Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 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. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
Not long ago I sat in a hospital with a dying man. Everyone knew he was dying, including the man in the bed. There were no claims of unfairness or cries for more time. He was weary. He was ready to die. What made the biggest difference for him was the truth that the psalmist speaks in this wonderful psalm. Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered. He had quite a few of those sins to cover. He knew that. He also knew they were covered.
Dying is often a difficult and wearisome thing. It is hard work. He did not relish this, but he was not afraid. He rested in the confidence that Jesus had died for him. He awaited the loving embrace of Christ.
Surely in the rush of great waters, even the waters of that cold and sullen stream we call death, they shall not reach him, not really. Yes, my friend died. But death did not get to keep him. He had a hiding place, someone who preserved him from real trouble, who surrounded him with shouts of deliverance. He was forgiven. He had Christ.