The Blessing That Exceedingly Matters

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit – Psalm 32:1-2

The heading for this psalm says it’s a maskil of David.  Whether this is a musical or a liturgical term, both are true as this song embodies a form of worship to the Lord who alone can forgive sin.  Man, in his fallen nature, can somehow bestow upon another human being a certain type or amount of forgiveness but it infinitely falls short of the glory of the one true forgiving God. We were not told of any particular sin here but sin is sin nonetheless regarding of its type, and it ultimately is a transgression against God.  Psalm 51:4 tells to whom do we sin  ultimately,

 Against You , You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.”

Reading Psalm 32, we are informed on the following: 

• (v.1-2) the blessedness of the God-forgiven man,
• (v.3-4) the burden of unconfessed sin that weighs so heavily upon the soul and body,
• (v.5) sincere acknowledgement of sin and promised forgiveness received,
• (v. 6) the sin-liberated man’s call to everyone to seek the Lord before judgment day,
• (v. 7) freedom from judgment for those who sought the Lord (followed perhaps by a moment of reflection as suggested by selah which is already an unknown term today),
• (v.8-9) God leads the steps of the forgiven man (through the Word),
• (v.10) contrasting situation between the unrepentant person and the forgiven man, and
• (v.11) the rejoicing unto God of the one whose sin has been removed.

Note that the word transgression is singular as in many cases in the New Testament which uses sin. Man is always called through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to repent from their sin.  The two-fold implication of the singular form sin has to do with man, firstly as being sinful, and then his sins.  It is worth repeating here that man sins because he is a sinner;  his sinful actions are a proof of his fallen nature. By nature, he is a slave to sin hence the thoughts of his heart and his deeds are continually evil in God’s eyes.  Anyone who disagrees will only have to hear what Lord says about humanity in Genesis 6:5 (continually evil), Matthew 7:11 (who are evil), and no one does good nor counted righteous in the sight of God (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:11-12)

With our fallen nature touching every facet of our lives and the consequential living charaterized by sin, we are truly in a wretched state. But blessed is the man whose sin God does not count against and the solution is, and will always be, outside ourselves.  God who is just is also the justifier (Romans 3:26).  He condemned us yet  He provided the atonement (Psalm 65:3) through His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:8). Through God the Son alone is the blessing graciously granted and received by faith in Him and His finished work on the cross of Calvary.

Not only does forgiveness in Christ Jesus sets us free from the slavery of sin, condemnation and judgment, but also sets us free to seek Him continuously, to understand the Word and be led by the  Holy Spirit  to walk in the path of righteous living, and to live in continual fruitful repentance.

Today, the world pursues blessings and you hear people left and right talk about it. And hey, we even receive emails that commands you to ‘pass this message to 10 people and you will be blessed’, which to the discerning heart is a form of sorcery.  But the world is only after its own lust, always giving itself to pursuit of earthly pleasures rather than God. Wordly blessings are not only measured in fame, health and wealth but wickedness that sinful humanity so hotly pursue.  A fornicator considers his partner a blessing.  A beauty queen considers her scantily-clad body paraded before the world her blessing. A successful singer consider his voice a blessing while songs so devoid of godliness are sung for all to hear. The successful CEO considers his business a blessing even as he abandons every conduct of honesty and integrity. Every person considers his earthly freedom a blessing even though each one rejects the only true spiritual liberation Jesus Christ can give.   All humanity considers its growing unity their blessing even when they have all together ignored and sneered at the Gospel of  Jesus Christ. All these will perish and become meaningless in the face of eternity.  God’s Word tell us plainly that the world and its desires will perish (1 John 2:17).

But to the one who repents and has faith in Jesus Christ, he is the truly blessed person, whose sin God remembers no more (Isaiah 43:25) –

I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Indeed this is the blessing that exceedingly matters.  May God bless you in His Son.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…” - Ephesians 1:7