Pastor Rick Donald

Psalm 32

Today was the end of an incredible three part series by Pastor Rick Donald – I will post the other two sermons later this week.  The following are my notes taken from the service.  He opened with a reminder about the men’s conference next weekend.

Context – the Psalms were written out of David’s own personal experience. Many believe that Psalm 32 was written out of David’s great sin with Bathsheba (the sin was adultery, deceit, and murder).

David’s trying to tell us with Psalm 32 – “learn from me”.

1) My forgiveness from God is available through confession. (vv. 1-2)

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.

David used three verses to communicate where he was at (words that describe our hearts):

Transgression – means rebellion against God…stepping over the boundary with God.
Sin – to miss the mark…the mark is Jesus…perfect character.
Iniquity – means distorted, twisted.  It reflects the crookedness of our nature.  Our heart is sinful by nature.

“Whose sin is covered” means that which God finds offensive He removes from or puts out of his sight.  God chooses to treat me as if I’ve never sinned. He replaces my sin with Christ’s righteousness.

If sin is what I am, and God offers such forgiveness for sin, how do I get it?  Verse 2 says “in whose spirit there is no deceit.”. The solution to my sin problem is God’s own Son, who hung on the cross.  If I believe that Jesus was the payment for my sin and confess it with my mouth I will be saved.

Pastor Rick shared his salvation story from when he was age 12.

2) My fellowship with God is broken through sin. (vv. 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. Selah

For when I kept silent – David kept his sin with Bathsheba silent.  He did not confess it (his sin) to God.  David did what you and I do, he hid his sin and his heart got hardened.  When David kept silent his bones wasted away (a picture of aging, weak bones and sickness). When we choose to not confess our sins, to hold them in our heart, it makes us spiritually dead.

Groaning – the sound of a wounded animal crying out.  David used this picture to show how he felt.

Your hand was heavy upon me – conviction.  Because he would not turn from his sin, God was convicting him to bring him to a place of brokenness and repentance.

Pastor Rick told the story of something in his youth.  He could have been in an accident, but because he stopped just for a moment, another car passed him and was hit by a drunk driver.  God used this to convict him.  God eventually broke him. In tears he repented and confessed his sins.  For the very first time he understood repentance.  He had to make choices to change things in his life.

5 reasons we don’t confess our sin:

• Because we love our sin
• I rationalize my sin – it’s no big deal…it’s not hurting anyone, yet
• I don’t see my sin – pride is blinding me
• We think we deserve our sin – example a husband that embraces pornography because his wife is not meeting his needs
• I don’t want to deal with the consequences – we don’t want to trust God with the outcome of confession

We forget the joy and fruitfulness of forgiveness.

3) My growth in God is advanced through repentance. (v. 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. Selah

David makes it really clear here that the way to forgiveness comes through repentance.

Two parts to repentance:

• Confession – I acknowledge my sin to you…we are agreeing with God, God, you are right, what I did was wrong
• Repentance – this gets us out of the cycle.  To rethink or change your mind toward sin.  I’m changing the way I think about the sin, which will lead to different choices in my life as it relates to that sin

Three important parts to repentance:

• It starts in the mind – a change in the way I think about it
• Emotions – it needs to grieve me
• Will – now I begin to make different choices in my life

4) The promises of God are experienced through humility. (vv. 6-9)

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
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.

Pastor Rick shared a story about horses.

Three promises from these verses:

Found – God promises his presence. Don’t take it in your own hands…it only gets worse
Protection – God is a hiding place for us. God protects us in the midst of our sin by reminding us of our position in Christ.  Satan wants you to forget this. God reminds you who He is.
Path – God will instruct you in the way you should go.  God’s Word leads us in the right way.  It keeps us from things that will be painful.

5) My thankfulness to God is expressed through worship. (vv. 10-11)

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!

Pastor Rick said he was going to let the verses speak for themselves.

My thankfulness to God for my great forgiveness that I find first in Christ Jesus that causes me to come to full repentance.

Do you have you salvation story?