The joy of forgiveness

Psalm 31, Psalm 32. Today I could talk about genres again and other forms of literary criticism of these passages, but I'm not going to. The reason people across the traditions and ages resonate with the psalms is because of the deeply human and universal themes. I live in a very different time and place that the writer of psalm 32, but I can identify with the joy of forgiveness that's expressed here, beginning with the first verse: "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The psalmist writes about the consequences of not forgiving, wasting away and suffering (v. 3-4) and the sense of relief from moving from anger to forgiveness. Being stubborn like a mule isn't an answer to deep emotional pain (v. 9), but faith and prayer are. I've found that moving to a place of forgiveness can be a long and difficult journey, and it is easy and very tempting to give in to the anger and hurt. If I can get past that and move to a place of faith and trust, I'm saying with the psalmist: "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in the heart." (v.11).