The man who twenty years ago planted a bomb in a garbage bin outside the Hilton Hotel was never caught. Until three years ago, Evan Pederick TURNED HIMSELF IN. Because, he said, he couldn't live with the GUILT. He was sentenced to 23 years in jail. After the sentence was announced, Pederick THANKED THE JUDGE. He thanked the judge for sending him to jail. Because at last, he said, THE GUILT WAS OVER. And he knew he was getting what he deserved.

Guilt's a powerful force, isn't it. Do you know it? I remember once when Nathan was about 3, I asked him if he knew what GUILT WAS. If he knew what it meant to feel guilty. And he said, "It's the feeling where you want to run away and hide!"

And it's right, isn't it? That's exactly it. But the trouble is, it's all the running and the hiding that in the end wears you down. Grinds you down. Weighs you down. Until just can't take it any more.

Maybe there are things like that in your life. Things you've done that can't be undone. Words you've said that can't be unsaid. Decisions you've made that can't be reversed. Maybe big things. Maybe little things. Maybe even things you're doing now.

David, the ancient King of Israel knows what it's like. And he spells it out here in Psalm 32. When it comes to guilt, David's an expert. Psalm 32 is a Psalm about guilt. And its solution.

It's a simple Psalm, with a simple structure, and if you just run your eye down the page you'll see it. In the first 7 verses, David's talking. He's telling his story, giving his advice. In verses 8 to 10 there's a change. And it's as if God's talking. And then in verse 11, there's the conclusion.

THE BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS

Now if you look at verses 1 and 2, you'll see the Psalm starts out on a high note. Because the first thing you notice in the Psalm is that David starts off by talking about God's blessing. He is talking about the man blessed by God.

Now let me ask you a question. Let me ask you, What's YOUR definition of someone who's blessed by God? How do YOU measure God's blessing? What are you going to look for as proof of God's blessing?

Because I want to suggest to you that the sort of things you and I might be looking for aren't quite the things that the Bible's got in mind. Things like plenty of money. A nice car. Good house. A happy family. They're the sort of things we look at, aren't they? Or you see someone with an important job or a business that's going well. We stand back, we look at that sort of worldly success, and we say "Gee, look at the way God's blessed that guy." But look what David says. Verse 1 and 2. He says "Blessed is he whose TRANSGRESSIONS ARE FORGIVEN, whose SINS ARE COVERED. Blessed is he whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit.

You want to know what GOD'S BLESSING'S ALL ABOUT? Try this. FREEDOM FROM GUILT. All your sins wiped clean. Wiped off the slate.

You know there are lots of new gadgets around these days. One they developed a couple of years ago to save trees, but it never really made much of a splash. They called it a REVERSE PHOTOCOPIER. It recycles used paper. You feed in a sheet that's been photocopied, with black print all over it. And it comes out the other end blank. As good as new. It just lifts off all the black.

Well, David's saying REAL BLESSING'S got to do with God doing that WITH YOUR SINS. Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven. Whose transgressions aren't going to be counted. That's the ultimate blessing of God.

But the question is, I guess, how? Because that's the terrible thing for people who are weighed down by their guilt. What do you do about it?

THE HEAVY HAND OF GOD

And that's what David goes on to spell out. How to be blessed in two easy lessons.

Now you'll see if you read verses 3 and 4, David's talking from experience. Because he's racked by guilt. He doesn't go into details, but if you read his life story in 2 Samuel chapter 11, you can get a few ideas. David's the great king of Israel. And he sees a beautiful woman. Bathsheba. And he likes what he sees. Doesn't matter that she's married to somebody else. David commits adultery with her. She falls pregnant. Not only that, her husband's a soldier; faithful to King David through and through. And so he sends him to the front line. Where he's sure to be killed. And he can have Bathsheba for himself. It's a good plan. And it works. And I guess kings did that sort of stuff all the time. Because back then, Kings did what they liked. These days, we're told WE CAN DO WHAT WE LIKE as well. But there are consequences, aren't there. In our conscience. In our hearts as we stand before God.

David knows what he's done is absolutely wrong. And you can see how his guilt plagues him if you read verses 3 and 4. He says his bones wasted away through his groaning all day long. He says, "For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." His guilt is like that heavy feeling you get in the middle of a blistering summer day. Can hardly move. And I want you to notice why it is. David knows. It's THE HAND OF GOD ON HIM. It's God tapping him on the shoulder. Constantly reminding him. It's WRONG. It's WRONG.

King David has been on a COLLISION COURSE WITH GOD. And he's trapped. And for as long as he keeps silent about his guilt, as long as he doesn't own up to it, as long as he keeps going as if everything's okay, it's as if he's carrying a huge weight on his shoulders. And he was wasting away to nothing.

You know, Psychologists say GUILT is one of the biggest problems facing the sort of people who come to them for help. "Unresolved guilt." And here's what most psychologists will tell you to do. If your troubled by guilt, it's just a collision between your INNER DESIRES and your SOCIAL CONDITIONING. So you've just got to teach yourself to IGNORE YOUR CONDITIONING. And do what you feel like. You need to be DESENSITISED. They'll tell you there's nothing to worry about. That you need to develop a more POSITIVE self image so you can do what you like without feeling BAD ABOUT IT. David knows better. It's not a collision between his inner desires and his social conditioning at all. It's a collision between his SIN… and THE HAND OF GOD.

It's a bit like a warning light on the dashboard of your car. A flashing red light, it's there, blinking. And the Psychologist says, I can fix that. You just reach around behind the dashboard and you cut the wires. And the light stops flashing.

David knows better. Because the longer he pretends the problem's not a problem, the longer he's wasting away. The longer he avoids the issue, the longer he goes without dealing with it, the worse it gets.

And you'll notice he says that at the start of verse 3. Because he says, "When I kept SILENT," I wasted away. For as long as I pretended there wasn't any problem, he says, things got worse and worse. God's hand got heavier and heavier. But you need to look what he finally does. It's in verse 5.

He stops pretending he's innocent. And he asks God for forgiveness. Listen to what he says. "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." Its that simple. First of all, he ADMITS his sin. He stops kidding himself. He stops covering it up. And he confesses to God he's done wrong. And as soon as he confesses his sin, God forgives him. Just like that. Its that easy. Its one of the most important messages in the whole bible. Its the gospel in a nutshell. But so many people miss it. So many people think being a Christian is about trying to be a more moral person. About trying to be good. But it's not that at all. Confess your sins in humble repentance. And God forgives you.

Verse 6 starts a new section in the Psalm. You'll notice the little word Se-lah between verses 5 and 6 and in a couple of other places. Originally the Psalms were designed to be songs. To be sung by the Israelites. And Selah is a musical term, an instruction for the musicians; and it marks off the sections of the Psalm.

THE RESULTS

And in this next section, David goes on to talk about the results. About the peace of mind and the freedom that comes from being forgiven by God. Listen to verse 6. "Let every one 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." The godly person is the person who's stopped covering up their sins, who's turned to God for forgiveness. And when you've done that, says David, there's nothing else to fear.

It's a huge contrast, isn't it. From groaning in his guilt. To the peace that comes from being . And accepted by God. When you know you're accepted by God, you've got nothing else to fear.

GOD's RESPONSE

That brings us to the next Selah. The end of verse 7, and the start of verse 8. And there's quite a change at this point. Because suddenly, it's God speaking. So far it's been David. Now it's God's response.

And it's a great promise for the people who have turned to him. A promise that when you turn back to God, he's there ready and waiting. Read it. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Don't be like the horse or the mule, says God, who have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they won't come to you."

God says, let's do it the easy way. I'll instruct you. I'll give you my Word to teach you the way you should go. I'll watch over you. Don't be stubborn. Don't be dumb. I mean, horses and mules, you've got to stick a bit in their teeth and pull before you can turn them round. And God says, DON'T BE LIKE THAT. It's a lot easier if you just let him guide you with his word.

It's a simple choice. Cause God wins in the end anyway. And he says that. A two way choice. Verse 10. "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

CONCLUSION

The very last verse of the Psalm is a word for the righteous. It's a word for the people who have taken his advice.

He says, REJOICE. And be happy about it.

I don't know about you. But it seems to me one of the greatest things about being Christians, is we've been SET FREE FROM GUILT. And maybe you're so used to that that you don't even appreciate it any more. David says REJOICE ABOUT IT. Be glad. Sing. It's exactly the opposite to how he was at the start. Groaning with guilt. Because his problem's solved. And the burden's gone. God's heavy hand has been lifted. Just like that.

Now you know, it's easy just to read that and to take it for granted. And it's easy just to read that and miss a very important point. It's easy to read it and not realise something significant.

And let me tell you what it is. Because the fact is, wherever there's guilt, the only way to really get rid of it is to pay a price. Like Evan Pederick, the guy I mentioned at the start. His guilt was only REALLY lifted when he PAID THE PRICE. And went to jail. He thanked the judge. Because he knew he was finally getting what he deserved. Squaring the balance. And that way he could rest easy. Guilt just doesn't dissappear. It has to be paid for.

And it makes you wonder, doesn't it... how can God just let it go? How come you can just turn to God and confess your sins, and the burden's lifted. Free. Without any sort of price or punishment at all?

Well, there's an answer to that, isn't there. Because a price WAS paid. It was a long time after David's sins were forgiven. But it was a price that covered them perfectly. And everyone elses as well.

In 1 JOHN 1, there's a passage that picks up exactly the same points as our Psalm. 1 John 1, starting from verse 8. Where John says this. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins - just like David - the God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." He says, stop pretending. Get rid of the FAÇADE. Verse 10. "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." And here's how it works. Here's the price that's been paid. Keep reading at the start of chapter 2. "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." Atoning sacrifice. The price paid to put things right - the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I guess when he wrote the words of the Psalm, David didn't know that. He didn't know how it worked. He didn't know Jesus was going to pay for his sins on the cross. But one thing he knew. God's forgiveness is real. And in the end it's the only way to deal with guilt that's real. So confess it. "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."

Friends, there's a huge freedom and joy in living a guilt free life. You might be weighed down with guilt. You might not be. You might have disconnected the warning lights. But the fact is, if you say you have no sin, you're deceiving yourself. But if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just… and promises to forgives your sin. And cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Which is the best blessing you could ever get.