Day 11
Read Psalm 32
When Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, the first of the theses was, “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Luther did not mean that believers never do anything good, but that it is through repentance that our entire life is transformed. It is often thought that repentance is something we do for God, “to keep God happy and off our back.” But, as Timothy Keller notes, the biblical “purpose of repentance is to repeatedly tap into the joy of our union with Christ in order to weaken our need to do anything contrary to God’s heart.” When you think of repentance do you think of tapping into joy?
Psalm 32 is one of the great Psalms of confession and repentance. Confession and repentance are not the same thing, but repentance always begins with confession. Confession is the admission of guilt, of going in the wrong direction. Repentance is turning and moving in the right direction. So, in verse 5, David begins with confession, “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.” But, notice what David says before in verse 4, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away…my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” Repentance couldn’t begin until confession happened.
Then, when we get to verse 8, after his confession and forgiveness, David says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Repentance is turning from the wrong ways and moving towards the “way you should go.”
Psalm 32 is a Psalm of confession and repentance but look at how David begins and ends the Psalm – with joy. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven” (vs. 1), and “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous, sing, all you who are upright in heart!” (vs. 11). Confession and repentance are not acts of drudgery but are in fact liberating. Why? Because not only are we admitting that there are better ways to live then the ways we often live, but we are moving closer to God’s heart.
Prayer
Ask God to show you the joy of confession and repentance by showing you more of His heart.
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