“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 is no deceit…. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;… Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” Psalm 32:1-2, 5-6, 10-11

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

Sometimes we, as Christians, are plagued by guilt over our sins and how much our lives fall short of the ideal Christian life prescribed for us in the Word of God. However, it brings joy to be reminded that, if we repent of our sins, God not only forgives them but covers them. The guilt we feel is because we owe a debt to God for our sins but God cancels that debt record by having taken our sins upon Himself on the cross. Now if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Psalms 103:12 says that he removes our sins “as far as the east is from the west”.

No wonder David exhorts us to “shout with joy” over God’s forgiveness. This includes David who wrote this Psalms and who had committed even adultery and murder in his life. He had repented of these sins and God had cancelled the debt. David committed these sins despite being a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). David had a strong fallen nature to deal with as we all do. At times he failed to submit to God to control it but God still forgave him when he brought repentance and a contrite heart to Him because David had an upright heart obtained through faith in God. So do we if we have given our lives to Christ.

Our sins have been forgiven, set aside, covered, cancelled, let us rejoice! Steadfast love surrounds us!