“It is the
glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour 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
cover a 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 for ever 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
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 wing. 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 reveal himself 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 conceal 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 wilfully 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 Ghost 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 there 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! Canst thou do it? Would
not thine eyes be thereby blinded? Yet the 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 “Encyclopaedists”, because they fancied that they knew
everything; yet they knew nothing perfectly, and many of them broke down
together 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 stood
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 doth conceal itself, not by being concealed, but by being so exceedingly
unveiled. The glory itself blindeth, for the finite mind of man is not able to
gaze thereon.
Yet the truth 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 want 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 plumline 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 thine own profiting
that thou dost not know what will happen to thee on the morrow. Thou knowest not
what afflictions may await thee, nor when thou shalt die; it is well for thee
that thou dost not know. If it had been for God’s glory that thou shouldst read
thy history from its first page to its last and be able to foretell every event
in thine own life story, or in the history of the nations of the earth, God
would have revealed it to thee; but be thou content not to know what God doth
not tell thee, and say in thy 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 a 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, and 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 believer 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 of 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 discover 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 suborn 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
against 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—the 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 ye 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 in 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 unconfessed. 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 thou dost stand, O sinner, and confess thy
guilt; if thou sayest O rebel, “There is no doubt about the matter; I own that I
am guilty,” it is the glory of God that he can cover that sin which no other can
cover, and which thine own conscience will not permit thee 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 be confessed and acknowledged, and covered because it
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 stead 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 singular, 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
Marvellous is
this truth— too marvellous for some to believe.
The Romish 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, beside purgatorial
pains to be inflicted after death, and I know not what beside. Ay, 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 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 does ever
thoroughly loathe sin till he has seen it put away in Christ; but when he has
seen Jesus put it way 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—nay
more—that he has forgiven 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 amongst
wild soldiery, 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.
