Let us turn together to Psalm 32. Let us stand for the reading and hearing of God's word in the assembly of the saints. Psalm 32. A mascal of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For 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 dried up as by the heat of summer." Selah. I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord. And you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found. Surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy all you upright in heart. This is the word of God. May he write it upon our hearts. You may be seated. Let us pray. O Lord, we thank you for this gift which brings all the blessings of your redemption to us. And so we pray that we might be able to comprehend the heights and depths of your love. Through Christ we pray. Amen. In English, I think we lose something with the word that Paul uses that's translated justified by faith in Romans 3 and 4. And he makes a very strong case, doesn't he, that we are justified by grace and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ as Romans 5 says. But the thing about it is he's using the same root word as he has used in Romans chapter 1 when he says the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes because in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. You see, when he's talking about justification, he's talking about what it means to receive and have and possess this righteousness that God has given and has always been appropriated and received by faith alone. And that's the emphasis, isn't it, of our Heidelberg Catechism this week. Now, Some churches look like they're standing, but are in fact falling. Some look like they're falling, but are in fact standing. And of course, the standard is not the world's estimation and opinions. But what is Christ pleased with? What is He delighted in? And many wise believers have said that there is an article of the standing or falling church. And it is that of justification by faith alone. And you might ask, well why is that? Why isn't it the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount or another important teaching that defines the church's standing or falling? Certainly there is a lot of moral confusion in this world, and the Church must speak to those things. But why is it that we put such a primary accent on this teaching of Scripture? Well, you see, the very gateway and entry point to the Bible and to salvation is really the question, how is a sinner right before a holy God? Without that, we would simply be running on the treadmill of our own flesh. We would be spinning our wheels, going nowhere. We could do all the works we attempt in our own strength, and it would all add up to nothing. How is it that we can stand before God and lay claim to the gift of eternal life? to the gift of righteousness and a clear name before him. This is certainly the urgent and fundamental religious question, isn't it? And it's one that Paul will answer in Romans. If he ended the book of Romans at chapter 3, verse 20, It would be that every mouth was stopped before the law, because when it is read, we know the conclusion that we have to come to. That's what it says in question 60, that our consciences accuse us of having grievously sinned against all God's commandments and never having kept any of them. A total inability, a total depravity to conform to God's righteous. requirements. But he continues, doesn't he? A righteousness has been revealed apart from the law. A righteousness that is by faith through the work of Christ. But it's very interesting, isn't it, in Romans 4. He'll go on to say, though it is apart from the law and the prophets, it is witnessed by the law and the prophets. And in fact, he points to this very psalm that is before us. And he says, David testifies of the blessedness of the one to whom the Lord does not impute or count or reckon his sin. Yes. Paul spent the most time of any other inspired writer writing about our righteous fiscation before the Lord and yet at the same time it's not unique to him. The Old Testament, David himself, points to the same reality as an inspired witness and prophet ahead of time. Psalm 32 was likely written Just like Psalm 51 following his trespass with Bathsheba and Uriah, it is probably written a little further out with a little more time in between. If Psalm 51 is that immediate brokenness and contrition before the Lord, Psalm 32 comes after a time of reflection and meditation. on that process of repentance and restoration. And firstly, we see in the psalm his sin and our sin confessed. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. I acknowledge my sin to you. I did not cover my iniquity. Augustine, the great saint the great teacher of old, would say that this was his favorite psalm. He would read it evidently before bed every night. But you know what he said? He says, the key to all knowledge, the first step in all knowledge is to know oneself to be a sinner. To know oneself to be a sinner. How radically different this is from the Greek conception at the Oracle at Delphi where they believed they could achieve to insight and knowledge, the sign written above the doorway said, know thyself. And that simply meant to cast away the ignorance of cultural expectations and narratives and stories and to come to one's own conclusion. But in the Bible, to know oneself can only happen when you know God himself. That's why when we see Peter, in Luke 5 as we read. He knows the holiness of Christ and what does he do? Lord, I am a sinful man. This knowledge is indeed devastating to him. It lays him low and it really is not easy to come to this conclusion. Why? The first thing that we really should know is actually the last thing we want to admit. And so, the law, as it were, makes us cry, uncle. But, this is the conclusion that takes David so long to reach himself. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. He has not forgotten God's requirements. He doesn't have amnesia and somehow fail to know what the sixth commandment says, do not murder, and the seventh commandment, do not commit adultery. But he fails to take ownership of that sin, to acknowledge that yes, he is the one at fault, as the prophet Nathan would say, that he is the man who has done this for a long time. He keeps silent. And what happens? His bones waste away. He tries to bury his guilt under layers and layers of dirt, sweeping it under his conscience. But it keeps bubbling back to the surface, doesn't it? And it actually haunts him so much that it affects his body. You know, there is a psychosomatic dimension to dealing with guilt. Even secular therapists will say that having guilt can cause sweat and tremors and this illness. And David says here, it ate his insides. He was groaning and sore from his shame. It devoured him. And he becomes, he says at the end of verse 4, my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer." He's like a laborer working in hundred-degree heat whose spiritual and bodily vitality is spent and he is exhausted. He is spent. This is not due to his own work but he acknowledges in verse 4, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. You see this convicting work was the work of his father who refused to let him go. Remember this is the same psalmist who wrote your rod and your staff they comfort me. What does a rod and staff do for a wandering sheep? It brings them back. Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it hurts. But the shepherd, to be a faithful shepherd, will not let the sheep escape. And so David, in his position of sin, is one who has the hand of God upon him, But in a heavy way, it lays and presses down upon him so strongly and so powerfully. This is what C.S. Lewis called a severe mercy. A mercy that certainly did not feel pleasant for that time. But it was working what it needed to, to drive him to repentance. And this is a hard prayer to pray, but all the saints must pray it. Lord, whatever it takes to drive me away from my sin and from my self-reliance, whatever it is that you need to do to expose the rottenness and the poison within, have mercy on me in this way. And God is not by doing this, raining coals on the head of David. He is not bringing out the sword of retribution and making him feel everything that he deserves. Rather, it's through this process that he is bringing the oil upon his head by causing him to confess what he needs to, as he says, I acknowledge my sin to you. And I did not cover my iniquity. Our instinct and our nature is to hide it, to cloak it, to cover sin up so that it cannot be found out. But though David himself was deceived, God is never deceived. God is not mocked. He knows us through and through. And so David has come to the point of being laid low and to confess before the Lord his sin. Have you confessed your sins, not simply to yourself, but before the Lord? If you do, the Bible says, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. And so secondly, we see his righteousness counted to us. I acknowledge my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. It takes David a very long time to come to own his iniquity and to lay his transgressions before the view and presence of the Lord. But it takes no time at all for God to respond with His restoration, with His reconciliation. Notice how it says it, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and without a pause you forgave the iniquity of my sin. You know, this little word, Selah, in the Psalms is somewhat mysterious, but probably a pause used between verses or stanzas in singing. And you might expect the Selah to fall in the middle of verse 5. I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, pause, and then you forgave the iniquity of my sin. But that's not what it says. I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and even before he confesses it almost, you forgave it. It reminds me of the prodigal son. He formulates in his mind, this is what I'm going to say and he comes up with all the right words and the best way to package it and present it and before he's even able to open his mouth, the father sees him from a distance. and runs to him with those open arms. God is that quick to forgive and to show his mercy. You see, for man it is the opposite. We are quick to anger and slow to forgive. But God says of himself, he is slow to anger and abounding and quick to show his loving kindness and mercy. This is his deepest desire and he does it so readily and so willingly. The prayer of the publican, one of the shortest in all of Scripture, Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner. Before he offers any sacrifices or any alms, before he goes and makes things right with those he has wronged, before any of those things, Christ says, this man went home justified by faith alone. That is the message of the gospel. That's the message of Psalm 32. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. You see how God deals with sin and all its destructive dimensions. When it comes to transgression, it is pardoned. When it comes to the guilt of sin, it is covered over. There is expiation. When it comes to the accounts and the record that would stand against us, O Lord, if you marked iniquities, even one of them, who could stand? But blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. You see, all these things are true. in David's greater son and Lord. His transgressions, ours, can be pardoned because of him who was not set free. One who stood in guilty silence like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. He opened not his mouth. He was in the place of the guilty. He was the one whose blood covers our sins so that they are seen no more. And he is the one against whom the Lord does count iniquity. You see, the gospel is not this fiat declaration that God sort of waves his hand and says it is forgiven. No, the gospel says sin does have to be counted. But for those in Christ, it is not counted against you. It is counted against Him. And what's counted in place of our sin for us is the very righteousness of Christ Himself. As question and answer 61 says, only Christ's satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness make me right with God. You see, sometimes people say, well Christianity is about a second chance, another opportunity. And that's not the case at all. Christ brings us not back to zero and to a blank sheet because we would mess up all over again. He brings us to the place of a positional righteousness that from God's perspective in His heavenly courts is perfect. Notice how strongly the catechism puts it. Credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. These things are reckoned to us. We take on his reputation before the court. of heaven. This is our advocate. Children, what does it mean to be righteous? Think about the king of England inviting you to his courts. And you have these tattered clothes and you've rolled in the mud and you know you can't appear before the king that way. But the king, knowing that, says, put on the robes of the prince. Put on the robes of my son and come enter here. That is what God does for us in the Lord Jesus. Gives us the very robes of righteousness so that we can come without any fear whatsoever. No condemnation. Now I dread Jesus and all in Him I find. He is the one who has become our wisdom from God. Our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. the obedience and satisfaction of Christ given to us and credited to our account. That's the economy of God's mercy for us. You see, no other righteousness will do because God cannot accept less than perfection. Even the best of our works are mixed, aren't they? We have mixed motives in carrying them out, sometimes coldly, sometimes complacently. So there's no way to translate even the best of our deeds to merit any of God's righteousness or declaration for our account. That is why it must be the righteousness of another. As Paul says, not having a righteousness of my own, that is from the law, but a righteousness that is by faith in Christ to everyone who believes. All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. Blessed is the man to whom God will count the righteousness and obedience of Christ. And so lastly then, our souls are quieted. Verse 6, Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found. Surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance. Justification leads to this assurance and this confidence before God. But, at the same time, it is possible for this doctrine to cause a certain amount of objection and alarm. If some of you have either read or seen the story of Les Miserables, you know there's this character named Javert, and he loves justice, and he wants to see right rewarded and wrong punished and he is the quintessential character who does not want to live with forgiveness. It's just not fair. How can someone be acquitted? How can someone be set free? And you remember that it really ultimately is his undoing because he has to live in this world without grace, without mercy. You know, at the same time, this reminds me of the prophet Jonah. It would have been interesting if his name was Jonah in that story, but what does Jonah say to God when he sits under that vine? I knew you were a God who was forgiving. I knew you were a God who was compassionate and merciful. That's why he went the other way from Nineveh when he was first called to go preach there. You see, Jonah, like the older brother of the story of the prodigal son, just can't comprehend how is it that God can be so generous so as to forget the sins of the past, no matter as no matter how heinous they may have been. And sadly, the elder brother then would stand outside the festivities of restoration and of pardon. But God invites us to come in only through this way and to share in His own joy in seeing sinners restored by His grace. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or mule without understanding, which must be curved with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. You see, God justifies the ungodly. That's really the scandal of the Gospel. That the wicked, at the same time as we have native and indwelling sin, at the same time our consciences continue to accuse us, we are righteous before Him. But we're not simply left there with that declaration of righteousness, we actually become holy progressively in this station and position. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. You know, life outside of Christ, seeking to win his favor on your own, it can be a miserable thing. Always uncertain, never knowing if it's enough. But having been set free in faith for liberty Christ has set us free Paul says stand firm therefore do not submit again to the yoke of slavery but now from this position you are teachable you are to be taught not like a horse or mule who turns against correction or leading but now readily presenting yourself here I am in your service Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." If God's word of forgiveness comes to us and registers itself on our hearts, the word of joy and gratefulness must resound from that same heart, those same lips that have been cleansed of all defilements, that we might say, with all the godly. Amen. He alone has done it. Let us pray together. O Lord, who is like you, pardoning the transgressor and saving those who were lost and guilty. O Lord, we know that we were these who had wandered in our own defilements, and you have caused us to come to our senses, to come back to you. Lord, we thank you that you have received sinners by your grace, and that we have the rights and privileges of all your children. Oh Lord, we pray that you might deepen in us this sense of assurance, of pardon, and of desiring to respond to you with these glad songs to shout with joy. For your name's sake we pray, Amen.