The Covering Of Guilt Series

Sometimes those nightmarish dreams people have actually come true. It happened to a couple from Salem, Oregon while they were on their summer vacation. They were traveling in their camper truck. The husband got so tired he decided to let his wife take over so he could get a nap. It was very hot so he took off all his clothes and stretched out on the cot. The curtains were drawn and so it was completely private. After sometime he awoke realizing the truck was stopped, and he wondered if something was wrong. What he didn't know was that his wife was in a town, and stopped at a traffic light. He opened the back door to poke his head out to see what was going on. Just as he did, the light changed, and the wife gunned the motor and the forward motion of the truck propelled him right out the back down onto the street. He yelled at his wife, but it was too late, she was well on her way, and in fact, drove 200 miles before she discovered he was not in the back.

You can imagine the man's embarrassment as he tore down the sidewalk for the nearest clothing store where he grabbed a coat off the rack. He was not very fussy about the size and fit. Adam and Eve could be naked and not ashamed, but every since they fell man has felt a need to be covered. God met the need of Adam and Eve by providing them with garments so they could face Him without shame. What is true for the body is also true for the spirit of man. It cannot stand too much exposure. It is embarrassing to have your inner life and thought exposed, for it is not always fit for public viewing, and we feel shame if our inner self is exposed.

The history of man is the history of cover-up. Much of life revolves around the covering up of the body and the soul. The clothing and cosmetic industry aid us in covering the body. We all take full advantage of these aids, but when it comes to covering the soul, so we feel secure and not ashamed, because of the defects of our soul, we are not as sure about what is most effective. There are the man made cover-ups which as varied and complicated, and there is God's method of covering which is very singular and simple.

David in verse 1 of Psa. 32 tells us right off what a blessing it is to discover God's covering for the soul that has sinned. David tells us that God's covering is forgiveness. In other words, the security blanket that enables us as sinners to feel free to approach a holy God without shame and guilt is the garment of grace called forgiveness. To be forgiven and to be covered are parallel statements in this verse, and so they mean the same thing.

This Psalm is David's song of joy, because he found forgiveness, and in spite of his great sins of adultery and murder, was still able to face God without guilt and shame. It is a song of rejoicing, because it is a song about the good news that there is a way out of life's worst messes. There is a way for the sinner to become a saint. Before we can join David in his joyful song concerning the covering of forgiveness, we must make sure we, like him, recognize and renounce the detours which he, and all sinners are tempted to take. There is another way to cover your sin. It is not with the garment of grace, but with the garment of works. It is the old do it yourself method of solving life's greatest problem-the problem of guilt. David tried it, and all of us try it, and life is as sad as it is, because it is the most common method of dealing with sin, guilt, and shame. So before we look at the covering of forgiveness, we must focus our attention on the covering of foolishness. Seeing the folly of man made methods will enable us to appreciate what God has provided in Christ.

I. THE COVERING OF FOOLISHNESS.

Believe it or not, Christian psychologists have discovered at least 37 ways that people

foolishly deal with their guilt. We just want to focus on one of the main methods so as to be aware of the fact that even we, who know of Christ and His cross, are tempted to try another way. That common way is called scapegoating. David tried this one. He called Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, home from battle to give him a chance to sleep with his wife, and hopefully make him think that he was the one who got her pregnant. Uriah, however, was too loyal a soldier, and would not indulge in pleasure while his fellow soldiers faced the pain of the battlefield. David felt he had no alternative but to have Uriah killed. The whole account makes it clear that David was delighted with Uriah's death. It was as if he was the whole problem, and with him out of the way, all was well.