Posted on 11/06/2005 5:31:25 PM PST by sionnsar
From the Rev. Charles Camlin of Holy Trinity REC in Virginia, we have the sermon The Blessed State of Being Forgiven, which is an exposition of, and a meditation on, Psalm 32. (This was Rev. Camlin's sermon for Trinity 22.) He begins by noting the background behind Psalm 32 in the life of David:
The reading from the Psalter today came from the thirty-second psalm, which was written by David. This psalm was St. Augustine’s favorite psalm—in fact, he had it inscribed on the wall by his deathbed so that he could pray it often and meditate upon what it taught. This psalm is one of the seven penitential psalms and the primary thrust of it is instruction—particularly on the goal of repentance— forgiveness.For some fine insights into sin, repentance and forgiveness, I commend the rest of this sermon, available at the above link, to you.
According to tradition, this psalm, along with psalm fifty-one, was written by King David after the events described in Second Samuel chapters eleven and twelve. If you remember, it was spring-time, when kings went out to war. But David stayed at his castle enjoying the comforts of home rather than going out with his men. What happened as a result of this was a chain of events that would entirely change David’s life. It began with David on the roof of his castle—he noticed a beautiful woman in a neighboring house. He inquired about her but found out that she was the wife of Uriah, the Hittite—one of his mighty men. But David, coveting his neighbor’s wife, took her for himself, committing adultery. When he found out that his sin was about to be exposed, he deceptively called in Uriah from the battle. He tried desperately to cover his sin but was unable to do so. As a result, he sinned further by having Uriah killed in battle—in essence, he committed murder.
Thinking that he had sufficiently covered his sin, David went on with his life. Until the day when God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him. Nathan, speaking on behalf of God, told a parable in which David’s sins were exposed. It is at this point that David confesses his sin before God—presumably using the words of what is now psalm fifty-one. God forgave David and spared his life, but there were some temporal consequences. However, David was reconciled with God and this is the subject of psalm thirty-two.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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