God's Glory in Hiding Sin
(No. 2838)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JULY 5, 1903.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, JULY
15, 1877.
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is
to search out a matter." Proverbs 25:2.
THE translation of our text, if it had been more literal, would have
run thus, "It is the glory of God to covera matter, but the honor of
kings is to search out a matter." For the sake of variety in language,
our translators sometimes gave two different interpretations to the
same word and though that makes the verbiage more smooth, it is
generally a great mistake and apt to mislead us. The word, "conceal,"
is just the same word that we get in the passage, "Blessed is he…
whose sin is covered." So the text runs thus–I will give it to you
again that I may further impress it upon you–"It is the glory of God
to cover a matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."
First of all, I will give you the common interpretation which is given
to these words and the topic which is suggested to most minds thereby,
namely, that it is God's glory to conceal much of the great Truth which
concerns Himself and His dealings with the sons of men. "Clouds and
darkness are round about Him." It is His glory that He is not seen, His
glory that He is concealed, while, as for kings, it is their honor "to
search out a matter." This is the general interpretation which almost
every expositor gives of this passage, but I am not able wholly to
agree with it. However, I will speak upon it for little while.
It is certain that such an explanation as this would have to be taken
in a limited sense, for it cannot absolutely and without qualification
be the glory of God to conceal a thing, for, if so, He might have
concealed everything from us. It is evidently for His glory that some
things should be revealed or else, why has He revealed them? He might
have dwelt forever in that wondrous solitude in which we suppose He did
dwell before He commenced the work of Creation. We know not what He was
doing in that past eternity of which it is difficult, if not
impossible, for us to conceive–when there was no creation, when not a
single star had begun to shine, nor an angel had fled through space on
rapid wings. If it were God's glory to be absolutely concealed, it
seems to me that He would have remained alone in the thick darkness
that surrounded Him, for He would not have wanted to have a single
creature to know His love, to realize His power, or to contemplate His
wisdom. It is at once obvious that if this is the true and correct
interpretation, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing," it must be
taken in a very limited sense. If it had been His glory to conceal
everything, He would have continued to conceal it, but, as far as I can
see, His manifested glory is His glory. The glory of God is not so much
to conceal as to revealHimself to those whom He prepares to receive the
Revelation!
There are many things which it would not be for God's glory to conceal.
You could not say of everything, "It is the glory of God to congeal
this." Take, for instance, His righteous Law–would it have been for
His glory to have left our race utterly ignorant of it? I cannot
conceive of such a thing! And then His matchless Redemption He has
revealed to us in many wonderful ways. Would He have taken all the
pains that He has done to reveal Himself in Christ Jesus if it had been
for His glory to conceal Himself in that respect? Would He bid us go
into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature if it could
be for His glory to conceal that? No, it is high treason against the
majesty of Heaven for any man to obscure the blessed Revelation of God
in Christ Jesus. I am afraid that all of us, preachers of the Word, do
that, in some measure, by reason of our infirmity–but God forbid that
we should ever willfully keep back a single ray of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ!
There are many great and glorious Truths which do not need that God
should conceal them. If we do not perceive them, probably it is because
it is not necessary that they should be concealed, for their own
inherent glory is their concealment. If I were to take, for instance,
the mysterious Doctrine of the Eternal Filiation of the Lord Jesus
Christ, or the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the
Son–these wondrous Truths need not be concealed from us because they
are, in themselves, such deep mysteries that, however clearly they may
be revealed to us, it is not possible for us to understand them! Even
the grand Doctrine of the Trinity which is so plainly set forth in the
Scriptures–the Trinity in the Unity of the Godhead–need not be
concealed as, indeed, it has not been, yet we cannot comprehend it! God
need not seek out any method of concealment for, if He were to unveil
His face among us, the Glory would be too bright to be beheld! Go and
stand, O mortal man, and gaze upon the sun at mid-day! Can you do it?
Would not your eyes be thereby blinded? Yet, yon sun is only one of the
myriads of servants in the courts of God! Then what must the face of
the King, Himself, be? It needs not that He should veil it–His own
Glory is, surely, veil enough unto itself!
Our minds are finite, contracted, limited. There were certain men, who
called themselves "Encyclopedists," because they fancied that they knew
everything, yet they knew nothing perfectly and many of them broke down
in their attempt to learn even all that might be known by men. But, as
for God Himself, who can possibly comprehend Him? The archangel who
stands nearest to His august Presence, must veil his face with his
wings, for even he is not able to gaze upon the Glory of that excessive
light! It does not seem to me to be so great a Truth that it is the
glory of God to conceal as that His very Glory conceals itself, not by
being concealed, but by being so exceedingly unveiled! The Glory,
itself, blinds, for the finite mind of man is not able to gaze upon it!
Yet the Truth of God which our English Version seeks to convey to us
may be accepted without hesitation if we regard it thus–if God has
concealed anything, it is God's glory to conceal it and it is right
that it should be hidden. If God has not told us any Truth, it is for
His glory not to tell it to us. Perhaps we have as much reason to bless
the Lord for what is not in the Bible as for what is there–and what He
has not revealed may be as much for our benefit and, certainly, is as
much for His glory, as what He has revealed. For instance, if He does
not tell us all about Himself and the mystery of His Person, do we need
to know it? Can we not believe in Him and love Him all the better
because we do not understand Him? Surely a God whom we could understand
would be no God! We delight in being out of our depth–in finding
waters to swim in–where understanding, with its little plumb line,
finds no bottom, but where love, with a restful spirit, finds perfect
peace. Doubtless, there is a glory in the Lord not revealing Himself,
so far as the past or present is concerned.
As to the future, it is, no doubt, for the glory of God that He has not
revealed to us all concerning the history of this world. It may be all
in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. Some friends think it
is, and it may be, but this I venture to say–there is no man who
understands it and I do not think any men will understand it until the
Word shall explain itself! And then, possibly, when history becomes the
commentary upon the prophecy, we shall wonder that we did not see it.
Yet we cannot do so at present. It is to the glory of God and to your
own profit that you do not know what will happen to you tomorrow. You
know not what afflictions may await you, nor when you shall die–it is
well for you that you do not know. If it had been for God's glory that
you should read your history from its first page to its last and be
able to foretell every event in your own life, or in the history of the
nations of the earth, God would have revealed it to you! Be content not
to know what God does not tell you and say, in your spirit, "Let it be
so, for, in some things, it is the glory of God to conceal a thing."
Still, I think that this is not the teaching of the text. I conceive
that it has quite another meaning which I will try to give you. You
know that in a proverb like this, with a, "but," in the middle, there
is what we call an antithesis, or an expression of opposites. The text
does not run thus, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the
honor of kings is to publish a thing." That is not what is said
here–it is quite a different sentence which is not an antithesis at
all. Then, again, the antithesis is not complete–"It is the glory of
God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a
matter," for it is not so much the business of kings to search out
matters that refer to wisdom as it is the business of wise men to do
so. If there are doctrines that are not known to us because God
conceals them, it is the business of wise men to search them out–not
so much the business of kings to do so. Neither can we read the passage
thus, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of
kings to make things plain," because the third verse of the chapter
does not agree with this rendering. Solomon did not think that it was
to the honor of kings to make things plain. He was a believ-
er in diplomacy, for he says, "The Heaven for height, and the earth for
depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable." He could not,
therefore, have intended to convey that meaning.
Now let me give you what I think is the true meaning of the passage.
What is the business of kings? Why are they set up above their fellow
men? What is their honor? Why, it is the honor of kings to search out
matters that concern the administration of justice, to bring prisoners
before their bar, laying bare their crimes and convicting them if they
are guilty. It is the glory of God to cover a matter, that matter being
sin–but it is the honor of kings to search that matter out and bring
the guilty one to justice. You know that we think less and less of our
police if they are not able to identify criminals. It has sometimes
happened that justice misses its mark. Perhaps there is an attempt made
to get a certain important witness out of the way, or to bribe another,
or to suppress some testimony that might be brought against the accused
persons. It is never to the honor of kings when that is done. When, for
instance, a murder has been committed, and the criminal cannot be
traced, it is not to the credit of the governing powers that it should
be so. And though it must be so, sometimes, for no human government can
be perfect in its detective forces, yet it is not to the honor of "the
powers that be." It is to the honor of kings that they search matters
out till they bring home the guilt to the proper individual. Nor is it
to the honor of kings if they give their verdict and sentence at first
sight according to prejudice. It is their honor to search out a
matter–to hear both sides of the case. The magistrate who sits in the
king's name is bound to enquire thoroughly into the matter brought
before him and, at last, to adjudicate as justice demands. This is
sometimes very difficult, but it is to the honor of kings and their
representatives when they attempt it.
Now, to God, such a thing as this is impossible. Nothing is concealed
from Him–the whole universe is but one great prison for those who
offend Him and He can find them at any time that He pleases–and He can
execute His just sentence upon them without a moment's delay! He needs
no witnesses. He need not summon this person or that, who has seen a
certain deed done, for the transgression has been committed in His own
sight! His glory is that He covers the matter–and as it is the glory
of God to cover the matter, it is also the honor of kings to search the
matter out, that matter, in each case, being the breach of law. I am
persuaded that this is the meaning of the text. Even if it were not, it
is a grand Truth of Scripture, well worthy of our meditation.
So, we shall dwell upon it thus. First, it is the glory of God to cover
sin. Secondly, this is a great encouragement to penitent sinners. And,
thirdly, it ought to be a great stimulus to saints.
I. First, IT IS THE GLORY OF GOD TO COVER SIN.
This is the expression which is commonly used in Scripture to describe
the putting away of sin and forgiving it God covers the very thing
which the magistrate searches out–guilt, the breach of His Law, the
aggravations, the multiplied repetitions of sin, the base motives, the
many excuses and deceits with which sin is sought to be extenuated–all
this God covers. Hear this and be astonished, O you Sinners–God can
cover all your sins! No matter how black they are, or how many, or how
deep their dye, He can cover them all!–
"This is His grand prerogative, And none can in this honor share." But
He can do it, glory be to His blessed name!
He can cover the sin which is known and confessed. He never covers the
sin which is notconfessed. When a man will not acknowledge himself to
be guilty, he stands convicted of his rebellious refusal to take his
proper position before the Lord. But if you stand, O Sinner, and
confess your guilt–if you say, O Rebel, "There is no doubt about the
matter, I acknowledge that I am guilty," it is the glory of God that He
can cover that sin which no other can cover and which your own
conscience will not permit you to conceal! He can cover the
transgression of that man whose mouth is stopped by the consciousness
of his guilt. O glorious act of Divine Grace that sin and transgression
can be covered–covered, though it is confessed and acknowledged, and
covered becauseit is confessed and acknowledged!
The glory of this Truth lies in the fact that God can do this justly
through the work of Jesus. To cover up sin, why, standing, as it does,
alone and without any qualification, it might seem to be a dreadful
thing for God to do! But He can do it righteously. Without the
slightest violation of His Law, without endangering the stability of
His Kingdom, He can forgive and cover up all manner of sin and
blasphemy so that it shall never be seen again! Do you ask me how this
can be done? The answer lies in the great substitutionary Sacrifice of
Jesus Christ! God steps down from His eternal Throne when man must be
punished for his sin and He says, "I will bear the punishment! Lay it
all on Me." And that He might
bear it, Jesus took upon Himself the form of a Man and dwelt among men
and, at last, upon the accursed tree He bore the guilt of man! It was a
wondrous recompense which He made to His own Law by being Himself
punished in the place of the offender! Now, beneath the whole heavens
there can be none who can justly object to the covering of sin by the
atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That amazing, that remarkable, that
unique transaction of the Just suffering for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God, has enabled God to cover our sin and to do it justly.
Further, He can do this without exacting any sort of compensation from
the offender Marvelous is this Truth–too marvelous for some to
believe! The Roman Catholic Church teaches us that we must do penance
if our sin is to be forgiven. There must be so many lashes for the bare
back, or so long abstention from food–and purgatorial pains to be
inflicted after death and I know not what besides! Yes, but this is the
glory of God–that He can cover all this sin now, upon the spot,
without any price being paid by the sinner, or any suffering being
endured by him! He has but to come and confess his sin and accept the
Divine covering, namely, the blood and righteousness of Jesus
Christ–and the whole of it shall be covered once and for all!
It is the glory of God that He can do all this without any injury to
the person who is forgiven. It sometimes happens that if a man has
offended you, and you forgive him again and again, he may thereby
become hardened in his sin. But the Lord's sweet way of covering sin is
one which always melts and changes the heart. Sin is never so heartily
hated as when it is covered by the blood of Christ! No man ever
thoroughly loathes sin till he has seen it put away in Christ. And when
he has seen Jesus put it away by His own griefs and death, then he
really hates the sin that made the Redeemer mourn and nailed Him to the
tree. It is the Glory of God that He can cover sin in such a fashion as
this, so as not to injure the offender whom He forgives!
And He can do it without causing any injury to the rest of mankind.
There is no man who is any the worse because his fellow man is saved.
The example of saved souls is never injurious. There are some, I know,
who can twist the truth till they find in it an excuse for sin, but the
Truth that God is able to forgive the grossest sin–no, more–that He
hasforgi-ven it in the case of many and has pressed them to His bosom
as His own dear children–has done no injury, but much helpful service
to the morals of mankind. Go where you will, and read the story of the
prodigal son–on board ship among rough sailors, or away there in the
barracks among wild soldiers, or go into the worst slums of London and
read to fallen women that wondrous story of God's pardoning love and
see if it will do them any injury! You know that it will not. On the
contrary, it conveys to them a message of hope which helps to lift them
up from that black despair which is one of the strongest chains by
which the devil can hold lost souls in captivity! I am not at all
afraid of the effect of preaching that it is the glory of God to blot
out sin, for He put His Son between Himself and the sinner, as we
sometimes sing–
"Christ and then the sinner see, Look through Jesus' wounds on me."
The greatest blessing of all is, dear Friends, that, when God covers
sin, He does it so effectually that it never appears again. He declares
that He casts it into the depths of the sea. He says that as far as the
east is from the west, so far does He remove it from us. He even goes
the length of saying, "The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and
there shall be none." So far as anything can be annihilated, that is
what will happen to the sin of the Lord's people. You know that the
work of the Messiah was "to finish the transgression, and to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness"–and that is the work of which He said, "It
is finished." Then it is finished! There is an end of it! That is the
glorious way in which the Lord covers sin and it is His peculiar glory
that He is continually doing this. Kings may search out matters and
they ought to do so, or government will not be safe–but it is to the
honor of God to forgive sin.
II. Now, secondly, to make a practical use of this Doctrine, THIS
SHOULD BE VERY GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT TO THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING MERCY AT
GOD'S HANDS.
Beloved Friend, do you wish to have your sin forgiven? Then do not
attempt to cover it yourself, for it is the glory of God to cover that
matter, so do not try to rob Him of His glory. If you could have
covered your sin, there would have been no need for a Redeemer! Do not
attempt to excuse or extenuate your guilt, but make a clean breast of
it. You are a sinner. Therefore say that you are a sinner. In all your
approaches to God, seeking mercy at His hands, come in your true
colors. Do not even plead your own repentance, or your tears, or your
feelings. Plead as David did, "For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my
iniquity: for it is great "Call your sin great, as it really is. Never
try to make it out to be little.
You know that if you were wounded on a battlefield and a surgeon came
where you were, you would not say to him, "Oh, I have very little the
matter with me!" Oh no! I guarantee you that you would cry as loudly as
you could, "Doctor, bind up my gaping wounds lest I die!" You know that
in such a case you would make the most of it, and you would act wisely
in doing so. And it is never wise for a sinner to make himself out to
be a little sinner. It is the glory of God to cover sin, so do not you
attempt to do it! I say again, lay it all bare before Him and ask Him
to cover it with the atoning Sacrifice of His dear Son.
Now, poor Sinner, I pray the Holy Spirit to enable you to give God
glory, at this moment, by believing that He can cover sin. When the
conscience is thoroughly awakened, it seems impossible that sin should
ever be covered. The convicted sinner says, "My sin, my sin, I always
see it! Can it ever be hidden from the sight of God?" Can you not
believe that God in Christ can cover your sin? Glorify God, O son,
glorify God, O daughter, by believing that He can do so! Do not limit
His mercy by thinking that He cannot pardon you, for He has forgiven so
many that, assuredly, there is proof enough that He can pass by
iniquity, transgression and sin and remember not the guilt of those who
trust His Son! If you believe that, give glory to God now by believing
that He is willing to pass by your sin. Every man is willing to do that
which honors himself and it is inconceivable that God should be
reluctant to do that which glorifies Himself. So, as it is for His
glory to cover it, He must be willing to cover it! Therefore, may the
Holy Spirit help you to believe, now, that He can and will cover your
sin!
There is Christ on the Cross–look to Him with the eyes of faith and
take Him to be your own Savior. Christ on the Cross is nothing to you
until you trust in Him, but it glorifies Christ when a poor guilty
sinner cries to Him, "Purge me with hyssop." You know what the use of
the hyssop was. They took a bunch of it and dipped it in the blood of
the sacrifice, and those who were sprinkled with it were made
ceremonially clean. David prayed, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean: wash me, and Ishall be whiter than snow." And that is the prayer
for you to present. You believe that if God were to wash another man in
the blood of Jesus, He would become whiter than snow, but can you not
believe it for yourself? May the blessed Spirit take away your
unbelief, dear Heart! Can you not believe that He can wash you and make
you whiter than snow? He will do it in a moment if you but trust Him,
rely upon Him and receive His dear Son to be your salvation! This is
the true covering of sin. Oh, how the Hebrews loved that word,
"covering." Noah's ark was pitched inside and outside with pitch–that
was its covering. So everything under the Mosaic Law had its covering
and God has a way of covering sin and covering the sinner, too, inside
and outside till all his sin is gone! And he that believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ may know at once that his transgression is forgiven, his
sin is covered.
"But," someone asks, "am I to do nothing?" Nothing but believe in Him
that justifies the ungodly! If you do that, you will begin to do
something more directly, afterwards, for you will love God for having
pardoned you and you will say, "I am not my own now, for I am bought
with a price and, therefore, I will live to His Glory." But, in order
to get your sin forgiven, you have nothing to do except–
"Castyour deadly doing down,
Down at Jesus' feet–
Stand in Him, in Him alone–
Gloriously complete!"
"For he that believes on Him is not condemned." "He that believes in
Him is justified from all things from which he could not be justified
by the Law of Moses." Oh, what an encouragement this ought to be to all
sinners who are seeking the Savior!
III. Now, lastly, THIS GRAND DOCTRINE OUGHT TO BE A GREAT STIMULUS TO
THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
First, it should excite you to glorify God in having covered your sin.
Do not go and talk to everybody about what you used to be before
conversion, as I have known some to do. They will almost revel in what
they were! I have more than a little hesitation about what is sometimes
said by converted burglars and men of that sort. I am glad they are
converted, but I wish they would not talk so much about that which is
covered. Let it be covered. Still, never be backward to glorify God for
having covered your sin. Speak of it with delicacy and modesty, but, if
the Grace of God has saved you, tell all men of it and do not let
people imagine that God has done only a small thing for you. When He
saved you, it was the grandest thing He could do for you. Do you not
think so? Well, then, tell the story of it–
"Tell it unto sinners, tell, I am–I am–out of Hell."
"And what is more, I never shall go there, but shall see God's face
with acceptance in Heaven!" Tell this to sinners while you live–and
when you get to Heaven, make the streets of Heaven ring with the
tidings of the Almighty Grace that covered all your sin!
The next thing for you Christian people to do, now you know that God
can cover sin, is to aim at the covering of the sins of your friends
and neighbors by leading them to the Savior To see sin should always be
a tearful sight to you. As soon as ever you see it, breathe the prayer,
"Lord, cover it." Do you live where you can hardly lie in your bed at
night without hearing sounds of ribaldry and blasphemy? Then the moment
you hear them, say, "Lord, cover that sin." Do you see, in the streets,
foul transgression that makes you blush? Never see it without saying,
"Lord, cover that sin." If we were in a right state of heart, this
would be our habit–every sin that we noticed in ourselves or in
others–in our children, or our servants, or our neighbors, or that we
read of in the newspapers, would make us pray, "Lord, cover that sin."
So always be telling others about the covering of sin by Christ's
precious blood! Show them what a perfect covering it is. You know that
the Lord spoke through Isaiah of "a covering which is narrower than
that a man can wrap himself in it." But the atoning Sacrifice of Christ
is a covering which will cover all sin and cover the sinner from head
to foot! Therefore tell others about it with all your might.
And, once more, you who have proved the power of this covering, imitate
the Lord in forgetting the sins of those who repent If ever they offend
you, let that Atonement which satisfied God for sin, also satisfy you,
and say, "Though this man has offended me, I ask no atonement at his
hands, because Christ's Atonement is to my soul the satisfaction for
every sin against me as well as against God." Never harbor any
resentment for a single moment, Beloved. "Even as Christ forgave you,
so also do you." Do you think that Christ's blood and righteousness are
not sufficient to cover those unkind words of your brother, or that
ungenerous action of your son, or that slanderous speech of your
neighbor? Go and put all offenses against yourself where God has put
all offenses against Himself! It is a dreadful thing to hear a man
talking about God having forgiven him ten thousand talents and then to
see him take his brother by the throat, saying, "Pay me what you owe!"
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "If you forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespass." This spirit of
forgiveness would keep us always in a state of love–and this is
exactly what the Lord Jesus aims at. "It is the glory of God to cover a
matter."
Then, you cover matters, too. I know some people who always like to be
poking into any filth there is. They keep a long stick and stir it up,
and they seem to be quite pleased with the sweet perfume. Let it alone,
Brother–let it alone! "Oh, but you do not know how they have offended
me!" No, and I do not want to know. But I am quite sure that they have
not offended you as much as you have offended God–and yet He has
forgiven you! Then why do you not forgive them? The less said, you
know, in such matters, the sooner are they mended. Solomon wisely says,
"Where no wood is, there the fire goes out." Blessed are they who
always act as firemen, throwing cold water upon every spark of
dissension or ill-will that they see! It is the Glory of God to cover
it up, so you, also, cover it up with the spirit of love and the mantle
of gentleness! And, above all, with the reflection that the precious
blood of Christ, that made peace between you and God, has also made
peace between you and all mankind.
And now, for love of Christ, if they strike you on one cheek, you
should turn the other, also. If they will have your cloak, for love of
Jesus let them have your coat, also, sooner than live in the spirit of
perpetual contention and strife. May God enable you to act thus, for
Christ's sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: EXODUS25:10-22; PSALM 32.
Exodus 25:10, 11. And they shall make an Ark of shittim wood: two
cubits and a half shall be the length thereof and a cubit and a half
the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof And you
shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay
it, and shall make upon it a crown of gold'round about. The Ark of the
Covenant was the most sacred object in the tabernacle in the
wilderness. It stood at the extreme end of the Holy of Holiest. It was
the place over which the bright shining light called the Shekinah,
which was the token of the Presence of God, shone forth. The Ark was,
doubtless, typical of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a sacred chest made
to contain the Law of God. Blessed are they who know the Law in Christ.
Out of Christ, the Law condemns. In Christ, it becomes a blessed guide
to
us. This Ark was made of wood, perhaps to typify the human nature of
our blessed Lord–but it was of wood which did not rot–acacia–which
resists the worm and, truly, in Him there was no corruption in life by
way of sin, and no corruption sullied Him in death when He slept for a
while in the grave! Wood is a thing that grows out of the earth, even
as Jesus sprang up like a root out of a dry ground. But the Ark must be
made of the best kind of wood–no presence of rot and untainted. Yet
the Ark, though made of wood, did not appear to be so, for it was
completely overlaid with pure gold, so, everywhere, the Deity, or, if
you will, the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ could be seen. The
Ark was of shittim wood, yet it was an Ark of gold–and He, who was
truly Man, was just as truly God, blessed be His holy name! Round about
the top of this Ark there was a crown of gold. How glorious is Christ,
in His mediation, as covering the Law and preserving it within Himself!
He is King, glorious in holiness and honored in the midst of His
people.
12-14. And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them on
the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it,
and two rings on the other side of it, and you shall make staves of
shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the staves
into the rings by the sides of the Ark, that the Ark may be borne with
them. The rings were, of course, for the staves to pass through, and
the staves were for the priests to carry the Ark as it moved from place
to place. It went with the children of Israel in all their
journeys–and our Lord Jesus is always with us. He goes with us
wherever we go and tarries with us wherever we abide. Though His
glorified Person is in Heaven, yet His Presence is not restricted to
any one place, as He said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the
world."
15. The staves shall be in the rings of the Ark: they shall not be
taken from it So that it was always ready to be moved.
16. And you shall put into the Ark, the Testimony which I shall give
you. That is to say, the two tablets of stone were to be put into the
Ark of the Covenant.
17. And you shall make a Mercy Seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half
shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth
thereof. It exactly fitted upon the top of the Ark, and so completely
covered whatever was put within. It was of pure gold. This, perhaps,
was the most important part of this very important article of the
tabernacle furniture. It was the Mercy Seat, the cover that hid the Law
of God, the place where God promised to meet with His people.
18-20. Andyou shall make two cherubims of gold, of beaten workshallyou
make them, on the two ends of the Mercy Seat And make one cherub on the
one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the Mercy Seat
shall you make the cherubims on the two ends thereof, and the cherubims
shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the Mercy Seat with
their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the
Mercy Seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. They were part and
parcel of the Mercy Seat. They were made of the same precious metal and
all formed one piece. They may represent the angels who stand desiring
to look into the mysteries of God, and they may also represent the
Church, which is all of a piece with Christ, forever one with Him.
21, 22. Andyou shallput the Mercy Seat above upon the Ark, and in the
Ark you shallput the Testimony that I shall give you. And there I will
meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the Mercy Seat,
from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony,
of all things which I will give you in commandment unto the children of
Israel I t was the meeting place of God and men, where the Law was
covered with a solid plate of gold, so is Jesus the meeting place
between God and sinners, where the Law is covered with His perfect
righteousness.
Psalm 32:1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered. That is a wonderful word–almost the same in Hebrew as in
English–covered, hidden, concealed, put away, removed, dismissed
forever.
2. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputes not iniquity, and in
whose spirit there is no guile. For, when sin is gone, men become
honest before God. The fear of punishment makes them endeavor to evade
the Truth concerning sin, but, when they see sin pardoned, then are
they honest before the Lord.
3. When I kept silent, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the
day long. I have heard that certain diseases, when they are suppressed,
are all the more terrible and deadly. And, certainly, suppressed sin,
or suppressed sorrow for sin which has no vent by way of confession
before God, is a dreadful thing. It seems to eat into the very
bones–"My bones waxed old," like a strong acid eating into the very
pillars of our manhood!
4. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me. The mere touch of
God's finger would be enough to crush us, but when He comes to deal
with us in conviction and lays His heavy hand upon us, it is, indeed,
terrible! We are then like Gideon's fleece when he squeezed all the
moisture out of it.
4, 5. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I
acknowledged my sin unto You, and my iniquity have Inot hid. I said, I
will confess my transgressors unto the LORD; and You forgave the
iniquity of my sin. Selah. Being confessed, it was forgiven! Being
acknowledged, it was blotted out!
5, For this shall everyone that is godly pray unto You in a time when
You may be found. If You, O Lord, hear a sinner cry unto You, then
surely You will hear your saints when they cry unto You yet more and
more! If seekers become finders, then others will become seekers, too.
6, 7. Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near
unto him. You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. What a
blessed experience that is– to be surrounded with songs, to hear music
on the right and music on the left, singing behind me for mercy
received, singing before me for hopes yet to be fulfilled–singing
above me, the angels welcoming me when my time comes to go Home to my
Father's House! "You shall compass me about with songs of deliverance."
Now the Lord speaks to His servant–
8. I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I
will guide you with My eyes. "Therefore, keep your eye on Me; notice
every movement of My eyes and be ready and obedient, at the slightest
sign, to do My will."
9. Be you not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no
understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest
they come near unto you. Be not hard in the mouth. Be not stubborn,
willful, obstinate, rebellions.
10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked. They pursue pleasure as if it
belonged to them alone. They talk about "a short life and a merry one."
Poor things, how sadly mistaken they are! "Many sorrows shall be to the
wicked." They have a terrible inheritance and a dreadful entail of
suffering!
10, 11. But he that trusts in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, you righteous: and shout for joy. Be
demonstrative about it, make other people hear of it. Do not be ashamed
to let your holy joy be known. Be not so very proper and orderly as to
mumble out your praises as some do–"Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,
you righteous: and shout for joy,"
11. All you that are upright in heart.