How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven

Psalm 32 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God. A Psalm of David.

How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
² How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

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 was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.
⁶ Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
⁷ You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
⁹ Do not be as the horse or as 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.
¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

The psalmist begins saying:  How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! On the cross Jesus said:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  So, we can all be blessed because our transgressions are forgiven. Jesus forgave our sins, even the ones we are unaware of.  The psalmist continues:  How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!  If we are forgiven through the work of the cross, then does it also mean that God does not impute iniquity against us?  Even though in John 19:30 Jesus said:  “It is finished;” and so there is nothing more we need to do to earn God’s forgiveness, we still must do something. The psalmist says that there must be no deceit in our spirit. He continues saying:  When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.   1 John 1:5-10 says:  This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  We are deceived; we deceive ourselves if we think that we have no sin. If we acknowledge our sin, if we confess our sin; then our sin is forgiven. In truth, the only sin which is not forgiven by the finished work of the cross, is the sin we refuse to confess and repent of.

The psalmist says:  Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.  You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.    The time when God will be found is revealed by God in Jeremiah 29:11-13, when He says:  “I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you.”   The time when God will be found is the time that we seek Him with all of our heart.

The psalmist continues:  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as 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.  Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.  Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.  Rather than the bit and bridle, by which the horse and mule are forcefully steered, in Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says:   “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”   We find rest. It is easy when we choose to walk and work with Christ.  The Holy Spirit teaches us and guides us, showing us the way to go.

Heavenly Father, I trust in You. Thank You Lord Jesus Christ for the finished work of the cross. Forgive my sins, both known and unknown and Holy Spirit teach me and guide me in the way that is right. May Your loving kindness surround me. I will be glad and rejoice.   Amen.