1Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is
no deceit.
3When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the
day long.
4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into
the drought of summer. Selah
5I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not
hidden.
I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity
of my sin.
Selah
6For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
7You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
8I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with
bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near
you.
10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11Be glad in the Lord and
rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright
in heart!
Commentary
Vs.
1-2 1Blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
2Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is
no deceit.
This Psalm given us in the Old Testament reveals that God’s grace is not something that is earned. Indeed, its quotation by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4:7-8 clearly indicates this. Besides that, which is self-evident, this psalm is a remarkable gift from God given us through His servant David, something that he himself experienced, and something that I hope you yourselves experience as well. For what greater blessing is there then to have one’s sins forgiven, what greater need is there in our lives, in anyone’s life, than to know that all is forgiven, all of our guilt, all of our unpayable debt has once and for all been taken away forever. Remarkable then is the love and grace of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior! There is then no longer a need to pretend, to try to be someone or something you never were, or ever really wanted to be. You don’t have to play a role to try to appease, or win the favor of others ever again, there is then no more need for deceit in your spirit, your free! Free to be all that God created you to be, free to live and laugh abundantly, free to dare and to risk to take chances and achieve all you never thought you could do or be!
Vs. 3-4 3When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the
day long.
4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into
the drought of summer. Selah
From the heights of joy and redemption, David now recalls his lost and tormented state before he came forward in faith and laid his heart bare before the Lord. Not only was his conscience tormented, but his unconfessed sin even manifested itself in is flesh. Day and night he could not escape his guilts burden. Indeed the Lord Himself knowing what he had done laid His hand heavy upon him, not to hurt him, but to bring him to the place of repentance and faith, so He could restore him to Himself again, so He could bring him home safely. David then in recalling his past speaks of his sleepless nights and his afflicted days in which his vitality was turned into the drought of summer.
Vs. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not
hidden.
I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity
of my sin.
Selah
It was then from the depths of his own despair, that David hurting and broken acknowledged his sin to the Lord, he came clean as it were, he laid it all out before the Lord for Him alone to hear and see. Now this is something that takes courage, real courage, and for many of us it may be that hardest thing that we have ever done. Nonetheless on the other side of that brave step of faith is God’s open arms of grace, waiting and more than willing to forgive my sin, your sin, anyone’s sin when we confess them to Him, amen (1 John 1:9).
Vs. 6 “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be
found;
Surely in a flood of great
waters
They shall not come near him.”
Because the Lord so faithfully delivered David, he now confidently asserts that all of us who are godly should also seek Him in our time of troubles. For truly the Lord is near to us, He is willing to hear us, and more than willing to intercede for our just cause when we pray to Him.
Vs. 7 “You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from
trouble;
You shall surround me with
songs of deliverance. Selah”
Vs. 8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.”
This promise then of the Lord instructing and teaching us is all of ours who believe and trust in Him. For the Lord will always shepherd His people, He will always instruct us and teach us in the way we should go, indeed He will guide us with His eye, meaning He will see the paths that we should follow even before we do. However, I will throw in a caveat, that this can only be ours when we are humble, when we are willing to hear and willing to receive His Word for us, and sometimes this requires that we come to Him “broken and beautiful”, as a Mark Schultz song so beautifully says.
Vs. 9 “Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with
bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near
you.”
Therefore, we are not to be stubborn and self-willed, like the horse and mule, which have no understanding of their masters will, but must be bridled to make them even come near them or go where their masters would have them go and work. Therefore, bridles are not for disciples, but for those who must be brought into forced subjection, to either restrain or tame them; therefore, we are not to be like them. For stubbornness is as the sin of iniquity and idolatry (1 Sam. 15:23), and it should have no place in any of us who believe (consider Psalm 78:7-8; 81:11-12, 13-16; Isaiah 46:12-13; Zech. 7:11-12 etc.). For God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5-6).
Vs. 10-11 10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11Be glad in the Lord and
rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright
in heart!
From being self-willed, to then open rebellion and wicked living is just a small step. And it is most true that many sorrows shall be to the wicked, for a sinner’s sorrows always outweigh their pleasures, while in contrast everyone who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround them! Therefore, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart because you are on the path of life!
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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