Seems to me a man can most usually take time to contemplate, and if he does it will save him a lot of riding and a lot of headaches.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Sky-Liners)
“The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate Your decrees.”
–Psalm 119:95 (HCSB)
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Welcome to 2020! The Lord has great things for each of us this year as we draw closer to Him. That is the key–we must draw to Him. What a great portion of Scripture to get us back to our study of the Psalms. These first five verses of Psalm 32 give us something to meditate upon as we start the journey through 2020. Take time this week to really look at and contemplate these verses. Dwell on them!
1 – How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!
2 – How joyful is the man the Lord does not charge with sin and in whose spirit is no deceit!
3 – When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
4 – For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat. Selah
5 – Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You took away the guilt of my sin. Selah
(HCSB)
Oh the wondrous thought of our sins being forgiven. Sin is gone! It is put out of sight! Once our sins are forgiven, all of them, we are to live in complete honesty. Become a person of integrity and let there be no deceit within you. Just think! Your sins are forgiven! I am reminded of the words so marvelously penned by Horatio G. Spafford. Let them roll through your mind; let them come forth through the day so that they are well entrenched within your heart and soul.
“My sin–oh, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin–not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”
WOW! (old Greek term for “whooeee”) that just sends shivers up and down my back. All my sins, all your sins–all of them, not just a few, not just the bad ones, not just the secret ones, but ALL of them.
Sin is draining. The guilt and shame make a person feel miserable. Look at verse 3, bones begin to ache, they become brittle. Have you ever felt an ache deep into your bones? Sometimes that cannot be medicated. That’s the way sin is. It wears on you. It makes you a sour, despondent person. But, with forgiveness you bear it no more! Even the guilt is removed along with the sin.
My, my, my, what else can be said? “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”