Can I be forgiven? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 32:6-7,

"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."

These verses flow from the beatitude David expressed in verses 1-2 of
this psalm. The person is blessed whose sins are forgiven. David says
it wasn't until he confessed his sins to the Lord that he found
forgiveness. In verses 3-5 he says, "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."

David's confession of sin to the Lord was the expression of his faith.
Paul uses this psalm to prove the gospel of salvation by faith apart
from works of the law, Romans 4:5-8. "To the man who does not work but
trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as
righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the
blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from
works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins
are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count
against him.'"

John speaks of the same thing in 1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our
lives." Some mistake John's words here to speak to the issue of
believers maintaining their fellowship with the Lord through
confession of sin. While the importance of confession of sins to God
is important in our fellowship with him as believers, John, here, is
talking about the need to acknowledge our sinful condition to enter
into fellowship with God.

Confession of sinfulness brings the inherent acknowledgment of the
need for salvation, the forgiveness of those sins to be enabled to
enter into God's family with a seat at his table. "Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is
the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."! "He is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness."!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com