoing, creates a breach. You can’t just sweep it under the rug and keep going. You have to deal with it. And the more valuable the relationship, the more precious forgiveness and restoration are. There have been some times when I have deeply wounded my wife, and her willingness to forgive me is such a gift.
In the same way, our sin creates a block between us and God. Isaiah 59:2 your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. And the very idea that Holy God would offer you and I forgiveness is a blessing of epic proportions. But there’s something really profound and beautiful that I want you to see.
In Exodus 33, Moses asks to see God’s glory. And Exodus 34 tells us how God responded to that bold request Ex 34:5-7 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there,
and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
God came near to Moses. And spoke to him. And it seems that God wanted Moses to know that what made Him truly glorious and wonderful was not his power or majesty, not his creative ability, but his heart for his people. Please don’t miss this – the glory of God is that He forgives. And look at how he said it – forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Those are the same three words David uses. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence. It seems that David is connecting the blessing of forgiveness with the glory of God.
Because God longs for us to see and know him, he goes after anything that separates us from that experience.
That’s what David is talking about in verses 3-4
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Listen, most of you know this. Sin is fun. If it wasn’t fun, if it didn’t result in some pleasure (event though it’s temporary pleasure) it wouldn’t be tempting. I heard somebody say “if it’s not fun, you’re not doing it right.” But the fun doesn’t last.
I don’t know if David literally felt the physical effects of sin that he describes here or if it was just a metaphor. But I do know that sin can’t deliver on all its promises. Sin promises good times and the good life, but it literally cuts you off from life and joy. The writer of Proverbs warned his son: there is a way that seems right to a man, the end of which is death. But God, in His grace, doesn’t let us keep going. He pursues us with his heavy hand, not to push away but to bring us back. Listen to me, God’s press on you is not hate, it’s not rejection – it’s mercy and grace.
Michelle and I have 2 teenage sons. And one of the things that we pray often is that the Lord would uncover their sin. We want their disobedience and deceit and lies to be exposed. And recently, God has answered that prayer in one son’s life. And it makes him so mad when he gets caught. But I told him, every time you get caught, it’s grace. Because God is giving you an opportunity to repent. He’s inviting you to come back.
David knew that was true, so he responded to the Lord’s discipline. Verse 5
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
I think it’s revealing when you think about how we talk about our sin versus the way the Bible talks about it. Often, we apologize instead of confessing. And we say things like:
“I made a mistake” “I slipped up again” “I had a lapse in judgement” That’s not how God sees our sin. He calls it SIN, INIQUITY, and TRANSGRESSION. And when we call it what it is, He is willing to forgive because that’s the kind of God He is.
Confession is agreeing with God about what he says about who we are and what we’ve done. And David knew that. So he confessed and received forgiveness. I think David expected that when he approached God.
Confession is so much easier when it is accompanied by an expectation of compassion and mercy. Have you ever had to confess when you weren’t sure you would be forgiven?
Confession is an act of trust, taking God at His word. As followers of Jesus, confession is taking advantage of what Jesus died to purchase for us.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Based on his own experience, David advocates for those who know the Lord to be quick to confess and repent, while the door is open
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
David understood that at some point, the chance to confess and be made right with God would be over. So he urges that faithful, those who belong to God, to pray and confess before the “mighty waters” of judgment come. Honestly, we can’t afford to put off confession because we don’t know what tomorrow holds.
Because of Jesus we can… come boldy to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4:16)
David goes on…
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Where David once felt the press of God’s heavy hand, a discipline that sapped him of strength and vitality, feeling the displeasure of God, now he finds refuge and safety in God’s presence.
And in that refuge David expects to be kept safe. Spurgeon says the one “who is saved from sin has no need to fear anything else.”
But David finds something else of comfort in God’s presence. It is the voice of God promising to lead him in paths of righteousness.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
We can’t trust ourselves to walk uprightly on our own. We need God’s help. No amount of self will can keep us from falling again into temptation. We need to be taught, led to obey the Spirit and resist the tug of the flesh. We need the help of our Savior.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you…
David ends his song with what he knows from experience to be true.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
The contrast here is very clear – the wicked who go on in their wickedness are only heaping up sorrow for themselves. But the one who confesses is made righteous and restored to relationship. That’s what 1 John 1:9 promises us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We aren’t righteous because we always get it perfectly right. It’s not a righteousness based on works, but a righteousness that is by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Made righteous by faith in Jesus. Can you think of a better blessing?
There are 3 things from this Psalm that I think you and I need to give ourselves to:
1. Confess and Repent Quickly
2. Listen to the Voice of God
3. Worship God
1. Confess and Repent Quickly
There’s nothing gained by delaying. No benefit in waiting. As soon as you and I feel the conviction of the Spirit, we absolutely must humble ourselves and pray, confessing our sin and seeking to be restored.
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Several years ago, I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking about prayer. And he looked across the table at me and rather matter of fact said “I love confession.” I’m sure that I looked at him in a sort of stunned unbelief at what I had just heard. He didn’t really mean that, did he? How can anyone love confession? If I’m honest, my thought was “I hate confession.” I don’t like to be wrong and confession often feels like having to admit I was wrong…again. It feels like admitting defeat. I failed again. I feel deflated when I come to confess. But that was not my friend’s point of view. He said “Chris, because of Jesus, I come crawling into the presence of God filthy, stained, broken by sin. And in his presence I get to confess my sin and then I can stand up and walk out whole and clean and forgiven. What’s not to love about that?!
The sooner we confess, the sooner we experience the blessing of being cleansed and forgiven.
2. Listen To the Voice of God
From the very beginning, way back in the garden, sin entered the world because man listened to the wrong voice. We wander into sin because we listen to the lies of the enemy. And the only hope we have of walking in the Spirit and not giving into the desires of the flesh is to listen to the voice of truth. And there’s no better place for us to hear that voice than to be daily in the Word of God.
The Psalmist in 119
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
3. Worship
The experience of God’s mercy, the recognition that we’ve been forgiven, ought to provoke us to worship.
Psalm 130:3-4 3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities (kept a record of sin), O Lord, who could stand? 4But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. When God expunges our record of sin, it leads us to fear – not being scared or frightened of God – but awe, wonder, amazement, worship, love. That’s what Jesus said in Luke 7 – the one who has been forgiven much loves much.
Our lives should be marked by deep love for the One who purchased our redemption. We should daily look at Jesus and be amazed.
He is “the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
This morning, we’re going to end by giving you an opportunity to do those 3 things. We’re going to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and worship the One who laid down his life for us. Some of you this morning have felt the conviction of the Holy spirit, and you know there’s something that needs to be confessed. Maybe you want to come and kneel and pray.