Mike Focht 2/28/2025
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
In this passage, David, a man who knew a lot about sin, teaches us something extraordinary. These are not merely verses for David, but the breathing out of an incredible divine revelation. David came to know the blessings of God as truly his own.
What blessings did David learn? The blessings of forgiveness! Does this sound simplistic? Maybe it does to us, but it did not to David. David had not merely “slipped up”. His sin was no misunderstanding or mistake. It was a horrible and rebellious transgression. He had crossed known boundaries with his eyes, with his body, and with his heart. He had taken all the gifts, authority, and blessings God had given and used them to gratify himself in the most obvious and disobedient ways.
Not only that, but David’s sin was public. He had sought to hide it, and doing so sucked the life from him physically and spiritually, but by God’s grace, his sin came out. Nathan, the prophet, approached David, lifted a finger to his face, and in the name of the Lord said, You are the man!
If that wasn’t enough, David knew that his sin was costly. He knew instinctively, and through the law of God, he deserved to be put to death. He did not have a right to live. The Lord was fully justified in making him bear the full weight of sins penalty.
It is in that dark place David learned the true blessings of forgiveness. To David, the blessing of God’s forgiveness was no mere sentiment but his very life. Without forgiveness, he would literally be dead! All the good he enjoyed in life had nothing to do with personal merit, but wholly because of God’s gracious covering.
David came to know the blessing of having willing disobedience forgiven. Do we need to know that blessing? Have we crossed lines we knew better than to cross? Have we battled and resisted the Holy Spirit? Do we know that we deserve the just judgment of God? If so, there is yet a place of blessing for us!
David came to know the blessing of having his sin covered. His sin was not covered in the sense that it was hidden from the public eye. David humbled himself under the hand of God and the public consequence of sin. Where was his sin covered? His sin was hidden from God’s eye. David knew the blessing of God putting his sin away and not storing it up to use against him. Have you, too, been publicly humiliated in sin? Does the reality of sin shame you? Do you need to know the blessing of God’s covering? It is there for you!
David also came to know the blessing of mercy. God did not give to David the penalty his sin deserved. David was a liar, an adulterer, and a murderer. And yet, and yet, God gave mercy! He was not put to death under those horribly accurate indictments! Do you, too, need to know this blessing of mercy? It is there for you, no matter how much you deserve to be judged for what you have done.
The blessings of forgiveness are a balm to all repentant sinful souls. God declares it clearly through a man who knew it personally. Even so, there is one qualification: And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
To experience the blessings of forgiveness in our own lives and become personal witnesses of their wonder like David before us, we must have a sincere heart concerning our sins and our need for God’s forgiveness.
We must bring our sin before God with no deceitful intention to enjoy it and escape just consequences. To come to God for forgiveness, or to come to God for excuse, are two very different things. If we are looking to have our sin excused, along with all its penalties and consequences, we will never know the blessings David declares here. Family, friends, and human government may excuse sin, but God never will. Jesus Christ paid our unthinkable debt of sin. Therefore, He forgives sin as Just and the Justifier, but He does not excuse it. He never has. He never will.
But suppose we bring our sin to God with no deceit, as utterly inexcusable, and entirely in agreement with all that God says our sin deserves. In that case, we, too, will know the costly, precious, and incredible blessings of God’s great mercy and forgiveness. The repentant sinner will always find blessings at the hand of David’s forgiving God. We, great sinners, have a great Savior!