"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 2
Yesterday:
“Blessed is he.”
Happy is the man or woman when God has dealt with their sin!
Transgression, Sin, Iniquity, and Guile are four sin issues where we need God’s help.
1. His “transgression must be forgiven” (v. 1)
God is the one who can and will forgive sin.
Today:
To have the sinner’s sin removed, here are actions the Lord must take.
2. His “sin must be covered” (v. 1).
All sin must be dealt with in God’s way. It “must be covered, hidden from the sight. It is odious and abominable and must be put out of sight”[1] (Clarke).
This is atoning for or covering the sin. It is “covered, concealed, hidden”[2] (BDB). God is holy and will not look on iniquity. As He covers sin, “…it becomes invisible to God, the Holy One, and is as though it had never taken place…”[3] (K&D).
To have sins covered is a blessed state. “One ‘covered of sin’ is one over whose sin lies the covering of expiation…before the holy eyes of God”[4] (K&D).
Man cannot cover up his own sin to hide it from God, but it is God who covered man’s sin through that Old Testament sacrifice.[5]
3. His “iniquity must not be imputed to him” (v. 2).
“Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not, iniquity.”
“Iniquity,… which is perverse or distorted, must not be imputed, must not be reckoned to his account”[6] (Clarke).
To “impute sin” is to charge that sin to the sinner’s account. It is remembering the wrong against him/her. It is adding this sin to all the other sins that are charged to the sinner’s account. It is a sad picture. Have you ever met someone who kept a record of what other people have done to him/her? They have an account for everyone who has wronged them, keeping records of all wrongs done to them!! A counselor has asked what the other person has done to the individual with the complaint. The accuser then produces a sheaf of papers or a notebook, filled with all the perceived wrongs done to them, dated, written out, and initialed!
Men and women can be selfish and finite when someone has wronged them. That is an unforgiving spirit. If that is their attitude, what does God think about everyone who has sinned against Him? Tomorrow we will talk about this! See you then.
Quote: “The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness, and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed”[7] (Paul David Tripp).
[1] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] Keil & Delitzsch, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] Keil & Delitzsch, ibid.
[5] The Old Testament sacrifice pointed ahead to the permanent sacrifice that was to come. We need to remember that David in the Psalms is looking forward to the Messiah’s coming. The Messiah will provide that “vicarious atonement” at the Cross. He will be the “propitiation” for sin. He will once-for-all-time sacrifice Himself to remove the sinner’s sin, taking it out of the way. “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
[6] Adam Clarke, ibid.
[7] Tripp’s quote is from his book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change. Downloaded: Monday, September 28, 2020. From: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/repentance.