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When I was a teenager, I once stole a chocolate cream-filled easter egg from my mother's secret stash. I noticed the sweet confection staring back at me one summer afternoon, and quickly snatched and consumed it. I can't recall for certain whether I enjoyed this sugary treat, but in my memory, it seems as if the taste was somehow soured.

Here's why: a few days later, I completed some errands for mum. When I had finished, she smiled kindly at me, saying she had a little gift of appreciation. Opening the treat cupboard, she frowned, began moving things around, and then said, "I'm sorry, it's gone! I had an Easter Cream Egg I wanted to thank you with!"

Holding my face in a plastic smile, I reassured her that I needed no such reward. Inside, however, my guts were in turmoil. I did not confess my theft, but instead struggled to erect a fragmented justification for my dishonesty.

In Psalm 32, David tells us how he kept silent about his sin; not owning his wrongdoing, his deceit; not confessing his guilt to God. As a result, he felt as though the vitality of his very strength became withered and broken, "dried up as by the heat of summer." That's a vivid simile. I can imagine a desiccated carcass left in the desert sun; dehydrated flesh in an arid wasteland!

I have many such stories, as I'm sure you do as well. Some may even be much more serious than stolen candy! I have experienced the very deliverance which David describes, when I have acknowledged my sin to God and man. Forgiveness is available to those who confess and turn from their sin.

When we see that our torment is of our own making; once we come to realize that God's steadfast love is all around us; once we understand that joy and forgiveness is available to our lying hearts, then refusal to own up to our wrongdoings is simply stubborn ignorance. David compares such behaviour to a mule who must be controlled with a bit and bridle!

Be happy, for your sins can be forgiven!

Amen

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The Joy of Forgiveness
Of David. A Maskil.
1 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body 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
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding-place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#scripturesongs #psalm32