Psalm 32:6-11 – Tune in to God

In the first five verses of Psalm 32, David declared that confessing his sin brought him into a right relationship with God. And nothing can be more wonderful and blessed than to be in total alignment with God in one’s life. We need to know that God is far more willing to forgive us, when we recognize and acknowledge our flaws in life. This being the case, we should heed the call of David to seek God while He may be found. In that seeking, be willing to confess any sin and be relieved from any divine chastening. Like David when we make God our hiding place and abide in Him, we can be sure of His deliverance in times of trouble. He will surround us with songs of deliverance. In other words, we will have plenty to sing about God’s goodness and deliverance.

Once he had confessed his sin, David found himself in right relationship with God. More than having a right relationship with God, he now demonstrated a right attitude towards Him. With these two important areas of life made right, he realized that he was thrust into a posture to hear from God. Verses 8 and 9 suggest that he could now hear what God was saying to him. In much the same way as He had dealt with David, God will also deal with us. When we have an aligned relationship with Him and would draw near to Him with a proper attitude, He too will speak to us.

What God requires of us is not to stubbornly resist Him like a horse or mule. These are animals with no understanding of life and had to be led about through bit and bridle in the strapping over its mouth. A rider on the horse determines the direction he wants it to go by pulling on the strapping. He uses the bit and bridle in the strapping to inflict pain in the cheek of the horse, to force it to move in the direction he desires. The call here is for us to co-operate with the Lord as He guides us. God knows all the directions that we need to attain a fulfilling life. When we collaborate with Him willingly, no pain would be required to move us along those wonderful paths. However, if we stubbornly refuse to move in tandem with Him, we will encounter painful experiences that He would allow along the way, to move us closer to His desired paths for our life.  Here David is making a call to us to always obey God instantly, don’t wait to be moved by the pains and afflictions of life.  

The “wicked” mentioned in verse 10 refers to all who will not trust God. They are people whose experiences in life would include sorrow. Whereas those with a right relationship and a right attitude toward God are promised of pleasant experiences. They will be surrounded by God’s loving kindness and mercy. With that exhortation, David then urged us who are in a right relationship with God to be glad and rejoice. We are encouraged to lift up our voice in praise because we are the apple of His eye and the object of His love. Remember this formula: Right relationship with God + Right attitude towards God = Right posture to hear from God.