"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
Psalm 32:1-2
Part 1
“Blessed is he.”
The “blessed man” shows up often in the Psalms. He has a personal relationship with his LORD, and he is blessed, happy indeed. How does this relationship come about? It starts with God dealing with that person’s sin.
David mentions four types of sin in our verses.[1]
Transgression – rebellion, stepping over a boundary, doing what God has prohibited.
Sin – missing the mark, not doing what is commanded. It expresses sinfulness, sin in the future that produces transgression in the life.
Iniquity – anything that is morally distorted or perverted. Whatever is opposed to equity or justice.
Guile – deceit, treachery, laxity. Guile is at the heart of a lie; it is “the intent to deceive.”
These sins can never be removed from the sinner, by the sinner himself! For removal, there are three actions needed. Only God can do these:
1. His “transgression must be forgiven” (v. 1)
The way this happens is, there must be a sacrifice for the sinner that “bears away” the sin. When that has been done, the transgressor is no longer “breaking loose or tearing away from God,” in his rebellion…[2] (K&D). To be excused means that God has forgiven, He has “lifted up” his sin, and “taken it away” from him[3] (K&D). Only God can remove a person’s sin. To forgive, God looks upon the sinner, not in His holy wrath, and He sees him no longer as a rebel.
“Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger” (Psalm 85:3).
And now that sinner is forgiven!
The next step is “covering the sin.” What must a person do to have his/her sins covered? How can we hide our sins, especially from God? Tomorrow we will see why it is impossible for a person to “cover” their own sin. Again, this is something only God can do for us.
Quote: “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:34-35).
[1] These are the Hebrew words, peshwa – transgression; chataah – sin; avon – iniquity; and remiyah – guile. Definitions are derived from Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. And from Brown, Driver, Briggs, Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Keil & Delitzsch, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Keil & Delitzsch, ibid.