Something to Sing About
5I 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 . . . 11Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
—Psalm 32:5, 11
Sometimes it takes a lot to force us to confess sin to God. It’s not something we like to do, and many avoid it at all costs. In the Bible, it took seven years of living like an animal for King Nebuchadnezzar to confess his pride to God. It took wars, famine, and numerous judgments from the Lord for the Israelites to confess their sin. And, it took a crushing work from God for David to finally acknowledge, uncover, and confess his sin to God.
Where there once was silence, there now is confession. David had tried to hide, deny, and be silent about his sin and it got him everywhere bad. It took a prophet named Nathan to spell out the ugliness of his sin before he finally manned up. Only then did he acknowledge his sin before God. It’s as if David finally said, OK, I give up. No more silence. I officially make the declaration that I have sinned before the Lord. Then David tells us he no longer covered up his iniquity. He pulls back the cover on his sin and says, There it is. Uncovered. Out in the open for the Lord to see. And then David says that he confesses his transgressions. See all of that twisted up sin? David exclaims, It’s all mine. I confess that I, and I alone, did it all. They are my horrific sins. That is no light-duty repentance. That is sin fully acknowledged, uncovered, and confessed to the Lord. And it pleased the Lord.
Where there once was guilt, there now is forgiveness. What a relief it must have been for King David to know his sins were now erased from God’s ledger book. Gone! Eliminated! Wiped out! It is important to note that David understood not only did God erase his sin, but He also took away the guilt of his sin. David was forgiven and guiltless before God! What a relief!
Where there once was suffering, there now is rejoicing. The result of repentance that leads to forgiveness is threefold: gladness, rejoicing, and song. The forgiven experience a supernatural gladness that permeate their very souls. The forgiven have good reason to give verbal expression of God’s amazing goodness and grace in their lives. The forgiven sing! They shout out a melody because they indeed have something to declare in song.
King David, the adulterer, murderer, liar, and silent-with-his-sin man, repented. He confessed and turned away from his sin. And the Lord forgave. Now that is something to sing about! —Doug Helmer
Journal:
· Is there sin in my life I need to acknowledge and uncover before the Lord?
· Do I grasp how amazing and full God’s forgiveness is? How can I rejoice in that right now?
Prayer – Father, I am amazed at my own pride. My pride shows itself when I am resistant to acknowledging and uncovering my sin before You, even though You see it all. How marvelous You are! How patient You are! How forgiving You are! You give me something to sing about! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
