Psalm 32:8 David is both humbled and blessed as he reflects. With no doubt, he knows the Lord has forgiven him, covering his sin. His song starts knowing God’s forgiveness, but his heart began in a very different place. David was low, feeling the weight of God‘s displeasure in his own unrepented sin until he acknowledged it to God. He describes how his bones wasted away through his groaning. Light had turned to darkness… but David’s song begins with the middle and the end…first. After the darkness had fallen, after knowing God‘s displeasure in his heart, he acknowledges his sin before God, confessing it…all. Why would David begin his witness of his ‘darkness to light’ experience in the middle…? Like bookends, David begins and ends his song acknowledging God’s sovereignty, His Grace and Mercy and His Forgiveness. His song begins and ends with the Joy and Peace found only in God’s presence. David didn’t dwell on the sins he’d committed in the flesh, he dwelt on the glory of God and His ability, His desire to instantly forgive those who acknowledge and confess their sins before Him. He teaches us in righteousness…right where we are. We can’t clean up enough on our own. He counsels us along the way and watches over us. He catches us when we stumble, He picks us up when we fall, and carries us if we’re too weak to walk. Our story, too, begins in that place of humility and blessing, knowing what we we’ve already received from God through Jesus. While our testimony is a journey of our faith, our witness is in His counsel, His Truth, His Love, His Grace and Forgiveness. Our story, too, begins and ends with His Truth. Praise be to God, to You belongs all the power and glory, honor and dominion… forever!