I invite you to turn with me this morning to Psalm 32. Psalm 32. As you turn there, just a few words of introduction. You may recall, at least most of you, that a couple of weeks ago we considered our blessed confession and testimony of the truth of the forgiveness of sins. We believe the forgiveness of sins. The church, that glorious body of Christ, we said is a cleansed community, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, purified by the Holy Spirit. And of course, we cannot consider the forgiveness of sins without understanding what sin is. And boys and girls, you may recall that we said in general, sin is either to do something that you are not supposed to do, or to not do something that you are supposed to do. Sin has to do with disobedience. Disobedience against God. It is God who tells us what He would like us to do for Him. And in His law, He tells us to stay away from doing other things like lying and cheating and stealing or having other gods before Him. And sin, we know, is a problem that we all have. Whether you admit it or not, whether you see it or not, whether you are convinced of it or not, sin is a problem that each and every one of us has. We are all guilty, but yet by God's grace as believers we are able to confess the truth that forgiveness is a real thing, that it actually exists. Now this morning with the examination to which we have been called to come to the Lord's table and also looking forward to come to the Lord's table at the close of the service, we must consider how believers, it's more personal now, how believers are to view this forgiveness. We are not to take God's forgiving grace for granted as if we deserve it. We are not to treat God's forgiveness of our sins as something. We are not to take it lightly, treat it lightly as if I can do without it. No big deal. Because the truth is, beloved, without the forgiveness of all of our sins, God is still our enemy. But with the forgiveness of sins, we have been brought into close harmony and peace with God. And that very truth ought to grip each and every one of our hearts. King David, we know, was an expert, as all of us ought to be, an expert on the devastation and the destruction of sin. As well, he was an expert on the joy of salvation. And Psalm 32 points to that. We know his story. Boys and girls, any one of you could tell, could stand up right now and tell the story. We know that we have the great things of David recorded in the Bible, but we also have something not so great. David saw Bathsheba. He brought her into his palace. He committed adultery with her. And when she was found to be with his child, to be pregnant with his child, David tried to cover it up and do all that he could to make it seem like Uriah's child, her husband. When that failed, he had Uriah killed. And he brought her home to be his wife. Of course, Nathan the prophet comes to confront him. And it is believed that David wrote Psalm 51 after he was confronted by Nathan and he was brought to see his sin. Psalm 51 is a psalm of confession and repentance. And it's believed that he wrote Psalm 32 after having had the peace of God and the joy of salvation restored to him. Now in Psalm 51 verse 13, David says, After he asks for the joy of salvation to be restored, he says, Then I will teach transgressors your ways. And many believe that Psalm 32 then is David's keeping of his promise. It's his instruction of the very ways of God with regard to the generosity of forgiveness. Let's read together Psalm 32. Hear now the Word of God. Verses 1 and 2 serving as the text this morning. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found. Surely, when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding, but must be controlled by bit and bridle, or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous. Sing, all you who are upright in heart. The text again, verses 1 and 2. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit. Beloved in Christ the Lord, there are many things in this life that give us happiness, or at least we think. Many things in this life that we would say are blessings. How often don't we say that? What a blessing this is. What a blessing that is. Many things that make us feel blessed. many things that come upon us that make this life seem worth it. That make this life seem worthwhile. For example, for a young lady, it might be a marriage proposal. Wow! What blessedness, what happiness that brings. Or maybe the wedding itself. For a husband and wife, maybe the birth of a child. What blessing! What happiness, what joy! Maybe success in business. Or for the boys and girls, maybe a special toy, a special toy or gift that you've always wanted that you thought, oh, this will make my life grand. This will make life worth it all. But the problem is there are many who look to these things and depend on these things for their happiness in these life, these temporary blessings to make life worth it. But the truth is, there's only one thing that makes one truly blessed in this life and the next. And that is the forgiveness of all of our sins. David begins this psalm with the word blessed. The idea there being happiness, overflowing joy. Happy, filled with joy. Blessed is the man. David's message, you see, is that the ground, the foundation of the believer's blessedness or happiness or joy is what God does with confessed sin. What God does with it. And therefore, through David, we have here the believer's confession of the blessedness of forgiveness. And included there, we have the three points that you find on the back of your order of worship. It's humble recognition of the deadliness of sin, It's joyful celebration of the generosity of God. And then finally, it's confident declaration of a transformed heart. Now, most of us, I trust, remember Lord's Day 1 question 1 asked, what is your only comfort in life and in death? And after giving that beautiful answer, the second question comes on its heels. Well, what three things must you know, must I know to live and die in the joy of this comfort? And it begins, I must know, first of all, how great is my sin and misery. Now the world would say, you're nuts. How can something that would make us depressed or angry, how can that be to our comfort? But that's exactly what we must know first. How great is my sin and misery? David's confession includes a humble recognition of the deadliness of sin. That's what we mean by greatness of our sin and misery. Not that it's wonderful, but that it's deadly. It's deadly. The wages of sin, Paul says, is death. And this must be the confession of each and every one of us about ourselves, about my sin. My sin is deadly. Now David here, it's interesting, he uses three words side by side in a sense, along with three corresponding words. But the first three words, then each one is corresponding with another word. The first three words he uses for sin, the second three words he uses for how God deals with sin. And the three words that he uses for sin, he uses to cover the entire spectrum of sin. And then the three words that he uses to point out how God deals with it, God's generosity, he points to the wide scope of God's salvation from sin. But the first word dealing with sin is transgression. Boys and girls, to transgress means to cross over. To cross over a boundary. A transatlantic flight means to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. Your parents might say to you, you may play in the yard, but not in the street. And what they have done is they have drawn a line for you. It might be the curb, it might be the sidewalk, it might be the fence around your yard, but they have drawn a line. The yard is safe. The street is dangerous. Stay on this side of the line in the yard where it's safe. Don't go outside in the street where it's dangerous. But you as children, you might decide that you're going to play in the street no matter what. And you cross that imaginary or not so imaginary line, the fence, and you go play in the street. And what have you done? You have transgressed. You have gone beyond something. you have gone beyond, crossed a boundary. And the same is true with a no trespassing sign. When you cross that no trespassing sign, you've gone beyond, you've entered private property. To transgress is to go where you're not supposed to go. To go where it's dangerous and not where it's safe. In the Garden of Eden, God drew a line around one tree, just one. He said, any other tree you may have, it's okay, but this one tree is off limits. If you cross the line around this tree, if you eat of it, you will surely die. And we know, of course, that our first parents, Adam and Eve, crossed the line from safety to danger, from sinlessness to the guilt and the misery of sin. And the same thing is true, you see. That's what happens to us when we sin. As I said earlier, God draws a line, as it were, around us. A protection. Just as the water is the boundary. The line between the water and the air is the boundary for the fish. The fish is safe in the water. God has drawn a line around us. The safe zone of His law. But when we leave the safe zone of love for God and our neighbor, we then cross over a kind of line to the danger zone of selfishness and pride and brokenness and strife. For example, the Sixth Commandment teaches us that it's safe to stay on the side of mercy and compassion, but it's dangerous if our hearts and our actions cross the line into hatred and strife and violence. The Ninth Commandment teaches us that it's safe to stay on the side of speaking the truth in love, but it's dangerous to go out and bear false witness and to spread deceit and gossip. the first commandment. It's safe to stay on the side of having no other gods besides Jehovah. It's dangerous to go outside and look for others with whom God will not share His glory. To sin is to transgress, to cross the line that God drew for you and me to protect us from disobedience and destruction. It's open rebellion against God. Then there's a second word, translated in the NIV as sin, and this word simply means to miss the mark. We know this word, to miss a target. I think the last time some of the cadets were practicing for their archery badge on the basketball court the next morning, we found three arrows in our yard. They missed the target. I remember hearing a story recently about the 2004 Summer Olympics, an expert marksman from the United States. In a particular event, he was one shot away from the goal. It was in his hand. It was in his grasp what it was. But he lines up for his last shot. He lines up in line number two. But he aimed for target number three. And even if he hit the bullseye, what did he get? Nothing. Zero. Eighth place. No medal. Accuracy. Our accuracy is meaningless if we're not aiming at the right target. And beloved, the same is true with our sin. When we sin, we shift our sights. We stop aiming at the glory of God in all things. We stop aiming for obedience to the law of God. And we shift over to another target called pleasing myself or what's right in my own eyes or the target of a law of my own making. For example, we shift from wanting to be self-controlled and filled with the Spirit to wanting to indulge in the evil and the senselessness of drunkenness and careless living. Or we shift from knowing that God knows what's best for us and being called to live according to His Word to thinking that, well, you know, since I'm actually the one living this life, I'm physically present here and I have all kinds of experiences and ideas, well, you know, maybe I really do know better than God what's best for me. For boys and girls and young people, we shift from honoring our parents, God's representatives over us, to treating them with disrespect and ignoring their authority and their instruction. That is to miss the target of love and obedience and devotion to God. And the third word, translated here again in the NIV as sin, whose sin the Lord does not count against Him, is also translated iniquity. It means corruption, twistedness, crookedness. That's what we are, crooked, corrupt inside. And the idea there then is to turn away, turn aside from the path that God has marked out for us and to go our own way. Just imagine, if you will, if God were to give you a map of Escondido and say, I want you to run some errands for me. He said, I want you to go down Broadway to the Toyota dealership and do some things there. Then go a little further to Washington and then take a right and go all the way to Auto Park Way and do some business over there. And then go up to Anne Reason, come down to Pine Tree Lumber and so forth and so on. Do these things. Follow this map. Follow these details I have given you. But you decide, well, I know some shortcuts. I know some side streets. I know some back alleys. I can get this done quicker. What you have done, you've turned aside from the way that God has marked out for you. That's what sin is. God has given to you and me clear instruction in His Word for living for Him. The Bible speaks of it. The straight and narrow way. The way of following Jesus. The way of faith. Of taking up the cross. Of being willing to sacrifice and to lay down your life for Jesus. To be content in all circumstances. to pray without ceasing, to consider others' interests as more important than your own, and a whole lot more. That is the map that God has marked out for us. And of course, beloved, to follow that map, we must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. But you see, when we decide to cut corners, to take side streets, and to follow our own map, When we get tired of the straight and the narrow way and turn aside to the wide and easy way of the world, that's sin. In Isaiah 53, it says, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to His own way. Three word pictures here to describe the broad spectrum of sin. They all three reveal the deadliness of sin because each one is opposed to the God of life. To cross the line from safety to danger, from God's favor to God's wrath. To miss the clear target that God sets right before our eyes and to set our sights on something other than God's glory. And to turn aside and to ignore the map that God has given us to guide us on our way and to follow our own map which is not sure at all. Again, we're all guilty. David, too, was guilty. When we think about his story and we remember his adultery and his lying and his murder, we see that he rebelled against God's law. He failed to meet God's righteous standard. He allowed his crooked nature to control him and he deceitfully covered the whole thing up. And it's only, beloved, only when we understand what sin is, how grievous it is, how scandalous it is, that it is against the only, true, almighty God. And because of that, He has absolutely no reason to look upon you and me with His mercy. No reason at all. Only when we understand that, beloved, then can we know the joyful celebration of the generosity of God. Only when we understand how deadly sin is will we understand the generosity of God. We understand generous. Even young boys and girls, even if they don't know the word, they understand generous. Some of the people in the congregation, the older folks give kids candy in their pockets. They've got candy in their pockets and the kids know that. They're generous. A generous person gives willingly and abundantly. And we all like to receive the generosity of another. even if we don't deserve it. But we must also admit that we sometimes think that certain people ought to get what they deserve, right? The mass murderer, the rapist, the child molester. They ought to get what they deserve. And sometimes it's hard for us to decide between the death penalty or to rot in prison. Hmm. But don't be deceived, beloved, because, in essence, that's what each and every one of us deserves from God. We all need pardon. We are undone. We are lost without it. Well, David, again, as I said, with three words, he describes the wide scope of what God does with sin. The generosity of God with sin that has been confessed and repented of. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him. Forgiven, covered, does not count against. That first word, forgive, means to lift off, to remove, to take away. And the idea is removing a heavy load from one's shoulders, a load that is so heavy that one can barely stand, let alone walk under that load. That weight of sin includes the curse and the punishment that we are under. But God, in His grace of forgiveness, because of that, the sentence, the curse, the punishment is canceled. It's lifted off. The burden is removed. David describes that burden in verses 3 and 4. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. In God's forgiving grace, He gives rest and relief to the weary and the burdened, as Jesus says in Matthew 11. In Psalm 103, David expresses how far away that burden is taken as far as the east is from the west. The Lord Himself in Isaiah 53 says, I remember it no more. You see, when that burden of sin is removed, Then, only then can we sing, My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, the glorious thought that Christ shed His own blood for my soul. My sin, not in part, not just a piece of it, not just a little bit of it, but the whole, the whole thing is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. The second word is cover. Boys and girls, when you cover something, you can't see it any longer. And that's the idea, to cover from sight. God makes our sin invisible to Himself as though that sin had never taken place. Like covering our nakedness. Shame has always been associated with nakedness. Adam and Eve were ashamed because they were naked. God covered their nakedness. He covers the shame and the nakedness of our sin. We think of the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament. The Ark of the Covenant that was in the most holy place included inside of it a copy of the Law, the Ten Commandments. And the space above the mercy seat and below the cherubim that were on that Ark represented God's presence. And blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat to cover the broken Law. The Law the people had broken to cover it from the sight of God. But remember, our sin is not covered from us. David says in Psalm 51, My sin is always before me. It must always be before us. And it's not covered from God's omniscience. He didn't forget it and treat it as though it never happened. He remembered it very heavily in His Son. But it is covered from God's vindictive justice. From His anger. from His punishing hand so that we're no longer guilty. The punishment is no longer set aside for us. That which makes God's anger burn against you and against me has been covered from His sight. Then the third word, that negative phrase, does not count against, does not impute, does not charge. We have accounting language here. In other words, my sin is no longer on the books. my account has been settled. Why? Because God has laid on Jesus Christ the iniquity of us all. And that's our comfort for why God forgives, takes away, why He covers, why He doesn't charge against us. The generosity of God has been poured out on believers because all that we deserve has been poured out on Jesus Christ. The heavy load of our sin and punishment has been taken off of us and put on Christ. Our sin has been covered by the blood of Jesus. God has accepted that payment because Christ was covered by the wrath and punishment of God for you and me. Our sin is charged against Christ as His very own. As His righteousness in turn has been freely given to us. We have been made righteous because Jesus was made to be sin for us. Jesus Christ is the generosity of God. And that was David's confidence. His confidence of the scope of God's dealing with sin. His generosity was because of his greater Son, Jesus Christ. He didn't know Him, but he had faith in God's promise of the One to come. He knew the deadliness of sin. He also knew the generosity of God. He says, You forgave the guilt of my sin. But this confession, beloved, this confession of the blessedness of forgiveness can only be the confident declaration of the transformed heart. Not just anyone can make this confession. Not just anyone knows the deadliness of sin and therefore knows the generosity of God. The text says, Blessed is the man in whose spirit is no deceit. David lived in deceit for a time. We don't know how long he felt the heavy hand of God upon him. We know that eventually he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. But until that time, he did everything he could to cover up his sin. He treated each day as normal. He went to the office. He sat on the throne of Israel. He passed judgment on cases that were placed before him. It was just another day. But eventually he found out the truth of our assurance of pardon this morning. Proverbs 28.13 that he who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. David came to know that he had been without mercy for a time. He had been without the joy of salvation for a time, but he didn't realize it until he had been confronted by Nathan the prophet. You see, and that's true of all mankind, we are ignorant until our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit. Much of this world is walking in ignorance, not understanding the deadliness of sin, therefore not knowing the generosity of God. They're living according to those temporary blessings, happinesses, things that they think make this life worthwhile. Nathan, we know, in a sense, set David up with a story about the rich man and the poor man and the rich man who had everything, more than he needed, everything he wanted, more than he needed. He had flocks and herds and riches. He has a guest come. He takes the poor man's one sheep. He butchered it. He cooked it. He served it for dinner. And Nathan tells the story in such a way as if to say, can you imagine that anyone would actually do that? David says, no. I can't believe it. Who would do such a thing? He deserves death. And then Nathan, God's mouthpiece, God's voice, looks at David, maybe even stuck his finger in his face, and says, but you, you are the man. You have everything. But you took. You stole. You killed. And God was watching. He saw it all. No doubt, David, when Nathan came into his presence, he wanted a pat on the back because it was a great king. But when his sin was laid out and open, he could no longer hide it. Many are living in deceit, in denial of their sin. They're only fooling themselves, not God. They don't have the true joy of salvation. Even some who think they have it, hypocrites, rush into God's presence thinking they deserve His mercy. John Calvin says, he who feels not the disease refuses the remedy. Boys and girls, if you don't have a cold, you're not going to take cold medicine. But the transformed heart by God's grace, the one born again by the Holy Spirit understands the greatness of his sin. He's been brought to know the deadliness of his sin and to feel the weight in the hand of God pressing down upon his conscience. And by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, He experiences the generosity of God. The weight of sin and guilt has been removed. And the one who has been blessed with a transformed heart then comes before God in sincerity and truth and understands that he has been made right with God by God's grace alone. Paul in Romans chapter 4, that beautiful chapter on that great doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone, he quotes one Old Testament passage as a proof text, it's our text. Psalm 32, 1 and 2. To point out my inability and God's work alone in justification. Only with a heart, beloved, cleansed of deceit. Only will that heart know the deadliness of your own sin. And then truly confess and repent of that sin. And then understand and taste the sweetness of forgiveness. Only that heart cleansed of deceit will not repent with a purpose to sin again. And then sin with a purpose to repent again. In other words, sin on purpose because I can just repent anyway. Many live in what we might call the la-la land of make-believe where they think they can sin against God and deny their sin and deny God and get by without having to answer to Him. And we must confess, beloved, that we too are guilty. Daily, we cross the boundary that God has drawn for us. From safety to the danger of disobedience. Daily, we miss the mark, that target that is so clear right before our eyes. We look to the side. Daily, we ignore God's map and try to follow our own map. And we deny it. And we think often that God doesn't see it. You see, even professed believers who know what the Bible says will at times move in together outside of marriage. But we're not really sinning. You see, we love each other so much and we are more committed to each other. It's as if we're married. We're more committed than married couples. Even believers who know that the Bible says do not be unequally yoked will go out and date unbelievers. Or they would cheat in their business. or they will cheat on their taxes and try to separate their spiritual life from their non-spiritual life, public life. We all do that in different ways, and we still have the nerve to come to God and ask for His blessing. God, bless my sin. Even professed believers pass judgment on one another, and we need to be reminded that you are the man or the woman. I am the man. Maybe that's you right now. Maybe you shake your head and go, about someone that you know who is not being true to their marriage vows and how terrible that is, but you, nobody knows it, but you've been looking at pornography. Or you've been flirting with another man's wife or another woman's husband or getting a little too close with someone of the opposite sex in the workplace. Maybe you hear about so-and-so who gossips and you're afraid to tell that person anything because you're sure it's going to get all over town. But maybe you, maybe you got the rumor mill going a time or two or three or four. And you never even confessed it. And of course, beloved, the list could be endless. But possibly the greatest danger for you and I as believers, for people in the church, is the deceit that we are tempted to fall into when we become busy with the details of the Christian life. And then we find our comfort in the details of that Christian life. Oh, I faithfully attend church. I can't remember the last time I missed. I tithe. I give 10% in the offering plate. And I give above and beyond that to other worthy causes. I'm a part of adult Sunday school or in a Bible study. I serve on a committee in the church to help out with the daily operations. I'm part of a food service group or I'm in Young Peoples or Cadets or GEMS. I even help lead those things. When there's a death, I show my support. I never miss a funeral. I come to show my love and support for the grieving. I pray when that email prayer posting comes. Even if it's five times a day, I stop what I'm doing and I pray right now. In the workplace, I faithfully witness. I give my testimony. The details of the Christian life and the deceit of finding our comfort in those things. If that's you, then the truth is you have not yet come to grips possibly with the deadliness of your own sin. And therefore, if that's true, you do not know the generosity of God. Those details are important. Believe me, they're important. They must be there, but they must flow from a transformed heart where the deceit has been removed. A transformed heart that understands the deadliness of my sin and my helplessness before God. A heart that in Christ knows in every fiber of my being, knows the generosity of God that has been poured out upon me. See, one of the greatest blessings that you and I could ever receive is that the Holy Spirit reveal to us personally the deadliness of our sins one of the greatest blessings because apart from that beloved we will have no need to look for a savior but when the holy spirit reveals that deadliness he brings us to humble confession david makes it clear that confession is necessary that's the gospel message with true repentance comes true forgiveness if we confess our sins john says he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But we know, of course, that our confession and repentance is not that which earns God's forgiveness. Not at all. Jesus Christ earned that. But we are called to demonstrate our trust and our confidence in Him through confession. Pleading for God's mercy for Jesus' sake. And guess what? You will find it. And it must be true confession. David didn't just say, I'm sorry I got caught. Boys and girls, sometimes we're more sorry we got caught than we are for what we did. But David says, have mercy, O God, I have sinned against you. Or think of the prodigal son. When he came back to his father, what did he say? Well, he didn't say, I'm sorry, I ran out of money. Can I have more? No. He said, Father, I've sinned against you in heaven. I'm not worthy to be called your son. Our confidence is in Christ Jesus. of whom John the Baptist said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. When David confessed his sin, God did not tell him, Try harder next time. Praise God he didn't say that. Because there would be no hope. Not for you, not for me, not for David. How devastating that would be. But in his love and mercy, David says, He forgave the guilt of my sin. How glorious. The Lord's table. Make no mistake about it, beloved. The Lord's table is for sinners. Not those who are deceiving themselves and think they are worthy of themselves to come. But for sinners saved by grace. Made worthy by Christ alone. And as we gaze upon the table, the Lord's table, here this morning, indeed we are to be reminded of the deadliness of our sin, each one of us. Yet at the very same time, our Lord invites us to celebrate the generosity of God.