SURROUNDED BY MERCY

SURROUNDED BY MERCY

READ:

Psalm 32

He who trusts in the LORD,

mercy shall surround him.

-Psalm 32:10

It was almost impossible not to see the giant billboard with the red background and huge white letters that shouted:  “This year thousands of men will die from stubbornness.”  Later I learned that the billboard was one of hundreds just like it targeted at middle-aged men who typically avoid routine medical screenings and often die from preventable conditions.

Psalm 32 deals with the spiritual disease of sin, which can be treated by honest acknowledgment and repentance.  The first five verses express the anguish of hiding our guilt and then celebrate the joyful release of confessing our transgressions to God and being forgiven.

This psalm goes on to show that the Lord longs for us to seek His help in difficulty (vv.6-8) and receive His guidance.  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye” (v.8).  We are hindered, though, when we stubbornly refuse to follow His direction and repent from our sin.

God’s Word urges us, “Do not be like the horse or like the mule,…which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (v.9).  Rather than hold on to our sin, the Lord offers an alternative:  When we humbly confess, His mercy shall surround us (v.10). –David McCasland

Heavenly Father, help us now

At thy feet to humbly bow;

Take away all thought of sin,

Make us clean and pure within. –Bartels

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The first step to receiving God’s forgiveness

is to admit that we need it.

INSIGHT

Long after he committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11-12), David still had not repented.  Confronted by Nathan the prophet, David confessed and repented of these sins (12:1-14).  Out of this painful experience, David wrote Psalms 32 and 51, confessing the evil done and celebrating God’s forgiveness.

Have a blessed day.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity and Peace