Year One, September 27

Blessed Is the One Whose Transgression Is Forgiven1

After David had received a sense of pardon, he sang that sweet gospel psalm, the thirty-second.

  

Psalm 32

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

Yes, even a great sinner may be blessed. When their sin is effectively hidden by the great propitiation,2 they are as blessed as if they had never sinned. Have all the members of this family experienced this blessing? Sin has cursed all of us. Has pardon blessed all of us?

2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

The person who is released from their guilt is also cleansed from scheming or deceiving. David had been very crafty in his efforts to hide his crime. He felt greatly relieved to escape from the tangled way of living that came from trying to cover up his sin.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.     Selah.

As long as sin remains unconfessed it grows in the heart and is like mental torture. When God adds to this by applying his pressure from the outside, the sinner’s unhappy predicament becomes even worse. These are the feelings, to one degree or another, experienced by everyone who seeks the Lord.

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.     Selah.

Forgiveness followed on the heels of David’s confession, because Christ’s atonement had already taken place in eternity’s future. If anyone admits their sin before the Lord, the blood of Jesus will put it all away immediately and forever.

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

7 You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.     Selah.

David was overcome with sighs before he prayed to the Lord. Now he is overcome with songs. If we want to be happy, we must be pardoned. If we want to be pardoned, we must confess our iniquities and look to Jesus who covers all our sin.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

9 Be not like a horse or mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

People who have been forgiven should have tender hearts and be afraid to sin again. We should not need to be treated roughly, like a stubborn animal, but should be sensitive to the slightest touch of the Lord’s hand.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Those who begin with holy weeping shall end with holy rejoicing. If there is someone in this family who is unforgiven, let him or her go to the heavenly Father and cry for that gracious forgiveness that is given to all who believe in Jesus. It is not given as a reward for good works. It is not given because of any efforts of our own. It is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says that David is describing “the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.”3 The apostle clearly says that our salvation is not a matter of merit but of grace. The very worst and most horrible sins will be freely and immediately forgiven if we will confess them to the Lord and trust in the infinite worthiness of his dear Son. Do not wait! Rush, right now, to the open fountain of Jesus’ blood.

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¹ Psalm 32:1

² propitiation - The act of satisfying someone’s demands and changing that someone from an enemy into a friend. When Jesus Christ died on the cross he satisfied the demand of God the Father that a sacrifice for sin must be made to him. The wrath or anger of God was used up on Christ so that God’s justice was satisfied and we who were once the enemies of God became his friends.

³ Romans 4:6