Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Four
DAVID’S WITNESS
Scripture Reading: verses 6-8
EVEN AS DAVID ALSO DESCRIBETH THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE MAN, UNTO WHOM GOD IMPUTETH RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT WORKS, SAYING, BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE INIQUITIES ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD WILL NOT IMPUTE SIN.
Paul, the lawyer for the defense inspired by the Spirit of God, is here laying a solid foundation on which the true believer in Christ may stand with perfect assurance of his acceptation before God. He leaves no loophole whereby the enemy of our soul may bring an accusation that might be substantiated against us. We believe the reason this entire passage goes into so much detail is so that we might be perfectly sure God has thoroughly investigated our case; that He has unearthed every bit of evidence against us as well as every tangible testimony in our favor, and His verdict of justification by faith in the faith of Jesus Christ has been rendered without violation to the righteousness of His own throne and without violating any claim the sinner may have.
It is well for us to keep this in mind while considering these important items. The first witness Paul has called on is Abraham, the man who was celebrated for good works in the Hebrew Bible. He is called “the father of the faithful,” and if anyone had reason to boast because of his actions in line with the will of God, surely it would be Abraham. However, it is determined that Abraham was not justified on the principle of works, but on the principle of faith. He believed God and his faith was reckoned for righteousness. In other words, God imputed to him the righteousness of another – in light of the Cross of Calvary we know it was the righteousness of God in Christ.
But in these verses, Paul, the brilliant legal counselor before, as it were, this august courtroom, bids Abraham step aside. He now brings to the witness stand David the king, the next most celebrated personality of the Hebrew Bible. Whatever is said about David must arrest the attention of every Israelite, because he is the royal personage to whom every head is raised. In the ranks of Israel, David is the one who is never for-gotten, and even today the Star of David is the one emblem to which the Jews universally cling. This is noteworthy. What then shall be the testimony rendered concerning this man David? Will he be justified on the principle of works? The very suggestion of such a thought brings into sharp relief the memorable failure and black sin that stained the royal escutcheon of the house of David. Of all the tragic blots on the illustrious personalities that march across the pages of the Hebrew Bible, none is so regrettable as David’s sin. Somehow we think of David as a splendid character. He was noble in every respect. His valor and courage have captivated the imagination of youthful readers of the Hebrew Bible. Many a boy has been to Sunday school and in vivid imagination has stood in the shoes of David as he picked five smooth stones from the brook, put one of them in his sling, and felled the giant in the Valley of Elah. Even as we consider the sin of David when he caused the death of a dear and courageous man of God whose wife he stole to satisfy personal lust, we must keep in mind that although he had that one black sin on his record he was otherwise a marvelous personality, a giant of accomplishment on the field of honor. It is recorded that he was a man after God’s own heart and how true this was concerning the general tenor of his life; but there was one dark stain on it.
Therefore, what shall be the evidence before this court of law in Romans 4? Here is the testimony: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” Briefly pausing at the end of verse 6, we might expect to hear David recount some of the magnificent acts of valor that he did on the field of battle before the Lord’s enemies, or how many things he did to befriend the downtrodden, those in debt, discontented, and unhappy. He might have told about the happiness of the man who cut off Goliath’s head and whose praises were sung by the women throughout the land of Israel. How David's soul must have thrilled to such acclamation. He might have told about his happiness in fellowship with Jonathan, the devoted one whom he loved as his own soul. He might have told about his exploits with Saul who pursued him for his life, and about cutting off the skirt of Saul’s garment to show he had his enemy in his power, yet forgave him and let him go. So many acts David could recount before this court while on the witness stand. His testimony might have been that, in spite of his sin, he had lived through an illustrious career and victorious times far outnumbered the valleys of depression. All this could have been the testimony rendered by David. It is surprising when we come to verse 7 – David passes over all his deeds of merit, his feats of courage, his honorable accomplishments, and with childlike simplicity he says: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” It is as though we asked David, “Looking back over your brilliant career of great exploits, what episode gave you most happiness?” And his answer, “The day I learned that God forgave my sins.” True happiness is not fame; it is not the high lights of life that shine so illustriously before men. David says true happiness is to know our iniquities are forgiven and our sins are covered.
Do we know this true happiness? It is not simply that our sins and iniquities have been forgotten, but they have been covered – put out of sight under the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin. The word “atonement” means “covering,” and if we trust Him, God has covered our sins with the blood of Christ. In other words, when the Lord Jesus shed His blood on Calvary He was dying the death our sins deserved, so our iniquities are covered, we go free, and are declared righteous before God. This, the second witness, David the king, says is true happiness. “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” True happiness comes when we know that all sins have been put away. True peace cannot be enjoyed until that moment. Unless our spirit is at peace with God we are not really happy. We can have this peace only by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
