Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 4:6
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
6. Even as David also ] In Psalms 32. This quotation is specially to the point, being not only an inspired statement of truth, but made by one who had been guilty of deep “ungodliness,” and had himself experienced justification under that condition. “ Also: ” i.e. as well as Moses in Genesis. Rom 4:6-8 are quite subordinate to the main argument, which is throughout based on Abraham’s justification.
describeth the blessedness ] More lit. expresses the congratulation. The word rendered “blessedness” here and in Rom 4:9 is properly “the pronouncing happy.” It is just this which is done in Psa 32:1-2.
imputeth righteousness ] As it is implied that He does when we read that He “will not impute sin ” to him (Rom 4:8). Not that the two phrases are exactly coincident: to “impute righteousness ” implies a largeness of acceptance not necessary in the other phrase. But, taken with the word “ blessed,” the non-imputation of sin is practically equivalent to the imputation of righteousness; for such “blessedness” imports a full and solemn acceptance. The latter phrase well illustrates the former: in the latter, man has sin, but is treated as having it not; in the former he has not righteousness, but is treated as having it: “righteousness is reckoned to him without works.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Even as David – The apostle having adduced the example of Abraham to show that the doctrine which he was defending was not new, and contrary to the Old Testament, proceeds to adduce the case of David also; and to show that he understood the same doctrine of justification without works.
Describeth – Speaks of.
The blessedness – The happiness; or the desirable state or condition.
Unto whom God imputeth righteousness – Whom God treats as righteous, or as entitled to his favor in a way different from his conformity to the Law. This is found in Psa 32:1-11. And the whole scope and design of the psalm is to show the blessedness of the man who is forgiven, and whose sins are not charged on him, but who is freed from the punishment due to his sins. Being thus pardoned, he is treated as a righteous man. And it is evidently in this sense that the apostle uses the expression imputeth righteousness, that is, he does not impute, or charge on the man his sins; he reckons and treats him as a pardoned and righteous man; Psa 32:2. See the note at Rom 4:3. He regards him as one who is forgiven and admitted to his favor, and who is to be treated henceforward as though he had not sinned. That is, he partakes of the benefits of Christs atonement, so as not henceforward to be treated as a sinner, but as a friend of God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rom 4:6-8
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
Imputed righteousness defended against its caricatures
It has been represented as–
I. A legal fiction. We protest against this if the expression be meant anything unreal or untrue.
1. We make this statement with a limitation because there are some legal fictions which are very far from being unreal. It is a legal fiction to say that the king can do no wrong; for unquestionably in his private and personal capacity he may even be guilty of crime; but in his public and official capacity, as the head of the State, he is held in the law of this country to be irresponsible, and the errors or crimes of the government are imputed to his constitutional advisers, who are regarded, by reason of their official position, as alone answerable for them. It is a legal fiction to say that the king never dies; for as an individual he cannot escape the doom of the meanest of his subjects; but royalty survives the person of the monarch. It is a legal fiction to say that the Commons of England are assembled in Parliament; for they are there only in the persons of their representatives; and yet the whole nation is bound by their acts, and subject to be governed, taxed, fined, and imprisoned, or even put to death, according to their laws. It is a legal fiction, and a far from seemly one, to speak of the omnipotence of Parliament; yet that irreverent expression contains the important truth that the supreme power, which must exist in every form of government, and from whose judgment there is no appeal, is vested in the legislative and executive authorities of the State. Is constitutional government, therefore, a legal fiction, in the sense of being unreal or unconnected with grave responsibilities? Or was adoption, according to the Romish Jurisprudence, which regarded one as the son of another in law who was not his son by birth, a legal fiction, or a privilege of no real worth when it constituted a new relation between those who were not related before, and conveyed a legal right of inheritance? Or is the rule that the wife is one in law with her husband an unreal thing, when it invests him with serious liabilities? These examples should dispel the prejudice which is excited against imputation when it is described as a legal fiction, since although legal fictions they express important truths.
2. Suppose that it were justly described as a legal fiction it might still represent an important truth, under the scheme of Gods moral government.
(1) If He has promulgated His law in a covenant form, as a law for the race at large, and imposed it on the first Adam as their representative, then that constitution must be productive of results in which they as well as he will be found to participate; and yet these consequences, so far from being mere legal fictions, are assuredly very solemn realities: the curse on the ground, the doom of death, the loss of Gods image, the forfeiture of His favour, and all the evils which have followed in the train of sin,–all these are brought upon us under the operation of that law, and every one of them is real.
(2) In like manner if God has promulgated a scheme of redeeming mercy, and this, too, in a covenant form, through the second Adam as the representative of His people, imposing upon Him the fulfilment of its conditions, and securing to them the benefits of His work on their behalf, then this constitution must be productive of results, in which they as well as He will be found to participate; and yet these results, so far from being legal fictions, are substantial blessings of the highest and most permanent kind: pardon, the restoration of Gods favour, renewal in His image, adoption, eternal life. Hence it is vain to talk of legal fictions whether under law or gospel; for while condemnation on the one hand and justification on the other are strictly forensic acts, and must necessarily have some relation to the justice of God, and while the representative character both of the first and second Adam, and the consequent imputation of their guilt and righteousness to those whom they represented, can only be ascribed to the sovereign will of God, yet the results are real and not fictitious.
II. A theory invented by man to account for these results. A similar prejudice exists against all the peculiar revelations of Scripture, as if they were matters of speculative interest, rather than of practical importance. Yet nothing is more remarkable in the doctrines of Christianity than this, that every one of them is simply the statement of a fact, and that they all relate either to substantive beings–God, angels, and men, or to real events, past, present, or future. What is the doctrine of God but the revelation of His existence, and of the perfections which belong to Him as the Creator and Governor of the world? What is the doctrine of the Trinity but the statement of a fact respecting the existence of distinct hypostases in His one undivided Godhead. What is the doctrine of the Incarnation but the statement of a fact respecting the union of the Divine and human natures in the Person of our Lord? And in like manner, what is the doctrine of Imputation, whether of sin or righteousness, but the statement of a fact respecting the relation in which we stand to the first or second Adam, and the consequences which result to us from the disobedience of the one, and the obedience of the other? No doubt, when these facts are revealed, and become the subjects of human thought, they may occasion speculation, and speculation may give birth to wild theories, when unrestrained by faith; but let the facts be believed on the testimony of the Revealer, let them be duly realised in their full Scriptural meaning, and in their application to our own souls–and we may safely discard every human theory, and adhere only to the truth as it has been taught by God. (R. Buchanan, D. D.)
The pleading of poverty in order to salvation
There is a legal process in which a person pleads before the court in what is called in forma pauperis, that is, he pleads as a poor man, he pleads his poverty; and there are certain privileges allowed to those who thus plead in forma pauperis which are not accorded to the wealthiest persons in the land. This is the only successful way in which to plead with God: we must come as paupers, having nothing of our own; giving up every pretence of right or claim of deserving. We must cry, Lord, I am lost! I am lost! I am lost! but Thou hast lived and Thou hast died; Thy life, Thy sufferings, Thy griefs, Thy groans, Thy death, all these were for those who needed such a sin-atoning sacrifice, and on that sacrifice by blood I rest; I cast myself, lost and ruined, upon the work which Jesus Christ has done for me! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.
Forgiveness
I. Its nature.
1. A non-imputation of the offence.
2. A covering of its guilt.
3. A remission of its punishment.
II. The act.
1. Divine.
2. Just.
3. Through faith in Christ.
III. Its blessedness. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Aspects of forgiveness
Sin–
I. Forgiven, as a debt we are unable to pay.
II. Covered, as an object not to be looked upon by a holy God (Hab 1:13).
III. Not imputed, as a crime deserving eternal death (Rom 6:23). (T. Robinson, D. D.)
Forgiveness of sin
True happiness consists not in beauty, honour, riches (the worlds trinity), but in the forgiveness of sin. The Hebrew word signifies to carry out of sight (Jer 50:20). This blessing is the foundation for all other mercies.
I. It is an act of Gods free grace. The Greek word deciphers the original of pardon: it ariseth not from anything inherent in us, but is the pure result of free grace (Isa 43:25). When a creditor forgives a debtor, he does it freely. Paul cries out (1Ti 1:13), I obtained mercy (Gr., I was be-mercied). He who is pardoned is all bestowed with mercy. When God pardons a sinner, He does not pay a debt, but gives a legacy.
II. It is a remission of guilt and penalty. Guilt cries for justice, but in remission God indulges the sinner. He seems to say, Though thou hast fallen into the hands of justice and deservest to die, yet I will absolve thee, and whatever is charged upon thee shall be discharged.
III. It is through the blood of Christ. Free grace is the impulsive cause; Christs blood is the meritorious (Heb 9:22). Justice would be revenged either on the sinner or on the surety. Every pardon is the price of blood.
IV. It must be preceded by repentance. Therefore both are linked together (Luk 24:47). Not that repentance merits forgiveness: Christs blood must wash our tears; but repentance is a qualification though not a cause. He who is humbled for sin will the more value pardoning mercy.
V. God having forgiven sin will call it no more into remembrance (Jer 31:34). The Lord will make an act of indemnity. He will not upbraid us with former unkindnesses, or sue us with a cancelled bond (Mic 7:19). Sin shall not be cast into the sea as a cork which riseth up again, but as lead which sinks to the bottom. (T. Watson.)
The blessedness of conscious forgiveness
There is no true felicity but what is enjoyed, and felicity cannot be enjoyed unless it is felt; and it cannot be felt unless a man know himself to be in possession of it; and a man cannot know himself to be in possession of it if he doubt whether he has it or not; and therefore this doubting of the remission of sins is contrary to true felicity, and is nothing else but a torment of the conscience. For a man cannot doubt whether his sins are pardoned or not, but the thought of his sin will strike a great fear in him; but the assurance of his pardon will fill him with joy unspeakable. (W. Perkin.)
Iniquities forgiven
Sometimes men complain of the doctrine of a regenerated life as if it were a requisition; it is not–it is a refuge. Oh, what would not a criminal who, at thirty-five years of age, found himself stung with disgrace, and overwhelmed with odium, give if, in the policy of human society, there should be any method by which he could begin back again, as if he had not begun at all, and with all his accumulated experience build his character anew! But in the economy of God in Christianity there is such a thing as a man at fifty and sixty years of age–hoary-headed in transgression, deeply defiled, struck through and through with the fast colours of depravity–having a chance to become a true child again. God sets a partition wall between him and past transgressions, and says, I will remember them no more forever. (H. W. Beecher.)
The blessedness of forgiveness
It is a blessed thing for a man to have all his sins forgiven, and thus to be rescued from the curse of a broken law, and the apprehension of future wrath–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing for an apostate, alienated creature to be reconciled to the great Creator, and, in the spirit of adoption, to look up to Him as his Father, to whose favour he has been graciously restored, and from whom he shall be estranged no more–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing to be delivered from the tyranny of unholy passions, and from the dominion of an ungodly world, and to come into the glorious liberty of the moral nature, wherewith Christ makes His people free–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing to look abroad upon the face of nature, and after gazing with a delighted eye on the beauties that adorn the earth, and on the magnificence that covers the heavens, to rejoice in them as the works of Him who has called you back to the walk, and the privileges of His children, and to say with the glow of filial affection, My Father made them all–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing, amidst the trials, and difficulties, and distresses with which humanity has to struggle in this weary world, to be upheld by Divine power, to be guided by infinite wisdom, to be cheered by heavenly consolations, and to gather righteousness and joy even from the scene of tribulation in which you dwell–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing to be able to contemplate death, without being subject to the bondage of fear, to anticipate the grave as a resting place from sin and sorrow, to lie down in its peaceful bosom, with a prospect of a resurrection to life and immortality–and that blessedness is yours. It is a blessed thing, when one looks forward to the judgment and to eternity which await us all, to realise in Him who is to pronounce our doom the Saviour to whom we have committed the keeping of our souls, and in whose blood we are already washed from our sins, and to cherish the hope founded on His own faithful promise, that the portion assigned us is everlasting life–and that blessedness is yours. And, if in this state of darkness and imperfection, where our views are too often clouded, and our faith too often grows feeble, and the heart too often forgets the Rock on which it has placed its confidence for eternity–if, in these circumstances, it is a blessed thing to have access to those ordinances which have been appointed for refreshing our decayed spirits, for casting a clearer light upon the path of our pilgrimage, for bringing us nearer to the fountain of grace and comfort, and for reviving and strengthening the things that are ready to die–that blessedness also is yours. (A. Thomson, D. D.)
And whose sin is covered.–
The covering of sin
There is a covering of sin which proves a curse (Pro 28:13), which consists in not confessing it, or denying it–Gehazis covering, which was by a lie; and by justifying ourselves in it. All these are evil coverings, and he that thus covereth his sin shall not prosper. But there is a blessed covering of sin, when God hides it out of sight by forgiving it. (R. Alleine.)
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.—
How does the non-imputation of sin involve and imply the imputation of righteousness?
Because–
I. There is no vacuum in the kingdom of God. As Dean Alford says, There is no negative state of innocence–none intermediate between acceptance for righteousness and rejection for sin.
II. The negative process of remission of sin and the positive process of imputation of righteousness are really one, and only capable of being separated in thought. To say that the bucket has been let down into the well when not dry is the same as to say that the bucket is full of water.
III. Both of these processes presuppose each other, like the rising of one scale presupposes the falling of the other, and vice versa. Righteousness could not be imputed unless sin be forgiven; while sin could only be forgiven in view of the righteousness provided and imputed. (C. Neil, M. A.)
The blessedness of justification
Pardon of sin is the general wish of gospel hearers; and it is also the general hope of all, live as they may. But bare wishes and hopes effect nothing; they do not prevail over sinners in general to seek for pardon in Gods appointed way; and yet they are generally blessed who are pardoned.
I. The man who is pardoned is blessed–
1. With respect to God in the person of the Father, as the moral Governor, and as the God of salvation. God has forgiven all his sins–past, present, and to come.
2. He is blessed by God, in the person of the Son, with perfect Christian liberty and freedom from all the demands of law and justice.
3. He is blessed by God the Holy Ghost, who effects that work in him by which he receives Christ, and the pardon of sin with Him; and the Spirit makes his body a temple to dwell in.
4. He is blessed with perfect deliverance from all danger by Satan, that cruel and bitter enemy who has destroyed so many.
5. He is blessed with perfect deliverance from the danger of sin, which has been the ruin of all who have perished, and will be the ruin of all who shall perish.
6. He is blessed with deliverance from the second death.
7. He is graciously blessed with grace in the heart. This is the leaven which will not cease. Every grace now takes root in the soul; and the believer learns to exercise each in its proper place.
8. Now he can lay hold of the promises in Christ as his own; and, while he can act every spiritual grace in measure and degree, he lives by faith in the Lord Jesus, and has an interest in the great and precious promises, by which he is made partaker of the Divine nature, and is blessed with the enjoyment of all the promises, which all in Christ are yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God by us.
9. He is blessed with the law of God written in his heart, and has a right to enjoy all the blessings of the covenant which is ordered in all things and sure. He is daily conforming more and more to the Divine image, and is daily more and more made meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.
II. The means by which this blessedness is obtained on our part is faith.
1. To ascertain this principle we must consider the doctrine of regeneration, by which we understand a saving change effected in the believer by the gracious influences and operations of the Holy Spirit, for Christs sake.
2. When this saving change is effected, the believer is considered in Scripture as a new creature–a new man–created in Christ Jesus unto good works; and the confidence and reliance of this new man upon the Lord Jesus Christ is called faith. (James Kidd, D. D.)
Non-imputation of sin
Mr. Lyford, a Puritan divine, a few days previous to his death, being desired by his friends to give them some account of his hopes, replied, I will let you know how it is with me, and on what ground I stand. Here is the great punishment of sin on the one hand; and here am I, a poor sinful creature, on the other; but this is my comfort, the covenant of grace, established upon so many sure promises, hath satisfied all. The act of oblivion passed in heaven is, I will forgive their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more, saith the Lord. This is the blessed privilege of all within the covenant, of whom I am one I know my interest in Christ Therefore my sins, being laid on Him, shall never be charged on me.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. Even as David also, c.] David, in Ps 32:1-2, gives us also the true notion of this way of justification, i.e. by faith, without the merit of works, where he says: –
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To the example of Abraham taken from Moses, he adjoins the testimony of David, that so he might more fully prove what he had asserted, Rom 3:21; both the one and the other were of great authority amongst the Jews. Here it may be objected, that David no where says, that he is blessed
unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
Answer. Though the words be no where extant in David, yet the sense is, as appears in what follows. {see Rom 4:7}
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6-8. David alsodescribeth“speaketh,” “pronounceth.”
the blessedness of the manunto whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without workswhom,though void of all good works, He, nevertheless, regards and treatsas righteous.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man,…. the apostle having instanced in Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, cites some passages from David, king of Israel, a person of great note and esteem among the Jews, in favour of the doctrine he is establishing; who in a very proper and lively manner describes the happiness of such persons:
unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. This righteousness cannot be the righteousness of the law, or man’s obedience to it; for that is a righteousness with works, is a man’s own, and not imputed; and indeed is not a righteousness in the sight of God: nor does man’s blessedness lie in, or come by it; no man is, or can be instilled by it, nor saved by it, or attain to heaven and eternal happiness by the means of it; but the righteousness here spoken of is the righteousness of Christ, called the righteousness of God; and is better than that of angels or men; is complete and perfect; by which the law is honoured, and justice is satisfied. This is freely bestowed, and graciously “imputed” by God. Just in the same way his righteousness becomes ours, as Adam’s sin did, which is by imputation; or in the same way that our sins became Christ’s, his righteousness becomes ours; and as we have no righteousness of our own when God justifies us, this must be done by the righteousness of another; and that can be done no other way by the righteousness of another, than by imputing it to us: and which is done “without works”; not without the works of Christ, of which this righteousness consists; but without the works of the creature, or any consideration of them, which are utterly excluded from justification; for if these came into account, it would not be of grace, and boasting would not be removed. Now such who have this righteousness thus imputed to them, are happy persons; they are justified from all sin, and freed from all condemnation; their persons and services are acceptable to God; it will be always well with them; they are heirs of glory, and shall enjoy it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Pronounceth blessing ( ). old word from , to pronounce blessed (Lu 1:48), felicitation, congratulation, in N.T. only here, verse Rom 4:9; Acts 4:15.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Describeth the blessedness [ ] . Makarismov does not mean blessedness, but the declaration of blessedness, the congratulation. So Plato : “The man of understanding will not suffer himself to be dazzled by the congratulation [] of the multitude (” Republic,” 9, 591). Compare Gal 4:15 (Rev.), and see note there. Rev., correctly, pronounceth blessing.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Even as David also describeth,” (kathaper kai David legei) “Just as David relates,” or testifies, that Salvation and pardon come to one, just as Paul had related it, regarding the example of Abraham. Psa 40:4; Jer 17:7.
2) “The blessedness of the man,” (ton makarismon tou anthropou) “The blessed state of man,” pronounces blessings on the man who believes in Christ, before he has done any good works, and without any acceptance benefits required for his Salvation, Psa 2:12; Psa 32:1; Psa 34:8; Psa 40:1-3; Joh 20:29.
3) “Unto whom God imputeth righteousness,” (o ho theos logizetai dikaosunen) “To whom God reckons, imputes, computes, or counts righteousness,” transfers Divine righteousness to his account, because of the substitutionary death and righteousness of Christ for believing sinners, 2Co 5:21; Phm 1:18; 1Co 1:29-30.
4) “Without works,” (choris ergon) “Without or apart from works or deeds of moral and ethical conduct,” even as he had done to Abraham, before Abraham’s good works, circumcision, etc. Rom 4:1-5; Rom 11:6; Tit 35.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. As David also defines, etc. We hence see the sheer sophistry of those who limit the works of the law to ceremonies; for he now simply calls those works, without anything added, which he had before called the works of the law. Since no one can deny that a simple and unrestricted mode of speaking, such as we find here, ought to be understood of every work without any difference, the same view must be held throughout the whole argument. There is indeed nothing less reasonable than to remove from ceremonies only the power of justifying, since Paul excludes all works indefinitely. To the same purpose is the negative clause, — that God justifies men by not imputing sin: and by these words we are taught that righteousness, according to Paul, is nothing else than the remission of sins; and further, that this remission is gratuitous, because it is imputed without works, which the very name of remission indicates; for the creditor who is paid does not remit, but he who spontaneously cancels the debt through mere kindness. Away, then, with those who teach us to redeem pardon for our sins by satisfactions; for Paul borrows an argument from this pardon to prove the gratuitous gift of righteousness. (135) How then is it possible for them to agree with Paul? They say, “We must satisfy by works the justice of God, that we may obtain the pardon of our sins:” but he, on the contrary, reasons thus, — “The righteousness of faith is gratuitous, and without works, because it depends on the remission of sins.” Vicious, no doubt, would be this reasoning, if any works interposed in the remission of sins.
Dissipated also, in like manner, by the words of the Prophet, are the puerile fancies of the schoolmen respecting half remission. Their childish fiction is, — that though the fault is remitted, the punishment is still retained by God. But the Prophet not only declares that our sins are covered, that is, removed from the presence of God; but also adds, that they are not imputed. How can it be consistent, that God should punish those sins which he does not impute? Safe then does this most glorious declaration remain to us — “That he is justified by faith, who is cleared before God by a gratuitous remission of his sins.” We may also hence learn, the unceasing perpetuity of gratuitous righteousness through life: for when David, being wearied with the continual anguish of his own conscience, gave utterance to this declaration, he no doubt spoke according to his own experience; and he had now served God for many years. He then had found by experience, after having made great advances, that all are miserable when summoned before God’s tribunal; and he made this avowal, that there is no other way of obtaining blessedness, except the Lord receives us into favor by not imputing our sins. Thus fully refuted also is the romance of those who dream, that the righteousness of faith is but initial, and that the faithful afterwards retain by works the possession of that righteousness which they had first attained by no merits.
It invalidates in no degree what Paul says, that works are sometimes imputed for righteousness, and that other kinds of blessedness are mentioned. It is said in Psa 106:30, that it was imputed to Phinehas, the Lord’s priest, for righteousness, because he took away reproach from Israel by inflicting punishment on an adulterer and a harlot. It is true, we learn from this passage, that he did a righteous deed; but we know that a person is not justified by one act. What is indeed required is perfect obedience, and complete in all its parts, according to the import of the promise, —
“
He who shall do these things shall live in them.” (Deu 4:1.)
How then was this judgment which he inflicted imputed to him for righteousness? He must no doubt have been previously justified by the grace of God: for they who are already clothed in the righteousness of Christ, have God not only propitious to them, but also to their works, the spots and blemishes of which are covered by the purity of Christ, lest they should come to judgment. As works, infected with no defilements, are alone counted just, it is quite evident that no human work whatever can please God, except through a favor of this kind. But if the righteousness of faith is the only reason why our works are counted just, you see how absurd is the argument, — “That as righteousness is ascribed to works, righteousness is not by faith only.” But I set against them this invincible argument, that all works are to be condemned as those of unrighteousness, except a man be justified solely by faith.
The like is said of blessedness: they are pronounced blessed who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways, (Psa 128:1,) who meditate on his law day and night, (Psa 1:2 🙂 but as no one doeth these things so perfectly as he ought, so as fully to come up to God’s command, all blessedness of this kind is nothing worth, until we be made blessed by being purified and cleansed through the remission of sins, and thus cleansed, that we may become capable of enjoying that blessedness which the Lord promises to his servants for attention to the law and to good works. Hence the righteousness of works is the effect of the righteousness of God, and the blessedness arising from works is the effect of the blessedness which proceeds from the remission of sins. Since the cause ought not and cannot be destroyed by its own effect, absurdly do they act, who strive to subvert the righteousness of faith by works.
But some one may say, “Why may we not maintain, on the ground of these testimonies, that man is justified and made blessed by works? for the words of Scripture declare that man is justified and made blessed by works as well as by faith.” Here indeed we must consider the order of causes as well as the dispensation of God’s grace: for inasmuch as whatever is declared, either of the righteousness of works or of the blessedness arising from them, does not exist, until this only true righteousness of faith has preceded, and does alone discharge all its offices, this last must be built up and established, in order that the other may, as a fruit from a tree, grow from it and flourish.
(135) Speaking of this righteousness, [ Pareus ] says, “It is not ours, otherwise God would not gratuitously impute it, but bestow it as a matter of right; nor is it a habit or quality, for it is without works, and imputed to the ungodly, who have habitually nothing but iniquities; but it is a gratuitous remission, a covering, a non-imputation of sins.”
It is a striking proof of what the Apostle had in view here, that he stop short and does not quote the whole verse from Psa 32:2. He leaves out, “and in whose spirit there is no guile:” and why? Evidently because his subject is justification, and not sanctification. He has thus most clearly marked the difference between the two.
Sins may be said to be “forgiven” or remitted, because they are debts, and “covered,” because they are filthy and abominable in the sight of God: and they are said to be “not imputed,” or not put to one’s account, in order to convey an assurance, that they are wholly removed, and shall be no more remembered. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Even as.In strict accordance with this description of the justified state we have another, that of David.
Describeth the blessedness.Rather, speaks the felicitation, felicitates, or pronounces blessed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(6-8) A further instance of the nature of the justification which proceeds from faith is supplied by David. From his evidence it will appear that such justification implies, not the absence of sin, but its forgiveness; not its real obliteration, but the forbearance of God to impute it. It is an amnesty, not an acquittal.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Even as David As Abraham is the instance, being the justified man, so David is the witness, describing the justified man.
Imputeth righteousness By holding him righteous, though intrinsically, through his past history, a sinner.
Without works As a hire or pay for the righteousness reckoned or imputed; though not without works as the sequence of faith’s true self-surrender unto all goodness, energized by the Holy Spirit.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Even as David also pronounces blessing on the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works, saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom,
The Lord will not in any way (ou me) reckon sin.’
He then proceeds to amplify his argument with reference to David’s words in Psa 32:1-2. David speaks on behalf of those who had come to God, calling on Him to ‘reckon them as righteous apart from works’, purely on the basis of His compassion and mercy. And what did God do in response their plea? He blessed them, and all who similarly called upon him. The word for ‘blessed’ indicates the highest state of felicity. He declared that their iniquities were forgiven and their sins covered, and that He would not therefore ‘reckon their sin against them’, which ultimately indicated that God would look on them as innocent, as reckoned as righteous, as reckoned as having not sinned. Here then, says Paul, we have another example of God’s methods which ties in with Rom 3:28.
Note here that there can be no question of any works entering in. It is their sins that are not reckoned to them. They are forgiven and covered. And the implication is that this makes them acceptable to God. Note also what these words tell us about the character of God. They tell us that He is not only just and holy but is also merciful and longsuffering, and that He reaches out to the ungodly. They tell us that He is ever ready to receive those who come to Him through faith. No matter what their state may be at the time, if they come to Him in faith He will receive them and ‘reckon them as righteous’ (that is, will not reckon their sin against them) through faith in Jesus Christ.
The same was true of David. He was an adulterer and murderer. And yet he could say, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom, the Lord will not reckon sin.” In other words, he was conscious that he had been forgiven, and that he was accounted as righteous in God’s sight. And how was it so? By believing the words of the prophet who came to him with God’s offer of mercy. He believed God and was accounted as righteous.
Thus Scripture clearly demonstrates that for a man to be accounted righteous he must believe God when God speaks to him. ‘The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God’ (1Co 1:18). He must be accounted as righteous ‘by faith’, by believing. And if neither Abraham nor David could claim the ground of works, how can we possibly do so?
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A proof from the Psalms:
v. 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
v. 7. saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
v. 8. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. The apostle here introduces a new witness to the truth of the comforting doctrine which he is teaching. Gen 15:6 agrees exactly with Psa 32:1-2. Just as also David expresses, pronounces, blessing, speaks the felicitations of the man. The whole passage from David is a declaration concerning the happiness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness aside from works, without reference to anything that he has done. Here righteousness is represented as the immediate object of God’s imputation, identical with the imputation of faith unto righteousness. The absence of all possible merit on the part of man is most emphatically brought out. As in the days of Abraham, in the beginning of Old Testament history, so during the Golden Age of the Jewish people, the one way of salvation was taught, which is now proclaimed to all men through the Gospel. Blessed are the people whose transgressions of the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered over. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not impute. To impute righteousness without works, and freely to forgive sins, evidently are one and the same thing to Paul. Forgiving, or remitting, sin, covering up sin, not taking sin into account, are all parallel expressions for that of justifying a sinner. The declaration of the acceptability before God is thus also an actual bestowal of His grace, an actual acceptance with God. The consequences of sin may still be present, but the Lord’s forgiveness covers it up before His own eyes, “making it invisible before the holy God and just as if it had not happened. ” The act of justification and the act of forgiveness of sins are identical. “This word shows with more than sufficient emphasis how Paul understands justification. Not as a moral change of man, nor yet as a divine recognition of a corresponding moral condition of man, but identical with forgiveness of sins, as acceptableness of man in the eyes of God in spite of the absence of a corresponding moral quality. ” (Luthardt.)
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rom 4:6-8 . Accordance ( ) of Rom 4:5 with an assertion of David , that great and revered Messianic authority. That it is only what is said in Rom 4:5 that is to be vouched by David’s testimony, and consequently that the quotation forms only an accessory element in the argument, appears from its being annexed by , from the clear intended relation in which . . appears to . . . . . Rom 4:5 , as well as to . in the same verse, and from the fact that Paul immediately, in Rom 4:9 , returns to Abraham. Rom 4:6-8 cannot therefore be regarded as a second example of justification from the O. T. (Reiche and many others), or even as the starting-point of the reply to the question of Rom 4:1 (Hofmann). This is forbidden by the proper conception of in Rom 3:31 , in accordance with which Paul could only employ an example from the law: and such an example was that of Abraham , Gen 15 , but not that of David .
. .] asserts the congratulation ; does not mean blessedness , not even in Gal 4:15 , see in loc [986] Comp Plat. Rep. p. 591 D; Aristot. Rhet. i. 9, 4.
] Here is conceived directly as that, which God reckons to man as his moral status. The expression is perfectly analogous. In the classics is also frequently met with.
] belongs to . For, as David represents the as the forgiveness of sins , it must be conceived by him as ensuing without any participation (Rom 3:21 ) of meritorious works .
. . [988] ] Psa 32:1-2 exactly after the LXX.
.] The amnesty under the figure of the covering over of sin. Comp Augustine on Ps. l.c [990] , “Si texit Deus peccata, noluit animadvertere; si noluit animadvertere, noluit punire.” Comp 1Pe 4:8 .
] will certainly not impute . It refers to the future generally, without more precise definition (Hermann, a [992] Soph. Oed. C. 853; Hartung, Partikel . II. p. 156 f.), not specially to the final judgment (de Wette).
[986] n loc. refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[988] . . . .
[990] .c. loco citato or laudato .
[992] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, (7) Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (8) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
The Apostle in those verses, proceeds to another similar case in point, yet further to illustrate this very important doctrine He brings forward the prophet David, as instructing the Church in one of his Psalms, on the same grounds, of justification before God, in the righteousness of God. And he states this as a point of great blessedness, where God imputeth righteousness without works. There are two or three very striking things, in this passage of David’s Psalm, as quoted and applied by the Apostle, which merit our notice; and I beg the Reader’s permission to point them out as they strike me, Psa 32:1-2 .
First. That it is God’s righteousness, and not man’s. For what is imputed from another, cannot in the nature of things be his, to whom it is imputed, until by imputation it is made so. Secondly. It being called God’s righteousness, when it is Christ’s righteousness, which is the thing imputed, most decidedly proves Christ to be God. Thirdly. It being said to be imputed from God without works plainly manifests, that it is God’s free grace, and not man’s merit, for which it is imputed. Nothing in the receiver becoming in the least a predisposing cause; but being wholly by grace from the Giver, from beginning to end. Fourthly. The blessedness which is said to follow the possession by faith of this righteousness; decidedly shews, the union with Christ, from communion in all the benefits of Christ; as the in-dwelling sin of nature proves our being descended from Adam, by the effects of sin which follow in the same acts of Adam’s transgression. As, by generation from the first Adam, we derive a nature corrupt and sinful: So, by regeneration in the second Adam, we are proved to be of the seed of Christ, and made the righteousness of God in him, 2Co 5:21 . Lastly. To mention no more; let not the Reader overlook the alteration which the Apostle hath made in those words of David, when quoting them in proof, to the support of this doctrine. David speaks but of one person. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered. But Paul speaks of many. Blessed are they (saith he) whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. But where lies the difference? It is only in the application to the whole Church, both Jew and Gentile, when after redemption-work had been finished by Christ, the Holy Ghost commissions the Apostle, to tell the whole mystical body of Christ, that all that are Christ’s, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, are included in the same salvation. If ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise, Gal 3:28-29 . I detain the Reader one moment longer to remark, how very sweet those passages in the word of God are, (as is the case here,) when scripture explains scripture. When the Almighty Author of his most sacred Word, causeth one servant to open and explain, what the Lord had before given by another servant to the Church on those most interesting points. It is what the wise man calls, like apples of gold in pictures of silver, Pro 25:11 . scripture explains scripture. When the Almighty Author of his most sacred Word, causeth one servant to open and explain, what the Lord had before given by another servant to the Church on those most interesting points. It is what the wise man calls, like apples of gold in pictures of silver, Pro 25:11 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Ver. 6. Unto whom God imputeth ] Ten times the apostle mentioneth this grace of imputed righteousness in this chapter. Yet the Papists jeer it, calling it putative righteousness, so speaking evil of the things they know not. Stories tell us of a Popish bishop that lighting by chance upon this chapter, threw away the book in great displeasure, and said, O Paule, an tu quoque Lutheranus factus es? Art thou also a Lutheran, Paul? But if the faith of another may be profitable to infants at their baptism, as Bellarmine holdeth, why should it seem so absurd a thing, that Christ’s righteousness imputed should profit those that believe on him? The Jews indeed at this day being asked, Whether they believe to be saved by Christ’s righteousness? They answer, That every fox must pay his own skin to the slayer. Thus they reject the righteousness of God, Rom 10:3 . As their fathers did, so do they, Act 7:51 . The Lord open their eyes, that they may convert and be saved.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6 8. ] The same is confirmed by a passage from David . This is not a fresh example, but a confirmation of the assertion involved in Rom 4:5 , that a man may believe on Him who justifies the ungodly, and have his faith reckoned for righteousness. The applicability of the text depends on the persons alluded to being sinners , and having sin not reckoned to them .
and are the two words to be illustrated. The Psalm, strictly speaking, says nothing of the imputation of righteousness , but it is implied by Paul, that the remission of sin is equivalent to the imputation of righteousness that there is no negative state of innocence none intermediate between acceptance for righteousness, and rejection for sin.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
6. . . ] pronounces the blessedness , ‘the congratulation :’ in allusion perhaps to the Heb. form, ‘( O) the blessings of ,’. It is very clear that this righteousness must be , because its imputation consists in the remission and hiding of offences , whereas none can be legally righteous in whom there is any, even the smallest offence.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 4:6 ff. : David is not a new illustration of this doctrine, but a new witness to it. The argument just based on Gen 15:6 is in agreement with what he says in the 32nd Psalm. The quotation exactly reproduces the LXX. : “pronounceth blessing upon the man,” etc. (R.V.): or, speaks the felicitation of the man. He does so in the exclamation with which the Psalm opens. Obviously to impute righteousness without works, and freely to forgive sins, are to Paul one and the same thing. Yet the former is not a merely negative idea: there is in it an actual bestowment of grace, an actual acceptance with God, as unlike as possible to the establishment of an unprejudiced neutrality between God and man, to which the forgiveness of sins is sometimes reduced.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
describeth = says of.
blessedness. Greek. makarismos. Here, Rom 4:9. Gal 1:4, Gal 1:15.
man. App-123.
imputeth. Same as “count”, Rom 4:3.
without = apart from. See Rom 3:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6-8.] The same is confirmed by a passage from David. This is not a fresh example, but a confirmation of the assertion involved in Rom 4:5, that a man may believe on Him who justifies the ungodly, and have his faith reckoned for righteousness. The applicability of the text depends on the persons alluded to being sinners, and having sin not reckoned to them.
and are the two words to be illustrated. The Psalm, strictly speaking, says nothing of the imputation of righteousness,-but it is implied by Paul, that the remission of sin is equivalent to the imputation of righteousness-that there is no negative state of innocence-none intermediate between acceptance for righteousness, and rejection for sin.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 4:6. , even) after the law was given by Moses.-, David) David is very appositely introduced after Abraham, because both, being among the progenitors of the Messiah, received and propagated the promise. No direct promise regarding the Messiah was given to Moses, because the latter (Christ) is placed in opposition to the former, and was not descended from the stem of Moses.- ) he [describes] declares the blessedness of the man, , I pronounce him blessed. The words are to be thus construed: , declares without any reference to works; that is, David, in recounting the ground of bestowing salvation on man, makes no mention at all of works. The argument derived from the silence of Scripture is often quite conclusive. But David, it may be said, immediately adds, and in his spirit there is no guile, which is all the same as an allegation of works. Ans. It is not all the same. This addition has no part in the definition of the subject, but forms a part of the predicate, although not even then would the merit of works be established; for the thief who confesses his crime, and does not guilefully deny it, does not merit pardon for his offence by that confession of his. But this is the meaning: blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin: blessed is he, and in his spirit there is no guile; that is, he is sure of his condition, of the forgiveness of his sins; he may have good confidence; his spirit, his heart does not deceive him, so as to become, as it were, a , a deceitful bow, Psa 78:57. The act of Phinehas was also imputed to him for righteousness, Psa 106:31; not, indeed, in viewing it as a work: but it was, as it were, unmixed [mera] faith. He seemed neither to see nor hear anything else, by reason of his unmixed zeal, that he might maintain the honour of his God.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 4:6
Rom 4:6
Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,-David shows that the same reason which caused God to reckon Abrahams faith to him for righteousness will cause God to reckon any ones faith to him for righteousness. (Psa 32:1-2).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
imputed
Or, reckoned, i.e. put to the account of. See Phm 1:18, same word:
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
blessedness: Rom 4:9, Deu 33:29, Psa 1:1-3, Psa 112:1, Psa 146:5, Psa 146:6, Mat 5:3-12, Gal 3:8, Gal 3:9, Gal 3:14, Gal 4:15, Eph 1:3
imputeth: Rom 4:11, Rom 4:24, Rom 1:17, Rom 3:22, Rom 5:18, Rom 5:19, Isa 45:24, Isa 45:25, Isa 54:17, Jer 22:6, Jer 33:16, Dan 9:24, 1Co 1:30, 2Co 5:21, Phi 3:9, 2Pe 1:1
without: Rom 3:20, Rom 3:21, Rom 3:27, Eph 2:8-10, 2Ti 1:9
Reciprocal: Lev 17:4 – blood shall Num 22:12 – for they 2Sa 19:19 – Let not Psa 24:5 – receive Psa 32:1 – transgression Isa 59:6 – neither Mat 9:2 – be Luk 1:77 – the Act 26:18 – that they Rom 4:22 – it was imputed 2Co 5:19 – not Gal 2:16 – but Gal 3:6 – accounted Eph 1:7 – the forgiveness Col 1:14 – the 1Jo 2:12 – your
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:6
Rom 4:6. The principle of receiving favor from the Lord as a gift, and not on the basis of meritorious work, was even taught by David in old time. (Psa 32:1-2.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 4:6. Even as David also. The confirmatory illustration now introduced is from Psa 32:1-2, here attributed to David. There is significance in the fact that David himself was a sinner who had been greatly forgiven.
Pronounceth the blessedness; speaks the congratulation, the pronouncing blessed. The quotation is of forgiveness, of not being reckoned a sinner; but the Apostle takes this as equivalent to the Lord reckoneth righteousness. It is implied by Paul, that the remission of sin is equivalent to the imputation of righteousness, that there is no negative state of innocence, none intermediate between acceptance for righteousness, and rejection for sin (Alford).
Apart from works. Since the forgiveness of sins is here indicated as a part of the reckoning of righteousness, this reckoning must be apart from meritorious works, for forgiveness and merit are opposed ideas.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, That to the example of Abraham, the apostle subjoins the testimony of David, Psalms 32. who describes the blessedness of that man to whom God imputeth righteousness, to wit, the righteousness of the Mediator, without any works brought before God to be justified by, saying, Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, and iniquity not imputed. Sin, in respect of the offence, is remitted; in respect of the filth or turpitude of it, is covered; in respect of the punishment, not imputed. This heap of words, serves only to amplify and set forth the abundant grace of God in the act of pardoning sin.
Learn hence, 1. That to pardon sin, is God’s prerogative; he forgiveth iniquity, and covereth transgression.
2. That pardon of sin is a covering of sin; not such a covering of sin, as that God cannot see it in a justied person, to chastise him for it; but so covered, as not to punish him with wrath and condemnation for it.
Learn, 3. That God’s act in pardoning and covering sin, is extensive and perfect, full and final: Iniquity, transgression, and sin, is forgiven covered, and not imputed.
Learn, 4. That transcendent is the blessedness of those whose iniquity is pardoned, and their transgression covered. Blessedness, says the original, belong to the man whos iniquity is forgiven, and whose sin is coveredd, and to whom the Lord will not impute transgression.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Rom 4:6-8. Even as David also David is fitly introduced after Abraham, because he also received and delivered down the promise; describeth the blessedness or happiness of the man Or affirms that the man is blessed, or happy; unto whom God imputeth righteousness Or whom he accounts righteous, accepts as such; without works That is, without regard to any former good works supposed to have been done by him. Saying, Blessed Greek, , happy are they whose iniquities are forgiven Are no longer laid to their charge, and therefore whose obligation to punishment is cancelled. Whose sins are covered
With the veil of divine mercy, being expiated by the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah. Blessed, or happy, is the man to whom Though he hath sinned formerly, perhaps very often, and very heinously, yet the Lord will not impute sin Here four expressions, the forgiveness of sin, the non- imputation of sin, the imputation of righteousness, and justification, are used as synonymous. Well might the psalmist say, that those who receive this inestimable blessing are happy; for surely, if there be such a thing as happiness on earth, it is the portion of that man whose iniquities are forgiven: and who enjoys the manifestation of that pardon, with all the blessed effects of it! Well may he endure all the afflictions of life with cheerfulness, and look upon death with comfort! O let us not contend against it, but earnestly pray that this happiness may be ours! We may observe further here, that these two examples of Abraham and David are selected and applied with the utmost judgment and propriety. Abraham was the most illustrious pattern of piety among the Jewish patriarchs, David was the most eminent of their kings. If then neither of these was justified by his own obedience, if they both obtained acceptance with God not as holy beings, who might claim it, but as sinful creatures who must implore it, the consequence is glaring. It is such as must strike every attentive understanding, and must affect every individual person.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 6-8. As David also exactly celebrateth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.
It need not be supposed that David here plays the part of a second example, side by side with Abraham. The position of the patriarch is unique, and Paul will return to it after this short interruption. He merely adduces a saying of David, the inspired singer, which seems to him to complete the testimony of Moses about Abraham.
The conjunction of comparison is more forcible than : it indicates an intrinsic and striking agreement: exactly as.
The word , which we have translated by blessedness, strictly signifies: the celebration of blessedness. The verb , says, of which this word is the object, signifies here: he utters (this beatification). The following words are, as it were, the joyful hymn of the justified sinner. This passage is the beginning of Psalms 32, which David probably composed after having obtained pardon from God for the odious crimes into which passion had dragged him. Hence the expressions: transgressions pardoned, sins covered, sin not imputed. Here, then, is the negative side of justification, the evil which it removes; while in regard to Abraham it was only the positive side which was under treatment, the blessing it confers. Thus it is that the two passages complete one another.
This observation made, the apostle returns to his subject. It was not enough to prove that Abraham owed his justification to his faith. For the defenders of works might say: True; but it was as one circumcised that Abraham obtained this privilege of being justified by his faith. And so we have works driven out by the door, and returning by the window. The answer to the question of Rom 4:1 : What hath Abraham found by the way of the flesh? would no more be: nothing, but: everything. For if it was to his circumcision Abraham owed the favor whereby God had reckoned his faith to him for righteousness, everything depended in the end on this material rite; and those who were destitute of it were ipso facto excluded from justification by faith. The nullity of this whole point of view is what Paul shows in the following passage, where he proves that the patriarch was not only justified by faith, but by faith only.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Even as David also pronounceth blessing upon the man, unto whom God reckoneth righteousness apart from works,
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 6
Even as David also describeth; that is, David in a similar manner describeth.–Unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works; whom God justifies and saves, though he has not performed his duty. The force of the passage quoted from David in the Psalms 32:1,2; Romans 4:7,8, in respect to its application to the apostle’s argument, appears to be this,–that it represents spiritual blessedness as consisting in the pardon of sin, and not in the reward of goodness; and this sustains the position that Paul has been aiming to establish, viz., that human salvation is, in all cases, dependent on grace,–that is, on undeserved favor,–and not on merit.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
4:6 {5} Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
(5) Another proof of the same confirmation: David puts blessedness as a part of the free pardon of sins, and therefore justification also.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. David’s testimony to justification by faith 4:6-8
Paul cited another eminent man in Jewish history whose words harmonized with the apostle’s. Whereas Abraham lived before the Mosaic Law, David lived under it. Abraham’s story is in the law section of the Hebrew Bible, and David’s is in the prophets section. Here is the second witness Paul referred to in Rom 3:21. Abraham represents the patriarchal period of Israel’s history and David the monarchy period. As Israel’s greatest king, one would assume that David would have been a strong advocate of the Mosaic Law. He was, but he did not view it as the key to justification.
The passage Paul quoted from David’s writings (Psa 32:1-2) does not state directly that David himself received justification by faith, though he did. It stresses that those to whom God "reckons" righteousness (i.e., the justified) are "blessed." Paul was carrying the sense of one passage (Rom 4:6) over to explain the meaning of another (Rom 4:7-8). The second passage contained the same word (logizesthai, translated "reckons" or "credits" in Rom 4:6, and translated "taken into account" or "count" in Rom 4:8).
"One of the reasons why Paul quotes these verses is the presence in them of the key word ’reckon.’ The practice of associating verses from the OT on the basis of verbal parallels was a common Jewish exegetical technique." [Note: Moo, p. 266.]
Psalms 32 is one of David’s penitential psalms that he wrote after he had sinned greatly. Paul not only proved that David believed in imputed rather than earned righteousness with this quotation, but he also showed that when a believer sins his sin does not cancel his justification.
"Forgiveness is more than mere remitting of penalty. Even a hard-hearted judge might remit a man’s fine if it were paid by someone else, but forgiveness involves the heart of the forgiver. God’s forgiveness is the going forth of God’s infinite tenderness toward the object of His mercy. It is God folding the sinner, as the returning prodigal was folded, to His bosom. Such a one is blessed indeed!" [Note: Newell, p. 136.]
". . . it is not the ’reckoning’ of people’s good works but God’s act in not reckoning their sins against them that constitutes forgiveness." [Note: Moo, p. 266.]
"God does keep a record of our works, so that He might reward us when Jesus comes; but He is not keeping a record of our sins." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:525.]
Since God is omniscient, He knows everything that has ever happened. By saying that God forgets our sins, the writers of Scripture meant that He will never bring us into judgment for our sins or condemn us for them (cf. Rom 8:1). The idea of forgetting sins is anthropomorphic: the writer ascribes an action of man (forgetting) to God to help us understand that God behaves as though He forgets our sins.