I cannot believe it. I did not realize that it's been 5 months since I posted a new addition to my blog. Much has taken place in that time, including a change in my work schedule. I have had to return to working nights. Please keep me in your prayers. I need wisdom to pursue the right plans in the days ahead.
 Verse 3 my bones wasted away through my groaning all day
long (NIV 2011) When
I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. (KJV) For when I kept silent, my
bones wasted away through my groaning all day
long. (ESV 2016) When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. (NLT 2015)
|
I.
Covered – vv. 1-2 II. Conviction – vv. 3-4 III.
Confession – v. 5 IV.
Call – v. 6 V.
Confidence – v. 7 V.
Counsel – vv. 8-9 VI.
Contrast – v. 10 VII.
Celebrate! – v. 11
Blessed – vv. 1-2 Lament/Languish – vv. 3-4 Exonerate
– v 5 Seek
– v. 6 Shelter/security
– v. 7 Educate
– v. 8-10 Delight
– v. 11 |
Worship in Word:
I. Internal: the guilt of unconfessed sin
A.
Wasting – 3a
B. Wailing – 3b
A. Wasting – 3a
In verses 3-4, David reveals the inner turmoil he experienced
when the sin mentioned in verses 1 & 2 remained unconfessed. As said
before, David speaks in generalities in the first two verses of this psalm, but
he also has himself in mind as well. So, in verse three, he takes a more
personal turn and gives an example of a time when the “spirit” of “deceit” (v. 2
NIV) had control of him. Let us take a look at the first part of the
verse in this study.
The stark and abrupt change we read about in verses 3-4 heightens
the contrast between the blessedness testified to in the opening two verses and
the wretchedness that led up to it. If verses 1-2 can be described as the
“blessed life,” verses 3-4 may be aptly described as the “stressed life!”
What caused this stress? David begins to answer that question
with the word “When.”
“When I kept silent...”
Silent from
what? It becomes clear in the words that follow in verses 3-4 that it is
referring to the unconfessed sin he was harboring. The NLT paraphrases this
phrase in a way that makes that clear:
“When I refused to confess my sin...”
He followed
the “when” with the “whys” he was stressed. Today, I am looking at the first “why”
under the heading “Wasting.”
David uses a phrase that may seem strange to some. He
describes his inner turmoil not in psychological but in physical terms.
“my bones wasted away”
Or, as the KJV quaintly puts it:
“my bones waxed old”
The Hebrew word bālāh (baw-law`) has the idea of wearing out. The same word is used in Deut.
8:4:
Your clothes did not wear
out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Deut 8:4-5 NIV
David refers to his “bones” because of the view prevalent in
those days that the bones give strength to the body. As David stubbornly
refused to confess his sin, he felt his strength waning. In essence, He was
saying he felt worn out.
Worship in Witness:
Unconfessed sin
can have a debilitating (weakening) effect on one’s body and spirit. However, lack
of confession and repentance can also be isolating for the believer whose heart
is sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Did David feel alone? Was the
sense of God’s presence missing in his life? Verse 4 would indicate that God
was present, but God probably felt far off to David.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will
you hide your face from me?
Ps 13:1 NIV
Lacking the
sense of God’s presence doesn’t always indicate unconfessed sin in our life.
However, it should be our first question when this occurs. May our prayer then
be as David prayed in Psalm 139.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if
there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Ps 139:23-24 NIV
Unconfessed
sin can cause us to feel isolated from others as well. It can cause us to
withdraw into ourselves. That may manifest itself in actual withdrawal from
fellowshipping with other believers. If not physically withdrawing from others,
it may at least make us feel isolated emotionally or spiritually even though we
are physically present.
Unconfessed
sin can lead to a judgmental spirit. In judging another’s sin, we attempt to assuage
or suppress our own guilt.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Matt 7:3-4 NIV
Finally,
left unconfessed, that sin can fester and stunt our growth in grace. It will
hinder us from running the Christian race.
...let us
throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let
us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Heb 12:1-2 NIV
One cannot “throw off” what one refuses to recognize, confess, and repent of.
Not only will it cause us to stumble, but it can also affect another’s running of the race.
1Jesus said to his disciples:
"Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone
through whom they come. 2 It would be better for you to be thrown
into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck than for you to cause one
of these little ones to stumble.
Luke 17:1-2 TNIV
If that happens, our feelings of guilt and isolation
will be multiplied. Therefore, take heed of our Lord’s words that follow in Luke
17:3a.
Pay attention to yourselves! ESV
I believe that
is one of the underlying messages that David is trying to convey in Psalm 32.
Worship
in Promise, Prayer, Poem, and Praise
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Oh,
Sword of God, Pierce My Soul
Oh, sword of God, come pierce my soul
Make it willing by Thy marvelous grace
To listen not in part but in the whole
And run with certainty this glorious
race
Straining forward towards the finish
line
And though I may stumble and fall down
I will get up and declare, “Your will,
not mine.”
That I may run the race to receive the
crown
Amen
Lord, May I Be Humble
Lord,
may I be humble
Repent
and confess my sin
That
others might
not stumble
Let
me not assuage my guilt
By
judging other’s sinful ways
But
through the Lamb
whose blood was spilt
Spilt
for a sinner such as I
Spilt
to pardon my shameful sin
At
the cross of Calvary
Where Christ did die
V
Amen
Then At Last (Psalm 32), by Wendell Kimbrough
Blest
is the soul that’s free from deceit—
No
need to hide what he says from what he means.
Blest
is the heart forgiven by love,
Whose
every fault our good Lord covers up.
Long
I disguised and buried my shame;
Ran
through the night and I groaned through the day.
Shelter
I sought where I thought I was safe,
But
oh silent soul, how you wasted away!
Then
at last I told all my sins,
And
with shouts of joy, lovin’ arms drew me in
To
my one true safe place:
In
the love of God and the family of grace!
So
listen up, if you truly want to live:
Do
not hide alone in the dark like this one fool did.
Be
not like the mule as he fights against the reins.
Come
let your broken heart be bound by grace!
Words
and Music: © 2016 Wendell Kimbrough. CCLI Song #7064730.
credits
from
Psalms We Sing Together, released September 23, 2016
Lyrics
Source: https://wendellk.bandcamp.com/track/then-at-last-psalm-32
Video
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEzHA6I3Zo
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