Blessed is He Whose Transgression is Forgiven
By Jim Murriner
Psalms 32: 1-2
1 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
2 "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile."
If your sins have been forgiven you have been greatly blessed. We might understand that statement better if we understood just what sin is.
I John3:4 tells us that sin is the transgression of God's law
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
Having your sins forgiven is the fundamental blessing, the blessing which you must have before you will receive many others.
Psalms 1:1 tells us of a blessed man who did not do certain sins any more.
"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."
However if your transgressions are not forgiven then this verse cannot be describing you.
Notice that the forgiveness is a blessing, we did not earn it.
Eph.2:8
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God:"
Eph.4:32 tells us that forgiveness is not for our sakes, but for Christ' sake, because of what Christ did.
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."
Being blessed to have your sins forgiven, brings with it the blessing of rest.
Matt. 11:28
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
It is even a blessing of God that we would ever be burdened over our sins, because God's word declares that we do not naturally seek the things of God.
Romans 3:11
"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."
I Cor.2:14
"But the natural man recieveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
Being in this condition, the lost sinner does not see himself as a sinner. This blessing of having your sins forgiven, brings with it a covering for your sin.
Psalms 32:1 (text verse)
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
God has provided a covering, just as He provided a covering for Adam, and Eve.
Gen. 3:21
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
While these coats of skins, literally covered Adams nakedness, they also pictured the death of Christ, and the covering which it provided for us. Our sins can only be covered by blood.
Ex.12:13
"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
It is only Christ's blood that can cover our sins. The blood in Ex.12:13 was only a picture or type of what Christ was to do.
Heb. 9:12-14
12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
13"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:"
14 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Another blessing to those of us who have our sins forgiven, is, that the Lord will not impute their iniquity unto them. To impute is to recon to ones account or to charge to ones account.
Romans 8:1
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Romans 8:34
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
This blessing comes only unto those who have had their sins paidfor by the blood of Christ. God will not simply acquit sin.
Nahum 1:3
"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."
An additional blessing for those who have their sins forgiven, is that there is no guile in their spirit. Guile is deceit, and it is a great blessing from God to never try to deceive anyone. Although we would like to boast of our honesty, if we do not attempt to deceive it is only because we have been blessed of the Lord. In the text here the word guile has more to do with our trying to deceive God than our trying to deceive man. It is a tremendous blessing for us to repent with no intention at all of returning to our sin.
When anyone makes an attempt at repentance, in their own way, and do not have godly sorrow, and do not find their sins to be a disgusting thing, their repentance is not a blessing from God, but a poor attempt at doing some work. II Cor. 7:9-11 tells us of the blessing of being given godly sorrow.
9
"Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing."
"Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing." 10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but sorrow of the world worketh death."
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but sorrow of the world worketh death." 11"For behold the selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."
"For behold the selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."The blessing of being given godly sorrow, is followed by the blessing of being given repentance, which involves an indignation of our sin, and a vehement desire, to be separated from that sin. Godly sorrow then will not allow us to approach unto God as one approaches unto the confessional, with the intent of returning unto their sin. For us to approach God without guile in our spirit, is for us to set our spirit aside and come unto Him with a poverty of spirit. Matt. 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: fort heir’s is the kingdom of heaven."
We then who have been saved by the grace of God, must be careful to recognize and point out to others that our salvation, and any good which we have, or any good works, which we now do as a child of God is all because of what God has done. We must admit that each of the things mentioned here is a blessing from God, and not a skill which we have learned through our much study or through our works some how.
May God bless you this day by giving you not only repentance, but also faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
