1. FORGIVENESS AND PRAYER
PSALM 32

2. PSALM 32:1-2
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3. ‘Blessed means “congratulations”
‘Blessed means “congratulations”. It also means “approval”…the approval of God. It comes down to one word: anointing. To be “blessed” in the way Jesus uses the term, then, means to be under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.’ - R T Kendall

4. PSALM 32:3-6
3:When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4:For day and night your hand was heavy upon me: my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5: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 me the guilt of my sin. 6: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.

5. ‘Those may be said to keep silence who stifle their convictions, who, when they cannot but see the evil of sin and their danger by reason of it, ease themselves by not thinking of it and diverting their minds to something else…who will not unburden their consciences by a penitent confession, nor seek peace, as they ought, by faithful and fervent prayer, -and who choose rather to pine away in their iniquities than to take the method which God has appointed of finding rest for their souls..’

6. “God's hand is very helpful when it uplifts, but it is awful when it presses down: better a world on the shoulder, like Atlas, than God's hand on the heart, like David” -Charles Spurgeon

7. ‘We must confess the fact of sin, and be particular in it (Thus and thus have I done), confess the fault of sin, aggravate it and lay a load upon ourselves for it (I have done very wickedly), confess the justice of the punishment we have been under for it (The Lord is just in all that is brought upon us) and that we deserve much worse-I am no more worthy to be called thy son.’

8. ‘Sin has but two places where it may be; either it may be with you, so that it lies upon your neck, or upon Christ, the Lamb of God. If now it lies upon your neck, you are lost; if, however, it lies upon Christ, you are free and will be saved.’ -Martin Luther

9. PSALM 32:7-11
7:You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 8:I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. 9:Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10:Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. 11:Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

10. You can only hide from sin, if you hide in God.