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 32:1-2)
It has been said before but bears repeating: the biggest difference between David and Saul — men who were anointed to rule over God’s people — was the willingness to repent. Saul refused to do so and David was quick to do so. Consequently, the reign of Saul’s house began and ended with him. As for David’s house, God established his throne for all time. Therefore, it was David’s heart toward God and the inclination to turn from his sin that made the difference. Thus he says, “Blessed (or happy) is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
We should note that there is much more to repentance than just saying, “I’m sorry.” True repentance requires that we try to make restitution when possible and be thoroughly delivered of that which drew us away from the Creator in the first place. In the end, repentance is about us drawing closer to Him, not just being relieved of our guilt. The idea is to turn from our transgression and never return to it. In that regard, our lives are like a garment; one rinse will clean it to a degree but the garment needs to be rinsed again and again in order to be cleansed thoroughly. As it is written, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin….Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:2, 7).
As David writes, the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity is blessed and should be happy. As we all know, the reality is that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, but the man who has repented with all his heart bears no guilt. The forgiven man or woman is blessed because we have been pardoned from the penalty that surely awaited us had we not turned from our wickedness. We are blessed because the Messiah has borne the guilt and penalty that was due us. We still have the responsibility to acknowledge and turn from our wicked ways but only the innocent Blood of the Lamb can cover our sin and wash the guilt away. Knowing this bring me great relief and tremendous joy. May it also provoke within us all a profound thankfulness for the goodness of God.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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