[Winter Conference 2021] Nate Bramsen – Uncovering the Strategies of Satan (Session 1)

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Psalm 32:1

There are two basic problems that confront all human beings everywhere. The first is our sense of guilt about the past, and the second is our anxiety about the future. Psalm 32 addresses both directly.

Firstly, God promises his forgiveness. The psalm begins with a beatitude: “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven.” But how can God refuse to count our sins against us and forgive them instead? The apostle Paul answered this question. He quoted the first two verses of this psalm as an Old Testament example of God’s justification of sinners by his grace through faith, altogether apart from good works (Rom. 4:6–8).”

“We must confess our sins, however. God cannot cover our sins in forgiveness unless we uncover them in confession. So David goes on to describe the misery of those who refuse to own up. Long before the term psychosomatic had been invented, David tells how his tortured conscience resulted in alarming physical symptoms (Ps. 32:3–4).

Secondly, God promises his guidance. Four times in verse 8 God makes the same promise, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” We need to note, however, that the promise is immediately followed by a prohibition: “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding” (v. 9).

So God promises that he will guide us, but we must not expect him to guide us as we guide horses and mules. Why not? Because they have no understanding, whereas we do. God’s normal way of directing us is through our mental processes, not in spite of them.