One of the well-known Old Testament accounts is that of David and Bathsheba. What David does next is profound. He writes a psalm that addresses sin and forgiveness.
Scripture tells us Israel’s army is in battle. David, the king, should be with them, but stays home. He goes onto his rooftop, sees Bathsheba bathing, and sends for her. She arrives. He takes her. She becomes pregnant.
Bathsheba is married. David sends for her husband Uriah, hoping he will spend time with his wife. Uriah refuses comfort while his fellow soldiers are at war. So, David sends Uriah back with orders to place him on the front line to die.
Uriah dies. Afterward, David takes Bathsheba as his wife. To onlookers, it might have seemed caring of David to take in a war hero’s pregnant wife. Nevertheless, David carries on as if nothing happened.
For about a year, David remains silent and unrepentant. Then Nathan tells him a story: a rich man takes a poor man’s beloved lamb to feed a traveler. David is furious and says the rich man deserves to die and must restore the lamb fourfold. Nathan says, “You are that man” (2 Samuel 12:7). David confesses, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Out of David’s brokenness comes Psalm 32, a maskil, or teaching psalm. David shows us how to process guilt.
In the first two verses, David uses three words for sin: willful rebellion, falling short, and moral distortion. He confesses every dimension of sin. David then uses three words for God’s response: God carries sin away, covers it, and cancels the debt when one repents.
Paul quotes these verses: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Romans 4:7-8). David’s psalm reveals the truth about salvation and faith.
In verses 3 and 4 of Psalm 32, David describes how his bones wasted away and how the Lord’s hand weighed heavily on him. He suffered from hiding his sin. Yet, when he turned to God, he experienced true grace and forgiveness for his adultery and murder.
David waited about a year before confessing, but he teaches us not to wait. Hidden sin crushes you. God desires to wash you with forgiveness, restoration, and fellowship, which is ours when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and keep a short account of our sin through quick confession. God’s response is undeserved but lovingly given through Christ, who paid for our sin. This is good news. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!