“For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found.” Psalm 32:6
In the book of Isaiah, as well as that which we find in the purpose and message of John the Baptist who preceded Christ, we find a path to God, to knowing Him, a path to communion with Him. Isaiah writes: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (40:3) Isaiah is writing of a “way” and a “highway, to meet God, and to be met by Him. It is one which has been prescribed by God since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. It is based on a single sacrifice, that of the Son of God on Calvary, where the Lord Jesus Christ, “…canceled out the certificate of debt (…for all our transgressions) consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col. 2:13,14) The sacrifice of Christ is the sole way and manner by which the Eternal God has reached down to sinful man to establish for time and eternity the bridge for reconciling lost, sinful man with a holy God. By the blood of Christ, every believer is reconciled to God, having now peace with God. But what are the practical applications of this sure, and complete work of Christ, to the life, so that on a daily basis communion can be known with God?
In Psalm 32, we discover the path that David found into the presence of God, there to know Him. In the first five verses of the Psalm, David deals with iniquity and sins, or transgressions of the Law, which must be forgiven, wiped away, “covered,” never to be remembered again. This is possible when the soul has chosen to be honest with God, not seeking hide any sin from God, but to confess his sins, repenting of them. The promise of God is that the Lord will forgive them, and also the guilt that accompanies them. God no longer imputes sins that are forgiven. They are wiped away. Unforgiven, conscious sins must be removed to have fellowship with God.
Secondly, David declares, “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found.” (v.6) Prayer for God’s intervention is the second means along this path to knowing God, for by it the heart and soul speak to God. By the prayer of faith, the soul can lay hold upon God as his “hiding place.” God’s intervention in response to prayer, as David writes, “…surrounds me with songs of deliverance.” (v.7)
Thirdly, the soul must be open, receptive, and committed to responding in obedience to the revealed will of God. The Lord says: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” (v.8) Here is the promise of God to the seeking soul, one where, by His words, Christ commits Himself to instruct and teach the believer in the way. Christ is the wisdom of the believer, so that he can receive from Christ all that is needed in wisdom and knowledge to walk in communion with God.
Finally, there is an admonition of God, with a promise to reveal Himself. It has to do with truly listening and obeying. One is not to be like a mule or a horse in response to the knowledge of the will of God, but with resolve follow Christ. The promise for the one who would truly trust in the Lord is that the Lord will surround him with lovingkindness. It is there in that place of blessed fellowship with Christ that the soul learns the great blessing of being glad in the Lord, rejoicing in the beauty and wonder of Christ. That gladness, the result of being upright in heart before God, results in the breaking forth into joy.
Dear Father, Reveal Yourself in us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.