Well, let us turn to the psalm
that we've read, Psalm 32, and I want for a little while tonight
to consider the first two verses of the psalm. Psalm 32, verses
1 and 2. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. taking up then the theme of the
blessings of forgiveness, the blessings of forgiveness, considering
simply something of the marks of the man who is being spoken
of here as that blessed man. And there are three things that
I want to draw your attention to three aspects of his blessedness. He has a sense of his sin. He's a man who is sincere and
guileless. And above all, he is one who
having that sense of sin nonetheless as a covering for all of his
sins. First of all then, this sense
of his sin, and we see it really in two areas. There is the conviction
of his sin, and then there is also the confession of his sin. And see how real sin was to this
particular man. Blessed is the man, it says,
at the beginning of verse 2. And how is he blessed? Well,
he has that personal awareness of himself. He knows something
concerning himself. Remember the Protestant reformer,
John Calvin, in the opening sentence of that great theological work,
his Institutes of the Christian Religion, says that there are
two aspects of knowledge that we must all have, that is the
knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves, and what a knowledge
of himself we see in this particular man. How he personally feels
his sin, we see it in verse 5. Four times we have the word my. He speaks of my sin, my iniquity,
my transgressions, and then again at the end, my sin. As it has
been said, sin itself is of the creature. It was Adam and Eve
who sinned. Sin is not of God, sin is of
the creature. But a sense of sin is that that
comes from God. And what a profound awareness
of himself this blessed man has. Look at the various words that
he uses. David, of course, is the man.
It's a psalm of David, and David is clearly that one, the man
after God's own heart, the man who knows himself only too well. And he uses a number of words. He speaks of transgression. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven. And the word that we have here
really has the idea of rebellion. And isn't that what man is by
Nature, as a fallen creature, has rebelled against God. We
see it there in Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve, they disobey
the command of God. They reject His words. They embrace
the lie of Satan. They are rebels. And that's what
the word transgression really suggests. Those who ever committed
sin were told, transgresseth also the law. Sin is the transgression
of the law. Sin is a rebellion against the
law of God, a rejection of the word of God. That's one thing
then that this man feels. acknowledges himself to be a
rebel, but then also David uses the word sin, whose sin is covered,
he says. And the word sin, and I've said
this on previous occasions, the word is derived from the verb
to miss. We are to think in terms of maybe
archers aiming their arrows at a particular target. but they
never reach that target. Their arrows are constantly falling
short of the mark. And that's what sin is. All have
sinned and come short, it says, of the glory of God. If transgression has that idea
of rebellion even over stepping the mark, sin itself has the
idea of falling short, sins of omission. failing to do the thing
that we should do, as well as doing those things that we ought
not to do, transgressions. Lord David, you see, as he comes
before his God in the psalm, then he's very much aware of
what he is, a transgressor, a sinner, and then he uses another word
in the second verse, Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord
imputeth not iniquity, And again, interestingly, this particular
word derived from the verb that means to twist or to bend. And
it reminds us how man is such a perverse creature, how he is
now so twisted and so disfigured. This is the consequence of the
fall of our first parents, as the preacher says in Ecclesiastes,
Lo, this only have I found, that God made man upright, that they
have sought out many inventions. Oh, what a perverted creature
man is!" All these various words indicate to us how David has
such a sense of the reality of his lost condition before God. And then Another word that he
uses here is this word, guile. in whose spirit there is no guile,
we read at the end of that second verse. And it reminds us now
that sin is something that is inward and spiritual. We're not
so much to think in terms of the actions of the man, but what
the man is in himself. I know that in me That is, in
my flesh there dwelleth no good thing, says the Apostle Paul.
There's nothing at all good about him. What is his heart? Full
of guile, full of deceit. The heart deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord,
search the hearts. I try the reins. Oh, God knows
better than we know. God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth. And every imagination of the
thought of his heart was only evil continually. What does God look for? He looks
into the hearts of men. Men look on the outward appearance.
The Lord looketh upon the heart. And David in another psalm, in
Psalm 51, says, Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward
parts. Thou desirest truth in the inward
parts, in the hidden parts Thou wilt make me to know wisdom. Oh, our God's law, you see, it's
a spiritual law, and it exposes us for what we are, as sinful
creatures. We know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal. Soul under sin cries out the
Apostle Paul. Here we have a man then who is
convinced of his real condition, he knows something concerning
the reality of his state before a God who is holy, a God who
is thrice holy, Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Spirit. Or what can a man like this do
when he comes before his God? why all he can do surely is to
make his confession. It's not just the conviction
of his sin, it's also the confession of his sins, the acknowledgement.
Those who feel the reality of what they are will come before
God and they will tell the truth, they will own up to what they
are. And this is what we have here of course in verse 5, I
acknowledge my sin unto thee. And mine iniquity have I not
hid? I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord, and thou forgave us the iniquity of my sin, Selah."
There is a certain emphasis there, the Selah, of course, indicative
that there's a pause, a break. Why so? Well, is it not that
we are to consider what has been said? It is of most significance
Acknowledgement that is being made there in that fifth verse. And with David we see it not
only here in the 32nd Psalm, we have it also in other Psalms. In Psalm 38 for example, I will
declare mine iniquity, he says, I will be sorry for my sin. He declares it, he acknowledges
it. and it's a genuine sorrow over his sin there's no pretentiously
with this man oh yes he knows what God is but he has been delivered
from all that deceit he owns the truth concerning himself
and how God encourages us in these confessions We have that
language of John at the close of the opening chapter in his
first general epistle. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar. and His Word is not in us. Always God's truth, the truth
of God's Word in us. If that is the case, we must
come and acknowledge what we are. And these, of course, are
the very characters that the Lord Jesus Christ came to call. They that are whole, they have
no need of the physician. But they that are sick, Christ
says, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. to repentance. All sinners are high in his esteem
and sinners highly value him. And David knew it. Oh, David
has such a sense of these things. He is convinced of the truth
of Scripture with regards to its testimony about man's condition. He is convinced of his sin. He
confesses his sin. Again, there in that great penitential
51st Psalm, I acknowledge my transgressions, he says, and
my sin is ever before me. My sin is ever before me. Oh,
is that true of us, friends? As we come together on these
Thursday evenings, or Friday evenings as it is today, And
we come to pray, are we very conscious of what we are? We
are sinners yet. Our sin is before us. And as
we come to pray, we have to make our confession. We have to acknowledge
what we are. I acknowledge my sin unto thee.
My iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord, and thou forgavest. the iniquity of my sin firstly
then that sense that sense of sinnership which comes from God
seeing it remember is of the creature the sense of it or the
realization of what we are and where we are that is the work
of God but then secondly with regards to this man this man
who is blessed We see how his sincerity is acknowledged. There at the end of that second
verse, in whose spirit there is no guile, he's guileless.
He's honest. He's an honest man. And we have
that, of course, in the language of his confession in the fifth
verse. Oh, he comes before God. Sincerely,
all his desire is before God. That's what David says in the
38th Psalm. All my desire is before thee. My groanings are not hid from
thee. And now, in that 38th Psalm also,
we see time and again the acknowledgement of what he is. Look at the language
from verse 3. there is no soundness in my flesh
because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones
because of my sin for mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an
heavy burden they are too heavy for me my wounds sting and are
corrupt because of my foolishness I am troubled I am bowed down
greatly I go mourning all the day long for my loins are filled
with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh
Here is a man broken-hearted. Broken-hearted because of what
he is. Or David again acknowledges it
there in that 51st Psalm, the sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit. A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. All of this is indicative of
the sincerity of this man. and he doesn't come and play
with God there's an earnestness in the man and how necessary
it is if we're going to be those who are really seekers God says
you shall seek me and find me when you shall search after me
with all your heart yes, our hearts are to be broken and contrived
and yet paradoxically they're to be whole wholehearted seekers,
not half-hearted seekers. Oh, this is that man who is blessed.
He's blessed because he's forgiven. He's blessed because he is made
sincere. It's the mark of God's grace. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causest to approach unto thee, we read in Psalm 65. Are we those who are the true
Israel of God, that spiritual people, those who are Jacob's
true seed, behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile,
the language of the Lord concerning Nathaniel? Or this is that man
who is blessed in his spirit, there is no guile. But here is the great thing with
regards to this blessed man, the marks of the man, not only
that sense of his sinnership, not only the sincerity of his
prayers, but also the fact that his sin is covered. And that
means really he is that sinner who is justified. Blessed is
he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no guile." There's nothing self-righteous
about this man, nothing of himself. All his righteousness is that
righteousness that belongs to another and that is imputed to
him. There's nothing of works about
this man's religion. Paul makes that so plain when
he writes in the Galatian Epistle. There, of course, he is dealing
with those who would seek to bring believers back under the
law of God. You would see some place for
works in the salvation of sinners. But look at the language that
we have there in Galatians 2.16, Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not
by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Now, these two are obviously
mutually exclusive one of the other. Works on the one hand,
grace on the other. And how Paul had to learn that
lesson. He was once the self-righteous
man. He was the Pharisee. He was the
son of a Pharisee. But how he is brought to know
this, a man is not justified by the works of the law, but,
he says, by the faith of Jesus Christ. And then, to the Philippians,
he vents his great desire to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's all he desires to
be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of
the Lord, he says, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith. There can be no bringing these
two things together, no synthesis between works and faith. But there is a great antithesis
between those two things. And it's Paul again who brings
that out. Romans 11, 6, if by grace, he
says, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, it is no more of grace, otherwise work
is no more work. You cannot mix these two together,
faith and works. And this is what David is saying
here in the words of our text. That this man's religion, this
blessed man, all that he has is by the grace of God and by
that grace of God alone he is cleansed. Cleansed from his sin,
he's cleared of all the guilt of his sin also. Look at what
it says here in verse 2, He is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth
not iniquity." In other words, iniquity is not
put to his charge. Although David knew that he was
a sinner, as we said, he had such a sense of what his sin
was, and a profound understanding of the very character of his
sin. And yet, none of this is reckoned
to his account. He's speaking really of that
sinner who is justified. God, this is the amazing thing
in grace, God justifies the ungodly. God justifies the ungodly. What
was the work of the judges in Israel? Well, we're told what
their task was in the Law of Moses, there in Deuteronomy 25. If there be a controversy between
men, and they come unto the judgment, that the judges may judge them,
then shall they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. There
is the work of the judge. They are to make righteous judgment,
they are to justify, they are to declare that man free from
all his guilt who is a righteous man, and they are to condemn
that man who is a wicked man and a transgressor of God's laws.
But here we see the grace of God. David can say elsewhere,
Iniquities prevail against me. As for our transgressions, thou
shalt purge them away. Oh, God has removed the sin of
His people, and He's taken that sin from them as far as the East
is from the West, infinity. They are a people who are pardoned,
they are a people who are forgiven. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, it says. But how can this be? How can
this be? If the judges are to judge righteous
judgment, how can that man who is guilty be accounted a righteous
man? Well, it is, of course, through
that great work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the surety of his people
and as their substitute. It is the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son. that cleanseth us from all sins,"
says John. Oh, the beloved Apostle John,
how he knew it. How he knew it. But how these
Apostles speak with one voice, all of them inspired by the same
Holy Spirit. What does Paul say there in Galatians
4.4? How it pleased God when the fullness
of the time was come to send forth His Son. made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
Oh, the Lord Jesus came to redeem, to pay that great ransom price
that the law demanded, and to suffer in the place of his people. That cleansing cleansed from
sin, cleared of all guilts, out by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that one sacrifice for sins forever. But they're also
covered. They're covered with righteousness,
whose sin is covered. Christ lived and Christ died. We know that His obedience was
unto death, even the death of the cross, but as He is obedient
in dying as a substitute, so He is also obedient in living.
It's obedience unto death, obedient in every part of His life. And
this is what God requires. It's not just the clearing away
of the guilt of sin. There must be a positive righteousness. There must be a doing of the
Lord of God. Deuteronomy 6.25. It shall be
our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments
before the Lord our God as He has commanded us. That's righteousness. doing all these commandments
before the Lord our God. And that's exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ did. He was made under the law and
He is honored and magnified the law by the obedience of that
sinless life. And remember, the words that
we're considering are taken up in the New Testament by the Apostle
when he writes in the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the
Romans. Here really we have an exposition
of our text. Verse 3, what saith the Scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of death. But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to
whom the Lord will not impute sin. What is the Apostle doing? He is referring to the language
of Psalm 32 in reference to the faith of Abraham. Abraham believed God and it was
counted unto him for righteousness. It was not the act of his faith.
It wasn't the act of believing. It was the object of his faith
that was counted to him for righteousness. As we see later in that same
fourth chapter, we're told how Abram staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith
giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he
had promised he was able also to perform and therefore it was
imputed to him for righteousness. or the promise that God performed
was imputed to him for righteousness. He saw the day of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ
even when he comes to Mount Uriah with the command of God that
he is to offer his son, his only son Isaac, but of course he doesn't
sacrifice the child. there is a ram and that ram is
to be sacrificed in Isaac's day but all of that is gospel and
it's the faith of Abraham all this word to impute to reckon
to to charge with and Paul you see that great desire of Paul
to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ not having his own righteousness
but having upon him that righteousness of Christ. Jesus, thy blood and
righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress, which flaming
worlds in these are raped. With joy shall I lift up my head."
The language of Cain, Zinz, and Dorth the Moravian. And that's
what we have here, you see, the blessed man. Always that man
whose sin is forgiven, is that man who stands before God justified,
accounted righteous, clothed in garments of salvation and
a robe of righteousness, a man who is altogether guileless.
The grace of God is in the heart of this man. Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the
man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit
there is no guile. Or that we might be those who
are truly identified with the character that David is describing
even now as we come before the Lord in prayer. We have no other
plea but the Lord Jesus Christ. Might He please God then to behold
us in His only begotten Son and to hear us and to accept all
of our prayers for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now let us further worship God
as we sing the hymn 681 And the tune is Malcolm 369. Blessed are they whose guilt
is gone, whose sins are washed away with blood, whose hope is
fixed on Christ alone, whom Christ has reconciled to God. The hymn 681.