“Getting it off my chest” – that’s what we call coming clean about something we need to confess. And it points to the way that keeping such a secret often feels – like a weight pressing down on us. So, when we finally do confess something that makes us feel guilty, it’s liberating. We feel free.

David understood this. In Psalm 32:3-4, he remembers what it felt like to hide his sin from God, from others, and perhaps from himself: he groaned, he felt like life was just draining out of him, like he was wasting away. We don’t know if he wrote this Psalm in the aftermath of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah (II Samuel 11), but he could have. Killing his friend to cover up an affair, abusing his power in the worst sort of way just to gratify his selfish lusts – keeping all that bottled up had to have been a crushing experience.

Now, we have to admit that it took Nathan’s confrontation to get David to come clean (II Samuel 12:7-12). But once David did confess his sin to God, he found forgiveness (Psalm 32:5; II Samuel 12:13). Being restored to a right relationship with God meant he could once again find safety in God’s protecting presence (Psalm 32:7), instead of hiding from His righteous judgment. It’s no wonder that David could sing about how blessed, how happy God’s forgiveness made him feel (Psalm 32:1-2). It’s no wonder that he encourages everyone else to seek the same sort of reconciliation (Psalm 32:5).

So, how about us? Is there anything we need to confess to God? Even if we’ve trusted Him to be our Savior, is there any part of our lives that we’ve been holding back from Him? Are there any unhealthy habits we’ve been practicing, any grudges or resentments we need to release?

The good news is that if we’ll trust God enough to tell Him about these things, we can get a taste of what David felt even after his greatest sin: the faithful, covenant-keeping love of God that surrounds us (Psalm 32:10) because all the punishment for all the sin of all who trust in Christ has been paid by the blood of His cross. And knowing we’ve been forgiven, knowing we’ve been reconciled to God, well, what greater reason could we have to be glad in the Lord, and to shout for joy (Psalm 32:11)?

Psalm 32 (NASB)

A Psalm of David. A Maskil.
How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
7 Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones, And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.