by Jerry Senn
“How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and is whose spirit is no deceit!” (Psalm 32:1-2).
We’ll need to hear the last two verses of this powerful psalm for an introduction to it.
“Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (10-11).
“The Hebrew word for “forgiveness” means to remove or to lift. Sin is forgiven in verse 1, put out of sight; and therefore the Lord refuses to reckon it against the sinner. Forgiveness is therefore regarded as the lifting of a burden, the covering of an ugly sight, and the cancelling of a debt. It is these verses which the apostle Paul quoted in Romans 4:6-8 as an Old Testament example of God’s justification of the sinner by His grace through faith, altogether apart from works” (Adapted, RW Stott).
Joyful are those who are surrounded by the steadfast love of God, forgiving their sins when they confess them to Him in genuine repentance and who submit to His will in baptism to “wash away [those] sins” (Acts 22:16). The day our transgression was forgiven is the most joyous day of our lives.
On a lonely road one day a high official in an Egyptian government heard about Jesus from a fellow traveler. After a brief introduction of Jesus this man desired to be immersed. They stopped along the road and his friend immersed him in water, into a relationship with Jesus. His friend went on his way, but the high official “went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:34-39).
This is how God’s grace saves by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9a)—then and now!
“How Joyful is the One Whose … Sin is Covered!”