Psalm 31 — 32
wait to shout about it. If we have acceptance with God, it matters not what else may happen to us.
of the enemy and the lies they spread about the king, the Lord also took care of them and revealed the truth to the people. God's great goodness and marvelous lovingkindness were all that David needed to weather the storm and survive to lead his people.
Transgression is "crossing over the line" and rebelling against God. David knew the Ten Commandments and that adultery, murder, and deceit were forbidden. Sin means "to miss the mark" and not live up to the standards God has set. Iniquity means "twisted" and describes what happens to the inner character of the sinner. Guile means "deception." David tried to cover his sins and pretend nothing had happened, but the Lord chastened him until he confessed he had sinned. This vocabulary will reappear in verse 5. Forgive means to remove a burden; it's pictured by the "scapegoat" in the Day of Atonement service, for symbolically the goat "carried" the sins of the people into the wilderness (Lev. 16:20–22; Ps. 103:12; John 1:29). Like Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8), David tried to "cover" his sins, but his schemes didn't work. They never do (Prov. 28:13), but when God covers the sins we confess to Him, they are hidden from sight and never seen again. (See Isa. 38:17; 43:25; 44:22; Jer. 31:34; Mic. 2:18–19; 1 John 1:7–9.) On the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat by the high priest, and that covered the sins the people had committed. Impute is a bookkeeping term that means "to put on the account, to add to the record." When we confess our sins, God cancels the debt and it's no longer on the books. As the children say, "It doesn't count any more." Why? Because Jesus paid the debt on the cross, and His blood cleanses the record and the heart of the offender. The forgiveness of the Lord is certainly something to sing about! It's unfortunate that too many of God's children take it for granted.
However, at one point, David may have been ready to give up: "In my alarm I said, 'I am cut off from your sight!'" (v. 22 niv; and see 30:6). It wasn't the enemy that frightened him but the thought of being abandoned by the God he trusted and served. He did what all of us must do when we sense that God is no longer near: he cried out to the Lord for His mercy, and the Lord answered. When the terrible experience of the rebellion was over, David spoke to the people (vv. 23–24) and gave God the glory for delivering him. David had written about his faith in the Lord (vv. 1, 6, 14, 19), but now he encourages his people to love the Lord and put their hope in him. Faith, hope, and love always go together (1 Cor. 13:13). The courage and strength we need in the trials of life are available from the Lord if we will put our faith in Him. Let's be sure that we give Him the glory.