Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
How is it that my sins are not counted against me? How can a just God not count our sins against us? And if he does not count them against, how does he remain just? He remains just by counting them against a substitute, himself, who stood in our place, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Charles Spurgeon said when commenting on this passage:
“Pardoning mercy is of all things in the world most to be prized, for it is the only and sure way to happiness. To hear from God’s own Spirit the words, “absolvo te” (I absolve you) is joy unspeakable. Blessedness is not in this case ascribed to the man who has been a diligent law keeper, for then it would never come to us, but rather to a lawbreaker, who by grace most rich and free has been forgiven. Self righteous Pharisees have no portion in this blessedness. Over the returning prodigal, the word of welcome is here pronounced, and the music and dancing begin'
This forgiveness comes at a price. That price was paid by Christ at the cross. This is what we mean by free grace.
But there is more to the story than that, and more to this psalm. Below is a link to the audio file recorded when I preached this sermon on October 2. Just click the link to listen to the sermon. May you know the blessedness of being forgiven.
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