by Robert Fudge

1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.
Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to Thee,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD";
And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.
Selah.

God is God. He is creator. It is by His will that we all have life and breath and all that exists around us. By virtue of this, He has every right to set the terms of my life. Only He, in His infinite nature and glory, can determine what is right and wrong for me. He, therefore, also has the sole right to determine if and how my transgressions will be forgiven. From this Psalm we can see that God wants to forgive us and is fully capable of doing so. From the New Testament we learn that this forgiveness comes through the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf. This morning I would like to focus on the fact that we must acknowledge and confess our guilt before God. Notice in verse 2 that this blessing of forgiveness is for those “in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

Peter tells us in I Peter 2:21-22 concerning Jesus: "21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." It seems that we all by nature want to deny our guilt before God. Adam said to God “it was that woman You gave me.” Cain asked if he were his brother’s keeper. The little boy all alone in the kitchen when the cookie jar falls and breaks says he didn’t do it. The Pharisee in the time of Jesus just changed the law of God around to fit himself and then boasted of how well he kept it. The answer for us is to be honest, brutally honest with ourselves, with God and with His word. That hurts. It is much easier to deny my guilt or interpret the word of God to fit me and what I want to believe. After all, if “we” have believed it this way for so many years, it has to be right. I would challenge each of us (yes, me too) to yield our spirits to what Peter says in I Peter 2:1-2: "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Let us begin our morning with prayer to God:
O mighty God, creator of heaven and earth, giver of life, I come before you acknowledging that I am sinful. I know that I have violated your perfect will in my life. I ask You to give me the wisdom to see and the faith to admit my deceit. I know that You see me as I really am, without all the excuses and facade that I put before others. As Your child today, I ask for the forgiveness that only You can give through Your Son Jesus. In His name we thank You and praise You and offer this prayer to You. Amen.