By Pastor David R  Mills
Berean Baptist Church, Mesquite, TX

Text: Psalm 32

Introduction: In my personal devotion time, I have been studying through the Psalms.  I want to invite your attention back there again today.  This passage spoke to my heart a little while back and the Lord showed me some areas where I am lacking.

I 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."

 *  Notice sin is in the plural.  Confess "sins" specifically, not generally.
  There are two types of confession.  You can rest assured that if God makes a way for us to get right with Him, Satan will also offer up a counterfeit.  So there is a right way and a wrong way to confess our sins -  A way that brings forgiveness and a way that doesn't.

   I have dealt with people that if you were to ask them if they were a sinner, they would say-  O yes, I am a sinner.  But if you were to take them through the Ten Commandments and ask them specifically-  Have you ever worshipped an idol, used God's name in vain, committed adultery or murder, or stolen, or coveted, etc.  They would deny each one.  It is real easy in our prayers to God to say-

        Lord, please forgive me of my sin.

*  What if we had been around the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned and we would have had the opportunity to talk with them before the Lord found them.  What if we could have asked them-   "Adam, Eve are you sinners?"  O yes, they both would have said, we are sinners.

   They admitted they had sinned when they tried to cover up their sin and hide themselves from the presence of God.  But when they were pinpointed on the specific sin they both began to blame.  Notice their confession-  it is a false confession.

Genesis 3:11-13 -- And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?    And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.   And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

*  Adam was basically saying to the Lord-
        Yes, I sinned, but God, it was Your fault and Eve's fault.-

*  Eve basically said-
        Yes, I sinned, but it was that serpent's fault-

   If you ever add a "but" to your confession then it is probably not a true confession.
        Yes, I am a sinner, but if so and so had not done this to me I wouldn't have sinned.

It is much more difficult to identify the sin and admit that we did it -- Lord, please forgive me for that lustful thought I had toward so and so. or for the jealousy I felt toward so and so's success.   It is like the criminal who says "not guilty" until he has been tried and proven guilty.  Only then is he sorry.  That is not true confession.  If the only reason that you admit guilt is because you got caught, then that is not true confession.  Had you never gotten caught, you would have never admitted guilt.

   A true confession is a complete admission of guilt.  No rationalizing, no blaming.  It is my fault and no one else.  I did it.  True confession is turning yourself in without being coerced to do so.   I am guilty, I blame no other.  If hell is my punishment then that is what I deserve.   When we come to the Lord in confession, we must come to Him with these words-  Guilty, Guilty!

*  You can never have the peace of God until you can openly admit your guilt to God.  You must be anxious to free all others from the blame of your sin.

I  want us to look at several things concerning confession today-  This passage was the outcome of David's sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah.

I.  The Reasons for Confession   (v. 1- 2)

   Why do we even need to confess our sins to God?

        A.  Because we are all sinners

(Rom 3:10-18 KJV)  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. {13} Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: {14} Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: {15} Their feet are swift to shed blood: {16} Destruction and misery are in their ways: {17} And the way of peace have they not known: {18} There is no fear of God before their eyes.

(Rom 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

        B.  Because all sin is against God

(Psa 51:4 KJV)  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

        C.  Because all sin can be forgiven

(Psa 86:5 KJV)  For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

        *  In (v. 1- 2)- David gives a threefold description of sin:

            (1) "transgression" - which depicts a spirit of defiant disobedience against God;
            (2) "sin" - which denotes a missing of the mark, a deficiency with respect to intent or purpose
            (3) "iniquity" - which represents a perversion, a distortion of that which is straight.

        The counterpart is a threefold description of forgiveness:

            (1) "forgiven"  means "to lift up" (as a burden), "to take away," "to bear";
            (2) "covered" means "to conceal or hide," as from the eye
            (3) "not impute" pictures the canceling of a debt

Definition - guile- means deceit, treachery, describes a posture of pretense and deception.

   David affirms the fact that the blessed state of forgiveness is obtained only when there is absolute sincerity and honesty on man's part in acknowledging his sins before God.

II.  The Reluctance to Confession   (v. 3- 4)

   David is referring to those times that we try to hide our sin.  We know that we have sinned but rather than confess it, we try not to think about it and try to fill our minds with something else.

These verses illustrate the biblical principle that one's physical health is vitally related to his spiritual well-being.

Matthew Henry-
  The wounds of sin, not opened, will fester, and grow intolerably painful. If the conscience is seared, the sin is even more dangerous.

As long as the psalmist did not acknowledge his sin, he suffered the grievous pain, both bodily and mentally, of that sin. Unconfessed sin arrests the heart of man and causes him great distress.

My moisture is turned into the drought of summer.

*  David suffered spiritually but he also suffered physically.  He became like an old man.  God's hand of conviction was heavy upon him day and night.  He dried up like a brook in a drought.

*  Have you ever felt that you were in the desert spiritually?  That is what unconfessed sin will do.

(Prov 28:13 KJV)  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

*  Do not expect God to cover what you are not willing to uncover.

III.  The Result of Confession   (v. 5- 8)
 

(2 Sam 12:7-9 KJV)  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; {8} And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. {9} Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

*  We have all sat in services that the preacher was preaching and it sounded as if he had been reading our mail.  That is what Nathan did to David.  David thought it was a secret.  God knows!  You can't hide your sin from Him.

(ex.)-  After David had heard the convicting message from Nathan-  what if he had said-  "But Nathan, none of this would have happened if Bathsheba hadn't been bathing on her rooftop where I could see her.  It is really her fault.

   David tells Nathan that he had sinned.
*  David mentions all three words used for sin in (v. 1- 2) in his confession to God- (v. 5).  He mentions all of his sin.

(v. 6)-   …in a time when thou mayest be found…

*  This means- in a time of finding-   (two meanings)-

        1.  Confess in a time when we find out our sin- (immediately)
        2.  Confess in a time when God may be found- (first sign of convicting)

(Isa 55:6-8 KJV)  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: {7} Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. {8} For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

(v. 7)-   David's sighing is turned into singing.
        Instead of hiding from the Lord because of unconfessed sin- once confessed the Lord becomes his hiding place.

(v. 8)-  Once sin is confessed, then God can instruct and guide once again.  Unconfessed sin will blind us from God's instruction.

IV.  The Reward of Confession   (v. 10- 11)

        A.  Mercy

   These verses assure us that God protects and upholds those who belong to Him.

        B.  Righteousness

   When we are forgiven, Christ's righteousness is deposited to our account.

        C.  Joy  and Gladness

(v. 11)-  …shout for joy…

        David ends this Psalm by shouting-  The past is forgiven, the present is joyful, and the future is secure in the hands of the Lord.

Conclusion:

   (v. 9)-  I intentionally skipped this verse so that I could conclude with it.
David urges us to follow his example of honesty before God in confession.

*  David is referring to two extremes in this example-
        The horse that rushes ahead impulsively.
        The mule that lags behind stubbornly.
The Christian should avoid both of these patterns of behavior.

*  Rather than being like a beast of burden that has to be harnessed into submission, we can choose to be led by the gentle touch of God's hand.

*  God longs to guide us with love and wisdom rather than punishment.

(ex.)-  Can you remember times, as a child, that mom or dad made you confess your wrong to someone?

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