It is and ever will remain the differential feature of the education of the Hebrew people, that they wore taught so emphatically and constantly the evil of sin. For this purpose the Law was their child-guide with a view to Christ (Gal. iii. 24). Of the several terms used to express sin, three are employed here.1 One, which denotes "missing the mark;" a second, which denotes" overstepping the mark;" a third, which denotes "crookedness or unevenness." Over and above corresponding terms in the New 'l'estament, we have two de6nitions of sin. One in 1 John iii. 4, "Sin is the trans- gression of law;" another in 1 John v. 1, "All injustice is sin.'' We can never show men the value o'f the gospel until they see the evil of sin. Some minds are most effectively reached by one aspect of truth, and others by another; but surely from one or other of these Scripture terms or phrases the preacher may prepare a set of arrows that by God's blessing will pierce some through the joints of their armour. Nor can the reality or evil of sin be fairly evaded by any plea drawn from the modern doctrine of evolution; since, even if that theory be valid, the emergence of conscicmsness and of moral responsiln1ity at a certain stage of evolution is as certain a phenomenon as any other. Men know they have done wrong, and it behoves the preacher not to quit his hold of them till he has driven conviction of the evil of sin against God deeply into the soul I 2. Sin concealed. (Ver. 2.) "I kept silence," i.e. towards God. In the specific case referred to here, sin had disclosed its fearful reality by breaking out openly; it was known, yet unacknowledged. Hence: 3. Sin rankled within (ver. 2, "my bones," etc.). Remorse and self-reproach succeeded to the numbness which was the first effect of the sin. There was a reaction-restlessness seized on the guilty one. The action of a guilty conscience brings within a man the most te:ribly consuming of all agitation. He cannot flee from himself, and his guilt and dread pursue him everywhere (Job xv. 20-25; xviii. 11; xx. 11-29; • Prov. xxviii. 1). Hence it is a great relief to note the next stage. 4. Sin confessed. (Ver. 5.) What a mercy that our God is one to whom we can unburden our guilt, telling him all, knowing that in the storehouse of infinite grace and love there is exhaustless mercy that will "multiply pardons" (Isa. Iv. 7, Hebrew) I 5. Sin put away. (Ver. 2.) "In whose spirit there is no guile;" i.e. no deceit, no reserve, no concealment, no continuing in the sin which is thus bemoaned, but, at the momen& it is confessed towards God, honestly aud entirely putting it away. And when once the sin and guilt are thus put away before God, it will not be long ere the penitent has to recount the experience of- II. FORGIVENESS OBTAINED AND ENJOYED. He who guilelessly puts away sin by repentance will surely find that God lovingly puts it away by pardon (ver. 5). And as the Hebrew is ample in its terms for sin, so also is it in the varied words and phrases to express Divine forgiveness. Three of these are used here; but in the Hebrew there are, at least, ten others. 3 1. "Forgiven." (Ver. 1.) 'l'he Hebrew word means "lifted off;" in this case the LXX. render" remitted," but sometimes they translate the Hebrew term literally, by a word which also means "to lirt off," "to lift up," "to bear," and "to bear away"' (cf. John i. 29; 1 John iii. 5; Matt. ix. 5, 6). In Divine forgiveness, the burden of sin is lifted off from us and borne away by tho Son of God; the penitent is also" let go." His indictment is cancelled, and from sin's penalty he is set frce. 6 2. Covered; as with a lid, or a veil: put out of sight. God looks on it no more (Micah vii. 18). 3. "lniqv.ity not imputed." It is no more reckoned to the penitent. Wit-h absolution there is complete and entire acquittal, and with the non-imputation of sin there is the imputation of righteousness (Hom. iii., iv., v.), or the full and free reception of the pardoned one into the Divine favour, in 1 The following terms are used for "sin:" ',~Q, '' foolishness," "vanity;'' Ni;ii;i, "missing the mark; " JI!?~, "overstepping the mark; " c;li;t, "departure from good;" Jif, "perverse- ness;" nl$, "sinrulness"-vanity, nothing. 1 Though Job's threo f1iends were wrong in applying these words to him, thoy are true enough in reference to the wicked. • The varied terms to express Divine forgiveness should each be oarefully studied ; they may be found in Fiirst's 'Lexicon,' sub t1erb. Ji~. • See Cremer's 'Lexicon of New Testament Greek,' aub ,ie,-b. lt.tp/71µ1 and uTpo, ; ancl Schleusner on 01<1 'l'esto.ment Greek. • See the introduction to Dr. Simon's' Discussions on the .A.tonoment;' also Dr. Dale' o work on the Atonement; and l'erowne'd notes on the whole psalm. rsA~ll!I- 1 242 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [rs. XXXII. 1-11.
which a standing of privilege, that in his own right he could not claim, is freely 11cco1ded to him through the aboundings of Divine grace. Ill. FORGIVENESS DEARING FRUIT. This psalm is itself the product of a forgiven man's pen. It would be a psychological impossibility for an unrccrenerate and unpardo~cd man ever to have written it. The psalmisl's _experience of forgiving love bears fruit: 1. Jn grateful song. (Ver. 7.) "Songs of deliverance" will now take the pl:lce of consuming remorse and penitential groans. 2. Jn new thouglits of God. (Ver. 7.) "'l'hou a.rt my Hiding-place," etc. In the God whoso pardoning love he has known he will now find a perpetual Protector and Friend. 3. In ;'oyous declaration to others. ~Vers. 1, 2.) "Blessed ••• blessed," etc. 'l'he emphasis is doubly intense. (1) There 1s a blessedness in forgiveness itself. To have the burden of guilt lifted off, and the sentence of condemnation cancelled, what blessedness is here I (2) 'l'here is blessedness which follows on forgiveness. New freedom. New joy in God. Now ties of love. New citizenship. New heirship. New prospecta. Oh I the blessedness! 4. In exhor- tation. (Vers. 8, 9.) We regard these as the psalmist's words,' in which he uses his own experience to counsel others. Broken-hearted penitents make the best evancrelists. 'l'he exhortation is threefold. (1) He bids us not to be perverse and obstinate: i.e. in attempting to conceal our guilt; but rather to show the reason of reasonable men in confessing and abandoning it (ver. 9). (2) He reminds us that, while resistance to God will only surround us with woes, trust in God will ensure our being encompassed with mercies (ver. 10). (3) He bids truly sincere, upright, penitent souls-men without guile-to rejoice in God, yea, even to shout for joy, because of that forgivin"' love which buries all the past guilt of the penitent in the ocean of redeeming grac~ and enriches the pardoned one with the heirship of everlasting life.-C.