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Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7 You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
By Mike Chaffin
So much wisdom in one Psalm. This Psalm shows the Bible was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and as Paul put it to Timothy, ‘God Breathed.’ Otherwise, David could not have penned this psalm.
In the first two verses David talks about the blessedness of forgiveness and imputation of righteousness. The Apostle Paul picks up on this in Romans when he teaches that we are saved by faith, and not of works,
6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” Romans 4:6-8
In verses 3 – 5 David poetically describes coming under conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit. How miserable, how guilty, how undeserving we know we are, until we come to our senses and ask God to forgive us of our sins. Immediately, and not after doing some great work, God forgives us and lifts the burden of shame and sin from our spirit, fills us with His Holy Spirit and we are immediately brought into His kingdom, filled with peace and joy. How marvelous the feeling to know Christ.
Verses 6-7 describe God as our deliverer in times of trouble. As Jesus puts it, ‘We ask and receive so our joy is full.’
David then turns into evangelist and teacher in verses 8 -11. He pleads with those who read this psalm not to be hardheaded, stubborn, and ignorant. Don’t let the Holy Spirit’s wooing and conviction go unanswered. Come to Jesus when He comes knocking on your heart’s door.
How descriptive David is when he compares the state of our unforgiven self to one’s vitality draining like a drought in summer. Don’t wait until you are so dry your heart hardens past restoring. God brings deliverance.
