José, a young believer in Jesus, was visiting his brother’s church. As he entered the sanctuary prior to the service, his brother’s face fell when he saw him. José’s tattoos, covering both arms, were visible since he was wearing a T-shirt. His brother told him to go home and put on a long-sleeved shirt, for many of José’s tattoos reflected the ways of his past. José suddenly felt dirty. But another man overheard the brothers’ interaction and brought José to the pastor, telling him what had happened. The pastor smiled and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a large tattoo on his chest—something from his own past. He assured José that because God had made him pure from the inside out, he didn't need to cover his arms.
David experienced the joy of being made pure by God. After confessing his sin to Him, the king wrote, “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” (Psalm 32:1 NLT). He could now “shout for joy” with others “whose hearts are pure!” (v. 11 NLT). The apostle Paul later quoted Psalm 32:1–2 in Romans 4:7–8, a passage declaring that faith in Jesus leads to salvation and a pure standing before Him (see Romans 4:23–25).
Our purity in Jesus is much more than skin deep, for He knows and purifies our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 John 1:9). May we rejoice in His purifying work today.
By Tom Felten
REFLECT & PRAY
What past sins have you struggled with? What does it mean to be transformed and purified by faith in Jesus?
Jesus, thank You for forgiving my sins and making me pure within.
While some of David’s psalms contain information in the superscription about the historical context that birthed the song, Psalm 32 doesn’t. It merely ascribes authorship to David and adds: “A maskil” (a meditation). Despite this lack of information, some scholars dogmatically declare Psalm 32 to be a companion psalm to Psalm 51, which describes David’s repentance following his sin with Bathsheba. It’s clear that Psalm 32 contains elements of confession and repentance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s related to the Bathsheba incident. We need to be careful about making assumptions regarding the biblical text and say no more and no less than what the Bible says.
Bill Crowder
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