TOPIC:“When the Soul Makes a Great Discovery”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Psalms 32:1-6
“For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may
be found” (Psalms 32:6, NKJV)
I suppose we might call the 32nd Psalm one of the greatest Psalms ever written by David. One is struck with the fact that the Apostle Paul immortalized it when he quoted the opening verses of the Psalm in his letter to the believers at Rome. Listen to his words: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:7, 8). As an instructive Psalm it informs the reader as to the blight of sin and the blessing of forgiveness.
Most Bible scholars believe it was composed as a sequel to Psalm 51 after David's terrible sin of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, her husband. Against this background of sin, failure, shame and humiliation, David writes of the joy, forgiveness, and peace that he found when he made the discovery of a lifetime. He not only discovered what he was, but more important, he discovered who God was and what he could become if he permitted God to exercise sovereign control over his life.
It is important to point out that David was in a covenant relationship with God at the time of his great failure. He was what we might call “a sinning Christian.” Much like Peter the fisherman who was in a family relationship with God when failure came into his life. This may be true of you today as a Christian. You have been redeemed by Christ, but defeat has been a repeated experience in your life. If that be true, this can be a day, a place, and a time of discovery for you as it was for David of old. Let's look at what the soul of David discovered regarding his terrible sins and God's marvelous forgiveness.
I.
Consider, to begin with, the soul of David discovered the POWER of God in the CONVICTION of sin. Notice his words in verse 4: “For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me.” The New Living Translation renders it: “Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.”
Now when we read in the Bible about “the hand of God” it is always used figuratively and is a symbol of His mighty power. Such power could be expressed either in mercy or in judgment. In conviction like that of David or in destruction like God's judgment on unfaithful Israel. We read these words by Isaiah the prophet: “Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against His people, and He has stretched forth his hand against . . .