Psalm 32, 103, 122: You Fill My Broken Heart With Song

When I finally saw my own lies,

I owned up to my sins before You,

and did not try to hide my evil deeds from You.

I said to myself, "I'll admit all my sins to the Eternal,"

and you lifted and carried away the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:5, The Voice

There is darkness inside all of us. The longer I live the more I know that to be true. And not just petty twilight either, real pitch darkness. Sometimes I think back on how my life was before I knew the depth of my sin, back ten years ago when it was good enough to serve at church and sing the songs and feel good about my place in God's kingdom- I look back on that time of ignorance and I long for it. I long for the simplicity that that kind of life brought- the self-justification of feeling like I was a pretty good person. 

But something shifted when I began to search for what it meant to truly be a disciple of Christ. I began to see myself the way God sees me. How every sin is equal- no one person is better than another, no person deserves hell more or less than I do. The sheer weight of my guilt began to consume me- it broke my heart- and though I knew that what I was finally learning was truth, I longed for the time when living seemed easier. 

Here, David speaks of this point of revelation. The time when he saw his sin for what it was and brought it to the LORD. And what did God do? He "carried away the guilt of my sin." The weight of striving for perfection, of thinking we could be good enough. He took that away from David once David was willing to bring it before Him. 

Sometimes I'm afraid to bring my ugliness before God. But when I do, I fully experience the full freedom He has for me- the freedom He so longed to give me that He sent His Son to buy it for me! What else is there to do but sing?

O my soul, come, praise the Eternal
   with all that in in me- body, emotions, mind, and will- every part of who I am-
   praise His holy name.
O my soul, come, praise the Eternal;
    sing a song from a grateful heart;
    sing and never forget all the good He has done.
Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you.
     More than any doctor, He heals your diseases.

Psalm 103:1-3

HE FORGIVES AND RELEASES YOU. There is no burden you must bear. No darkness inside you that He has not been to- even if you haven't discovered it yet. He already knows of it and has paid for it. 

I love the way Sara Groves sings Psalm 103:7,

"You are my hiding place,

You fill my broken heart with song."

Yes, please, Lord. Fill us to overflowing!