Psalm 32 at verse 1 and 2. Blessed is
he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is that man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. The title I'm going to give to
this message is the Blessedness of Believers. Paul mentions that
in Romans chapter 4, the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth
righteousness without works. This psalm gives us the only
valid, real, true, right reason for happiness. Happiness. There is so much sorrow in this
world, is there not? Believers have happiness in this
world. That doesn't mean they don't
experience sorrow, but we have happiness in the Lord because
we're blessed, blessed. Look just across the page there
in Psalm 33, Psalm 33, look at verse 12. Blessed, blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord and the people whom he hath chosen for
his inheritance. We've been made heirs of God
and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. To this happiness
the believers enjoy is not a temporal thing, but eternal. And it's not talking about physical
blessings, it's talking about spiritual blessings. We've been
blessed with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now this word that we read here
in verse 1 and 2, that word blessed, is used 47 times in the book
of Psalms. And it means happiness. It means
joy. It means that God's saints and
his people are truly blessed. And the fruit of salvation is
happiness in the Lord. This psalm closes with that in
verse 11. Look down to verse 11. Be glad
in the Lord. If you're blessed in the Lord,
be glad in the Lord, in our Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoice, you
righteous. He's made us righteous in God's
sight. Shout for joy, all you that are
upright, upright in heart. Upright in heart. God's people
are blessed. Now I may bring a message next
week on the blessedness of the believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. The blessedness of the believer.
But let's look at a couple places here. Look at Psalm 34 verse
8. Psalm 34 verse 8, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. That's a blessed man. That's
a blessed man. Turn to one other. I've got it
written down here and there's many others we could read. Look
at Psalm 65 verse 4. Who is the blessed man? Who is
the blessed man? Now what this world says, And
what believers believe are two totally different things. Blessed
is the man, Psalm 65 verse 4. whom thou choosest and causest
to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts, we shall
be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple."
That man that's been chosen of God in that eternal covenant
of grace and causes him which causes him to approach unto the
Lord Jesus Christ, that's a blessed man. That's a blessed man. The contrast of the blessed man
is found in verse 10, where it said, many sorrows shall be to
the wicked, but he that trusted in the Lord, mercy shall compass
him about. You remember Jeremiah 17, where
Jeremiah describes Cursed is that man that trusteth in the
arm of the flesh, but blessed is that man who trusteth in the
power and grace of Almighty God. Now, verse one and two of Psalm
32, who is the blessed and happy man or that person? That sinner saved by God's sovereign
mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a threefold description
of our depravity where he uses these three words and it describes
who we are. Transgressors, transgression,
and then he talks about sin, talks about iniquity. Those three
words describe what we are before God. Transgression, sin, and
iniquity. You say, what is sin? Sin is
what we are. Sin is what we are, it's not
what we do. What we do is a result of what we are. Sin is what I
am. John writes this way, if we say
we have no sin, S-I-N, we deceive ourselves and the truth's not
in us. David here is confessing his sin before God. He's confessing
what he is before God. He said, in another place, I
was born in sin, shapen in iniquity. So we are sinners. We are sin. This flesh is nothing but sin. And then the second thing he
talks about there is transgression. Transgression is what I do. Transgression
is what I do. For sin, it says in 1 John 3,
sin is a transgression of the law. Now remember what we study
in the book of James, to offend in one point of God's holy law
is to be guilty of every point of the law of God. The law of
God says stop your mouth, you're guilty. The law of God declares
that we're guilty. We know the law of God does not
put away sin. What it does, it exposes us that
we are sinners. Transgression. Transgression
of the law. That's what sin is. And then
he mentioned iniquities. The third thing he mentioned
there in verse two, iniquity. Iniquities, if you look it up,
is moral perverseness. That is lack of doing what's
right. What I should have done and didn't.
They call that the sin of omission. The sin of omission. We're gonna
study In the book of James, to him that knoweth to do good and
doeth it not, to him that sin. Sin. So we have sin of commission
and sin of omission. One old preacher of the past
said, here's a trinity of my sin. put away and covered and
not imputed by the Trinity of the Godhead, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. What blessedness we have in Christ. What blessedness we have in Christ. Now let's consider these three
things for a moment. Transgression or offenses. He says they are forgiven. All your Transgression, forgiven,
and if you look that word up, forgiven, it means lifted off.
It means taken away. Now, how is sin taken away? Not by anything we do. Sin is
not taken away or purged away by anything we do. How is sin
taken away? Remember what John the Baptist
said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away our sin. He takes away our sin. We study
in Hebrews chapter 1, When he had by himself purged our sin,
he sat down on the right hand of God. So the Lord Jesus Christ
has forgiven our sin through the blood atonement that he shed
for us. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. We are redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ. So all of our transgression.
Now, this is not true of everybody. This is true of God's people,
believers. who are blessed in Christ. The
second thing he says, their sin, their sin is covered. Covered, completely covered.
Covered by God. Not by our works, but by his
blood. The blood on the mercy seat is
our covering. That's what the high priest did
on that day of atonement. He went in with the blood and
he covered the mercy seat with the blood which covered the broken
law. We know the Lord Jesus Christ,
He is our atonement for sin. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that He loved us and He sent His Son to be the propitiation
or the atonement for our sin. Christ alone is our sin covering
and atonement before God. We cannot put away our sin, we
cannot cover up our sin. Not before God. Our sins are
so covered by the blood atonement of Christ that the very justice
of God cannot discover them or charge the believer with sin. Think about that. Think about
that. God said their sin and their
iniquity will I remember no more. Now hold your place here in Psalm
32 and turn over here to Psalm 103. You remember this Psalm? Look at Psalm 103. Let's begin
at about verse 8. Psalm 103. The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgression from us. Did you notice there are those
three words again? Sins, iniquities, and transgressions. He sowed
the Lord Jesus Christ so thoroughly put away our sin by the sacrifice
of Himself that God said their sin and their iniquity has been
blotted out. Covered! Covered! Covered! Covered! Remember fallen Adam, what he
tried to do in the garden? He tried to take some fig leaves
to cover his nakedness, to cover his sin. Didn't work, did it?
God put him out of the garden. But thank God, before he did,
he covered Adam and Eve with the atoning blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The third thing we read, iniquity
not charged unto us, but rather righteousness imputed to us.
Blessed is a man, verse 2, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. and whose spirit there is no
guile. We read in Roman chapter four,
blessed, blessed is that man to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness
with our works. Now, what is this imputed righteousness?
If you read all of Roman chapter four, it uses that word imputed,
reckoned and counted seven or eight times. Abraham believed
God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now I must
not only have as a sinner, I must not only have an atonement to
put away my sin, but I must have a righteousness given to me. And I know this, I'm not real
smart, but I know this, the Lord's taught me this. By the deeds of the law or by
the deeds of the flesh, no man can produce a righteousness satisfying
unto God. That will not do. That cannot
do. The only way that we are made
righteous before God is having the imputed righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ charged to our account. Now, how did
that happen? Listen to this scripture. 2 Corinthians
5.21, God made him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him alone." The righteousness
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is called the Lord our righteousness,
is he not? Listen to this scripture. The
Lord Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgression, He was
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was
upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. Healed. Healed. This leper has been healed
by the blood atonement of Christ. Now, in the last part of verse
two, he said, in whose spirit there is no guile. In whose spirit
there is no guile. He's talking here about that
regenerated heart, that new heart given in the new birth. If any
man be in Christ, he's a new creature. In whose spirit there
is no hypocrisy, no deceit. Those who've been made new creatures
in Christ are not deceived as to who put away their sin and
how they are justified before God. We're not deceived. as to think we can go about to
put away our sin by our own doing. But rather, we know exactly that
we're justified through the blood atonement of Christ, justified
freely by his grace through the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look at verse three and verse
four. Psalm 32, verse three and verse
four. When I kept silence, now this
is David, crying out his heart, pouring out his heart before
the Lord like he does in Psalm 51. When I kept silent, my bones
waxed old through my roaring all the day long. Or day and
night, thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture is turned into
the drought, the drought of summer. Here we see something of the
conviction of sin. David here is convicted. He says,
against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil and
thy sight. You remember Psalm 51? Here is
the conviction of sin. No one knows the pains of Holy
Spirit conviction, except those who have experienced it in their
heart. Holy Spirit conviction, the heavy
hand of the Lord upon us, showing us who we are, sinners. Showing
us what we've done. We've transgressed against God.
Our Lord, remember in John 16 says, When the Comforter has come,
He's called the Comforter who convicts us of our sin, and then
He comforts us with Christ, who is our righteousness. When the
Holy Spirit has come, He will convict of sin, what I am, of
righteousness, what I need, and of judgment, what I deserve. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Of sin, he said, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness,
because I go to the Father, having accomplished all things for us,
having satisfied the law of God for us. Of judgment, because
the prince of this world is judged. That's what happened at Calvary.
Satan was defeated and our sin was put away by the sacrifice
of himself. David said, once I was silent,
once sin did not disturb me or bother me, but now my bones wax
old. The strength of my flesh melted
away into corruption. The only thing about that conviction
of sin, God convicting us, you read through the scriptures,
Job, in the book of Job, Job said, I've heard of thee by the
hearing, I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now
I see it thee. Remember what he said? Wherefore
I abhor, I hate myself, I repent in dust and ashes. You're familiar
with what Paul said. Oh, wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Thy hand was heavy upon me, he
says there. Turn a couple pages over here.
I was looking at this earlier today. Look at Psalm 38. Talking
about the hand of the Lord. The hand of the Lord was upon
me, heavy upon me. The hand of God's conviction.
Psalm 38. Verse two, for thine arrows stick
fast in me, thy hand presseth me sore. There's no soundness
in my flesh because of thine anger, neither is any rest in
my bones because of my sin. My iniquities are gone over my
head as a heavy burden, they're too heavy for me. My wounds stink. and are corrupt because of my
foolishness, I'm troubled, I'm bowed down greatly, I go mourning
all the day long." Talking about being convicted of a sin, being
convicted of God, the hand of God upon me. In a turn, David
said, my so-called goodness, my so-called morality, turned
it into a moisture of goodness and moisture into a drought,
no life, no righteousness. This is a good and necessary
thing for the Lord to bring us to know what we are that we might
seek mercy and forgiveness where it's found. Salvation is only
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the water of life. He's
the bread of life. Now think about this. The very
same hand that wounds us in love and convicts us is the very same
hand that raises us up in grace and mercy to heal us. The same
hand that convicts us is the same hand that comforts us. The
very same hand that strips us, strips us of our self-righteousness,
our self-worth, is the very same hand that clothes us with the
very righteousness of Christ, with the garments of salvation.
The very same hand, the very same one, the very same hand
that crushes our religious pride and lust and self-righteousness
and self-glory is the same hand that creates within us a new
heart, that makes us new creatures in the Lord Jesus Christ. One
old preacher said this, and I agree wholeheartedly with him, if you
miss Holy Spirit conviction, you'll miss true repentance and
faith. If you miss true Holy Spirit conviction, You miss true
repentance and faith. If you miss true repentance and
faith, you'll miss the Lord Jesus Christ. If you miss the Lord
Jesus Christ, you've missed salvation. He's the Savior. He's the only
Savior of sinners. He's the only Savior of sinners. You remember we read last week,
Psalm 34, look at Psalm 34 verse 18. The Lord is nigh to them of a
broken heart. He save us such as be of a contrite
spirit. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. The Lord
is nigh to them who he convicts of their sin. Now, go back to
Psalm 32, look at verse five. When the conviction of sin takes
place, He causes us to do this, verse five, I acknowledge my
sin unto the Lord. And my iniquity, no longer am
I trying to hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord. And thou forgave us the iniquity
of my sin. Thou forgave us the iniquity
of my sin. Turn over here to Psalm 51 for
just a moment. David talks about this so much. Psalm 51, verse one, have mercy
upon me, O God. According to thy loving kindness,
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgression. Blot out my transgression according
to what? According to the multitude of
thy tender mercy. Wash me throughly from my iniquity.
Cleanse me from my sin. There's those three words again.
For I acknowledge my transgression and my sin as ever before me.
Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight that thou mayest be justified when you're clear when
you speakest and be clear when you judge. Behold, I was shaped
in iniquity, and sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts. In the hidden part thou shalt
make me to know wisdom. That's Christ. Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than the snow. What puts away our sin? The blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sin. If we confess
our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse
us from all our sin. All our sin. I acknowledge my
sin unto thee, my iniquity have I not hid. Verse 5 again, I said
I will, I'll confess my sin unto the Lord. and he forgave my sin. What a blessing. Here's the fruit
of conviction of sin and conversion. Those born of the Spirit and
quickened from the dead own who they are before God. Believer
owns what he is before God. I acknowledge my sin. Notice, it's my sin that I'm
acknowledging. I acknowledge my sin. Mine iniquities
I have not hid." It's useless to try to hide from God, is it
not? He knows everything. He's a God with whom we have
to do all things, or naked and open unto Him with whom we have
to do. David said here, and this is
what the conviction of sin leads us to, I will confess. I'll confess
my sin unto Him. Unto Him. and the blessedness
here thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Turn over here to
Martin Luther's other favorite Psalm. Psalm 130, turn over there. We've looked at Psalm 130 many
times, but it bears repeating again. Psalm 130 verse one. Psalm 130 verse one. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared."
There's forgiveness with the Lord. Confession, acknowledgement,
and repentance are not the reasons Sin is put away. Repentance and
faith don't put away sin. Baptism does not put away sin.
Confession, acknowledgement, repentance and faith are not
the reasons or the ground of sin being put away. It is owing
only and solely to the blood and righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Those who have not owned and
confessed their sin unto God know nothing of true pardon before
God. In whom we have pardon from all
sin through the Lord Jesus Christ. In whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of
His grace. Now look at verse 6. For this shall everyone that
is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found. Surely
in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto
him. Thou art my hiding place, verse
seven. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Thou shalt accomplish
me about with songs of deliverance. Here's an encouraging word. Seek
mercy where mercy is found. Seek mercy where mercy is found
in Christ. Everyone that is godly, made
so by the blood and righteousness of Christ, calls on the Lord
for mercy and grace to help in our time of need. For this shall
everyone that is godly pray unto thee for mercy, grace to help
in our time of need. This is one of the evidences
of God's electing grace. We hear the word, the word of
the Lord, not only in hearing, but in power and in conviction. Not in word only, but also in
power. This is one of the evidences
of God's electing grace. We hear the word of God. in the
power of God the Holy Spirit. And then he says the last part
of verse 6, Surely the flood of God's holy wrath will not
come nigh those who were found in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
took our sin and in taking our sin took all the wrath of God
and put away and satisfied the holy law and justice of God. So much so that it says in Romans
8, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are
in the Lord Jesus Christ. No condemnation, no judgment,
no judgment to come. Look at verse 7, thou art my
hiding place. Thou art my hiding place. Now
remember, turn over here to Psalm 62. A hiding place is a refuge. The refuge we have in the Lord
Jesus Christ is not a refuge of lies. It's a refuge of truth
based upon Christ. Psalm 62. My soul, verse five, wait thou
only upon God, for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock. My salvation. He's my defense. He only. You remember I called
this the only psalm. My salvation. He's my defense.
I shall not be moved. And God is my salvation. My glory. The rock of my strength. My refuge
is in Him. Trust in Him at all times, ye
people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is refuge for us. He's a refuge for us. Christ
is our hiding place. Verse 7, Psalm 32, look back
there. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble. Remember our Lord said, these
words have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.
In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer.
I have overcome. He preserves us in trouble. His
grace is sufficient for us. We're kept by the power of God.
Saving faith does persevere because we're kept by the power of God. Thou shalt compass me about,
surround me about with songs of deliverance. Songs of deliverance. He's our deliverer. He's our
Redeemer. That's what a Redeemer does.
A Redeemer delivers. And we know that we are not redeemed
with corruptible things like silver and gold, with silver
and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ in whom we have
redemption. Verse 8, the Lord speaks now. He says, I will instruct thee,
but we need instruction, don't we? Everything left to ourselves
by nature, everything we think about God is wrong. Everything
we think about ourselves is wrong. Everything we think about salvation
is wrong. We need to be taught of God.
Remember our Lord said in John 6, no man can come to me except
the Father which sent me draw him. And I'll raise him up at
the last day. All those who have heard and
learned of the Father, they come to the Lord Jesus Christ. We
need instruction. We need to be taught of God in
a way that we shall go. And he says there, I will guide
thee with mine eye. His eye. He has perfect vision.
The steps of the righteous man are ordered of the Lord. All
believers have the same God sent instructor, he's our guide, he's
our counselor, as the marginal reference has there on the word
guide. He is the mighty God, he is the
counselor, remember Isaiah. All believers have the same God
sent instructor, the guiding counselor. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. He's our teacher, He's our teacher. He is the one who teaches us,
and He's the lesson. He's the lesson, and He's the
teacher. He's the subject. He's everything. He's everything
in the way of salvation. I've got a reference here. Don't
turn. Let me see if I can read it. Psalm 73. Verse 24, thou shalt guide me
with thy counsel, and afterward receive me up to glory. He's
our counselor. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Now, he says in verse 9, don't
be as a horse as a mule. Don't be, be you not as a horse
or a mule, don't be like a brute beast. They have no understanding. Their mouth must be held with
bitten bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrow shall be the wicked,
but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy compass him about. The Lord has
given us, He's given us an understanding that we might know Him that is
true. Therefore we are not stubborn,
as a horse or a mule, God's given us a teachable spirit. He's given
us a teachable spirit. Be still and know that I am God. We know the Son of God has come
and He's given us an understanding that we might know Him that is
true and we're in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and this
is eternal life. Now here's the flip side of the
blessed man. The flip side is verse 10, many
sorrows shall be to the wicked. Isaiah says of the wicked, the
wicked are like a troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters
cast up mire and dirt. There's no peace, says my God,
to the wicked. Now by nature we're all that. It's only by the grace of God,
He has made us to differ. Only by the grace of God. But,
there's that key word, verse 10, the middle part, but he that
trusteth in the Lord, mercy, mercy shall compass him
about. The man that trusteth in the
Lord. What is trusting in the Lord? That's faith, isn't it?
Forsaking all, I trust Him. Blessed is that man that trusteth
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Mercy will surround him. Surely goodness and mercy, didn't
David say that? Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. In closing, look at verse 11.
Be glad in the Lord. God's people are glad in the
Lord. And we do rejoice in the Lord. You remember Paul when
he writes to the Philippian church, he said, we are the true Israel
of God, which worship God in the Spirit, that rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and we have no confidence in the flesh. Be glad in the
Lord. We are blessed of God. Our sin
is covered. Our iniquities have been forgiven.
Our transgressions have been put away. We're blessed of the
Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice ye righteous. Now this is not talking about
morality. All our best morality we have is nothing but sin. We only have righteousness in
Christ. Blessed is a man whom the Lord
imputes righteousness without works. Now, shout for joy. Be glad, rejoice, and joy in
the Lord. Joy in Him always. And again
I say, rejoice in the Lord, all ye that are uprighted in heart. He's given us a new heart. He's
taken away that old stony heart and given us a heart that seeks
after the Lord Jesus Christ for all, all of our salvation.