He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

God may cover a man's sins but a man may not cover his own sins. To cover is to hide. When God covers a sin, He forgives it and erases the sin completely (Heb 10:17). It is because of His mercy that He covers a man’s sins. But man cannot hide his sin and hope to receive forgiveness from God. God’s forgiveness comes with conditions.  Man must confess and forsake sins in order to obtain God’s mercy.

A person cannot conceal his sin forever. Adam tried to cover his sins; but God knew it (Gen 3:11). Cain tried to cover his murder; but God knew about it too (Gen 4:10). David tried to cover his adultery; but God uncovered it (2 Sam 12:7). God uncovered all their sins. There is no way for anyone to hide his sins from God.

When we sin, we have a choice. We can keep the sin to ourselves, hide it from others, not mention it to God, and do it again when the urge hits. Or we can drop to our knees, confess it to God, make restitution if it involves others, and take the necessary steps to avoid committing it again. Our choice in this matter will greatly affect our life.

When we sinned, what is the right way to do?

1. REALISE IT - The first step in the "covering" of sin is to realise it is sin. Have you tried talking to someone who did not think he had done something wrong in spite of all the evidences against him? The Pharisees in the days of Jesus did not think they had done anything wrong. On the contrary, they felt they were righteous (Luke 18:11-12).

In the Parable of the Prodigal sons, the younger son “came to himself,” (Luke 15:17). It means he came to his senses and realised his wrong doings. Sometimes, in our speech, we say, “Hope one day he will wake up.” We mean he will come to his senses and realise his error of ways.

2. ADMIT IT – Some want to give excuse for their sins. King Saul, when confronted with his sin, made excuse and blamed it on the people (1 Sam 15:21). Adam gave excuse and blamed it on God for giving him the woman (Gen 3:12).

Sometimes, instead of admitting our sins, we blame it on the devil: “The devil made me do it”; people: “It’s their fault”; and circumstances: “While in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

But in the judgement day, we have only ourselves to blame; we can’t pass the blame on others. There will be no excuse. We are all responsible for our own actions: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).

3. CONFESS IT – If it is a private sin, we can confess it to God privately. We can approach only the person to whom we have offended and seek forgiveness. If it is a sin that has gone public, we need to confess it to the church.

Pride is a hindrance to confession of sin. It takes humility and courage to confess a sin. I like this quotation: “When you have done something wrong, admit it and be sorry. No one in history has ever choked to death from swallowing his pride.”

The scripture says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

4. FORSAKE IT - The final step is forsaking. This is true repentance. Repentance is a change which says “I’m not doing it anymore.” In order to find victory over sin, there must be a forsaking of that sin. One must leave the sin completely. Our Lord told the woman who was taken in adultery: “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).  

Our God is a merciful God and He will forgive any sin that has been confessed and forsaken. If we have sinned, let us make a conscientious effort to confess it before God, seek for forgiveness, and sin no more.

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Think before we speak! Make sure we know what we are talking about before sounding off. A person that talks fast, talks often, and answers quickly is worse than a fool. Solomon says there is more hope for a fool than for one who speaks without thinking. How is it so?

Solomon answers: “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding” (Pro 17:28). That means even a fool who keeps his mouth shut is counted as having understanding. Even a fool knows when to keep his mouth shut; but a man who is hasty in his words can’t. A fool saves himself a lot of trouble by simply keeping his mouth shut. But one who is hasty in his speech goes on and gets into trouble. If you’re going to say something hurtful to yourself or others, keep your mouth shut and you will avoid the hurt. And that includes saying anything that does not edify or build up.

Mark Twain is attributed with this quote: “It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.”

A wise man thinks before answering. Did you ever have to eat your words? What happened? You spoke too fast without thinking, didn’t you? No wonder James admonishes: “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).

The opposite of a hasty talker is one who is slow to speak. The slow to speak speaker listens and thinks before he opens his mouth. The hasty talker is a poor listener. We have two ears and one mouth. It is God’s design that we should hear more and talk less. Let this proportion be reflected in our listening and speaking. One who is hasty in his speech hears very little but talks a lot. He is usually the most unlikeable person in the group.

How about in worship? Do you talk in worship? Solomon wants us to be serious in worship. He instructed us that there is both “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccl 3:1, 7). And worship is definitely not a time to speak. He says we should “be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools” (Eccl 5:1). The sacrifice of fools refers to those who are in worship but not worshipping God. Solomon warns against talking in worship: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Eccl 5:2).

Hence, whether in worship or in our social circle, we are to watch our tongue. We should think before we speak. On certain occasions, we should not speak at all. The tongue is a slippery member in the body. I think it’s the reason God placed it inside the mouth so that it can be shut in. But too often, we let it out easily. We say “it’s a slip of the tongue” because it just slips out of control.  

If your dog is prone to bite strangers, would you let it out of the house without supervision and a leash?  You won’t? You ensure your gate is secured so that it does not run out on its own freewill. Yet, how is it that we fail to shut our mouth and keep the tongue in but let it run loose when it has known to have hurt others? All it takes is one or two ill-placed words, and you have offended someone, started a rumour, gossiped or criticized, and eroded a portion of our godly character.

We may be unknowingly offending our fellow brethren. James tells us to bridle our tongue (Jas 3:1-8). The bridling of our tongue takes effort—a conscious, daily, minute-by-minute effort—to think before we speak.

We must be aware of what we are saying and how we are saying it. Once spoken, we can’t take our words back! We can’t say, “Forget what I just said.” We can only say, “Forgive what I just said.”

If you are the type who dominates conversations, be sure to stop and think before you speak. Ask yourself the question, “Is my comment going to be uplifting, helpful and edifying?” If you are in doubt, don’t speak, just listen. Be a better listener and thinker.

King David was very careful about how he spoke and what he spoke about. He said, “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me” (Psalm 39:1).

So many problems could be resolved in our homes, church, workplace, school, communities and world if we could simply learn to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Let us think before we speak.

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

There are four special things on earth that are too wonderful to consider. The writer Agur marvelled at these four things. They are things we see in our everyday life.

1. "The way of an eagle in the air." The eagle flies swiftest, and soars highest among the birds, swooping down upon the prey with its keen sight. Agur gazed upon the it with wonder.

2. "The way of a serpent upon a rock." The serpent has no legs but it moves swiftly on its belly. Agur looked at it and was enthralled by its agility.

3. "The way of a ship in the midst of the sea." A sailing vessel has no fins, no webbed feet of a duck, no tail of a crocodile, nor other visible means of propulsion, yet it moves along the water easily. It can handle most storms without capsizing; and it crosses large bodies of water without signposts or landmarks to its desired port. Agur marvelled at man’s invention.

4. “The way of a man with a maid.” An eagle flies, a snake slithers, and a ship sails; these are their natural movements. They are out there for a purpose. The eagle and snake perhaps to catch a prey. And the ship is on a mission. A man courting a girl is as natural as an eagle flying or a slithering snake. He is out there on a mission as a sailing ship; he is courting a sweet young lady.

The way of a man with a maid is wonderful and mysterious. A man becomes a mouse when he meets a woman he fancies; he becomes so sweet and gentle. First, this sweet young lady caught his attention. What comes to this young man’s mind? “I’m gonna marry her.” But then, does she take notice of him? Is she on the same wavelength? The answer is no. She hardly notices him. She is happily contented with chores, school, job, hobbies, nature, friends, and family. Love and marriage barely disturb her. The young man has to first get her attention.

How did I get my wife’s attention before we started dating? I had to intentionally bump into her at church (That’s what she told our children; I can’t recall). Yeah, she noticed me, all right. She told our children that I started to sit around her during church services (I can’t remember this too). Then, I started to strike out short conversation; I would say, hi (I can’t remember this part too). Then, one day, I called her on the phone to ask her out for a meal (This I remember). It took me a week to pluck up the courage to dial that number. She said yes; and the rest is history.

The young man succeeded in charming his girl. For the first time in her life, she thinks about love and marriage. A few outings and meals, and she is in love. She will eagerly leave all to follow him, without fear, and in spite of the risks that are involved. Yet, she is willing to take risks and follow him; this is love. It is the way a man with a maid and a maid with a man.

The eagle in the air risked being shot down by a hunter. The slithering snake risked being run over by a truck. The ship risked being sunk by the raging sea. Yet, it does not stop the eagle from flying, the snake from slithering out of its hidings, and the ship from sailing into the sea. Nothing venture; nothing gain. The young man must be willing to take risk to court a woman. The woman must be willing to take risk to follow the man. And they both are willing to do it all for LOVE!

The “chemistry” that occurs between a man and a maid is mysterious but glorious. The emotional and sexual reaction is so wonderful that God deemed it necessary to write it all down in His holy book; it is the Song of Solomon. The love and lovemaking described by Solomon in his Song are beautiful and passionate poetry and a good manual for couples. Romance is the basis for initiating most marriages and it is a practice all marriages should continue – Never stop romancing your wife. The Lord expects husbands to continue to court their wives: “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love” (Pro 5:18-19).

The course of human love is hard to explain. It cannot be made to follow rule and precedent or to correspond to fond parental wishes. A man and a woman will fall in love in spite of parental objections. And a parent may match make his son with a girl they like; but it may not bring them together. There must be the right chemistry for love to blossom. Love will go its own way free as the eagle in the air, unsuspected as the serpent on the rock, untracked as the ship in the sea. Nothing is so wonderful in the natural world as the great mystery of love.

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.” (Song 8:7).

Solomon is saying nothing can destroy love when it is pure. And a rich man, with all his wealth, cannot buy love. The love between a man and a woman is simply too mysterious and wonderful.

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.