The Joy of Forgiveness in Salvation

Psalms 32:1-11
A Psalm of David. A Contemplation.

1 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!

This song expresses great joy, unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8-9), for God’s complete undeserved forgiveness.  This is salvation, deliverance from the penalty of our sin as is our just due.  David knew this, as the LORD revealed it to Him by His word and Spirit as 1 Peter 1:12 reveals to us now in Christ, having a more perfect revelation as we look back at what he looked forward to.  Our sinful nature and sins we commit are all covered and forgiven, not imputed to us anymore by God’s grace and work in the Messiah’s work for us as the only righteous one.  He cleanses us and takes away the deceit of our own attempts to justify ourselves before God.  Before we admitted (confessed) our sin to Him, we were in great misery as was David here, seen especially in verses 3-4.  It is worth taking a selah moment to consider this as the psalmist did.  Then we can move on to confess our sin openly without excuse or attempts to justify or minimize it.  Such confessed sin is absolution which comes from God alone, not any man in His place - unless that Man is also God, Jesus the Christ.  He forgives the iniquity of our sin, the source and nature of the individual sins or transgressions against God and His word which we commit, as well as each individual sin.  Dwell on that for a little while.  Then move on to consider why we pray to the Lord in times of need, because we seek to live according to His word and find Him there.  This is being godly.  Like king David, we should seek to hide in God in the Messiah, for Je alone is our hiding place where we are kept from and delivered from trouble, and can therefore sing about the deliverance we find in Him by grace and mercy.  More to stop and think much about.  Finally, we can learn from our Lord how to live and which paths to take as He guides us for His name’s sake (Isaiah 30:21, Psalm 73:24-26, 25:12).  We should heed this passage and not fight against His leading as a dumb horse or stubborn donkey; they resist because they have no understanding and must be forever to follow.  Surely we are not so stubborn or stupid!  Just remember how the wicked do these things and have only sorrow upon sorrow, and how the righteous follow willingly by faith as Abraham our father gave us the pattern to imitate (Galatians 3:8-9).  Be full of joy in this righteousness of obedience within the grace and righteousness of Christ.  It is worth shouting aloud with unhindered joy as we follow to be made holy as He is holy and are conformed to Him by His sanctifying work in us!  This is the end of it all, the joy of forgiveness in our salvation.