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welcome to everyone it's good to be in the house of our God this evening you can turn with me in your Bibles for a call to worship psalm 32 psalm 32 david rehearses the blessedness of having been forgiven of his sins by a gracious and merciful God beginning in verse one of psalm 32 a psalm of david a contemplation blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit when I kept silent my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me my vitality was turned into the drought of summer say law I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin say law for this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a flood of Great Waters they shall not come near him you are my hiding place you shall preserve me from trouble you shall surround me with songs of deliverance say law I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go I will guide you with my eye do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding which must be harnessed with a bit with bit and bridle else they will not come near you many sorrows shall be to the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and shout for joy all you upright in heart amen will please take your Trinity hymnal and turn to number 89 hymn number 89 will stand as we sing together [Music] well let us pray our blessed God in our Father we come before you now acknowledging your glory and your greatness and your majesty we acknowledge Father Son and Holy Spirit the Great and the true and living God the one who is unlike us and yet the one who blesses us and the one who for us and for us met our salvation came down from heaven in the person and through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ so we gather together tonight to remember our Lord and his sacrifice on our behalf may you draw out from us worship and praise in adoration certainly God as we ponder the truth of the gospel we ponder what we were prior to conversion and what we are by the grace of God now and even more so what we will be when we are confirmed in holiness in the eternal state we give all praise to you Most High for God we did not earn this salvation we could not merit this salvation we certainly deserve both wrath and curse both in this life and in that which is to come but you and your grace for ordained you predestined a great multitude that no man could number in your time the Lord Jesus Christ came and he identified with us he took on our humanity and he lived in our place and he died in our place and he rose again and how we thank you for the fact that you sent the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin and to show us our wayward Ness and transgression and you showed us the glory of Jesus Christ the goodness of Christ the fact that he is the one the mediator between God and man that one alone in whom there is forgiveness and salvation and we praise you for these great truths and as we sing tonight as we pray tonight as we look to Holy Scripture as we go to this ordinance may these things bring to mind the doing and the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus Christ we would ask that you would forgive us for our sins and transgressions certainly a lesson that learn from the suppers that we ought to pursue holiness and righteousness and those things you call us unto we confess the imperfection we confess our remaining corruption our remaining sin and we know that there is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness and we pray that even now you would wash us and that you would cleanse us in purify us we pray tonight Lord God that you would be with those in our mets to need prayer those who are struggling with physical afflictions and trials the god we pray and ask that you would comfort them she would strengthen them and that while the outer man does decay we pray the inner man would be renewed day by day may this be the case for each and every one of us and may you encourage our hearts Lord God with the truth of the gospel with the truth that we will one day see Jesus Christ as he is may this indeed cause us to persevere to endure the various trials and temptations that we face in this world and grant us the grace Lord God and the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to persevere and we thank you for times like these we thank you for the church we thank you for public worship and we thank you for this ordinance of the supper and may it be a means in the hand of God to bring us some help and some encouragement and nourishment and refreshment in a confirmation of our faith all the things we studied this morning in our confession of faith God how we thank you that you've not left us destitute in this world you've given us the spirit you've given us the word and you've given us baptism and the Lord's Supper to encourage us along the way and as we eat and drink tonight as we proclaim the Lord's death till he comes let us never forget that he is indeed coming again and God may this indeed be a means by which we press onward going forward to that eternal State going forward to that eternal Zion that place where God and his people are gathered together throughout all eternity father how we thank you that you have secured these things for us in and through your son the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you we bless you we glorify your Most Holy Name and ask now that you would continue with us and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnal to number 129 hymn number 129 will stand as we sing a hymn that celebrates the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ stand with me please [Music] Oh you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs proverbs chapter 28 proverbs 28 I'll read verse 13 then we'll ask God's blessing as we look at this particular passage in some detail proverbs 28:13 he who covers his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy amen will let us pray our Father this is indeed a brief text but a full text in how we thank you for the truth that it contains how we know it is our natural propensity and tendency and inclination to try and cover our own sin god help us to receive the truth from this passage that if we do so we will not prosper god help us to appreciate the latter half the reality that whoever confesses whoever forsakes that sin will indeed find mercy for God you are a God of mercy you are a God of kindness a god of goodness God it does not deal with us as we deserve and Lord God may this encourage our hearts tonight and may we afresh consider the doing of Christ on our behalf the fact that by grace through faith in Him we know the mercy of God we know complete forgiveness for our sins the prophet Micah said who is a God like you pardoning our iniquity he speaks of you casting our transgressions into the depths of the sea David speaks of the blessedness of the man whose sin is forgiven whose transgressions are covered God we see the Saints in both old and new testaments rejoicing in the goodness of God over this reality may we likewise rejoice may we truly glorify your awesome name for the forgiveness that you have given unto us for the mercy that we have received we do pray that more and more sinners would come to know this God of mercy through faith in Jesus Christ the Lord we pray that for our meeting here tonight should there be those outside of Christ we pray that today would be the day of salvation that you would bring the conviction for sin if they are engaged in that practice of trying to cover their own sin may you expose it in their own hearts and may you show them that you are indeed a God of mercy we pray that not only for our gathering here but throughout the earth certainly God as we look at this land as we look at not only our nation but the nations of the earth we see all manner of corruption and lawlessness and wickedness in many respects it looks like the earth prior to the days of the the flood when the earth was exceedingly corrupt and filled with violence we see that sort of thing played out each and every day we see abortion and euthanasia we see sodomy we see all manner of lawlessness being vaunt and floated throughout the earth and our Father we pray for the preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ we know that some trust and horses others trust and chariots but we trust in the name of our God in heaven so send forth your Holy Word cause it to run swiftly and be glorified let the nation's be glad and may Jesus Christ have dominion from sea to sea again forgive us for our sins and fill us with your Holy Spirit and encourage our hearts now as we look to the school of Solomon concerning the mercy of God Almighty and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well the verse is quite simple and I could just read it and then we could pray and then go right into the supper but there are several things as a preacher that I do have to say with reference to this text now it breaks down obviously in two parts first there is a problem addressed he who covers his sins will not prosper and then secondly there is a solution provided but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy in other words we are dealing here with the problem of sin and the mercy of God so let's look at the problem first he who covers his sins will not prosper now the text assumes at least two things first of all the text assumes that man does sin the Bible is very clear from Genesis to Revelation that man's problem is not economic man's problem is not political man's problem is not sociological man's problem is ethical he is a transgressor against the true and living God the moment that Adam sinned against God we sinned in him we fell in him and as a result we all have inherited original sin as well there are actual transgressions that proceed from our hearts we are born according to Scripture or rather going even before that we are conceived in iniquity when David is tracing his native depravity he goes back to conception he says in sin did my mother conceive me he doesn't mean the conjugal relationship between his father and mother were sent or was sinned but rather the moment that David was David he was in fact a sinner the psalmist also says in Psalm 58 3 the wicked go estranged from the womb speaking lies as soon as they are born we see Paul's treatment in Romans chapter 3 where he brings Old Testament passages out and he confirms the reality that all men everywhere are under sin that is the problem that we all bear in the text assumes that he who covers his sins will not prosper so the first assumption is that we do sin the second assumption is that we will attempt to cover that sin and when we appreciate what this text is holding forth we will recognize that God does cover sin and that is a much better way to progress than for us to cover our sin now the covering in view means to try to hide or to conceal now there are instances where covering sin is a good thing in fact turn to proverbs chapter 10 proverbs chapter 10 at verse 12 hatred stirs up strife but love covers all sins you see here we are told that it's a virtue for us to cover the sins of others in other words don't always try to exact pound of flesh but if you are able let love cover it do not try and get everybody always to repent of everything they've ever done we are certainly to call out our brethren when they sin in a particularly grievous way but when they sin with a continual pattern of sin but for the garden-variety day in day out if all we ever do is try to get people to deal with their sin we would have no time for anything else imagine a married couple who didn't practice covering one another's sins from morning till tonight they would be engaged in a checklist and they wouldn't be engaged in calling each other out and calling each other to account and then again in proverbs 17 a similar teaching we're covering sin is okay proverbs chapter 17 at verse 9 notice he who covers a transgression seeks love but he who repeats a matter separates friends so those instances are legitimate for us to cover the sins of others but in our text in proverbs 28:13 he who covers his sins he who tries to hide his sins he who tries to conceal his sins he who tries to deal with his sins in a non God authorized way now there are several biblical examples of persons who did this very thing in the first instance you have the case of Adam and Eve you can turn to Genesis chapter 3 Genesis chapter 3 just to see some biblical examples of those who did indeed try to cover their own sin Genesis chapter 3 at verse 7 then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden you see they tried to cover their own sin we have the instance of akin in John jobs our Joshua chapter 7 Joshua chapter 7 remember the children of Israel are going out to battle at AI and instead of gaining the easy victory at AI they lose they are decimated and then god almighty tells Joshua the nature of the problem one of them one among them had indeed sinned and instead of dealing with his sin instead of confessing his sin akin hid his sin when he is called to account and when he does confess akin answers and Joshua 7:20 indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel and this is what I have done when I saw among the spoils a beautiful a beautiful Babylonian garment two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels I coveted them and took them and there they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent and with the silver under it we have the instance of Saul King Saul in 1st Samuel Chapter 15 first samuel chapter 15 here he covers his sin by setna stating that he himself didn't even sin that he wasn't a participant in this particular sin he covers it by flat-out denied his part in the rebellion first samuel 15 15 and saul said they have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the rest we have utterly destroyed remember that God told Saul to go in and utterly destroy the Amalekites to utterly destroy a guy to not take any of their property to not take any of their livestock to not harbour for themselves any of the plunder from the Amalekites and so saul comes back to samuel and reports mission accomplished and samuel says if mission is accomplished why then do i hear the bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which i hear in other words saw if you are true soul if you did decimate the Amalekites then why am i hearing sheep and why am i hearing ox set part of the stipulation was is that you do not take such things so Saul says they the people notice in verse 21 but the people took of the plunder sheep and oxen the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal and then of course we have the the the new to the case of David you can turn to second Samuel Chapter 11 second Samuel Chapter eleven you remember that particular situation a most grievous situation and one why or one in which we now understand why he rejoices such in psalm 32 david was supposed to go out to battle it was the season for such things but david stayed behind and david looked from his roof and saw Bathsheba bathing and then David took her David went into her and then she was found to be with child so instead of dealing with his sin instead of confessing his transgression he sought to cover it and one of the ways that men cover sin is by multiplying sin and in that particular instance he adds murder to adultery in an attempt to cover that particular sin we have the New Testament situation with reference to Ananias and Sapphira again Peter calls upon them and asks them specifically and they lie to the Holy Spirit so the Lord God strikes them down so those are some biblical examples just to show or highlight that this isn't sort of a hypothetical proverbs 28:13 isn't dealing in the realm of theory it's not something out there but rather it's something right in here and I would probably imagine that it's something happening right in here as well this is the nature of man to make fig leaves to try to hide himself among the trees that the Lord God had made to try and cover his folly by burying it under his cat or by flat-out denial the way that Saul does with reference to Samuel now there are several means employed by which persons do this now there's probably a whole lot more these are just some things that I'll submit the Lord's how do men try and cover their own sin first of all they deny that they've even sinned that's what Saul does Saul says I did everything I was supposed to do mission accomplished Amalekites destroy it was the people it was the people it was the people he denies any participation in the sin for himself let me just tell you if that's your posture if that's our ad - there is no prosperity for you God knows you a lot better than you know yourself God knows sins that you have committed that you have long forgotten and the way to deal with God is not by denying sin proverbs 30 at verse 20 tells us this is the way of an adulterous woman she eats and wipes her mouth and says I have done no wickedness oh yes you have you're an adulterous woman Bridges says that he would cover it if possible from himself putting it out of mind banishing all serious thoughts stifling conviction and then trying to persuade himself that he is happy I think that's one of the means by which man tries to cover his own sin a second means is to minimize the gravity of sin and I think that you hear this with language today adultery isn't adultery it's playing around lying isn't lying it's just a little white lie we often minimize the effects of our sin or we minimize the presence of our sins by the use of such language as well rationalization I'm not as bad as him what I do doesn't really or seriously affect anybody else I can stop any time that I want what is this but to try and cover sin as we learn from proverbs 28:13 you will not prosper if this is your tackk you will not gain you will not go forward there will be no blessing in your future if you deny that you've committed sin if you minimize the gravity of sin or thirdly if you attempt to shift the blame for your sin now this works very well in North America because we're being given a steady diet of a victim mentality and it works well for sinners because if they can shift the blame believe you me they will what does Adam do when God comes to him in the he shifts the blame now we all know that atom shifts the blame to Eve but even before he shifts the blame to Eve he shifts the blame to God he says the woman whom you gave to me what might the inference be God if you hadn't have put that woman in my life then we wouldn't be in this trouble God if it were just me and the animals I wouldn't have rebelled against you and then of course he throws her right under the bus not protecting not exercising headship not showing responsible leadership not being christ-like to his wife he throws her right under the bus the woman whom you gave me she is the one that brought this calamity on that's another means by which you will never prosper don't shift blame you've got a world of evil in your own heart you don't need any help you don't need any encouragement you don't need any instigation it is all present instead of denying it instead of minimizing it instead of shifting the blame then own it as our text will go on to specify but the shifting of blame also happened in the case of Aaron Aaron blames the people and then he blames chance fact turned there to Exodus 32 just to see the lengths that persons will go to to try and weasel out of their sin Exodus chapter 32 you remember the scene Moses is up with God God tells him that they are down there engaged in sin and wretchedness and wickedness just by way of reminder in chapter 32 it was Aaron's instigation according to verse 2 wherein they brought the various items of gold and he fashioned a calf notice in 32 - and Aaron said to them break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives your sons and your daughters and bring them to me so all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron and he received the gold from their hand and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a molded calf then they said this is your God o Israel that brought you out of the land of Egypt please don't miss the irony of the situation Moses is receiving the law he's engaged in covenant making with God most I the people have sworn fidelity to Yahweh in Exodus 24 they ratify the Covenant with this statement all that the Lord has commanded we shall do we get all the way to chapter 32 and they're dancing before this golden calf ascribing to it the powers of having brought them out of the land of Egypt now notice in verse 21 Moses said to Aaron what did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them so Aaron said do not let the anger of my Lord become hot you know the people that they are set on evil it's not my fault it's their fault I didn't create this problem they did now I'm not minimizing the participation of the people I'm not minimizing the participation of this group of people that wanted something tangible that they could sink their spiritual teeth in so that they could worship but Aaron shifts the blame you know the people that they are set on evil for they said to me make us gods that shall go before us as for this Moses the man who brought us or brought us out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him and I said to them whoever has any gold let them break it off so they gave it to me and I cast it into the fire and and this calf came out it's almost like he's shocked it's almost like he can't believe it should be on you know a Guinness Book of World Records it's never been the case that we chuck of a lump of gold into some smelting pot and out comes a calf he is shifting blame brethren what Solomon is dealing with in proverbs 28:13 is a reality this is typical of man the case of Saul we already saw it first samuel 15 he blamed the people now again I don't want to minimize the participation of the people but he was the king of Israel he was the man it was his word that was definitive and when he blames the people he shows cowardice and he shows this attempt to blame shift another means by which persons do this is to cover their sins by good deeds now this is pretty but diabolical but you understand the logic well I know I'm a rat and I know I do many bad things but I'll try and cover it up by doing these many good things remember Luke chapter 18 thank you God that I'm not like other men I fast I I tithe and I do this for the glory of God no the man was corrupt the man was self-righteous the man was condemned the man went to his house on justified to see this as well in the book of Proverbs notice in proverbs 7 there's a strict admonition here for our young men to guard their hearts to guard their ways with reference to the strange woman and here specifically notice what this woman does in proverbs chapter 7 at verse 14 I have peace offerings with me today I have paid my vows so I came out to meet you diligently to seek your face and I have found you I have spread my bed with tapestry colored coverings of Egyptian linen I have perfumed my bed with myrrh aloes and cinnamon come let us take our fill of love until morning let us collide ourselves with love for my husband is not at home he has gone on a long journey he has taken a bag of money with him and will come home on the appointed day so let's get this straight she goes to the temple earlier in the day she has peace offerings she paid her valves what better way to celebrate the day of worship than to commit adultery with some young man you see this particular woman wants to cover her sin and then notice in the prophet micah micah chapter 6 probably one of the most familiar old testament verses is micah 6:8 but we need to remember the content in which micah 6:8 finds itself of course micah 6:8 says he has shown you O man what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God this wasn't new this wasn't some brand new revelatory word from the mouth of Yahweh to Israel at this particular time this had always been intact this had always been the way this was specified in the book of Deuteronomy all the way back in Deuteronomy chapter 10 it's also seen in Proverbs it's seen in the prophets Hosea it's seen in Zechariah it's seen in Matthew or in Jesus words of indictment to the Pharisees and the religious leaders in Matthew 23:23 you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin but you've neglected the weightier matters of the law justice mercy and faith that was always the stipulation for Israel in terms of their life before God but notice in Micah 6 6 with what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with calves a year old will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams ten thousand rivers of oil shall I give my firstborn for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul now they are complaining to God they're not happy that the prophet micah is upbraiding them for their sin and lawlessness that's why god said you've always known what the issue is but look at the default mechanism inherent in man how do I deal with my transgression do I multiply sacrifice do I multiply religious observance do I multiply church attendance we'll all these things minimize the gravity of sin you see this is another means by which men attempt to cover sin and then we see the abandonment of the thought of sin altogether now I don't doubt that we can overdo it when it comes to sin sometimes wonder if that's one of the things I'm guilty of is overdoing it with reference to sin there is a method to the madness I think that when we understand what sin is we ought to appreciate all the more who Jesus is I think that when we see Christ with the backdrop of our depravity and his victory over that in the redemption of his people that ought to cause us to sing with joy Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me the idea is is that we can sometimes press sin our sinners with their sin and sometimes people get exasperated they no longer even think of sin they get to the point where I can't hear another word about sin scripture addresses this problem Hebrews six and ten not specifically with reference to this point the idea of apostasy another means by which persons attempt to cover their sin they don't want the oppressive Nets of the Christian religion so they throw off all thoughts of God Almighty so back to our text we have seen the assumptions in the tax biblical examples of the tax the means employed by which men cover said note the curse and result in proverbs 28:13 says he who covers his sins will not prosper he who covers his sins will not prosper now we all want to prosper we all want to get ahead we all want to move forward that's why we get educated that's why we apply for jobs that's why we do what we do because we are attempting by the grace of God to prosper now when Solomon says this with reference to the one who covers his said what ought we to make of it well I would suggest he will not prosper in this age in other words in the world of man he will not prosper notice in proverbs 1315 proverbs 13 15 I think this is an overarching description of the life of the unbeliever and I think it's very important that you young people get this fact down proverbs 13 verse 15 good understanding gains favor but the weight of the unfaithful is hard you know sometimes you see people that are engaged in a particular activity say wow doesn't that good doesn't that look fun doesn't that look wonderful no fetters no bonds all freedom of all Liberty the way of the unfaithful is hard this is not an easy life when you are running and hiding from God those who cover their sins will not prosper in this age our Lord Jesus said it this way most assuredly I say to you whoever commits sin is a slave of sin sin that pretty much the trajectory with reference to sin it's never content with just a little bit of your attention and money it's not content with just a little bit of your energy sin is a harsh taskmaster sin wants to be fed sin wants to be indulged sin wants to drive the chariot sin wants to call the shots and Jesus says that whoever commits sin is a slave of sin again you see somebody they look rich they look successful they look like there's no pangs in their lives there's no difficulty there's no hardship whatsoever never forget the way of the unfaithful is hard and whoever commits sin as a slave of sin but as well he will not prosper in the age to come he will not prosper in the age to come if you cover your sins now if you hide if you deceive if you minimize the gravity of it if you try to shift the blame you don't own it if you don't follow proverbs 28:13 B then you will not prosper in the age to come our Lord Jesus put it this way in Matthew chapter 10 at verse 28 and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell and then of course revelation 21 verse 8 you can turn there Revelation chapter 21 verse 8 gives us an identification of those in the lake of fire and improper I'm sorry revelation 21:8 we read but the Cowardly unbelieving abominable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone excuse which is the second death I think persons stumble at that first identifier cowardly you mean nods gonna send me to hell if I'm afraid of spiders God's gonna send me to hell if I'm afraid of snakes God's gonna send me to hell if I'm afraid of the dark no he's gonna send you to hell if you're a coward with reference to Jesus Christ you see one of the emphases repeatedly in Revelation two and three with reference to the seven churches in Asia Minor is that they overcome in other words they've made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ there is pressure calling them to renounce that that that commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and some would ultimately be cowards some would ultimately relinquish their grip upon the Lord of glory evidencing they never had a grip on the Lord of glory but that's who the cowardly are those who did not overcome those who did not persevere those who were afraid to own the Lord Jesus Christ in this life so you see the end the wicked is no prosperity both in this age and the age which is to come so there's the bad news and it's some pretty bad news isn't it that's the problem addressed let's look secondly at the solution provided proverbs 28:13 be who at but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy now when Solomon tells us confess he is not speaking about Roman Catholicism it's not speaking of a confessional booth where you go in and you tell the priest bless me Father for I have sinned it's been six months since my last confession and here's my litany of sins and then he says okay as your punishment I'm sorry as your penance go out and pray that's not what Solomon has in mind confession here this specific language is utilized in other places in the Bible walki says in six passages it means confess sins more specifically in these passages it means give God public praise and glory by acknowledging one's need of his forgiveness and deliverance from sin this entails praising God for his greatness ie one cannot hide from him as well his justice ie he has the right to punish the transgressor and his grace ie he delivers a rather he forgives and delivers now when Solomon says whoever confesses he is speaking of siding with God he is speaking of those who understand the nature of their problem and instead of trying to deny that it exists instead of trying to minimize the gravity or shift the blame they get on God's side and they say thou art the man in other words it is to side with God and confess that he is right in terms of his indictment of one it's receiving nathan's thou art the man and embracing it and it also involves casting oneself upon the mercy of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ Bridget says with reference to confession God needs not confession for his own information but he demands it for our good it brings no claim on his mercy but it is a means for the reception of it Christ has fully satisfied the claims of divine justice and John Gill adds and though it is known unto him yet he requires an acknowledgment of it which should be done from the heart with an abhorrence of the sin and in the faith of Christ as a sacrifice for it a word Solomon is preaching Christ in proverbs 28:13 be we've got the problem of the one who covers his sins he will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes will find mercy this was David's experience you can turn the second Samuel chapter 11 sorry second Samuel Chapter 12 second Samuel Chapter 12 after the Prophet Nathan rebukes him David then does this in verse 13 David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord now the psalm that we read at the outset of worship psalm 32 indicates David's guilt prior to his sin he wasn't living as a prosperous man he was living as a pained man you see that's one of the reasons why we ought to be slow to judge what we believe is the prosperity of others we don't know what's happening in their lives we don't know the difficulties that their lives may be fraught with we don't know the the dissatisfaction or the lack of satisfaction that no contact with God brings upon them and David certainly got away with it for a time it wasn't immediately found out that David had committed adultery and had committed murder in other words it was at least by all intents and appearances the perfect crime the Yahweh saw it the thing that David did last statement 2nd samuel chapter 11 the thing that David did displeased the Lord the Lord is essentially absent from 2nd samuel 11 except that last statement but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord so psalm 32 at the very beginning highlights or indicates what David's life was like or soul was like prior to this so prior to this forgiveness I'm 38 as well but notice David specifically says I have sinned against the Lord now I think at times we look at a passage like this and we say oh there's two problems here first of all David got caught we don't typically accept people's repentance if they get caught do it somebody gets caught well of course they confessed at that because they got caught we don't see it as the mercy of God that they got caught so that they would confess their sins we said wait a minute he got caught that that invalidates the confession I've heard this before brethren well you know he only confessed it because he got caught he got found out well why can't that be legitimate confession why can't that be legitimate repentance why can't that be an exercise of legitimate faith praise God Almighty then he catches people praise God Almighty then he exposes people and praise God Almighty that there is repentance even in a situation like that so that's one of the problems I've perceived over the years person say well I don't think that guy is serious because he only confessed because it only got caught well you know David confessed because he got caught but notice how brief his statement I have sinned against the Lord if you've read second Samuel 11 and 12 and you're not thinking Gospel II you might say well you know he's getting off pretty easy I mean come on David got a deuce on that don't you have to pound your breast I mean at least that publican in Luke chapter 18 he didn't look up to heaven at least he pounded his breast he did something there was some sort of outward humility involved David all you're saying is I have sinned against the Lord it's almost like that's not good enough you know you got you got to do it well you know drinking some tonic or potion that is really nasty and bad for you or you got to do it while whipping yourself on the back with you know a whip you got a you got to do it a real Roman Catholic way we got to know you mean business you've got to grovel you have got to grovel in the sand before this repentance is legit or before the Lord God Most High grants for giveness David said I have sinned against the Lord there is a German translation of the Bible apparently it's eight volumes it was done in the 1700s and it had extensive commentary was a Study Bible some of your brothers have that reformed Reformation Study Bible it's about that thick if you carried the burl burg you'd have a tough time bringing it to church I mean you got eight volumes slapped over your shoulder and trying to find references was probably very difficult but I loved the observation in the burl burg concerning the simplicity of David's confession I think this nails it the words are very few just as in the case of the publican in the Gospel of Luke but that is a good sign of a thoroughly broken spirit there is no excuse notice I have sinned against the Lord but I wouldn't have if Bathsheba hadn't have been naked in in view I think if you appreciate what David's saying here you'll appreciate what David's saying here there is no excuse no cloaking I have sinned against the Lord but you know Lord you've made me like this I'm an alpha male I've got high appetite I'm a I'm a leader I'm a mover I'm a shaker it certainly you have to understand a man like me comes with certain intrinsic needs he doesn't do that he says I have sinned against Yahweh goes on to say no palliation of the sin there is no searching for a loophole no pretext put forward no human weakness pleaded he acknowledges his guilt openly candidly and without prevarication that means to speak or act in an evasive way in other words what David says certainly captures the gravity of the moment I have sinned against the Lord so when we come by the grace of God with reference to confession this is not only blurting out the particular sins that we have done against a holy God but it's an expression of faith and we know for sure that it's an expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ forgiveness is received because Christ has fully satisfied the client claims of divine justice and because confession was made in the faith of Christ as a sacrifice for it see see what Solomon is teaching is as much Pauline as Paul's epistle to the Romans whoever confesses it whoever lays their hand on the sureties head whoever goes to the Lord Jesus Christ whoever believes on him so you see he who covers his sins will not prosper but whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy there is mercy to be high in our Lord Jesus that's the reason we eat this bread and we drink this cup tonight we are here ultimately because of God's mercy I'm going to say in just a moment that they prosper in this age and in the age to come do you realize that the common theme that all of us will have on that day when we enter into heaven is that we are all objects not of good works not of good performance but objects of God's mercy you ever think that when you get to heaven you're gonna see people there that may surprise you or do you ever think that people there are gonna be surprised that you're there what's the common theme for all of God's people on that side we're objects of mercy we're not here because we did better we're not here because we tried harder we're not here for any other reason than what Solomon says in proverbs 28:13 whoever confesses and forsakes will find mercy now notice it's not just confession but he has for say this is faith and repentance now we know that repentance is a gift given by God as is faith in other words both faith and repentance the means by which we close with Christ what is called conversion are both gifts given to us by a gracious God but they're both gifts given to us that come intertwined other words there's no genuine faith without forsaking there's no forsaking without genuine faith these are two sides of the same coin it's not the case that you have an unrepentant believing sinner it's not the case that you have a believer an unbelieving repentance Center these two things are presents and present in the heart of God's people faith and repentance you see this all throughout the book of Acts believe repent those things are used at times interchangeably and so Solomon sets this forth whoever confesses and for sakes this saving repentance our confession of faith says is an evangelical Grace and we ought to see the close connection between the two for the most simple illustration of faith and repentance it's as if a young man is going to marry a woman he is marrying the woman which is an expression of his faith repentance is that he is not bringing his girlfriend to the altar with him he's not bringing his computer filled with porn to the altar with it he leaves the one and he joins with the other what faith and repentance are F F Bruce calls repentance a spiritual about-face for those former military they understand what an about-face is about face parch and then you make a complete turn on a dime and go the opposite way that's what repentance is that's what accompany saving faith that's what Solomon is speaking about whoever confesses and forsakes repentance as defined by the Westminster Shorter Catechism swear by a sinner out of the true sense of his sin and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ dot with grief and hatred of his sin turned from it unto God with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience Bridges says penitent faith confesses in the act of laying the hand upon the great sacrifice and hence draws strength of purpose to forsake all that has been here confessed for while the hypocrite confesses without forsaking the hardy forsaking is here the best proof of the sincere confessing beautiful these things go hand in hand you don't have one without the other Solomon is describing in proverbs 28:13 be what Christian theologians call conversion faith in Christ and repentance unto life notice whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy so the contrast in the former part is if you do this you will not prosper the contrast here is if by God's grace you confess and forsake you will find mercy isn't that good news isn't it wonderful to be able to tell sinners that if you confess your sins you forsake your sins you'll find mercy not am I a perhaps maybe our God is a God of mercy our God delights in showing mercy our God receives the confessing forsaking sinner the ability to identify with the various scripture passages Psalm 130 there is forgiveness with me that thou mayst be feared the beauty of Romans chapter 8 verse 1 there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus the glory of being able to sing no condemnation now I dread Jesus with all in him is mine alive in him my living head and clothed in righteousness divine bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own so that mercy is a present benefit isn't it a blessing people of God we eat this bread we drink this cup we remember the doing in the dying of the Lord Jesus and it underscores to us what God's mercy looks like we have not come to this place because of our own good deeds we have come to this place because of God's grace and mercy and certainly mercy enjoyed in the age to come it's a blessed thing to consider that when we die we enter into the presence of God Almighty Oh brethren I think that these are some blessed truths that we ought to ponder frequently not just at the Lord's Supper in terms of the particular problem addressed he who covers his sins will not prosper I want to encourage all of us to use God's law God's law is a great way to sort of expose those darkened recesses in our hearts in Romans 3:20 says that you know by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in the sight of God for by the law is the knowledge of sin I think for both believer and unbeliever we ought to examine our own hearts with God's law and ask the question am i covering sin as well in terms of the solution given with reference to believers the passage describes our dealings with God but it also deals with our dealings with man imagine we applied this particular passage in our marriage situations in the parent-child situation in the brother-to-brother situation in the context of the church the sister to sister relation in context in the context of the church imagine if instead of getting all defensive and all bent out of shape and at the thought or suggestion that we could have ever seen instead of trying to cover it that way we said you're writing please forgive me we'd find mercy you see blood BOTS extend mercy it's just part of what we do right we forgive even as God in Christ forgave us this is Paul's mandate Ephesians 5 the people of God but by the blood of Jesus Christ are a people that are willing to extend mercy we ought to apply this in our interpersonal relationships we ought not to think at an amazing thing that somebody would ever come to us and say I think you sinned against me brethren if you know your own hearts correctly you'll wonder why that doesn't happen 24 hours a day if you know your own hearts rightly you'll wonder why more people aren't coming to you to call you out on your sin you're probably shocked that nobody's pointed out my flaws this week brethren this is the nature of the problem so we ought to make the application horizontally john gill says unbelievers rude but reproved by fellow christians he says he should not cover it that is he should own it for not to own and acknowledge it is to cover it he should not deny it which is to cover it with a lie and his adding sin to sin nor should he justify it as if he had done a right thing not extenuate or excuse it or impute it to others that drew him into it other words don't be the guy we've already described who busies himself at covering our sins if your wife comes to you and says honey you've done such and such don't try to blame her don't throw her under the bus for your said don't try to minimize the gravity of it don't try to deny it don't try to pretend it was somebody else own it confess it forsake it and what will happen your wife and the kindness of God will extend mercy to you but certainly it does apply with prince2 our relationship to God and here I want to read an extended quote from bridges just listen to what Bridges says here he says the moment sin is seen to be sin let it be laid on the sureties head and I love that the moment sin is seen to be sin let it be laid on the sureties head every moment of unconfessed sin adds to its burden and guilt the thought of a nature estranged from God a heart full of corruption sins of youth and age before and after conversion against light and conviction knowledge and love the sins of our very confessions their defilement coldness and too often self-righteous tendency all supply abundant material for a basing acknowledgement plead the greatness not the smallness of our sin never deem any sin so trifling as not to need the immediate application of the blood of atonement beautiful and for unbelievers this is true for you you cover your sin you will not prosper you confess and forsake your sin and you'll find mercy please go to God through Jesus Christ and you will have mercy you will know the joy spoken of by david in psalm 32 that we read at the outset of worship the end of the psalm david has rehearsed the goodness and the kindness of god and having dealt with his sin he says in 3210 many sorrows shall be to the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and shout for joy all you upright and heart look at David's language many sorrows shall be to the wicked he who covers his sins will not prosper whoever confessed sins forsakes will find mercy notice but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him we are surrounded by the mercy of God the way of access to that mercy of God to lay your hand upon the sureties ad in faith and find that God most eye is most gracious he is most loving he is most merciful and he does take sin and cast it into the depths of the sea well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for proverbs 28:13 for the gospel as proclaimed by solomon and how we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ that object of our confession that that one upon whom our sins are laid how we thank you for him how we thank you that he is our surety how we thank you that he indeed wrought out a perfect atonement for the sins of his people may we rejoice now as david says in psalm 32 may we truly shout for joy at the thought of a God who has forgiven us of all of our sins of all of our iniquities and all our transgressions and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen transition now into the ordinance the Lord's Supper specifically the bread and the wine you'll remember the instance in Matthew chapter 26 it was the the Last Supper it was a Passover Feast and our Lord Jesus Christ then Institute's the Lord's Supper beginning in verse 17 of Matthew 26 now on the first day of the Feast of the unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying to him where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover and he said go into the city to a certain man and say to him the teacher says my time is at hand I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover when evening had come he sat down with the twelfth now as they were eating he said assuredly I say to you one of you will betray me and they were exceedingly sorrowful and each of them began to say to him Lord I said I he answered and said he who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me the son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed it would have been good for that man if he had not been born then Judas was betraying him answered and said rabbi izzan I he said to him you have said it so I wanted to read that to sort of point out the context in which the supper comes to us the Lord Jesus certainly has a lot of fish to fry at this particular time in his life and ministry he is being betrayed by one of his own by one of the twelve that he himself had selected he is being handed over to godless man ultimately to be crucified in a most excruciating death he is indeed riddled with concerns and with issues and according to his humanity this no doubt provokes from him the response that we see in Gethsemane were actually cries for the father if it is possible let this cup pass from me but in the midst of all this what does he do in the midst of all of these things what does he do he ordains this thing for us he gives us the supper we studied it in detail this morning chapter 30 of the London confession of faith of the Lord's Supper there several purposes involved with reference to the supper and one of them is to confirm the faith of God's people one of them is to encourage and to nourish and to help the people of God alone in their pilgrimage in this lower world it is a most blessed thing that our Lord gives not only to these original disciples but also to the church as a whole and it certainly underscores the shows or demonstrates his willingness to bless his people to the very end he is in the midst of great calamity and trial and challenge and difficulty and yet he inaugurates for us this Lord's Supper ordinance to encourage the church to fortify his people and to strengthen them so that they may indeed know the joy of the Lord as their salvation it's a blessed context to consider it in an excuse me well we'll read that next section excuse me when the brothers pass out the bread I do on a remind us all however that this is an ordinance for believers as the confession of say faith says no ignorant or ungodly persons are supposed to participate in the supper ignorant there doesn't mean you're not the brightest bulb in the chandelier it just means you don't know Christianity you don't know the facts of or the truth of the gospel you have not believed the gospel ungodly persons Paul calls on us to examine ourselves but blessed be God if we examine ourselves right here in the pew we can confess our sins to God trusting in his forgiveness just the way David does in second Samuel Chapter 12 I have sinned against the Lord God received that God forgave him God restored him and the same is true for us so if you in your examination of your own heart see ungodliness confess it to God Paul's prohibition there specifically speaks to those who harbor it those who are cultivating it those who are not dealing with it those who have a problem with God or with men and they are not taking the proper steps in terms of a proverbs 28:13 confessing and forsaking as well we need to remember that this particular time is a time where and we remember it's the primary aspect of the Lord's Supper it is a means of grace to be sure but that means of grace is seen primarily in our remembrance of em there is no sacrifice going on there is no change of the elements the substance the nature the bread the wine they remain bread and wine they do not become the body and blood of our Lord Jesus visa vie Roman Catholicism the Roman Catholic approach to this ordinance is to change the bread and to change the wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus to hold up those particular elements so that the faithful can worship them but as the confession of faith says this is superstitious it is gross idolatry and it's repugnant not only to Scripture but to common sense and reason so we are indeed remembering our Blessed Lord these are physical emblems or two elements to remind us of spiritual things now on a practical level when the elements come around the juice is in the outer ring so if you are inclined to take juice versus wine it will be in the outer ring well as we sing why don't we turn or as the brothers pass out the bread why don't we sing number 419 and you may remain its seated 419 [Music] [Music] [Music] well in Matthew 26 beginning in verse 26 it says and as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our Father thank you for this blessed truth that our Lord Jesus gave this on the night that he was betrayed he gave it for the good of his disciples then for the good of his disciples now we thank you that you have provided this bounty for us and these elements these tangible elements to remind us of what Jesus did on our behalf we thank you Lord God for what he went through we thank you for the fact that this secures our salvation and we thank you that even now you are confirming our faith and encouraging our hearts and strengthening and nourishing your people we bless you and we praise you for these good gifts and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll take together well he may turn in your hem books to number 188 again please remain seated but why are the juices in the outer ring number 188 [Music] [Music] then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives Amen well let us pray thank you God for the New Covenant and thank you that it's ratified in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we know the blood of bulls and goats can never ever take away sin the blood of Jesus Christ deals with all of our sin how we thank you for that how we praise you for that Precious Blood how we praise you that it washes and purifies and cleanse us from all of our sin and all of our transgression certainly we try to cover sin and we fail miserably but you cover sin and do so wonderfully and you cover it through the blood of your dear son we bless you for these things and we praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll take together will stand with me and will sing hymn number 175 hymn number 175 [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen thank you for this blessed Lord's Day Most High God thank you for the good gifts that you give to us both temporally and spiritually the best gift of all being the Christian gospel we pray that you would help us to be encouraged by this each and every day help us to contend earnestly for it give us opportunities in the world to set forth Christ as the alone Savior for sinners may your peace be with us now may you watch over us may you protect us may you bless us and may you cause us to bring glory to you in this world and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please be seated you