“I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

Psalm 32:5

 

IN PSALM 32:3-4—the verses preceding our text above—the psalmist David speaks of the great anguish of soul that he experiences. He complains, “... my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long”. Why is this so? From where does this sorrow and anguish arise?

Answer: Guilt. David knows the deep conviction of his sin. And furthermore, until this point he has refused to acknowledge his sin before God. For it was, “When I kept silent” that his “bones grew old.”

But all this changes in an instant in 32:5. The turning point is that he then acknowledges his sin to God, confessing his guilt before the LORD. And when we do, God graciously forgives. When we come to God in true repentance and faith, confessing our sinfulness, He is gracious and merciful. No longer are our sins counted against us, but instead, we are declared righteous by God, clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

How can this be? Because rather than being counted against us, our sins were placed on Christ on the cross. He bore my penalty there. He died so that we might live. That is the “gospel”, the “good news”, and surely there is no better news than that.

 

Pastor Craig publishes  "A Word from God's Word" weekly in the "Kootenay News Advertiser".

About the Author

Pastor Craig has served as Senior Pastor of Cranbrook Fellowship Baptist Church since 2018. His passion is for preaching and teaching God's Word, as it is through the proclamation of the gospel that God does His work in people's lives.