Psalm 32: Lessons For How a Transformed Believer Should Respond to God’s Mercy
Introduction: David committed terrible sins. But God still called David a man after His heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). God gave David this honor because he was transformed through his faith, and he responded appropriately when God confronted him with his sins. Any believer in Jesus Christ becomes a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). From David’s example, God reveals seven signs of how a transformed believer should respond to His mercy. These include: (1) faith, (2) repentance, (3) gratitude, (4) evangelism, (5) spiritual growth, (6) obedience, and (7) worship.
First, after committing terrible sins, David expressed faith in the blessings of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Transformed believers also have faith in God’s mercy and forgiveness. Second, after initially trying to conceal his sins and suffering for doing so, David confessed and repented of his sins. Transformed believers also confess and repent of their sins to God. Third, after experiencing God’s mercy, David expressed his gratitude to God. Transformed believers also express gratitude for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Fourth, David exhorted others to learn from his mistakes. Transformed believers also share their testimony with others. Fifth, David also encouraged others to learn from him and the wisdom of God’s Word. Transformed believers also seek spiritual growth through God’s Word. Sixth, also based upon his lessons, David encouraged others to end their rebellion and obey God’s Word. Transformed believers also seek to obey God’s Word. Finally, David expressed his gratitude to God through heartfelt worship. Transformed believers should also express their gratitude to God’s mercy with genuine worship.
1. Faith: Transformed Believers Have Faith in God’s Mercy. Ps. 32:1-2.
David praised God for being merciful in forgiving sins. After one of the many times when David suffered from his sins, he praised God for his mercy and forgiveness: “A Psalm of David. A Maskil. 1 How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Ps. 32:1-2). David might have written this psalm after he fled from Saul and took refuge with the Philistines (1 Sam. 27:1). But this psalm more likely took place after David committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11).
Give thanks for God’s mercy and forgiveness1
David’s initial blindness to his seven deadly sins. In the case of David’s adultery and murder, he violated at least seven of God’s Ten Commandments. First, by lusting after his neighbor’s wife, he violated God’s Tenth Commandment against coveting (Ex. 20:17; Dt. 5:21). Second, by repeatedly giving into his lusts of his flesh, he made an idol out of an attractive woman and violated God’s Second Commandment (Ex. 20:4-5; Dt. 5:8-9). Third, by sleeping with a married woman, he violated God’s Seventh Commandment against adultery (Ex. 20:14; Dt. 5:18). Fourth, he violated God’s Sixth Commandment against murder when he killed Uriah (Ex. 20:13; Dt. 5:17). Fifth, by engaging in lies and deceit to cover up his neighbor Uriah’s murder, he violated God’s Ninth Commandment against bearing false witness (Ex. 20:16; Dt. 5:20). Sixth, after he later married Bathsheba, he violated God’s law against a leader having more than one wife: “17 He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; . . ..” (Dt. 17:17(a)). He further violated God’s purpose of marriage by joining himself together with more than one other person (Matt. 19:4-6; 1 Tim. 3:2). To become king, he would have made a public vow to uphold the Torah. By breaking his vow before God, David also profaned His holy name. He was not to “swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God.” (Lev. 19:12). Thus, his actions also violated the Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Ex. 20:7; Dt. 5:11). Finally, as God’s appointed king, David violated the Fifth Commandment by dishonoring his heavenly Father. “Honor your father. . .” (Ex. 20:12; Dt. 5:16). Even if he only broke one Commandment, he would have broken them all: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (Jam. 2:10). David came to appreciate and write psalms about God’s mercy and grace only after God showed him his sins. David was a man after God’s heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22) because he repented of his many sins and had faith in God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Have faith in God’s mercy. We can assume that the devil whispered in David’s mind that he was a hypocrite and had no right to be king. The devil also seeks to undermine your faith in God’s mercy and forgiveness when you sin. When you feel this way, you can meditate on the Psalms. They contain many similar praises for God’s mercy: “But He, being compassionate, forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them; and often He restrained His anger and did not stir up all His wrath.” (Ps. 78:38). “You forgave the guilt of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah” (Ps. 85:2). “Who pardons all your guilt, who heals all your diseases;” (Ps. 103:3). God wants you to have faith that He can also forgive your sins. He further wants you to encourage others who have sinned.
Praise Jesus for the blessings of mercy and forgiveness that He provides. The Apostle Paul quoted from David’s psalm to reveal that the blessings of forgiveness are available to all through faith in Jesus’ atoning death at the cross: “just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” (Ro. 4:6-8). “namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:19). You can show your faith by making yourself a living sacrifice to Jesus (Ro. 12:1-2). You can also show your faith by continuing to serve God like David after He forgives you.
2. Repentance: Transformed Believers Confess and Repent of Their Sins. Ps. 32:3-4.
David suffered when he tried to conceal his sins. In response to God’s mercy, David lamented that he suffered unnecessarily from trying to conceal his sins from God: “3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah 5a I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, ‘I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord’ . . .” (Ps. 32:3-5a). Here, God shows the true extent of His mercy. David was not a perfect believer who instantly repented when he sinned. Instead, like many, he tried to deny and conceal his sins. But he eventually confessed his sins. “The lesson from the whole is this: be honest. Sinner, may God make you honest. Do not deceive yourself. Make a clean breast of it before God. Have an honest religion, or have none at all. Have a religion of the heart, or else have none. Put aside the mere vestment and garment of piety, and let your soul be right within. Be honest.” (Charles Spurgeon (1834 – 1892 AD) on Ps. 32).
Unconfessed sin can affect your health. God’s mercy and forgiveness should never be misused as license to sin. When someone longs for the things of the flesh, God may eventually hand that person over to his or her lusts (Rom. 1:28). But the pleasures Satan offers a sinner do not last long (Heb. 11:25; Lk. 12:19-20). God also warns of “curses” for those who submit to covetousness and rebellion (Lev. 26:14-37; Dt. 27:15-26; 28:15-68). In reference to sinners and based upon his own lessons, David said: “[God] gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” (Ps. 106:105). When David tried to conceal his sins, his health suffered: “For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength has failed because of my guilt, and my body has wasted away.” (Ps. 31:10). “There is no healthy part in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.” (Ps. 38:3). “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within me.” (Ps. 22:14). Thus, David cried out for God to forgive him and heal him: “As for me, I said, ‘LORD, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”’ (Ps. 41:4). “One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, . . .” (Prov. 28:13a). If you fail to repent and try to conceal your sins or rebellion, God may also allow your health to suffer.
God allows you to suffer the consequences of sin to bring you to repentance. Although God does not want any to suffer, it is sometimes His only way to bring you back to Him: “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Cor. 7:9-10). David’s suffering always led him back to God: “But as for me, my prayer is to You, LORD, at an acceptable time; God, in the greatness of Your mercy, answer me with Your saving truth.” (Ps. 69:13). God disciplines you when you rebel in your walk because He loves you and wants to guide you back with his rod (Heb. 12:6). If He has caused you to suffer, He may be protecting you from an even worse sin. Are you rebelling against God? (Ro. 6:15).
When God exposed David’s sins, he was faithful to confess them. David committed many terrible sins, including murder and adultery. But he was faithful to confess his sins: “For the music director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings.” (Ps. 51:1). “I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, ‘I will confess my wrongdoings to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah” (Ps. 32:5). “For I admit my guilt; I am full of anxiety because of my sin.” (Ps. 38:18). When you sin, don’t force God to confront you with them. Instead, confess your sins to Him.
Repent of your sins. Because we as sinners cannot be in God’s holy presence, Jesus began His ministry with a call for all of mankind to repent of its sins and turn back to God. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”’ (Matt. 4:17; Mk. 1:15). His disciples also began their ministry with a call to repentance: “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”’ (Acts 2:38). “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;” (Acts 3:19). If you say that you are without sin, the Bible says that the truth is not in you (1 Jo. 1:8). Yet, if you confess your sins, Jesus will forgive you: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jo. 1:9). Every person has sins to confess. What sins do you need to repent of?
You must also wash your sins by reading the Word and confessing them. Jesus also makes it clear that you need to be washed even after you have been saved. At the Last Supper, Peter initially refused Jesus’ offer to wash his feet. Jesus responded by rebuking him: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (Jo. 13:8). Peter then asked Jesus to wash his feet, hands, and head. Jesus responded: “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet.” (Jo. 13:10). In other words, Jesus died once for our sins, but our flesh gets dirty each day and must still be washed. Read God’s Word to first expose your sins: “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word . . .” (Eph. 5:26). Then confess the sins that the Word reveals to you (1 Jo. 1:9). Are you reading the Word to cleanse yourself and confessing the sins of your daily life?
Confession of sin always precedes revival. If you want to start a revival in your heart, your church, or in your country, it starts with the confession of sin. One commentator observes: “Forgiveness was ready and waiting for David as he agreed with God about the nature and guilt of his sin. Restoration was ready, but the confession of sin was the path to it. Before the communion service in the English Prayer Book, the minister is instructed to give this invitation: ‘Come to me or to some other discreet and learned minister of God’s word, and open your grief; that by the ministry of God’s holy Word you may receive the benefit of absolution.’ There can be great value to opening one’s grief. Real, deep, genuine confession of sin has been a feature of every genuine awakening or revival in the past 250 years. But it isn’t anything new, as demonstrated by the revival in Ephesus recorded in Acts 19:17-20: many who believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Christians were getting right with God, and open confession was part of it.” (David Guzik on Ps. 32) (emphasis original).2
3. Gratitude: Transformed Believers Express Gratitude for God’s Mercy. Ps. 32:5b.
After David confessed his sins, he praised God for forgiving him. After suffering needlessly, David confessed his sins and experienced the blessings of God’s forgiveness: “5 . . . and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah” (Ps. 32:5b). David’s confession was genuine. As a result, he experienced the blessing of God’s mercy and forgiveness. As a man of faith, He responded with genuine gratitude for God’s mercy.
Confess your sins to experience the blessings of Jesus’ forgiveness3
David also prayed for God to lift the consequences of sin from his health. In addition to repenting, David also prayed for God to restore him: “As for me, I said, ‘LORD, be gracious to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”’ (Ps. 41:4). “Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am frail; heal me, LORD, for my bones are horrified.” (Ps. 6:2). Even when you repent, God may allow you to experience the consequences of your sins. But God still wants you to cry out to Him as David did for relief from your pains.
Thank God when He heals you. David was also faithful to thank God when He answered his prayers: “LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.” (Ps. 30:2). “Who pardons all your guilt, who heals all your diseases;” (Ps. 103:3). “He sent His word and healed them, and saved them from their destruction.” (Ps. 107:20). God also heard the prayers of others who cried out for healing. King Hezekiah is another great example of this: “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.”’’ (2 Kgs. 20:5). Many believers feel that they deserve their suffering. But these thoughts are not from God. Jesus is faithful to forgive any sin that you confess (1 Jo. 1:9). “One . . . who confesses and abandons [their sins] will find compassion.” (Prov. 28:13b). You should never take God’s blessings for granted. Thus, make a habit of thanking Him.
Praise God for His mercy and forgiveness. The Jews also celebrated that God forgave their sins: “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;”’ (Ex. 34:6; 33:19; Nu. 19:18). “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.” (Dt. 4:31). “You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy; and You did not abandon them.” (Neh. 9:17). Are you praising God for His mercy and grace in your life?
Praise Jesus for dying on the cross to forgive your sins. When you confess your sins, Jesus promises to forgive you: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jo. 1:9). His promise is available to anyone: “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”’ (Acts 11:18). If you are haunted by your old sins after you confess them to Jesus, that condemnation is from the devil. The devil will try to undermine your faith in Jesus’ ability to forgive the worst of your sins and rebellion against God. Likewise, if you continue to judge a person after he or she repents, you are serving the devil, not God.
4. Evangelism: Transformed Believers Share Their Testimony with Others. Ps. 32:6-7.
David exhorted others to turn back to God and find deliverance for their sins. David urged others to learn from his example and repent of their sins and turn back to God: “6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; certainly in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; You keep me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah” (Ps. 32:6-7). Your desire to share your testimony is also a sign of your transformation.
Turn your trials into your testimony4
Share with others that Jesus died on the cross so that all can be healed. Every believer has a testimony like David to share. Like David, you can share the good news that Jesus can heal you of both the eternal and physical consequences of your sins: “However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:4-5). “and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24). If God has healed you, share your testimony. If others are discouraged, encourage them (1 Thess. 5:11).
Share with others that Jesus can deliver anyone who turns to Him. Based upon his own example, David encouraged others that God’s blessings are available to any who turn to Him: “For You bless the righteous person, LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.” (Ps. 5:12). “Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah” (Ps. 3:8). “The LORD is their strength, and He is a refuge of salvation to His anointed.” (Ps. 28:8). “The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.” (Ps. 29:11). These are promises that are fulfilled today for anyone who puts their faith in Jesus. Are you sharing the story of your deliverance?
Also pray as an intercessor for others to turn to God and find His mercy and forgiveness. Solomon prayed that God would hear the prayers of His people and forgive them: “And listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive!” (1 Kgs. 8:30). Moses also prayed for God’s people: “But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your book which You have written!” (Ex. 32:32). “Please forgive the guilt of this people in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” (Nu. 14:19). If others around you have hardened hearts, pray for God to soften their hearts so that they repent.
5. Spiritual Growth: Transformed Believers Seek Growth in God’s Word. Ps. 32:8-9.
David urged God’s people to follow God’s Word to be healed. Based on his own lessons, David exhorted God’s people to obey God’s Word and let Him guide them: “8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will advise you with My eye upon you. 9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.” (Ps. 32:8-9). God also wants you to teach His Word the way that David did. You can also use God’s mercy as an opportunity for spiritual growth.
God guides those who seek His guidance. David encouraged sinners that God would guide any who turn to Him: “The LORD is good and upright; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.” (Ps. 25:8). “Teach me Your way, LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.” (Ps. 27:11). “For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will lead us until death.” (Ps. 48:14). “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” (Ps. 34:11). “You will guide me with Your plan, and afterward receive me to glory.” (Ps. 73:24). “Let me hear Your faithfulness in the morning, for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul.” (Ps. 143:9). God later repeated this promise to Isaiah: “This is what the LORD says, He who is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to benefit, who leads you in the way you should go.” (Is. 48:17). Like David, God wants you to encourage others to grow through prayer and God’s Word.
The Bible is filled with promises of spiritual growth through studying His Word. The psalms are filled with promises of spiritual growth from studying His Word: “3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Ps. 1:3). “The righteous person will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Ps. 92:12). “But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.” (Ps. 52:8). “May the righteous flourish in his days, as well as an abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.” (Ps. 72:7; Nu. 24:5-7; Is. 66:12).
Jesus is the ultimate source of your spiritual growth. Jesus is the Word who became flesh (Jo. 1,1, 14). Thus, when you study the Word you are studying Him, and allowing Him to develop you: “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Jo. 15:5). Are you constantly studying Jesus’ Word so that you can grow and learn from your trials?
David urged the Jews not to be stiff-necked. David warned the people not to be like the “horse or like the mule.” (Ps. 32:9). “Israel had been always stiff-necked (Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3, 5; Exodus 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6, 13; Deuteronomy 10:16; 2 Chronicles 30:8; Acts 7:51), like a restive horse or mule. David exhorts them to be so no more. The horse and mule are excusable, since they ‘have no understanding’ - or, ‘no discernment’ - Israel would be inexcusable, since it had the gift of reason.” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 32:9). If you refuse to learn from your sins, you are also stiff-necked. Instead of returning to your sins, God wants you to seek spiritual growth in Him.
6. Obedience: Transformed Believers Seek to Obey God’s Word. Ps. 32:10.
David warned God’s people to choose between rebellion and faith-led obedience. Every person has a choice. A person can reap the blessings of God through faith-led obedience or suffer the consequences of unrepentant sin and rebellion: “10 The sorrows of the wicked are many, but the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.” (Ps. 32:10). Salvation is based upon faith and not obedience. But there are still consequences for someone who disobeys God. As David learned, this can include pain and sorrow.
Every person must choose between rebellion and faith-led obedience. In his God-given wisdom, Solomon repeatedly warned that everyone must choose between rebellion (which leads to death) and faith-led obedience (which leads to God’s blessings): “The hope of the righteous is gladness, but the expectation of the wicked perishes.” (Prov. 10:28). “The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.” (Prov. 11:23). “Adversity pursues sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.” (Prov. 13:21). “then hear from heaven and take action and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by repaying him according to his righteousness.” (2 Chr. 6:23). Satan most likely whispered in David’s head that he was a hypocrite for extolling the virtues of obedience after his terrible sins. Don’t allow Satan to silence your testimony for God. When God has forgotten your sins, move forward and continue to serve God.
In God’s timing, everyone will reap what they sow. The Bible promises that “ . . . for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal. 6:7-8). “Who will render to each person according to his deeds” (Ro. 2:6). “He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, and the rod of his fury will perish.” (Prov. 22:8). “For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.” (Hos. 8:7). “For the Son of Man . . . will then repay every man according to his deeds.” (Matt. 16:27). God will one day judge sinners and reward the righteous in heaven. But everything happens in His timing. For a season, He may allow sinners to prosper and the righteous to suffer when it is part of His greater plans (Ro. 8:28). Thus, don’t delay your repentance simply because you have not yet experienced the consequences of your sins.
Let your obedience be the fruit of your faith. Jesus’ death was a one-time sacrifice that forever fulfilled the need for sacrifices for sin (Heb. 10:14). But God still tells believers to submit to Him and be obedient (e.g., Dt. 6:3-4; 9:1; 20:3; Josh. 1:7). Today, Christians are no longer “under the Law” in the sense that they must comply with it to be saved (Gal. 5:18; Ro. 7:6; 8:3). By “fulfilling” the Law, Christ freed believers from the impossible task of trying to obtain salvation through the Law (Matt. 5:17). Jesus, however, also says that, if you love Him, you will keep His Commandments: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Jo. 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 Jo. 5:3; 2 Jo. 1:6). Before God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Horeb, He revealed His name to be the great “I AM” (Ex. 3:13-15). Jesus later revealed that He was the great “I AM.” (Jo. 8:57-58). Thus, Jesus gave the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Horeb. Whether you follow His Commandments out of love is also a test for whether you really know Him (1 John 2:3; 1 Cor. 7:19). Do you obey His Commandments?
7. Worship: Transformed Believers Respond to God’s Mercy with Worship. Ps. 32:11.
David urged those who placed their faith in God to rejoice and praise Him. For those who chose God, David advised that they have many reasons to rejoice and give thanks: “11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” (Ps. 32:11). Saint Augustine (354 - 430 AD) considered this his favorite psalm. As an act of worship, he inscribed on the wall next to his bed before he died so that he could meditate on it and worship God for His blessings of mercy.
Show your gratitude through your worship5
Give thanks and praise God for the blessings that come from faith. David repeatedly urged the faithful to praise God for His blessings: “But rejoice, all who take refuge in You, sing for joy forever! And may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.” (Ps. 5:11). “The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” (Ps. 58:10). “The righteous person will be glad in the LORD and take refuge in Him; and all the upright in heart will boast.” (Ps. 64:10). “But the righteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God; yes, they will rejoice with gladness.” (Ps. 68:3). Are you worshiping God in response to His mercy?