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Freed From Guilt

May 19, 2026 | David Jeremiah

Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Psalm 32:4, NLT

Aerial photos are used to reveal the effects of a prolonged drought. One photo will show a lake during times of plentiful rainfall, followed by a photo taken during the drought. The change in the shoreline reveals the effects of evaporation.

Recommended Reading:
Hebrews 12:4-6

The psalmist David used just such an image to describe the effects of unconfessed sin in his life: “My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.” Psalm 32 is one of the most graphic portrayals of the movement from hidden sin to open confession found in Scripture. We don’t know exactly what sin David was guilty of hiding—perhaps it was his sin with Bathsheba, detailed in Psalm 51—perhaps some other sin. Whatever the sin, David was only freed from his torment of guilt when he confessed to God: “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).

New Testament Christians are provided the same relief: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession.
Richard Sibbes