"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
Psalm 32 is a great psalm of forgiveness. David’s heart is clearly seen in these words. As we look at these first two verses, four great evils have a profound effect on every child of Adam. To understand God’s forgiveness, we need to look at these personal crimes against the Lord. We are guilty of each of these.
Transgression
A transgression is going up to a boundary, a deadline imposed by God, ignoring God’s restriction and stepping over the line. The crime is the going beyond God’s limit and doing whatever thing He has prohibited.
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law,” (1 John 3:4).
Sin
To sin is to miss G od’s standard, to “miss the mark.” God lets His law be known, and we ignore it, we’re not even close is doing His requirement.
“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me,” (Psalm 51:3).
Iniquity
Iniquity is doing the opposite of justice and equity. It is being unrighteous, doing evil rather than right. Iniquity is anything that distorts or perverts what is moral.
“For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great,” (Psalm 25:11).
Guile
Guile is any form of deceit or fraud. Our human propensity is to be deceitful because of the nature of our hearts, “deceitful and desperately wicked,” (Jeremiah 17:9).
“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile,” (Psalm 34:13).
As human beings from the family of Adam, we each are hopeless experts in these sins. Without God’s intervention to help us in our need, we can never change. How desperate, helpless, and miserable we are without Him.
Good news? Note, both verse 1 and 2 begin with “blessed.” “The word ‘blessed’ here is equivalent to ‘happy.’ ‘Happy is the man;’ or ‘happy is the condition – the state of mind – happy are the prospects, of one whose sins are forgiven.’” (Barnes)
David understood it so well, with the LORD forgiveness is possible! There is hope and help! In these verses note the three actions that God does to help us in our need. He “forgives,” He “covers,” and He “does not impute.” What do these things mean?
Come back tomorrow to learn how God helps us with our sin.