FORGIVENESS AND SALVATION
[p. 305] FORGIVENESS AND SALVATION
Psalm 32 belongs to the Maschil psalms and is the first psalm of this kind. ‘Maschil’ means ‘instruction’. In this psalm David is instructing sinners as to how they may obtain the forgiveness of their sins. David speaks from experience, for he himself had sinned greatly, but had obtained forgiveness.
How can any one obtain forgiveness of sins? David was a great sinner. The apostle Paul says of himself that he was the first of sinners, and indeed every one who has forgiveness of sins will say the same of himself. I would remind you of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer which the Lord told (Luke 18:10 - 14). They both went up into the temple to pray. The Pharisee enumerated all the good things that he had done, but the tax-gatherer smote upon his breast and said, “O God, have compassion on me, the sinner”. If one of you this afternoon is convicted of being a sinner, then he will no longer judge other people, nor compare himself any more with others, but his language would be, “Oh God, be merciful to me, the sinner”. Such a one is justified. As soon as we confess our sins, God forgives them immediately. God can do that in accordance with His majesty and holiness, for all our sins were laid upon the Lord Jesus on the cross, as it is written, “Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). The Lord of glory allowed Himself to be hanged upon a cross, and as He hung there all our sins were laid upon Him. The greatest sinner can go home from here justified, if he believes on Christ. It says, “Therefore having been justified on the principle of faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(Romans 5:1). Is there one here whose sins are troubling him? Well, we are here to tell you that God wants to forgive you. You [p. 306] will receive forgiveness of sins if you believe on Christ. “Every one that believes on him will receive through his name remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
Psalm 32 is written by a man who has gone through these experiences. David had been a great sinner but he had obtained the consciousness that God had forgiven and covered his sins. He can instruct us from experience and this afternoon God wishes to speak through David to the sinners who are here.
David puts at the beginning of this psalm the blessed consciousness that his sins are forgiven. In verse 3 he says that he had long kept silence about his sins. Many make this great mistake: they keep silence about their sins. Possibly you have sins you committed many years ago, but have not confessed. You have kept silence. You have not yet gone to God and uncovered your sins and brought them before Him. You have not yet smitten upon your breast and said “O God, be merciful to me, the sinner”. Therefore you have still no forgiveness of your sins, but you have a dread of God and you are afraid of death. That does not need to be the case any longer with you, if you break your silence and confess your sins to God. David had also kept silence; he had passed over his sins, as if they had not taken place. But he was in dire distress of soul. Hear what he says, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my groaning all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer”. Is that your history up till now? It was the case formerly with many who are here, but it is not so any longer. We have come out from this terrible soul distress. We have given up our silence and have confessed our sins, and God has forgiven us on the ground of the precious blood of Christ His Son. God “is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). We want this [p. 307] afternoon to present this God to you in the gospel. “God ... gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him may not perish, but have life eternal” (John 3:16). David kept silence for a time, but God sent him a message by the prophet Nathan and God is also sending you today the good news, the gospel of your salvation.
Nathan said to David, “There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor” (2 Samuel 12:1). God in His wisdom weighs up all your circumstances and surroundings. He brings the gospel so near to you that you cannot possibly avoid Him any longer. God always speaks in a language that we can understand. The Lord always took his parables from nature and human circumstances and knew at the same time how to give them a fit application to our heart and conscience. The Lord in His parables often places two persons side by side in order to better draw a contrast. Take, for example, the prodigal son and his brother (Luke 15), or the rich man and the poor man Lazarus (Luke 16) or the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18). One receives the blessing and the other because of his unbelief is lost. “Two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; two women grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left” (Matthew 24:40,41). “There shall be two men upon one bed; one shall be seized and the other shall be let go” (Luke 17:34). Perhaps there are two young people here who will sleep tonight in one room. Perhaps the one will be taken, because he confesses his sins before God, but the other be left in his sins because he continues to keep silence. Beloved friends, that is very serious.
Nathan said to David, “There were two men in one city; the one rich and the other poor. The rich had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing at all, but one little ewe lamb which he ... was nourishing; and it grew up with him ...
[p. 308] it ... slept in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. And there came a traveller to the rich man” (2 Samuel 12:1 - 4). What did the rich man do now? You would, of course, say that he took a sheep out of his large flocks and slaughtered it and prepared it for the traveller. But no, he did not do so, “he took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him” (verse 4). No doubt you say, what David also said about it, “the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death”. Perhaps you say that you are not doing anything like that. But that rich man did what we all have done, he despised the rights of God and of his fellow men. You have despised the rights of God; you have not honoured Him in all your ways. God has created you; you belong to Him and so you have no right to live to yourself. This is the greatest sin of all men, that they despise the rights of God. And how is it with the rights of your fellow men? Have you always recognised them? Have you recognised the rights of your parents, the rights of your wife or husband? Have you guarded the rights of the man by whom you are employed? No, you cannot say that of yourself. That all stands written against you in the books, which God keeps about you and God will bring it before you later, at the great white throne (Revelation 20:11 - 15) and condemn you eternally. Oh, look these facts today in the face! Say like David, “I have sinned” (2 Samuel 12:13). The answer of Nathan will then also apply to you, “Jehovah has also put away thy sin; thou shalt not die”. Are you not prepared to receive this offer of God’s and allow God to put away your sins? How then does God take them away? Through the death of Christ. He had laid all your sins upon Christ on the cross. Where is Christ today? At the right hand of God. Are your sins still upon Him? No, they were all put away in His death. He died for our sins and was [p. 309] buried. On the third day He was raised up from among the dead, and He left all our sins behind in His grave. We can now understand the beautiful passage of Scripture, “who has been delivered for our offences and has been raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Are you not amazed that it says that Christ has been raised for our justification? God thought of us when Christ died, but He also thought of us when Christ arose. God has raised Him up for our justification. On this account He can forgive the sins of every one who turns to Him. However many sins you may ever have committed they can all immediately be forgiven. An honest man will never say that he has only committed a few sins but he will admit that he has committed many sins, as the Lord also said of the woman in Luke 7, “Her many sins are forgiven” (verse 47).
But let us return to Psalm 32. After David had been convicted by Nathan’s parable, he says further of himself, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity I covered not; I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah”. ‘Selah’ means ‘pause’; we are to make a pause here. David here summons us to halt. I should like to ask every one who is here to stand still and take account of the precious opportunity of receiving forgiveness of sins. Confess your sins to God, disclose them to Him, then you will receive the forgiveness of which David speaks. Blessedness will enter into your soul. Like the eunuch of old, you will go on your way rejoicing (Acts 8:39).
Perhaps there are some young people here who have confessed their sins to God but have still kept silence towards men. They are converted and have forgiveness of sins, but they have not yet confessed the Lord before men. They speak to God but keep silence towards men. You say perhaps that it is [p. 310] sufficient if God has forgiven. Everything then is now covered over and such a one is safe for eternity. But forgiveness of sins only secures for me deliverance from the coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10), but we must still be delivered from many other things, we also need deliverance from the present evil world. Many of you, who have perhaps forgiveness of sins, have not yet confessed Jesus as your Lord. Perhaps you thank God in your own room for the forgiveness which He has granted you, but you have not yet confessed the Lord Jesus in business among your fellow-workers. You have not yet told anyone that you are a believer and consequently you are not yet saved from the world. Perhaps you do not want deliverance from the world because you still want to enjoy it and you gladly have association with the world on account of your advancement in it. Perhaps among your friends you keep silence as to Christ. Should there be such here to whom that applies, I should like to lay this earnestly upon your heart: Confess the Lord in the circle of your acquaintances. The well-known passage in Romans 10:9 is for such as you; it reads, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved”. My dear friend, you who are not yet truly saved, let me say a word to you. The world, and Satan by the world, have still always power over your soul. That is because you have not yet, in deep reverence and humility, freely and openly confessed Jesus as your Lord. You have believed in your heart, and we thank God for it, but you must still confess with your mouth if you want to be saved. It says, “For with the heart is believed to righteousness; and with the mouth confession made to salvation” (Romans 10:10).
In the second part of Psalm 32 (verses 6 - 11) we have the experiences which one who has forgiveness [p. 311] of sins goes through in this world. “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee at a time when thou mayest be found; surely in the floods of great waters they will not reach him. Thou art a hiding place for me; thou preservest me from trouble; thou dost encompass me with songs of deliverance”. This part of the psalm relates to believers. On this account one may also proclaim the gospel to real believers. I believe the apostle Paul would have rejoiced to be able to hear the proclamation of the gospel. I even believe that he would have had blessing from it. Paul would gladly have listened to the gospel which Peter would preach; he would have been the most attentive hearer. I have always found that the gospel rejoices and refreshes the people of God. We should not hesitate to preach the gospel in a company where there are only believers present. The instruction of Psalm 32 is for every christian, young or old. “Every one that is godly shall pray unto thee at a time when thou mayest be found”. Many are already converted for many a year, who however still have pressure and sorrow in their hearts. We are living today in a very difficult time, when there is great pressure everywhere. The saints are often suffering more under it than we are aware. How precious it is then that God is still to be found today also. We live in a time when He is to be found. You can pray to Him. “Does any one among you suffer evil? let him pray” (James 5:13). The gospel invites to this end, to cast our loads and burdens upon Him. The unconverted can cast his load of sin upon Him and the believer his load of care. On this account the saints should hear the gospel too. “Having cast all your care upon him” (1 Peter 5:7). Instead of being under trouble and pressure, we are then in “the peace of God, which surpasses every understanding” (Philippians 4:6,7).
[p. 312] This second part of the gospel is just as important as the first part, which was directed towards the unconverted. The Lord said to the paralytic who was healed, “To thee I say, Arise, take up thy couch and go to thine house” (Mark 2:11). Before that He had said to him, “Thy sins are forgiven thee” (verse 5). After we have forgiveness of our sins, our couch is no more to carry us, but we are to carry it. Instead of being always under pressure and having sorrow, pray to God and cast everything upon Him. Then, you will be freed from it.
In Psalm 32:8,9, we have still another important part of our message. “I will instruct thee and teach thee the way in which thou shalt go”. Perhaps there are many here, who do not know which way they are to take. You do not know at all with which christians you are to walk. We live in difficult times, but no one need fear. God’s way always remains the same for us. You have just to set your foot upon it and God offers you his counsel. If you have difficulties on this account, then pray to God. He will not leave you in uncertainty — He will counsel you.
Then there follows still a word of admonition in verse 9 regarding our wills, which we all easily have working in us. The most terrible disaster will be brought into our souls if our will is active. “Be ye not as a horse, as a mule, which have no understanding: whose trappings must be bit and bridle, for restraint, or they will not come unto thee”. Allow me, brethren, to say another word about our wills. Do not let us be like the horses and the mules, which have to be restrained with bit and bridle. Let us be subject to the Lord. His goodness then leads us. When we are subject to Him, beloved brethren, then all clouds disappear and our way will be quite clear.
Verse 10 is very solemn. “Many sorrows hath the wicked”. One could shrink back from it. The [p. 313] wicked has many sorrows at the present time, and in eternity he has eternal darkness and punishment from God. That is very very solemn for every one here who is not yet converted. When you hear the gospel, then do not harden your heart. Remember the wicked has many sorrows. Turn to God and confess your sins to Him. Then believe on Him and walk the glorious path of faith with us, and then you can also with us be glad and rejoice, as it says in verse 11, “Rejoice in Jehovah, and be glad, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye upright in heart”.
May the Lord richly bless His word to us all.