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[0:00] And turn in your Bibles to Psalm 32, and we'll read the entire chapter of Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

[0:22] Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

[0:36] For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

[0:49] I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found.

[1:04] Surely, when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

[1:14] I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or mule which have no understanding, but must be controlled by bit and bridle, or they will not come to you.

[1:32] Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous.

[1:45] Sing all you who are upright in heart. If you have your Bibles open to Psalm 32, put a marker there.

[1:55] We're coming back at the end to that portion. But we'll be elsewhere between then. I have a question for every one of us here this morning.

[2:11] What are you doing with your sins? The question is not, do you sin? Your own conscience and the scriptures answer that adequately for us.

[2:25] Ecclesiastes 7.20 says, There's not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. And if we say that we have never sinned, John says, well, we're just deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

[2:39] We make God out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. So I say the question is not, do you sin? We're all in the same boat there together.

[2:50] But rather, what are you doing with your sins? That's the question. The crucial issue. So our big text for today, if we could have it projected, is Proverbs 28 and verse 13.

[3:04] And it addresses this question. He who covers his sins does not prosper. But whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy.

[3:18] Now, in this text, we see that there are really just two options for dealing with our sins. There's man's way and there's God's way.

[3:30] We're either covering them or confessing them, confessing and forsaking them. And each option has its own result. You'll notice he who covers his sins does not prosper.

[3:45] In other words, he will not succeed in his attempt. His cover-ups will fail him. But, on the other hand, whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy.

[4:00] Forgiveness, pardon, sins blotted out and remembered no more. So I'm entitling this message on what we do with our sins.

[4:11] Cover them up or get them covered. Those are the choices set before us. Cover them up yourself or get them covered by the Lord Jesus.

[4:26] Now, there's one thing that makes this question relevant to every one of us. And it's what's going to happen at the end of this age when Jesus Christ returns. And it's the word judgment.

[4:38] For it's appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. That we must all appear before that judgment seat of Christ. To receive each one of us for the things that are due us.

[4:54] For what we've done while in the body, whether good or bad. And if sin is found in us there and then, we'll not enter heaven. But we'll be cast into hell.

[5:06] The hell that is the payment for our sin of rebelling against. Such a good and loving creator as we've just been singing. And according to James 2.10, all it takes is one sin to condemn us.

[5:20] For whoever keeps the whole law and yet offends in just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. So the law of God stands as a block, a unit.

[5:33] And we either keep it or we don't. One sin found in that day is enough to condemn us to hell. So our question, you see, is of the utmost importance to every one of us, whoever we are.

[5:47] What are you doing? What are you doing with your sins? What are you doing with your sins? So let's dig in to the text.

[5:57] The words of our text are from the Proverbs of Solomon, which verse one says, the Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.

[6:09] And many times in Proverbs, as we're seeing on Sunday evenings, we hear Solomon saying, listen, my son, to your father's instructions. I think there's good evidence that many of these Proverbs of Solomon to his sons were once the words of his father, David, to him, his son, Solomon.

[6:32] Receiving that instruction from his father. So wisdom was being passed down from one generation to the next. So we can imagine King David lovingly telling Solomon, listen, my son, he who covers his sins does not prosper.

[6:52] But whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy. And I wonder, did Father David then go on to tell Solomon the story of the missing watermelon?

[7:06] There was a boy who lived next door to a neighbor who had a big garden. And among all the plants of his garden, there was his prize watermelon.

[7:21] And one day it came up missing. So he came over to the boy's house and he told the father, I'm missing my prize melon. You don't suppose your son took it?

[7:31] And so later the father talked to the son about it. Son, his melon's missing. Do you know anything about it? And he said, no, don't have any idea.

[7:45] It wasn't me. In fact, he had stolen it. And now he's covering over his sin with a lie. He's covering it.

[7:57] He'd done even more to cover it because after he ate it, he had buried all the evidence out back behind the barn.

[8:10] And for a couple of weeks, it looked like his cover-up had succeeded, had prospered. But then one day, father was mowing out behind the barn and he saw a little spot with all kinds of watermelon plants growing up out of the ground.

[8:25] The truth had sprouted. The truth had come out at last. Do you see, young Solomon, that he who covers his sins does not prosper?

[8:37] Be sure your sin will find you out, son. And David, father David, could have gone on to tell his son Solomon another son about another son who covered up his sin.

[8:49] Listen, my son, listen, my son, to what the very first son ever born into the world did. His name was Cain. He had a younger brother, Abel.

[8:59] And he grew jealous of Abel. Because God had shown favor to Abel and his offering, but not to Cain and his offering.

[9:11] And his jealousy ripened into hatred, which Jesus tells us is murder of the heart. And one day he took his younger brother, Abel, out into the field where he attacked him and killed him.

[9:28] And then he buried the evidence. He buried his brother. He covered him up with dirt. To hide his sin. And Cain thought he'd gotten away with murder.

[9:41] Until God came to him and said, Cain, where is your brother Abel? And Cain covered it up again.

[9:54] And said, I don't know. Why are you asking me? Am I my brother's keeper? And God said, listen, your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.

[10:08] Do you see, young Solomon? Nothing is hidden from God. He who covers his sin does not prosper. And David could have gone on even further to tell of the very first cover up in human history.

[10:21] Our first parents, Adam and Eve, when they first sinned. And both ate from the forbidden fruit. And their immediate reaction now as sinners is to cover.

[10:35] To conceal. To blame shift. Because when they both had eaten, the Bible says, then the eyes of them both were opened. And they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together.

[10:48] And made coverings. Coverings. For themselves. Genesis 3.7. And when they heard the sound of God coming in the garden.

[11:00] They hid. In their camouflage clothes. Among the fig trees. Of the garden. Hoping against hope that God wouldn't see them. That they were covered.

[11:13] But God did see them. And asked Adam. Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? And Adam tries to cover again.

[11:24] It was the woman that you put here with me. She gave me some. And I ate it. And she blamed it on the devil. Who had deceived her. Their cover up fig leaves.

[11:37] And blame shifting. Failed them. For he who covers his sin. Does not prosper. Now when we think of cover ups.

[11:47] Many of us think back to 1972. And the whole matter of President Richard Nixon. Who tried to cover up his misdeeds. And the great Watergate scandal.

[11:59] He denied any involvement in the break in. Of the Watergate building. Went on for weeks. And weeks. And denying. Denying. Denying.

[12:10] He covered it up with a lie. Didn't do it. He even erased. Some of the tape recorded phone messages. To hide the evidence.

[12:25] But in spite of all of his efforts. At covering up. He did not prosper. The cover up failed. The truth came out. To his great shame. He was the first president ever.

[12:36] To have to resign. And the shame was not just. At his crime. Of what he was involved in. But. It was that he lied. To the. The whole nation.

[12:50] Covering up. You see. And many presidents. And politicians. Have done the same since. Now. We'd be mistaken though. To think that this is just. A sin of presidents.

[13:01] And politicians. No. This is something. Every one of us. Has done. Every one of us. In fact.

[13:11] It's almost instinctive. To us as sinners. To do this. It's something of a. Reflex action. You know.

[13:22] What a reflex is. And the doctor. Hits your knee. And your. Your leg kicks. Without you trying to tell it to kick. It just is a reflex. And. And when someone accuses you. There's this reflex. To deny.

[13:33] Where'd that come from? What came from your father and mother? It came from your father Adam. His fallen nature.

[13:46] And that's why David can say. In Psalm 58. Three. Even from birth. The wicked go astray. From the womb. They are wayward.

[13:57] And speak lies. They speak lies. No parent ever had to teach. Their children to lie. To cover up. The truth. They just do it.

[14:10] Wasn't me. Wasn't me. It's. Part of fallen sinful nature. And it clings to us. Like our skin.

[14:21] And explains. Why it is. That we have this. This propensity. To. Cover our sin. Now there's many different ways. People try to cover their sin.

[14:31] They can hide the evidence. Erase the tape. Shred the documents. Delete the emails. Erase hard drives. That's one way.

[14:42] To cover. The sin. It can be covered up with lies. As we've seen. Just flatly denying. It can be done with blaming others. To shift the blame from us.

[14:54] Excusing sin. Rationalizing it. Belittling it. As if. Well it really. Really wasn't anything. After all. We can do it by suppressing the truth. Romans 1.18.

[15:06] Just pushing it down. And getting it out of our thoughts. And just. Not thinking about it. Thinking if we. If we just ignore it. Maybe it'll go away. Maybe there really isn't anything there.

[15:17] After all. We can try to drown out. Conscience's voice. Which is God's echo chamber. In our own hearts. It says you are guilty. And we can try to drown it out.

[15:27] With alcohol. With drugs. With. All sorts of activity. And music. Constantly in our ears. And never alone. With. Our thoughts. And conscience. That's part of the way.

[15:39] We try to cover our sins. Even from ourselves. No. We can. We can put a good name. On our sin. We can rename. Redefine sin. It's not murder.

[15:51] It's euthanasia. It's good death. It's mercy killing. It's a woman's choice. It's covering it. You see. There's seemingly.

[16:03] What. Well. We can do it under the cover of darkness. To do it in secret. That's a way to cover. Our sin. And there are no ends. To the. Attempts of man.

[16:15] To. To do just what our text is telling us. To cover up. Our sins. And some of the worst. Attempts are. Are those that are taught by. False religions.

[16:26] That by penance. By. By doing some good deeds. We can. We can cover up the bad deed. You see. Oh I know. That was a bad thing. But if I do enough good. Maybe that will somehow.

[16:37] Compensate. And. And. And cover up my sin. All this. Is our inheritance. From a fallen Adam. So someone has said.

[16:49] You can fool some of the people. All the time. And all the people. Some of the time. But you cannot fool all the people. All the time. Which is just to acknowledge that.

[17:02] The truth has a way of coming out. Well. The seeds of truth. Have a way of sprouting. And coming. Into. To the light. I believe it's something of the moral fabric.

[17:15] Of the universe. But. Even if you're able to cover up. And fool all the people. All the time. It's still true that nobody. But nobody. Fools God.

[17:27] I mean. How do you pull the wool. Over. Someone who is. Everywhere present. And all knowing. You don't.

[17:40] You just don't. That's what David. Speaks of in Psalm 139. Oh Lord. You have searched me. And you have known me.

[17:52] You know when I sit. You know when I rise. You perceive my thoughts. From afar. You discern my going out. My lying down. You're familiar with all my ways.

[18:04] Before a word's on my tongue. You know it completely. Oh Lord. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I hide from your presence? I go up to heavens. You're there. Down to the depths.

[18:15] You're there. To the east. To the west. You're there. If I say. Surely the darkness will hide me. And the light become. Night around me.

[18:27] Even the darkness. Will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day. For darkness is as light to you. We simply cannot fool. The all knowing. Everywhere present.

[18:38] God. Hebrews 4.13. Nothing. No thing. In all creation. Is hidden from God's sight. Everything.

[18:50] Everything. Is uncovered. And laid bare. Before the eyes of him. To whom we must give an account. So man is feverishly covering.

[19:01] But the reality is. Is that. Everything is uncovered. In the eyes of God. To whom we must give account. In that day. Jesus said in Matthew 10.26.

[19:13] There is nothing covered. That will not be revealed. Nothing hidden. That will not be made known. So he'll bring.

[19:24] Into the light. What is hidden in darkness. And will expose. Even the very motives. Of men's heart. Yes. He. He sees there too. So all of man's ways.

[19:35] Of covering his sins. Are doomed to fail. From the start. And it is. Wisdom. For us. To know this. And to live in the light. Of it. That he who covers his sin.

[19:48] Does not prosper. Now thank God. There is more to this verse. Than the first line. Thank God. That there's more than man's. Futile attempts. To cover sin.

[20:00] That there is a way. There is. God's way. To have our sins. Really. Covered. Successfully. Covered. Forever. And that's what we have.

[20:11] In the second line. Of this proverb. But whoever. Confesses. And forsakes. Them. Finds. Mercy. I wonder. If we would. Ever. Stop. Trying to cover up.

[20:22] Our sins. As futile. As that is. If we did not know. That there is. A successful way. To have our sins. Covered. For good. We all.

[20:33] Have a need. For this. We all. Feel. At times. The desire. For this. To have our sins. Truly covered. We. We wish. That there was a way. That we could erase. Words.

[20:44] That we have spoken. That we could. Delete. Deeds. That we've done. And the Bible. Is. Forever. Telling us. That there is a way. To do just that.

[20:55] A way. To have them covered. For good. Gone. Blotted out. Remembered. No more. And it begins. Back in the Garden of Eden. Chapter three.

[21:06] Of the Bible. Right at the beginning. Of the story. With Adam and Eve. Making their own. Sin coverings. With fig leaves. That prove so unavailing. And their fig leaf.

[21:19] Clothing. Pictures. All of man's. Futile efforts. Then. To try to cover. His sins. But then. We see.

[21:31] In chapter three. In verse twenty one. God. Himself. In grace. Doing something. To really cover them. When he exposes. The. The folly. Of their fig leaf.

[21:41] Coverings. He then. It says. The Lord God. Made garments. Of skin. For Adam. And his wife. And he clothed.

[21:52] Them. He covered them. This was not. They covering. Themselves. No. This was God. Clothing them. And this is the very. First hint.

[22:03] In scripture. Of how it is. That man's sins. Can be covered. Effectively. Covered. For good. It's by the death. Of an innocent.

[22:13] Substitute. Killed in their place. To cover their skins. Where did those skins. Come from. From living animals. That had to be.

[22:23] Sacrificed. Their blood shed. That they might. Be covered. Adequately. Before God. I say. That's a hint. It's. It's pointer.

[22:35] To God's provision. To cover. Our sins. That we. So desperately. Need. In the whole. Old Testament. Ritual. Then. That followed. The Levitical system.

[22:45] The sacrificial system. Of the temple. And the tabernacle. Then the temple. All by God's appointment. Was pointing. Forward. Then. To this coming. Lamb. That. That had to be slain.

[22:57] To effectively. Cover our sins. Now. Genesis 315. It told us. That. It would be. By the male. Offspring. Of the woman. But the staggering.

[23:08] Wonders. Wonder. Of wonders. Is that this. Sacrificial lamb. Of God. Who takes away. The sin. Actually. Takes it away. Is none other than.

[23:19] God's own. Eternal son. Second member. Of the trinity. And Galatians 4. 4 and 5. Says that. In the fullness. Of time. God sent. His own son.

[23:32] God sent. His son. Born of a woman. There's Genesis 315. Born. Under the law. To redeem us. Who are under. The law.

[23:42] And to redeem us. As Peter says. Not with perishable things. Such as silver and gold. But with the precious. Blood of Christ. As of a lamb.

[23:54] Without blemish. Or spot. It's the blood of Jesus. That completely. Covers our sins. So that not a trace. Remains. There was hell.

[24:05] To pay. That was. For our sin debt. We had piled up. A sin debt. We saw. If we had one sin. Where we. We had a hell. To pay. For sin. And that debt. Stood against us.

[24:16] On the ledger. Of heaven. But Jesus came. God's son came. And he paid it all. So that our sin debt. Might be blotted out. Remembered. No more.

[24:29] What we owe. Then. To the blood. The precious blood. Of Jesus. Brothers and sisters. It's the only real. Covering. For sin. The blood. Of the lamb. Of God.

[24:41] Isaiah. Says their cobwebs. Are useless. For clothing. They cannot. Cover themselves. With what they have made. He goes on. To say. In chapter. Sixty. One.

[24:51] Ten. He. The Lord. Has clothed me. He's. Clothed me. With garments. Of salvation. And arrayed me.

[25:02] In a robe. Of righteousness. How so. Paul spells it out. With the fuller light. Of the new testament. Well God made him. Who had no sin. To be sin for us.

[25:14] So that. In him. We might become. The righteousness. Of God. Covered in the righteousness. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not a righteousness.

[25:25] Of our own doing. And keeping of the law. But the righteousness. That is. God's. It's of God. And is by faith. In Jesus Christ. So. Let's look at our text.

[25:37] And. See the way. That we get our sins. Covered. With the blood of Jesus. It's the second half. Of our text. That tells us. Whoever confesses. And forsakes. Them.

[25:48] His sins. Finds mercy. Now what does it mean. To confess your sins. Well it's exactly. The opposite. Of covering them. In covering.

[26:00] Them. We. We hide them. In confessing them. We. Uncover them. And we bring them out. Into the light. Into the open. Of God's own presence. And we say.

[26:11] We agree with the Lord. That's the. The basic meaning. Of the word. Confess. If we confess our sins. He's faithful and just. To forgive us. To confess. Means to agree with God. And what he says.

[26:23] About what we've done. And we confess. I have broken your law. That is sin. That's what you call it. And. And that's what I've done. Here's the specific command. That I've broken your commandment there.

[26:35] We bring it to him. We bring it into the open. And we don't. Belittle it. We don't. Hide it. We. We don't excuse it.

[26:45] We deny nothing. We own it. It's what I've done. And we have nothing good to say for ourselves. In fact. We take God's side in the manner.

[26:56] In the matter. As self-condemned sinners. Who deserve. Punishment for our sins. And we have only. Mercy to plead. The mercy.

[27:07] Of being forgiven. By God. God. And. So strange as it may sound. Our sins are only truly covered. When we uncover them.

[27:19] Because in confessing them. We're bringing them to the only one. Who can truly. Cover them. But as long as we hide them. We are keeping them from the only covering.

[27:32] That there is for sin. The blood of Jesus. God's own son. That cleanses us from every sin. And this is not some confession to the clergy.

[27:48] It is confession directly to our great high priest. Jesus Christ. Isn't that a wonderful privilege? Bringing our sins to Jesus.

[28:00] To have him cover them. With his own precious blood. Now this way of forgiving. This way of covering sin. Was symbolized in the Old Testament.

[28:11] Sacrifices of animals. Because. As the sinner confessed his sin. He did so with his hands. On the head of the sacrificial animal. Signifying.

[28:22] Symbolically. That as he confessed his sin. He was. He was transferring it. On to the head of that sacrificial animal. And from that point on. That animal was treated.

[28:32] That animal was treated. As his sin deserved. Its blood was shed. Its life was taken. And so confession you see. Was done with an eye to the substitute.

[28:44] And so it is with us brothers and sisters. And so it is with you. Dear lost person. As we confess our sins. We're doing so with an eye to Jesus Christ.

[28:54] And what he has done for sinners. What he did on the cross. You see this confession of sin. And owning what we've done. Is done looking unto Jesus.

[29:05] As the only way to have our sins covered. We come seeking forgiveness. For Jesus sake. Because of what he has done.

[29:16] As the hymn writer puts it. I lay my sins on Jesus. The spotless lamb of God. He bears them all. And frees us from the accursed load. I bring my guilt to Jesus.

[29:28] To wash my crimson stains. White in his blood. Most precious. Till not a spot remains. Confession of sin. Is the way to get them truly.

[29:39] Cleansed and covered. And we come. To our Lord Jesus himself. But then notice. Our text says. Whoever confesses and forsakes them. Finds mercy.

[29:52] To forsake your sins. Means that you renounce them. You turn your back on them. You once clung to them. You once treated them as. As.

[30:03] And cherish them. And now you're. You're saying it's over. Our relationship is over. I'm not serving you anymore. I'm renouncing that. Sinful way of life.

[30:14] Or this sinful habit in my life. I'm. Turning my back. I'm leaving it. When someone forsakes someone else. The wife forsakes her husband. A husband forsakes. He leaves her.

[30:25] That's what we're to do. With sin. We are to forsake it. And you see. It's the forsaking of sin. That proves the genuineness. Of the confession of sin. That it's more than just words.

[30:37] Just so many words. And crocodile tears. That. As soon as they're over. They're right back to the sin. Like a sow. Returning to its mire. And like a dog. Returning to its vomit.

[30:49] That's not true confession. That's not biblical confession. Confession. But true confession. Is also the. Forsaking. Of our sins.

[31:01] It's not like King Saul. Who. When David had cut the. Piece of garment. From his robe. And showed. He could have killed Saul. And Saul. Is. David yells out to him later.

[31:13] And Saul says. Oh I've sinned. I've sinned. Oh is he going to stop. Chasing David then. No. No. He's right back at it. Confessing.

[31:25] But no forsaking. Was that way with. Pharaoh. The plagues. Oh no. I've sinned. Pray God. Forgive him. But he's right back at it. The next day.

[31:37] No. You cannot go. Disobeying. Who's the Lord. That I should obey him. No. That's not confession. That's not true confession. Rather. Confession is followed by a. A full purpose of heart.

[31:48] To watch and pray against sin. By the spirit. To put sin to death. To not walk in its ways. Wanting.

[31:59] And striving to be done with that. Which cost our savior so dearly. And that's what. Real confession. Is. That leads to mercy. So Isaiah. 55.

[32:09] 7 says. Let the wicked. Forsake. His way. The whole way. The whole shooting match. The whole way he's going. Let him forsake it. And. And let the evil man.

[32:20] Forsake his thoughts. Even sinful thoughts. Let him turn. To the Lord. Back on sin. To the Lord. And he will have mercy.

[32:31] And to our God. And he will. Abundantly. Pardon. Whoever. Confesses. And forsakes. But then notice the promise result. For all who do.

[32:42] For all who deal. With their sins in this way. They find mercy. It's the mercy. Of having our sins forgiven. The mercy.

[32:53] Of having our sins. Forever covered. In the blood of Jesus. Now if it's mercy. That we receive. Then right away. We know. That our confessing. And forsaking. Doesn't earn. Forgiveness.

[33:05] The world thinks. God just owes us forgiveness. That's just who he is. And of course he forgives. That's. That's God. No, no, no. Nobody deserves. Forgiveness.

[33:17] And so if you are ever. Forgiven. Of. Of any sin. You can mark it down. To mercy. Undeserved mercy. He didn't treat you.

[33:29] As your sins deserved. Or repay you. According to your iniquities. But instead of punishing you. For your sins. He punished his son. For them. And so you get mercy.

[33:40] He gets condemnation. He gets the suffering. He gets the pain. He gets the separation. From God. And you get mercy. So come every soul.

[33:52] By sin oppressed. There's mercy. With the Lord. He's plenteous in mercy. He delights in mercy. That means that. He takes enjoyment. In bestowing mercy.

[34:04] To hell deserving sinners. He delights in forgiving sin. In covering it. He gets pleasure out of it. And so I wonder.

[34:14] Is not the promise of mercy. All you need. To quit covering your sins. And to bring them to Jesus. Who will cover them. Completely. And forever. A day is coming.

[34:30] When every sin. That is not covered. By the blood of Jesus. Will be uncovered. And as I said at the beginning. If there's just one of those.

[34:42] Uncovered. That has not been covered. By the blood of Jesus. Heaven will not be yours. But the hell that your.

[34:53] Sin against God. Deserves. A judgment. Without mercy. Is what James calls it. If God has.

[35:06] Uncovered your sin. In this lifetime. What you thought. You were getting away. And God has uncovered it. Stuck it in your face. Maybe the face of others. That's a mercy.

[35:17] Because there's still mercy. With the Lord. That in this life. If you will now. Confess and renounce it. You'll find mercy. But if your sin.

[35:29] Is not covered. With the blood of Jesus. And even if you could go. Your whole life. And nobody ever knew. It's going to be uncovered. In that day. You see what a mercy. It is for God. To show us our sins.

[35:40] In this life. That we might. Confess them. Own them. Bring them to Jesus. For the covering. Of them. What a blessing.

[35:55] Believers. It's not a small thing. To have the. Our sins covered. It wasn't a small. Price to pay. To do it. It cost the father. His son.

[36:05] It cost the son. Being separated. From his father. And punished. In our stead. And while others. Are having their sins. Uncovered.

[36:15] In that day. Ours. Will remain. Covered. In the thick. Blood. Of Jesus. Never. Never. To sprout. Never.

[36:27] To be remembered. Against us. Just how well. Does his blood. Cover sin. How effective. Is it. There's this precious text. In Jeremiah. 50. In verse 20. It's Jeremiah.

[36:38] 50. Because for 50. chapters. Jeremiah. Has been. Condemning. Judah. In Israel. For their sins. They were supposed. To walk. In God's ways.

[36:49] God had redeemed. Them. From Egypt. They were to. To walk. In his ways. Obey his commands. They were to be. Thankful. For all. That he had done. For them. And they did. One of these. And they turned.

[36:59] Their back on God. And they went. After other lovers. Other idols. And they worshipped. Other gods. And so. 50 chapters. Of God's judgment. That is coming. Upon them.

[37:09] From Babylon. And all the other. Nations. And then we have. What he's. Just drops. Throughout. The book. These little. Gospel. Mercy drops.

[37:21] And that's what we have here. That. That a day is coming. When God's going to show. Mercy. To these. Wicked sinners. And then comes this text. Almost thought. It should be our big text.

[37:32] Jeremiah 50. And verse 20. In those days. And at that time. When God comes. To redeem. His remnant. In those days. At that time. Declares the Lord.

[37:42] Search will be made. For Israel's guilt. But there will be none. And for the sins of Judah. But none will be found. How is that?

[37:53] For I will forgive. The remnant. I spare. I will cover. Their sins. Forgive them. Sin. So this search.

[38:05] Of the remnant sins. And guilt. Is not something. Merely done. By man's inspection. It's not just. Men sent out. Looking to see. If there's any sins. Left in these people. But I say it reverently.

[38:16] That not even. The all seeing. Eye of God. Can find. Any sin. He so. Covers sin. That it's gone. It's. It's.

[38:27] It's blotted out. Like a cloud. Is the language. Of. Of. Scripture. It's. It's. It's cast behind his back. So he can't see it. It's. It's.

[38:37] It's buried in the depths of the sea. It's remembered no more. As if it. As if it never happened. As if it never existed. That's how well.

[38:48] The blood of Jesus. Covers. Sin. Oh. The blood of Jesus. The one safe place to be.

[38:58] In life. And in death. And in the day of judgment. Now turn back. To Psalm 32. The scripture reading. Of. Today. In Psalm 32. It's King David.

[39:09] Telling us of the blessedness. Of the man. Whose sins are covered. Oh. This is a precious Psalm. I wonder if he told it. To his son. Dave.

[39:19] The son Solomon. I can't imagine. He didn't. Share this with him. It. It makes its way. Right into the hymnody. Of. Of the church. What a. What a humble. And contrite man.

[39:30] To spill his sins. In front of the whole church. And declare. How the. Lord God. Can cover. The worst of our sins. And so he starts out.

[39:41] In verses 1 and 2. Blessed. Happy. It's a beatitude. Like Jesus gave. In the sermon on the mount. Blessed is he. Whose transgressions. Are forgiven. Whose sins are covered. There it is.

[39:52] Blessed. Is the man. Whose sin. The Lord. Does not count. Against him. And in whose spirit. There is no guile. Here's the man. That's truly happy. Truly in a state. To be coveted.

[40:03] And envied. One whose sins are covered. Not by himself. But really covered by God. So that they are forgiven.

[40:15] And gone. Out of sight. Now David's not speaking. Theoretically here. He's talking from the heart. He had experienced. This covering of sin.

[40:28] And the blessedness. That attends it. The joy. The happiness. Of knowing our sins are. Gone. Covered. For good. But it hadn't always been that way.

[40:42] For at first. He had tried to cover up his sin. Didn't he? You remember the whole sordid. Deal. Back in 2nd Samuel 11. His adultery with Bathsheba. Trying to cover.

[40:54] The resulting. Pregnancy. From their union. Tried to cover it. Called her husband Uriah. Back from the battle. Tried to make him go home.

[41:05] And have relations with his wife. So he could blame it on. On him. And say. Well it's your son. And everyone would think it. And no one would know. But he was too good of a soldier. For that. My brothers are out on the battlefield.

[41:18] I'll sleep here. On the ground. Instead of going home. And finally. David was so desperate. To cover his sin.

[41:28] He thought the only way left. Is to have him killed. And he sent his death warrant. With Uriah himself. Carries it back to Joab. The commander. And puts him in the place of danger. And calls the retreat.

[41:39] And he's. He's dead. Buried. At last. My sin is covered. And so it went. For some nine months. Almost seemed to mock.

[41:51] The first part of the song. Or the proverb. He is prospering. As he covers his sin. It is succeeding. But even during that time.

[42:08] David tells us. I was miserable. Because God has his voice. And conscience. And conscience. Would not let him go. We're told. God's hand of conviction.

[42:22] Was heavy on him. Look at verse three and four. When I kept silent. You know what that means. That's covering. Not confessing. Confessing is. Not being silent.

[42:32] But. But while I kept silent. Not confessing my sin. My bones wasted away. Through my groaning. All day long. For day and night. Your hand was heavy upon me.

[42:44] My strength was sapped. As in the heat of summer. You see it even affected. His physical health. There's no blessed happiness here. In covering. Our sins ourselves. But.

[42:55] Then the turning point came. Now we know it. When we go back to. To second Samuel 11. And start reading in chapter 12. What the turning point was. It was when God.

[43:06] Who saw what David had done. And was displeased with what David had done. Sent his prophet. Nathan. And Nathan goes and. Says you're the man. That's.

[43:17] That's was the turning point. But. He doesn't mention. Nathan. Here in this account. Notice what the turning point is. In verse 5. Here he is miserable. Keeping silent.

[43:29] Then. Verse 5. Then I acknowledged. My sin to you. And did not cover up. My iniquity. I said. I will confess.

[43:39] My transgression to the Lord. And you forgave. The guilt of my sin. Confessing. And acknowledging. His sin to the Lord. So. So. So. David's testimony.

[43:50] To Solomon. And to you and me. Is that when he quit. Covering up his sins. God. Really covered them up. And oh. The blessedness.

[44:00] Of having our sins. Covered by God himself. Forever. What a difference. What joy. What peace. To know that there is nothing. Between my soul. And my. My savior.

[44:10] Fear. It's all in the open. And as we open up. And confess. He covers it. Once for all. What freedom.

[44:22] This was the way. We're meant to live. This is why Jesus. Was sent from heaven. That we could have. This wonderful relationship. And fellowship. With God. Not marred.

[44:33] By our sins. And trying to cover it. That ruins. Our. Open face. Communion. With God. Our fellowship. With him.

[44:44] Oh. But in Jesus Christ. And through the blood. Of his. Through faith. In his blood. We can know. This blessed life. Of having our sins. Covered. And remembered. No more.

[44:56] You ask me. Why I'm happy. David would say. I'll just tell you. Why. It's because. My sins are gone. They're underneath. The blood. Of the cross.

[45:07] Of Calvary. As far removed. As darkness. Is from dawn. In the sea. Of God's forgetfulness. That's good enough. For me. Praise God. My sins are gone. Gone.

[45:20] Do you know that. Blessedness. Do you know that. Happiness. You know. You know. You know. You know.

[45:30] There's a moment. Of crisis. That meets us. Every time. We're made aware. Of our sin. It's a moment. Of decision. What will I do. With my sin.

[45:41] Will I cover it up. Or will I bring it. To Jesus. To get it really. Covered up. Forever. When he promises mercy.

[45:55] And the blessedness. Of this covering. What could hinder us. Oh. Why do we linger. Why do we hold back. When mercy is promised.

[46:10] There's no reason. To hold out. No reason to cover. Open up to him. Receive his mercy. Let mercy in. And enjoy that.

[46:21] Reconciled relationship. With the living God. That's what you were made for. That's what we lost. By sin. And what. Brought the son of God. Out of heaven. To the old rugged cross. For us.

[46:34] That beautiful. Terrible. Cross. Terrible. For what it did to him. Beautiful. For what it does.

[46:45] To us. We're going to sing. A song. About being weary. And laden down with sin.

[46:55] You remember what Jesus says. Come to me. All you who are weary. And laden down with sin. A beautiful hymn. 467. In your hymnals. We're going to sing it. To the familiar.

[47:06] Tune. If you've got sins. To confess. This morning. That God has put his finger on. Even while. We're singing. Bring them to Jesus. He's ready. If you are.

[47:17] Mercy's promised. He cannot. Lie. Let's stand and sing. We're thankful. We're thankful. Father.

[47:27] That you're a God of truth. And you do not hide it from us. Your word is true. It searches our hearts. It goes to the depths.

[47:38] And divides between our very motivations. And our actions. And we're thankful. And we're thankful that we find. Both this. This first half of the verse.

[47:48] That tells us to quit trying to cover our sins. And then. The welcoming. Second part of the verse. That invites us to. Confess them.

[47:59] To bring them to you. And to have them covered forever. We would never have. Dreamed up such. A message. An uninventable gospel.

[48:09] That you would give your own son. For us. And that he would shed his blood. To atone for our sins. And that that would indeed. Blot them out forever. So. We say thank you.

[48:20] And we know that our words. Sound so hollow. And so. Weak. So let our lives. Show forth our praise. Give us help. You know. We still have within us.

[48:31] That which would pull us. Back to sin. So. Help us. Holy Spirit. To put to death. The misdeeds of the body. And to honor our Savior.

[48:41] Who's come to set us free. Thank you for this passage. That's good for the worst. Of sinners. For the unconverted. Who might be among us. But also.

[48:52] We find that it's for us. It's for David. That man after your own heart. And we like him. Find ourselves hiding. And miserable.

[49:04] We pray that you would. Teach us this lesson. To run quickly. To our Savior. And to receive. From him. The kiss. The pardon.

[49:15] Of sin. So send us on our way. With that joy. The blessedness. Of men and women. Boys and girls. Whose sins are covered. That the very joy.

[49:25]  Of our life. Might invite others. To come to know this Savior. We pray for his glory. Sake. And in his name. Amen. Amen.