Worship in Word:
VIII. Celebrate, Delight, v. 11
The two words employed in the final heading of my outline describe the external reaction and internal response of God’s people to who God is and all that He has done.
God Is:
- Gracious and Forgiving – vv. 1-3
- A Disciplining Father – vv. 4-5
- The One who hears the prayers of His people – vv. 6-7
- Our Teacher and Counselor – vv. 8-9
- Steadfast and Faithful in His wrath and love – v. 10
- The Object and Subject of our worship – v. 11
God Does:
- Forgive and Bless the sinner who repents, confesses, and trusts in Him – vv. 1-5, 10
- Pursues His erring ones – vv. 4-5
- Rescue and Protect those who call upon Him in troubling times – vv. 6-7
- Teach and Counsel His people who are willing to be taught – vv. 8-9
- Punish the wicked, but surround His people with steadfast, unfailing, and faithful love. – vv. 10
- Receive our worship and fill us with gladness and joy – vv. 11
God naturally does what He does because of who He is. God’s people should also naturally respond in worship because of who they are in Him.
Worship in Witness:
Recently I had to deliver a car to one of my sons who lives in another state. Of course, because I drove down, I had to purchase a one-way flight home. During my flight back home, I decided to refresh my memory and read my journal entries for this Psalm. It takes me so long to finish each Psalm that I sometimes have to go back and reread what I wrote. It seems miles apart from when I began my journey through Psalm 32, though it only takes a little more than a minute to read it out loud.
As I was reading, I came across this prayer I wrote near the beginning of my adventure through this Psalm. The substance of the prayer can be found in many places throughout my journey through the Psalms, as recorded in my journal—one reason why it takes so long to finish each journal entry. Journal entries are supposed to be daily, but I often take months to complete one entry. Of course, the nature and design of my journal entries cannot be completed in a day, but it should not take months, and sometimes over a year, to study one Psalm.
I retired several weeks ago. I now have a lot of time to work on my journal. Yet this is only the second time I have attempted to complete this entry. May this prayer, which I wrote a long time ago, now be a fresh confession, petition, and testament. Amen
Lord,
I turn to You, my strength and source of joy. I confess my lack of desire and lazy ways. I confess that my desire for earthly things – food, political issues, and financial security – consumes too much of my time. I envy others who seem to be enjoying themselves without thinking of the need for the deep study of Your word. And I feel the world’s pull – watch this… taste this… think this way… do this. It seems like I am surrounded by one colossal advertising scheme that seeks to lure me away from You. But I confess, Lord, it is working. I’m drawn away by phone notifications, numerous emails, finances, and even food preparation. I pray that envy, guilt, and inertia will give way to joy, delight, and desire. Because I know when I am drawn away by these things, it is because I want to be. No excuses, Lord. I am guilty. But I am reminded by this very psalm of what You have done for me. Chill bumps run up my arms as You remind me that Your grace has justified me! I AM BLESSED!
Yet, I cannot leave it there. Chill bumps are temporary and subside quickly. Memories of God’s grace can fade rapidly amid life’s distractions. God’s blessings can lose their luster and be taken for granted. I was reminded again of the title of a book I read many years ago. It was titled “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society” by Eugene H. Peterson. My pastor mentioned it during the invitation last Sunday.
The life of grace and blessing is a long journey punctuated by times of “chills, thrills, and spills.” Along its path, we will stumble, but we must not stop or retreat. We must press on in obedience to His commands. One of those commands is found in Psalm 32:11.
Be glad in the LORD,
and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy,
all you upright in heart! (ESV)
Not a forced or feigned obedience but from a heart overwhelmed by who God is and what He has done. This is the heart of the upright. And this may mean that as we progress in obedience, we may have to pause, remember, refresh, recommit, and then rejoin the road – the path of righteousness our Lord and Great Shepherd leads us on. Perhaps Psalm 32 is one of those pauses?
And as we walk, let us worship!
Witness in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise
As I Walk
As I walk, let me worship
My lips sounding forth, in praise
From a heart that has been stirred up
With devotion to the Ancient of Days
1 Tim 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
NIV
Permission to Praise
Let praise arise in my heart
And from its depths
A joyful song
Fill my lungs with grateful breath
Let it flow through my body
Into my arms upraised
Reaching to heaven
Towards the one in whom I am amazed
Let it settle in my feet
So I may walk
Glory’s path
And from its light and truth never balk
Let my whole being exalt the Lord
My soul voicing
From deep within
With singing and shouting and rejoicing
– Amen
Listen to Our Hearts by Geoff Moore and The Distance
How do you explain?
How do you describe
A love that goes from the east to west
And runs as deep as it is wide?
You know all our hopes
Lord, You know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear
So listen to our hearts, here our spirit sing
A song of praise that flows from those You have redeemed
We will use the words we know to tell you what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough to tell You of our love, so listen to our hearts
If words could fall like rain
From these lips of mine
And if I had a thousand years
I would still run out of time
So if you’ll listen to my heart
Every beat will say
Thank you for the life, thank you for the truth
Thank you for the way
So listen to our hearts, here our spirit sing
A song of praise that flows from those You have redeemed
We will use the words we know to tell You what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough to tell You of our love, so listen to our hearts
You know all our hopes
Lord, You know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear
Listen to our hearts, here our spirit sing
A song of praise that flows from those You have redeemed
We will use the words we know to tell You what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough to tell You of our love, so listen to our hearts
Words are not enough to tell You of our love, so listen to our hearts
Please watch the video below and sing along in worship!
Lyrics Source: https://www.songlyrics.com/geoff-moore-and-the-distance/listen-to-our-hearts-lyrics/
Video: https://youtu.be/f7dRb1fIl2M
QUOTES:
Psalms 32:11
[All ye that are upright in heart] That is, who are sincere in your confession of sin, and in your desires to secure the favor of God. Such have occasion for joy, for to such God will show himself merciful, as He did to the psalmist when HE made confession of sin; to such God will give the tokens of his favor, and the hope of heaven, as he did to HIM. The experience of the psalmist, therefore, as recorded in this psalm, should be full of encouragement to all who are burdened with a sense of sin. Warned by his experience, they should not attempt to conceal their transgressions in their own bosom, but they should go at once, as he was constrained at last to go, and make full and free confession to God. So doing, they will find that God is not slow to pardon them, and to fill their hearts with peace, and their lips with praise.
(from Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
The psalm ends in the celebration of all of God’s people. We should be glad because God has redeemed us, not only at that one point of decision when we first become aware of God’s gift of salvation, but also each and every day as we confess and begin again as new and transformed creatures of God.
This psalm celebrates what is the very heart of the Christian tradition, God’s grace and forgiveness that allows for us to know true happiness. Yet amazingly, we rarely take the time to celebrate this pivotal act of daily grace. Psalm 32 gives us just that opportunity to be glad and rejoice and shout, for God does reckon us righteous!
Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: Psalms 1–41. In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (p. 309). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
A quote from an article I read, I felt, was appropriate. This is an excerpt from the article that quotes from Augustine, the 4th-century Bishop of Hippo:
Following an apologetic sermon delivered on an occasion when pagans were welcomed into the church, Augustine reminded his congregation of what we might call “the argument from a pleasure filled life”:
I’ve already said to you yesterday, brothers and sisters, and I say it again now and am always begging you to win over those who haven’t yet believed, by leading good lives—otherwise you too, I fear, will have believed to no purpose. I beseech you all, in the same way as you take pleasure in the word of God, so to express that pleasure in the lives you lead. Let God’s word please you not only in your ears but in your hearts too; not only in your hearts but also in your lives, so that you may be God’s household, acceptable in his eyes and fit for every good work (2 Tim. 2:21). I haven’t the slightest doubt, brothers and sisters, that if you all live in a manner worthy of God, the time will very soon come when none of those who have not yet believed will remain in unbelief.
Psalms For The Journey 
