Psalm 32:1

King David is very reflective in this psalm. Some commentators suggest that he wrote it some years after his disastrous adultery with Bathsheba. That agonising episode led to the murder of Bathsheba’s husband and caused untold grief. When Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin the king turned back to God and discovered the wonder of his forgiveness (2 Samuel 12). It is thought that Psalm 51 was written at this critical time in David’s life. He pleaded to God for his mercy and forgiveness. He asked God to purify him and to wash him whiter than snow. He wanted God to restore him and to make him new. In Psalm 32 he appears to be standing back from the experience of forgiveness and reflecting on how completely wonderful it is.

David thought back over those days when he had refused to confess his sin. He recalled how his body wasted away and how he had groaned all day long. His strength had evaporated like water on a summer’s day (vv 3–4). But when he confessed his sins, his life was transformed. He was a new man.

All of us want to know the joy of forgiveness and David’s message to us is that we can only make this discovery when we have, first of all, recognised our sin. When we face up to our failings, God is able to help us and to set us on a new path free from sin and guilt.

The apostle Paul was also extremely straightforward about the reality of sin and the need of forgiveness. He recognised that he was far from perfect. Indeed, even though he was an important Christian leader, he admitted that he lived with a constant battle between good and evil. He wrote with incredible candour: “I have discovered this principle of life– that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind” (Romans 7:21–23). This all sounds rather hopeless but Paul discovered that there was one person who could help him. “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25). We all need to say: “Amen!” to that.

Question

What has been your own experience of God’s forgiveness?

Prayer

Loving God, I confess that I have sinned against you and ask you to forgive my sins. Help me to live more closely to you from now onwards. Amen