Acknowledging Our Sin

In Psalm 32, King David wrote out of his own personal experience:

“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.” (verses 3‐5, NIV)

I believe that when David wrote this, he had in mind the matter of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. It was a terrible situation in which David had committed adultery, then committed murder to cover up his adultery. David obviously had been like many of us. For a long while, he had refused to face the fact of his sin. He tried to ignore it.

In the next verses, David makes a personal application:

“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.” (verses 6–7, NIV)

It is never too late to confess our sins to God and seek refuge in His salvation. He will deliver us from our sins if we’ll only acknowledge them and repent.