Forgiveness Makes Us Joyful
/Sin weighed down and torn up David’s soul. In Psalm 32. he told the joyful story salvation, shouting the blessedness of forgiveness.
1 How joyful [blessed] is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2 How joyful [blessed] is a person whom
the Lord does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!
Forgiveness makes the soul sing. This is in terrible contrast to what sin does to us.
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat.
Forgiveness makes the soul sing because sin crushes it. Sin grinds us up making us weary like the worst, driest, hottest day of summer.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. David continued:
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
The blessedness of forgiveness comes after we confess our sin. Denying our sin before God leaves us outside His shelter, under the oppression of guilt and sin. So let us confess and seek for God.
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul quoted this psalm to explain salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. God “Justifies the ungodly, [and] his faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.’” (Romans 4:5-7)
In Christ, we are forgiven and our faith in Him is counted as righteousness. Like David, this forgiveness makes the soul of all believers sing.