Day 8. Psalm 31-41.

A Psalm that I find encouraging in this section is Psalm 32.

'Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.' (verse 1)

This verse is later quoted in the book of Romans(Romans 4:5-8), the book of the New Testament which perhaps gives the fullest description of what the gospel is and what it means to be forgiven through faith and not from works. Paul quotes this in Romans to show that the Old Testament saints, such as David, were also saved by faith, just like the New Testament saints.
The command to be circumcised was given to Abraham and his descendants as a sign of their consecration to God. But to some people, whether a person was able to fulfill the command to be circumcised, and to fulfill the other Old Testament laws as well, seems to have been taken as the thing which actually saves you.

But the Old Testament saints were not saved through circumcision, or by birth into the kingdom of Israel, but through faith. If the people obeyed the Old Testament command to be circumcised, it was an expression of that faith that they already had(Romans 4:10-11). It was not the actual performance of that command that saved them, but the inward trust they put in Gods promise of a Redeemer. And we who believe in Jesus by faith, are saved just like Abraham and David who lived before the birth of Jesus.

Actually this would take time to explain in detail, but what encourages me is how David describes the freedom from brokenness he experienced when he confessed his sin to the Lord. When he did not confess his sin, verse three describes him.

'For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.'

But when he confessed his sin to the Lord(verse 5), he was able to move forward(verse 5 onward). This is encouraging to me, because I realize that it doesn't matter what things I have done in the past, if I confess my sin, and pray to ask God to help me to follow Him more in the future, there is nothing else I can do. God forgives the sin of those who ask him.