Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.
The conditions of freedom are confession and amendment, confession to God of sins against Him, to men of sins against them. The teaching of ethical wisdom on this point is identical with that of psalmist, prophet, apostles, and our Lord Himself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
The danger of covering our sins
I. The danger.
1. In respect of God. Sin cannot be covered, cannot admit of excuse. So far as sin may be covered or excused, so far it is not sin, at least not liable to punishment. Notice the difference betwixt moral and commercial laws. Ceremonies are arbitrary; laws, as a rule of life, are real and eternal. Those sins which break moral laws receive no cover or palliation. To imagine that God will admit of excuse for the breach of such law as is eternal were to turn His justice into iniquity, and His wisdom into folly. The two attributes of God, His wisdom and His power, are the highest attributes which He hath. God is more jealous of His wisdom than of His power. He that committeth sin dallieth with His power; but he that covereth and palliateth sin playeth with His wisdom. God forgiveth the greatest sins when they are laid open and confessed, but casteth an angry look and layeth a heavy hand upon those sins which would hide and cover themselves with excuses. What a dangerous thing it is to study to cover a sin! That must needs be the greatest sin which maketh every sin greater. In denial and concealment, though we deny the fact, yet we acknowledge it to be evil.
2. In respect of ourselves. There is no sin to which our nature more strongly inclineth us than this of covering and excusing our sin. It is the very nature of sin, not only to infect the soul, but to bewitch it, that it shall either not feel it or not be willing to evaporate and expel it. Though God hath set up a tribunal in our hearts, and made every man a judge of his own actions, yet there is no tribunal on earth so much corrupted and swayed from its power and jurisdiction as this. No man is so well pleased with any cheat as that which he putteth upon himself. Our conscience checketh us, and we silence it; sin appeareth, and we cover it. This covering of sin is more natural than any sin beside. We cannot name any that agreeth with all natures and complexions as this doth. Excuse, as a servant, waiteth upon all, and is officious to offer attendance on the foulest. God hath imprinted upon man a natural shame of sin. God left this impression of shame upon us to keep us within compass, that we should not commit sin. But, too often, what was made as a means to prevent sin is made a cloak to cover it. Shame is a good buckler to oppose against sin.
II. The remedy. Penitential confession reaching even to the mercy-seat. Sin is never less deformed in the eye of God than when it is in its own shape. Sin is never more sin, hath never more in it, than when it is covered. He that confesseth his sin hath found a plaster for it. (A. Farindon, B.D.)
Covering sins
Mens sins are often well known, when they flatter themselves that they are unknown, and the attempt to conceal deceives none but themselves. Sin is in itself too odious to appear without some disguise, and most men wish to be thought better than they are; but the policy is both weak and dangerous. To attempt to hide our sins from the eye of God is atheistical and vain. The mantle of Divine love is sufficient to cover all iniquity, and the interposing blood of atonement to secure from the inflictions of eternal wrath. There is also a love among brethren which covers a multitude of sins, and forms an amiable part of the Christian character. A truly good man will be tender towards every ones failings but his own. The charity we exercise towards others is, however, very different from those excuses which we are too apt to form for ourselves.
I. Who are they who may be said to cover their sins?
1. Those who endeavour to conceal themselves under falsehood, as did the servant of Elisha.
2. Those who palliate and excuse themselves in sin, by endeavouring to shift the blame on others, belong to the same class.
3. The attempt to dissemble and disguise sin, by specious pretences, is another way of covering it.
4. There are some who even justify and plead for sin, and these certainly can need but little disguise.
5. Sin is sometimes covered by vain and ineffectual endeavour to satisfy and atone for it.
II. Consider the folly and danger of every false disguise. Shall not prosper.
1. His hopes shall be disappointed, and the end he had in view defeated. It is of no use to deny, to palliate, or in any other way to hide our sins, for God hath set them all in the light of His countenance.
2. Artifice and disguise shall not prosper, even as to our temporal interests.
3. Those who indulge in any manner of deceit shall be utter strangers to spiritual prosperity. Sin is the distemper of the soul; and covering it with false disguises only tends to increase the evil, and make it more dangerous.
4. A course of dissimulation will end in utter ruin and despair. God will neither be deceived nor mocked. Learn–
(1) How carefully we should avoid what will be attended with such tremendous consequences.
(2) As we are not to cover our own sins, so neither should we cover the sins of others, any farther than prudence directs or Christian charity allows.
(3) That we may not be tempted to use any other coverings, let us seek after those which are recommended to us in the gospel. (B. Beddome, M.A.)
Covering sin
Certain great iron castings have been ordered for a railway-bridge. The thickness has been calculated according to the extent of the span and the weight of the load. The contractor constructs his moulds according to the specification, and when all is ready, pours in the molten metal. In the process of casting, through some defect in the mould, portions of air lurk in the heart of the iron, and cavities like those of a honeycomb are formed in the interior of the beam; but all defects are hid, and flaws are effectually concealed. The artisan has covered his fault, but he will not prosper. As soon as it is subjected to a strain the beam gives way. Sin covered becomes a rotten hollow in a human soul, and when the strain comes the false gives way. (W. Arnot, D.D.)
A false covering and a safe refuge
I. The false and deceptive refuge. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper.
1. This is the course which men usually adopt when they enter on a course of sin. They are conscious that they are doing wrong, and they try to cover and conceal what they are doing. They resort to a variety of expedients. Some flatly deny them. Others cover their sins by evasion, or they shift the blame off upon others. Some plead their weakness, and the circumstances in which they were placed. Many plead the practice of others. It is the custom of the trade. The vilest class attempt to cover their sins by glorying in them.
2. Note the folly of such conduct. Such a man shall not succeed in the attempt to cover his sins. And he shall not escape from the consequences of his sins, however he attempts to conceal them. Sin brings its own punishments to the man who commits it.
II. The more excellent way which is here commended.
1. The condition of forgiveness. We must confess our sins. We must forsake them.
2. These conditions are not the only ground of forgiveness. In God there is not only provision made for forgiveness, but also for our help to resist sin, and escape from it. (A.Clark.)
The consequences of covering sin
I. In reference to others. He who covers sin is a hypocrite, who always wears a mask. He conceals bad principles under an avowed zeal for good ones; bad purposes under a noisy reprobation of such purposes; and a bad system of iniquity under the mask of extraordinary purity and piety.
II. In reference to ourselves. Man possesses the astonishing, but awful power of practising deceit upon himself, and concealing his sins from his own view. This he does–
1. By decreasing their number. This is done by rejecting the Divine law as the standard, and by adopting as the standard the lax notions of worldly and irreligious men.
2. By diminishing their enormity. This is done by pleading the impetuosity of the passions; the strength of temptation; as a set-off against bad works the multitude of good ones. But he who hides his sins from others shall not eventually prosper. And he who hides his sins from himself cannot prosper.
Now, consider the nature and advantage of confessing and forsaking sin.
1. Our confession must be spiritual.
2. Our sin must be confessed as a great evil.
3. Our sin must be confessed as deserving special punishment.
From hence we learn that the prospect of those who cover their sins, either from themselves or others, is most appalling; that no sinner, however guilty, and depraved, and miserable, need despair, for he may yet be saved. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Sin covered or confessed
I. Covered sin and no prosperity.
1. What is the meaning of covering sin?
2. How do men cover sin?
(1) By palliation.
(2) By dissembling.
(3) By practising sin in secret.
(4) By self-righteousness.
3. Covered sin a failure. Shall not prosper. This does not refer to temporal, but spiritual prosperity. This is not an arbitrary arrangement. The same power by which night and day succeed each other has promulgated, and will enforce the law that says, Bad lives, unpardoned, shall be punished. Sin cannot be successfully cloaked, but will be discovered and punished.
II. Confessed and forsaken sin and mercy.
1. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them. Prompt confession, followed by prompt forgiveness. Confession involving forsaking. Profession attended with consistent practice. The reform of the outward life, and the healing of the soul.
2. Shall have mercy. This is not a subject of doubt. It was the experience of the psalmist (Psa 32:5). The apostle believed and taught it (Rom 4:5). John has put it beyond speculation (1Jn 1:8-9). Mercy is yours if you will fulfil the conditions. (J. E. Hargreaves.)
Mans treatment of his own sins
1. All men have sins.
2. All men have something to do with their sins.
3. All men deal with their sins either foolishly or wisely.
I. The foolish treatment of our sins. He that covereth his sins.
1. By denying them. Thus Cain, Rachel, Josephs brethren, Peter, Ananias and Sapphira, endeavoured to hide their sin.
2. By extenuating them. Men plead excuses.
3. By forgetting them. They endeavour to sweep them from the memory by revelry, by sensuality, worldliness, and intemperance. Sins must reveal themselves sooner or later.
II. The wise treatment of our sins. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
A serious contrast
I. Mans covering, and its failure. There are many ways in which men try to cover their sins. Excuse-making is the commonest trade under heaven. Some cover by secrecy and some by falsehood. Some think their sin has been hidden away by lapse of time.
II. Gods covering, and its success. By the atoning sacrifice which was presented by the Lord Jesus. Before God covers sins He unveils them. The covering is as broad as the sin; it completely covers, and for ever covers. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. He that covereth his sins] Here is a general direction relative to conversion.
1. If the sinner do not acknowledge his sins; if he cover and excuse them, and refuse to come to the light of God’s word and Spirit, lest his deeds should be reproved, he shall find no salvation. God will never admit a sinful, unhumbled soul, into his kingdom.
2. But if he confess his sin, with a penitent and broken heart, and, by forsaking every evil way, give this proof that he feels his own sore, and the plague of his heart, then he shall have mercy. Here is a doctrine of vital importance to the salvation of the soul, which the weakest may understand.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That covereth his sins; that doth not confess them (as appears by the opposite clause) to God, and to men too, when occasion requires it; that being convinced or admonished of his sins, either justifieth, or denieth, or excuseth them.
Shall not prosper; shall not succeed in his design of avoiding punishment by the concealment of his sins; shall not find mercy, as is implied from the next clause. Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them, by hearty dislike and hatred of all his sins, and by a resolved cessation from a sinful course of life. This is added, to show, that although the dissembling or hiding ones sins is sufficient for his damnation, yet mere confession without forsaking of sin is not sufficient for salvation.
Shall have mercy, both from God, who hath promised, and from men, who are ready to grant pardon and favour to such persons.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. (Compare Ps32:3-5). Concealment of sin delivers none from God’s wrath, butHe shows mercy to the humble penitent (Ps51:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper,…. God may cover a man’s sins, and it is an instance of his grace, and it is the glory of it to do it, but a man may not cover his own: it is right in one good man to cover the sins of another, reproving him secretly, and freely forgiving him; but it is wrong in a man to cover his own: not that any man is bound to accuse himself before a court of judicature, or ought to expose his sins to the public, which would be to the hurt of his credit, and to the scandal of religion; but whenever he is charged with sin, and reproved for it by his fellow Christian, be 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 is adding sin to sin; nor should he justify it, as if he had done a right thing; nor extenuate or excuse it, or impute it to others that drew him into it, as Adam, which is called a covering transgression, as Adam, Job 31:33; for such a man “shall not prosper”; in soul or body, in things temporal or spiritual; he shall not have peace of mind and conscience; but, sooner or later, shall feel the stings it; he shall not succeed even in those things he has in view by covering his sins; he shall not be able to cover them long, for there is nothing covered but what shall be revealed; if not in this life, which yet often is, however at the day of judgment, when every secret thing shall be made manifest; nor shall he escape the shame and punishment he thought to avoid by covering it, as may be observed in the case of Achan, Jos 7:11; in short, he shall have no mercy shown him by God or man, as appears by the antithesis in the next clause;
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy; who confesses them to men privately and publicly, according to the nature of the offences, from whom they find mercy; but not to a priest, in order for absolution, which no man can give; sin is only in this sense to be confessed to God, against it is committed, and who only can pardon it; 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; and it is not enough to confess, there must be a forsaking likewise, a parting with sin, a denying of sinful self, a leaving the former course of sin, and a quitting the company of wicked men before used to, and an abstaining from all appearance of evil; as is and will be the case, where there is a true sight and sense of sin, and the grace of God takes place: and such find “mercy”, pardoning grace and mercy, or pardon in a way of mercy, and not merit; for though the sinner confesses and forsakes it, it is not that which merits pardon and mercy in God, who is rich in it, delights in showing it, and from whom it may be hoped for and expected by all such persons; see
Ps 32:5. So the Targum and Syriac version, God will have mercy on him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13 He that denieth his sin shall not prosper;
But he that acknowledgeth and forsaketh it shall obtain mercy.
Thus is this proverb translated by Luther, and thus it lives in the mouth of the Christian people. He who falsely disowns, or with self-deception excuses, if he does not altogether justify his sins, which are discernible as , has no success; he remains, after Psa 32:1-11, in his conscience and life burdened with a secret ban; but he who acknowledges (the lxx has instead of , as it ought to be) and forsakes (for the remissio does not follow the confessio , if there is not the accompaniment of nova obedientia ) will find mercy ( , as Hos 14:4). In close connection therewith stands the thought that man has to work out his salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phi 2:12).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Here is, 1. The folly of indulging sin, of palliating and excusing it, denying or extenuating it, diminishing it, dissembling it, or throwing the blame of it upon others: He that thus covers his sins shall not prosper, let him never expect it. He shall not succeed in his endeavour to cover his sin, for it will be discovered, sooner or later. There is nothing hid which shall not be revealed. A bird of the air shall carry the voice. Murder will out, and so will other sins. He shall not prosper, that is, he shall not obtain the pardon of his sin, nor can he have any true peace of conscience. David owns himself to have been in a constant agitation while he covered his sins,Psa 32:3; Psa 32:4. While the patient conceals his distemper he cannot expect a cure. 2. The benefit of parting with it, both by a penitent confession and a universal reformation: He that confesses his guilt to God, and is careful not to return to sin again, shall find mercy with God, and shall have the comfort of it in his own bosom. His conscience shall be eased and his ruin prevented. See 1Jn 1:9; Jer 3:12; Jer 3:13. When we set sin before our face (as David, My sin is ever before me) God casts it behind his back.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Concealment Or Confession of Sin
Verse 13 contrasts the man who conceals his sins and fails to prosper with one who confesses and forsakes his transgressions and is forgiven. David experienced both aspects of this, knowing first the misery of concealment, Psa 32:3-4; then ‘the merciful relief of confession and forgiveness, Psa 32:5; Psa 32:1-2. See also 1Jn 1:6-9.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 28:13
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
I. Sin tends to produce shame. Even a child often tries to hide an act of disobedience to a good mothers law, and this not from fear of punishment merely, but from an undefined sense of shame. And this feeling clings to all men through life who are not entirely hardened in iniquity. So long as the conscience is not entirely stifled, men try to hide their wrong actions from their fellow-men even when no human punishment would follow the discovery, and they even try to cover them from themselves by inventing excuses for them. They often endeavour to cloak their sin before their fellow-creatures by putting on the garb of special sanctity, and so add hypocrisy to their other transgressions, and they will try to palliate their guilt at the bar of their own conscience by lowering the standard of morality which God has set up within them, or by persuading themselves that He is a hard taskmaster, requiring them to render Him an unreasonable and a burdensome service. There are other motives which induce men to cover their sins beside this one of shame, and other methods by which they try to do it, but whatever impels them, and whatever means they use, the truth taught in the proverb is always verified, viz., that all such makeshifts are worse than useless.
II. The only prosperous method of dealing with sin. This method consists of two acts which God has joined together, and which man may not put asunder, because neither of the two by itself would give evidence that the sinner was fit to receive full absolution. If a man confesses his sin without forsaking it, he seems almost to aggravate his transgression, for he acknowledges that he sins knowing that it is sin, and that it is useless to pardon him to-day, because he will do the same thing to-morrow. And if he forsakes sin without confessing his guilt he shows that he does it from some other motive than abhorrence of evil. Certain sins are sometimes forsaken from expediency, or from self-righteous motives, but in such cases there is no guarantee that there will not be a return to them. Our Lord describes such when he speaks of the unclean spirit going out of a man, but returning to find an empty housea soul with none of the newborn hopes and desires and aims which always come with true repentanceand of such He says that the last state of that man is worse than the first. (Luk. 11:26.) But when hearty and sincere acknowledgment of sin is joined with earnest endeavour to forsake it, God sees a soul which will know how to value His pardon, and will find strength in it to fight against evil and finally to overcome it. And to such a soul it is given to know the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psa. 32:1-2.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
There are various ways of endeavouring to cover sins. By denying them. A lie is a cover which men put over their sins to conceal them from others. They sin and deny the fact, they wrap up their crimes in falsehood. Thus Cain, Rachel, Josephs brethren, Peter, Ananias and Sapphira, endeavoured to hide their sins. By extenuating them. Men plead excuses. The influence of others, the power of circumstances, the moral weakness of the constitution. Extenuation is a common cover. By forgetting them. They endeavour to sweep them from the memory by revelry and mirth, by sensuality, worldliness, and intemperance.Dr. David Thomas.
A child of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale; he will acknowledge he is a sinner in general, whereas David doth, as it were, point with his finger to the sore: I have done this evil (Psa. 51:4); he doth not say I have done evil, but this evil. He points at his blood-guiltiness.Watson.
Confession of sin will work a holy contrition and a godly sorrow in the heart. (Psa. 38:18.) Declaration doth breed compunction. Confession of sin is but the causing of sin to recoil on the conscience, which causeth blushing, and shame of face, and grief of heart. Secret confession gives a great deal of glory to God. It gives glory to Gods justice. I do confess sin, and do confess God in justice may damn me for my sin. It gives glory to Gods mercy. I confess sin, yet mercy may save me. It gives glory to Gods omnisciency. In confessing sin I do confess that God knoweth my sin.Christopher Love.
It is fearful for a man to bind two sins together when he is not able to bear the load of one. To act wickedness and then to cloak it, is for a man to wound himself and then go to the devil for a plaster. What man doth conceal God will not cancel. Iniquities strangled in silence will strangle the soul in heaviness. There are three degrees of felicity:the first is, not to sin; the second, to know; the third, to acknowledge our offences. Let us, then, honour Him by confession whom we have dishonoured by presumption. Sinfulness is a sleep, confession a sign that we are waked. Men dream in their sleeps, but tell their dreams waking. In our sleep of security we lead a dreaming life, full of vile imaginations; but if we confess and speak our sins to Gods glory, and our own shame, it is a token that Gods spirit hath wakened us. This is true, though to some a paradox; the way to cover our sins is to uncover them.T. Adams.
Sin is in a man at once the most familiar inmate and the greatest stranger. Although he lives in it, because he lives in it, he is ignorant of it. Nothing is more widely diffused or more constantly near us than atmospheric air; yet few ever notice its existence and fewer consider its nature. Dust, and chaff, and feathers, that sometimes float up and down in it, attract our regard more than the air in which they float; yet these are trifles that scarcely concern us, and in this we live, and move, and have our being. Such, in this respect, is sin. It pervades humanity, but, in proportion to its profusion, men are blind to its presence. Because it is everywhere, we do not notice it anywhere. But the chief effort of the alienated must ever be to cover his sins from the eye of God. All the wiles of the tempter, and all the faculties of his slave, are devoted to the work of weaving a curtain thick enough to cover an unclean conscience from the eye of God. Anything and everything may go as a thread to the web; houses and lands, business and pleasure, family and friends, virtues and vices, blessings and cursingsa hideous miscellany of good and evilconstitute the material of the curtain; and the woven web is waulked over and over again with love and hatred, joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, to thicken the wall without, and to deepen the darkness within, that the fool may be able, with some measure of comfort, to say in his heart, No God.Arnot.
Sin and shifting came into this world together. Sin and Satan are alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own colour. We must see our sin to confession, or we shall see it to our confusion No man was ever kept out of heaven for his confessed badness; many are for their supposed goodness.Trapp.
St. Gregory speaketh, He that covereth his sin, doth not hide himself from the Lord, but hideth the Lord from himself, and that which he doth, is that himself may not see God, who seeth all things, not that he be not seen.Jermin.
For Homiletics on Pro. 28:14 see on chaps. Pro. 12:15, and Pro. 14:16, pages 271 and 365
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13) He that covereth his sins.As Adam and Eve did, when they had transgressed (Gen. 3:8), as David did to his own loss (Psa. 32:3.)
Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy, and be at once completely forgiven; though he must still suffer the punishment due for his offences (2Sa. 12:14, sqq.), and will, for having yielded to temptation, be the less able to resist it when next assailed by it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Covereth not prosper See this proverb illustrated in Psa 32:1-5; 1Jn 1:9-10.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 817
TRUE REPENTANCE RECOMMENDED
Pro 28:13. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
THE subject of repentance offers nothing for the gratification of itching ears. But it must not on that account be overlooked; since, if less interesting than some other subjects on the score of novelty, it yields to none in point of importance. It is the first act whereby a sinner returns unto his God: and it is an act for which the most eminent saint has occasion from day to day; insomuch that in him it assumes rather the character of a habit than an act. In the more grown Christian, it is the warp, whilst every other grace is the woof: whether the colours interwoven with it be grave or gay, this pervades the whole piece, and is, as it were, the foundation of all the rest.
For the advancing of this work in all our souls, I will shew,
I.
The folly of covering our sins
To conceal our sins from the all-seeing eye of God is impossible: yet
There are various ways in which men attempt to cover them
[Sin, though it cannot be hidden from God, may be covered from ourselves, by denial, by extenuation, by forgetfulness.
Many, though walking in the habitual violation of the plainest duties, will deny that they commit any sin at all. As the adulterous woman, of whom Solomon speaks, eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness [Note: Pro 30:20.]; so these, in gratifying their sensual appetites, think that they commit no more evil than if they had merely satisfied the demands of hunger and thirst: and, in their minds, one sinful indulgence is but a prelude to another, whenever opportunity and inclination concur to call for it. Persons of this description, if they receive only a distant intimation of their state, are ready to reply, even against God himself, just as Cain did, after murdering his brother Abel: Where is thy brother Abel? I know not: am I my brothers keeper [Note: Gen 4:9.]? Thus, rather than they will humble themselves before God, they will deny their accountability to him, saying, Our lips are our own: who is Lord over us [Note: Psa 12:4.]? But this denial of their guilt will avail them nothing. God will reprove them as he did Israel of old [Note: Jer 2:23-24. This is a fine image to illustrate the insatiable avidity with which the wicked follow their own lusts and passions.]; and will surely visit them with his heaviest indignation [Note: Jer 2:31; Jer 2:35.].
Others cover their sins by endeavouring to extenuate the guilt of them. Thus did Adam and Eve in Paradise. Thus also did Saul, after sparing the king of the Amalekites, and the spoil which he had taken, instead of destroying them utterly according to the direction which he had received from the Lord. He first of all asserted that he had executed the divine command; and that being disproved by the lowing of the oxen, he vindicated himself, asserting, that, in as far as he was implicated in the affair, he had acted under the influence of the people, whom he could not restrain, and dared not to resist [Note: 1Sa 15:13-15; 1Sa 15:20-21; 1Sa 15:24.]. Thus it is also that the generality are acting all around us. They cannot actually deny that what they are doing is contrary to Gods revealed will; but they are so circumstanced, that they cannot on the whole act otherwise than they do: the current of the world is so strong against them, that they cannot resist it; and, if they err, the fault is rather in those who have led the way, than in themselves, who have only gone with the stream.
But perhaps the most common way of covering sing is by letting them pass altogether unnoticed. Many are not altogether satisfied that their ways are right: but they go on without much thought, and presently forget any thing which may have made a slight impression on their minds. Forgetting their sins, they suppose that God has forgotten them also. Of such persons God complains; They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness [Note: Hos 7:2.]. Very beautiful is the description which God gives of such persons, by the Prophet Jeremiah: I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle [Note: Jer 8:6.]. The horse is unconscious of his danger; and so are the mass of ungodly men: it is a sport to them to commit iniquity; and, provided it be not of such a heinous nature as to violate the usages of the place wherein they live, they say, No evil will come unto us [Note: Jer 5:12.].]
But all who thus attempt to cover their sins are guilty of the extremest folly
[They can never prosper. Temporal prosperity they may have as much as others: but in their souls they cannot prosper [Note: Job 31:33.].
They cannot in this world. They can have no peace with God or in their own consciences; for God has said, There is no peace to the wicked. They can have no victory over sin: for God will not interpose to deliver them from bonds, which they themselves are pleased with. They can have no delight in holy ordinances, either in the public assembly, or in their secret chamber. They may, like Ezekiels hearers, be pleased with hearing a man that can play well upon an instrument [Note: Eze 33:31-32.]; but they can have no fellowship with God: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, or light with darkness [Note: 2Co 6:14.]? They can have no bright and cheering prospects of the eternal world: for they have no evidence within themselves of their acceptance with God, nor any meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light.
Much less can they prosper in the world to come. There the impenitent and unbelieving will meet their deserved recompence. No joy awaits them there. They sought not merey and therefore they find it not: they came not weary and heavy laden unto Christ; and therefore they have no part in the rest which he alone can give: they humbled not themselves; and therefore they can never be exalted.]
Let us now contemplate, on the other hand,
II.
The benefit of true penitence
True repentance consists of two parts; a confessing, and forsaking, of our sins
[Confession is of absolute and indispensable necessity. We never can humble ourselves aright without it. Nor ought we to rest in mere general acknowledgments: we should search out our sins: we should say, Thus and thus have I done. We should go farther, and enter into the particular aggravations of our sins, in order the more deeply to affect our own hearts, and to fill our minds with self-lothing and self-abhorrence. Not that God needs to be informed: he knows all our iniquities, and all the circumstances with which they have been attended. But by spreading them all before God, we give the more glory to him as a God of infinite mercy and compassion; at the same time that we prepare our own minds for a due reception of mercy at his hands.
But, besides this, we must forsake our sins. If we hold them fast, it is a clear proof that our repentance is not genuine. Nor must we forsake them merely as a man parts with a limb, which, if not amputated, would destroy his life: we may indeed take into our consideration the danger arising from them, as our Lord tells us in the case of a right hand or right eye, which, if retained, would plunge us into everlasting perdition: but we must regard them as odious, and hateful, and abominable; and long for deliverance from them as we would for deliverance from the most lothsome disorder.
These two, a confessing, and forsaking of sin, must go together. Supposing we could put away our sins for the future, it would still become us to bewail those which are past: and, if we bewail them ever so bitterly, still must we not rest without gaining the victory over them, it is the union of them both that marks true penitence; and]
Where such repentance is, there God will bestow his richest blessings
[It is said in a subsequent part of this chapter, that a faithful man shall abound with blessings. And this is true of all who deal faithfully with their own souls and with their God, in bewailing and mortifying their most secret corruptions. This is strongly asserted by all the inspired writers. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon [Note: Isa 55:7.]. To such both the faithfulness and the justice of God assure a perfect remission of all sin [Note: 1Jn 1:9-10.]. Nor will God delay to manifest his love, when once he sees our souls truly humbled for sin. The self-condemning publican was justified even before he left the spot where his confessions were made [Note: Luk 18:14.]. And David speaks of the same truth as realized also in his experience. Whilst he forbore to humble himself, he was kept in a state of darkness and misery: but as soon as he began to confess his sins unto the Lord, the Lord forgave the iniquity of his sin [Note: Psa 32:3-5.].
And need we say what mercy God will vouchsafe to penitents in the last day? Surely all the manifestations of his love which he gives to them in this world, are but as a twinkling star compared with that full splendour of the Sun of Righteousness, which in that day every contrite soul shall enjoy. The joy of the Father over the returning prodigal, with all the music, and feasting, and dancing, are but faint images of what shall be realized in heaven over every true penitent through all eternity.]
From hence we may learn,
1.
Whence it is that men know so little of spiritual prosperity
[Repentance is a work to which we are very averse. If we did but occasionally set apart a day for solemn fasting and prayer, and set ourselves more diligently to the great duty of humiliation before God, we should have more delightful visits from him, and richer communications of his grace to our souls ]
2.
How painful will be the self-condemnation of all who perish!
[The promise in our text will then be remembered with unutterable shame and sorrow. What a reflection will it be, I might have obtained mercy, but would not seek it: God said to me, Only acknowledge thine iniquity [Note: Jer 3:12-13.]: but I would not deign to acknowledge it. Verily the easy terms on which salvation might have been obtained, will form the bitterest ingredient of that bitter cup which the impenitent soul will have to drink to all eternity.]
3.
What obligations do we owe to the Lord Jesus Christ!
[It is through him, and through him alone, that repentance is of any avail. There is nothing in repentance that can merit forgiveness: all the merit is in Christ Jesus, even in his obedience unto death: it is that which cancels all our guilt: it is that which purchases our title to the heavenly inheritance. Whilst therefore we confess and forsake our sins, let our eyes be directed to Him as our only hope, even to him, in whom all the seed of Israel shall be justified, and in whom they shall glory.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.
Ver. 13. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper. ] Sin is a traitor and must not be hid; for if so, now it sucks a man’s breast, shortly it will suck his blood. Sin is a sore and must be opened, a sickness, and must be declared to the physician; the concealing of one circumstance may endanger all. Sin is a deformity that must be uncovered, or God will never cover it: see it we must to confession, or see it we shall to our confusion. If Job had covered his transgression as Adam – or “after the manner of men” – he had undone himself. Job 31:33 It is the manner of men – and they have it from Adam – to palliate their sins and plead for them, to elevate and extenuate them, to mince and excuse them. Sin and shifting came into the world together. Sin and Satan are alike in this, they cannot abide to appear in their own colour. Some deal with their souls as others do with their bodies; when their beauty is decayed they desire to hide it from themselves by false glasses, and from others by painting; so their sins from themselves by false glosses, and from others by excuses. These must not look for Gaius’s prosperity 3Jn 1:2 The sunshine also of their outward prosperity ripens their sin apace, and so fits them for destruction. Never was Ephraim’s case so desperate as when God said “Ephraim is joined with idols, let him alone”; Hos 4:17 nor Jerusalem so near destruction as when God said, “My fury shall depart from thee; I will be quiet, and no more angry.” Eze 16:42 To prosper in sin is the greatest unhappiness that can befall a man out of hell.
But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them, &c.
Shall have mercy.
a Per Miscrere mei, tollitur ira Dei.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
He that covereth, &c. Illustrations: Adam (Gen 3:12. See Job 31:33); Cain (Gen 4:9); Saul (1Sa 15:19-21).
sins = transgressions. Hebrew. pasha’. App-44.
confesseth, &c. Illustrations: David (2Sa 12:13. Psa 51:3); Manasseh (2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:13); Nineveh (Jer 18:7, Jer 18:8. Jon 3:5-10. Mat 12:41); the lost son (Luk 15:18-24).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 28:13
Pro 28:13
“He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper; But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.”
This admonition should not be construed as teaching any such thing as “auricular confession” after the manner of the Roman church. Christians are not commanded to confess to any kind of prelate, or representative of any church. We are commanded to confess our sins “one to another” (Jas 5:16); and that is a mutual affair. Also it is said that every tongue shall “Confess to God” (Rom 14:11; Rom 15:9).
Pro 28:13. When one has done wrong, he can go one of two ways: either seek to cover or conceal his transgress (like Achan-Jos 7:1; Jos 7:16-26) or confess the transgression and forsake it (like 1Jn 1:9 teaches us to do: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins). The Prodigal Son is a good example of the latter (Luk 15:21-24). When one tries to conceal sin when he should confess and forsake it, things are not going to go right. It is like keeping a thorn in ones hand that ought to be removed, like keeping a bad tooth in ones mouth that ought to be extracted, like driving a car that is badly out of time, etc. Not until one removes the bad and gets things fixed will things be like they ought to be. Nathan did King David a great favor when he dealt with him about his sin (2Sa 12:1-13). After David s sin was all over, after God had uncovered it, and after God had forgiven it, he could write, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile-no dishonesty in attempting to cover it up (Psa 32:1-2). And then as he looked back at his own covering up attempt, he said, When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture was changed as with the drought of summer (Psa 32:3-4). Then Nathan came, and now David could say, I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity did I not hide: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin (Psa 32:5).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
that: Pro 10:12, Pro 17:9, Gen 3:12, Gen 3:13, Gen 4:9, 1Sa 15:13, 1Sa 15:24, Job 31:33, Psa 32:3-5, Jer 2:22, Jer 2:23, Mat 23:25-28
whoso: Lev 26:40-42, 1Ki 8:47-49, Job 33:27, Psa 51:1-5, Psa 51:10, Jer 3:12, Jer 3:13, Dan 9:20-23, Luk 15:18-24, 1Jo 1:8-10
and forsaketh: Exo 10:16, Exo 10:17, 1Sa 15:30, Mat 3:6-10, Mat 27:4, Mat 27:5, Act 26:20
Reciprocal: Gen 18:15 – denied Gen 37:20 – Some Gen 37:31 – General Gen 50:17 – they did Lev 5:5 – confess Lev 13:23 – General Lev 16:21 – confess over Num 5:7 – confess Jos 7:19 – make Jdg 10:15 – We have sinned 1Sa 15:15 – for 2Sa 11:6 – Send me 2Sa 12:13 – I have sinned 2Sa 14:32 – if there 2Sa 20:20 – that I should 2Sa 24:10 – I have sinned 2Ki 20:15 – All the things 1Ch 15:13 – for that 2Ch 6:24 – shall return 2Ch 6:26 – turn 2Ch 7:14 – turn from 2Ch 30:9 – will not Ezr 10:11 – make confession Job 9:30 – General Job 34:32 – if Psa 32:5 – acknowledged Psa 38:18 – For Psa 51:3 – For I Psa 119:26 – declared Isa 39:4 – All that Isa 55:7 – the wicked Jer 2:35 – Because Jer 7:3 – Amend Lam 1:20 – for Eze 18:21 – if the Eze 33:14 – if he Dan 4:27 – break Mal 2:16 – covereth Mar 1:5 – confessing Luk 3:13 – Exact Joh 8:11 – go Act 19:18 – confessed Eph 4:28 – steal no more 1Jo 1:9 – we confess
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 28:13. He that covereth his sins That does not confess them (as appears by the opposite clause) to God, and to men too, when occasion requires it: who, being convinced or admonished of his sins, either justifies, or denies, or excuses them; shall not prosper Shall not succeed in his design of avoiding punishment by the concealment of his sins; shall not find mercy, as is implied from the next clause. But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them From a sincere hatred to them, and a fixed and hearty resolution to walk in newness of life; shall have mercy Both from God, who hath promised it, and from men, who are ready to grant pardon and favour to such persons. Observe well, reader: although the dissembling, or hiding of his sins, is sufficient for a mans damnation, yet mere confession, without forsaking of sin, is not sufficient for his salvation.