Blessed Are the Forgiven

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven
Whose sin is covered
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity
And in whose spirit there is no deceit
- Psalm 32

I’ve been thinking a lot about Psalm 32 lately. The Psalms are full a “blessed statements” but this one in my opinion makes the top of the list. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all chosen to go our own way instead of God’s. We’ve all chosen to please ourselves instead of pleasing God. It is a simply a fact that “all of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That reality can become overwhelming once it truly sets in how devastating that decision is not only for our own eternal salvation but to God. Yet, David tells us in this Psalm God is not only willing but DOES forgive. Forgiveness is a theme repeated in many of Psalms. For an excellent study, I would recommend reading Psalm 25, 32, 40, 51, 103, and 130 in one sitting to get a really in-depth description of God’s forgiveness and the joy found in that forgiveness. But for today, let’s briefly examine Psalm 32 together

Many scholars put this Psalm around the time of Psalm 51 and David’s sin against God, Bathsheba, and Uriah. (That terrible story can be found in 2 Samuel 11 & 12). Psalm 51 recounts David’s private prayer of confession and pleas for forgiveness which God grants. Psalm 32 is believed to be after David knows he has been forgiven and is reflecting back on his forgiveness. David begins by proclaiming Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is not deceit. David acknowledges that one of the premier blessings God offers is forgiveness. His opening reads almost as a call back to God’s name which He proclaims to Moses in Exodus 34. “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty…” God declared to Moses that He is gracious, merciful AND forgiving of iniquity, transgression, and sin. In Psalm 32, David seems to be referring back to God’s very own name and nature. Forgiveness and mercy run through the very core of God’s being and David, now probably more than ever due to severity of his sins, realizes how far, wide and deep that forgiveness runs. David explains this even further in Psalm 103 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.”

David describes what his life was like while he lived believing he was hiding his sin from God in verses 3 & 4. His guilt took a physical and mental toll on David. He even states that his guilty conscience had turned his “vitality into the drought of summer” and he attributes those feelings to God. He knows it was God’s hand who weighed on his heart pushing David to do the right thing and confess his sins. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me (vs.4). Psalm 51 describes in even greater detail the toll David’s sin had on his mental psyche.

We’ve all been there with David. We’ve all done things we know shouldn’t have done and most likely tried to keep it from others and from God. It has been my experience that even if I’m successful in keeping my sins hidden from others, my heart, like David, feels squeezed and my soul become heavy. Like David, I feel God pushing me to make things right. It is a gut wrenching feeling to realize that what you think you’ve hidden isn’t really hidden at all. God sees. The Hebrew writer reminds of us in Hebrews 4: 13 that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.“ Not only does God see but our sin hurts God. Isaiah tell us that it is our sin that puts distance between us and God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59: 1 – 2). When we sin, we send God away. God does not want that distance. His hand is not shortened and His ears do not grow dull – the distance exist because of us.

So, David confessed his sins to God.

I acknowledged my sin to You. 
And my iniquity I have not hidden. 
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
And Your forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Once he confessed his sins to God, everything changed for David. Now, David had to accept the consequences (both short and long term) of his sins. But, everything changed. God forgave him. The rest of Psalm 32 features a David praising God for his forgiveness. He begins his praises by simply stating For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you. David states that blessing of forgiveness is one of the main reasons we who are godly should pray to God. We should thank God for our forgiveness and for His mercies. This part of Psalm 32 really stuck out to me. I think of prayer as a means to accessing God’s forgiveness rather than thanking God for my forgiveness. But David clearly states this is why we ought to pray. Yes, pray is the avenue we use to access God’s forgiveness through our confessions but we should also set aside separate prayers just to thank God for His forgiveness. David then goes on to describe his renewed relationship with God. God is once again his hiding place and David has confidence again that God will deliver him from trouble (vs. 7). Forgiveness is key to that renewed relationship.

Again, in one of those rare instances, Psalm 32 offers us what appears to be a response from God in vs. 8 – 9. God tells David He will instruct him in all the ways he should go and guide his life. But warns David not to be like a horse or mule which have no real understanding and must be bridled to be brought near to their master. God reminds David not to be stubborn and attempt to go his own way again or to pursue his own will like a horse or a mule. God compares us to stubborn animals who have no real understanding of what is going on so they must be bridled. God’s heavy hand on David’s heart from verses 3 & 4 served as God’s bridle leading David to reconsider his path. God tells us not to be that way – don’t make things harder for yourself. Don’t make it harder for God to draw near to you instead do as James, the brother of Christ, tells us”Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).”

David concludes Psalm 32 with his final offering of praise and thanks to God.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; 
But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. 
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; 
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Only sorrows await the wicked – even if it doesn’t seem like it now – in the end only sorrows. But he who trust in the Lord, he will find mercy so rejoice and shout for joy! David was so grateful the Lord forgave him. It filled him with joy and shouted it from the rooftops! David isn’t the only one who can and should feel this joy. Paul tells us in Romans 5 that “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” These matches completely with God’s own name back in Exodus 34. God does not want us to die in our sinful state so he sent Jesus to save us for that terrible fate. He offers to us a pathway for redemption through Jesus. In fact, Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Yet, God will not clear the guilty. We must seek after God and His forgiveness. It is up to us if we take advantage of the opportunity God has given us through Jesus Christ.

But, for those of us who already have, we should remember what David said in Psalm 32 and thank God every day for His forgiveness!