If we turn in God's Word back to the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 32, and I want to read again verses 20 to 23 of that chapter, Numbers chapter 32. There in verses 20 we read, and Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, If ye will go armed before the Lord to war, and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until ye have driven out his enemies from before him, and the land be subdued before the Lord, then afterward ye shall return and be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. But if ye will not do so, behold, Ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Let's come and seek the Lord afresh tonight for His fresh unction and power as we seek to proclaim His truth here this evening. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the word of truth. We thank Thee, Lord, as by this truth that You will sanctify Thy people and call out Thy people unto Thyself. And we just pray, Lord, that we would know the weight and the power and the authority or the one who has wrote this book for us, the Holy Ghost. Pray, Lord, Thy Spirit would come and fill us afresh with all of His power and unction. Pray, Lord, not only in the preacher, but Lord, also in the pew. Pray, Lord, that every heart would know the Father, coming and ministering personally with man and woman alike. Lord, seeking to bring out those to worship Him in truth and in spirit. Lord, come and arrest our mind in the evening of this hour. Lord, come, fix us upon the truths of God's Word. And Lord, help us to recognize tonight the seriousness of sin. That sin will one day find us out, unless it's under the blood of the Lamb. Help us, Lord, to see tonight why we need the Savior, and why we need his great salvation, which he has given over to his people. Bless us with thy Word tonight, and give us that help from above. For we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Now, as we break into this passage of Scripture here tonight, we arrive at a historic point in the life of Israel. In fact, at this point of time, Israel had come right up to the border of the Promised Land. Nearly 40 years of wandering were now about to cease, and the years of blessing and settlement were now just about to begin. However, in the journey to Canaan, Israel had conquered a large section of land east of the river Jordan. That land had belonged to two powerful kings, Sion the king of the Amorites and Og the king of Bashan. And that territory being well watered by the rivers of Jordan, it was extremely desirable for those who had livestock. In fact, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, having great quantities of cattle and sheep, they immediately fell in love with this land. And he's saying that it was perfect for sheep farming, they wanted to go no further. And he's requesting that this land would be given over to them at the hand of Moses, Moses suddenly protested. He said, shall your brethren go to war and shall ye sit here? In other words, Moses feared that their attitude of complacency, settling for second best, a land that was outside the land of promise, would soon be contagious and spread amongst the other tribes. He warned them that they were in danger of provoking the wrath of God. That God would smite this generation as He had done with the previous generation in the wilderness. And the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, listening to the protest and the warning of Moses, and seeing that they had a responsibility to encourage and to support their brethren, they then promised to Moses that they would not rest. until the land of Canaan was taken. And Moses here seeing and sensing the importance of this commitment, that they were now obligating themselves to go over and to be held by that obligation, Moses now warned them with this most memorable statement. He says, if ye will not do so, Behold, ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. In other words, Moses was seeking to bring the gravity of the commitment that they had now made, not just to Moses and not just to their brethren, but the commitment that they had made before God. He was reminding them that there was no consequences for the vow that they had now made before God. that if they do not fulfill this commitment and this vow, be sure your sin will find you out. And man and woman, tonight can I similarly remind you of the gravity of the vows, and the gravity of the commitments that you've made to God. In those hours of need, and those hours of despair, when doctors could not help you, and family and friends could not help you, and when you came to the end of yourself, and got alone in that private place, promise God, God I'll give my life, I'll give my heart to Thee. Just raise my loved one again from this sick bed. My friend, that promise and vow is still ringing in the ears of God. And God says to you tonight, be sure your sin will find you out. You see, the problem with commitments, as time and years pass away, we think that the other party has forgotten that commitment. And we think that with years bringing forgetfulness, it has now covered the sin of us breaking our commitment to our family, our commitment to our friends, and our commitment to God. But God reminds us He never forgets those commitments. There is no such thing as a sin done in secret. One day that secret sin will be made bare, and we will be seen for what we are in the eyes of God. Indeed, humanity has realized this truth. Indeed, we see it in that phrase where they say, the chickens have come home to roost. And what they have learned by experience, they have learned that if we fail to do what we should have done earlier, the consequences of our actions will one day come back to haunt us. And most often, it comes at those most unfavorable times. Times where in public and full view of our family and friends, that secret sin reveals its head. In fact, it reminds me of a story of a little girl and she had stolen her sister's doll. And she thought she had committed the perfect crime. Nobody saw it, and she even hid the little doll in the garden. Digging deep, deep into the garden, at the very back of the garden, she thought that nobody would know that she had stolen her doll. Well, one day, a little girl had been crying, not finding her doll. She cried and she asked for her mum, her mum bringing her sister before her, the culprit who had stolen the doll. She says, did you take that doll? And she lied. She said, I didn't. There's no way I took that doll. I don't want anything to do with that doll. Well, one thing she'd forgotten was that doll was stuffed with grass seed. And as the rain began to rain in weeks to come, her sin was soon discovered. When her mom was out doing the weeding in the garden bed and began to see grass growing amongst her flowers and digging down, what did she discover? the doll that she had hid. And how often men and women have discovered that those commitments that they have broken, those sins that they thought are out of the minds of people, how often in the most impertinent times that sin finds us out and shows us for what we really are. You see, God is reminding us tonight, sinner, and even to the saint alike, there is no such thing as a secret sin. The only way that sin can be effectively dealt with is by bringing it to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and asking God to wash away all that sin. See, Moses here, hearing the commitment of God, Reuben, and Manasseh. He reminded them of this truth. Be sure your sin will find you out. And ever tonight to urge you about the dangers of hiding that sin within your life, I want us to consider this sin, the sin of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. It is here that the description that Moses gives of this sin. Because sounding the trump of alarm in their ears, he said in verse 23, but if you will not do so, behold, Ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. In the previous verses, we find that the tribes Reuben Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they had now come to the region of Gilead. Indeed, that name literally means a hard or a rocky region. But yet beyond its rocky summit, that land was full of rich grasslands. Indeed, remember, where did the Bam come from? The balm was found in Gilead. It was a land rich of ointments. They settled there. They then promised that they would cross over the Jordan and fight with their brethren. And Moses, hearing their pledge, he warned them that they ever were tempted to change their minds and think that they could hide it over the longevity of time. Moses reminded them what sin was. Sin is not only a breaking of God's law, it's a failing to live up to our commitments to God's law. It's a failing to live up to the standards that we've said that we would live up to. He was showing and defining sin to us. A matter of a moment tonight, recognize that the sins of omission, the sins of omitting or failing to live up to those commitments we have made, or to the commitments of God's law, They're every bit as dangerous as the sins of commission, of committing murder or stealing and blatantly breaking the law of God. In fact, we find that in the Gospels, the Lord leaving the home of Mary and Martha, He making his way down towards a temple, a great hunger passed over him. Beholding a fig tree full of leaves, he pulling its branches back and looking for figs. Read Matthew 21 and verse 19. He found nothing thereon but leaves only. It ate its lack of fruit, promising with its leaves that it was fruitful, a false profession, and seeing no fruit within it, the Lord cursed it, and the tree withered away, never to grow again, a picture of the judgment and the curse of God. And let me ask you, was a poisonous fruit it brought? Did it break the decree, the design of its creator in bringing forth fruit that it was not designed to bring forth? No. It wasn't forbidden fruit. It wasn't dangerous fruit. It wasn't fruit against its nature. It didn't produce any fruit. God had made the fig tree to bring forth figs for the sustenance of mankind. And that fig tree, failing to live up to the decrees of its Creator, God put its curse upon it. And similarly tonight, when we fail to live up to the Ten Commandments, and we fail to live up to the commands of the Gospel, to repent of our sin, and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, My friend, God's curse will fall upon you. You will wither in the eternity to come in an awful place called hell forevermore. In fact, an employer one day calling his staff in, he had told them, you're all fired. And they were shocked and horrified. And they said to the boss, the boss, we haven't done anything wrong. And he says, well, it's more than that. It's not that you haven't done anything wrong. You haven't done anything. And that's why I'm firing the whole lot off you. And the failure to do our duty is every bit as wicked as breaking the commands of lust, breaking the commands of coveting, breaking the commands of hatred and murder. It reveals the old same spirit of rebellion within us that we will not submit to our Creator, God. In fact, if you had two children, maybe you had a child who's stubborn by nature, and as soon as you place a boundary within the home, you have to be in bed at a certain time, you have to get your homeworks done, and it has to be to a certain standard. Well, that child having an old defiant spirit, when you tell him to sit, he'll stand. And when you'll tell him to stand, he'll sit just to spite you and to do that which is opposite to the command. But don't we have other children? And they'll say to you, Mommy, I know, I know I need to do that. Mommy, I'll do that later. My friend, do they not reveal the same spirit of rebellion? They not wanting to listen to your authority and to do the commands of the house. You have one child who always stays up when you tell him to go to bed. And you have another child who never fulfills the commands of the home. Do your homework and be good. He always says, I know, I know, I'll get round to it. He reveals the old spirit of rebellion. And so it is with the sinner. The sinner may be the best sinner in this community. He may outlive every Christian within this church. He can have religion. He can have devotion. He can be loyal. He'd be a man you could ring and text any time of the day or night, and he'll be there, and he would give the shirt off his back. But my friend, if you have not submitted to God's gospel commandment to repent and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you have committed sin. My friend, God has said, like Moses here, He says, if you will not do so, Ye have sinned against the Lord. It isn't so often the sinner, they just think the gospel is an invitation. It is an invitation. It's a glorious invitation. In fact, God shows it in that wonderful parable where he shows that heaven is like a marriage where a king made for his son. And what did the servants go out to do? They gave the invitation to come for all things were ready and to enjoy the riches of the king. But my friend, I also find it's a command. In Romans chapter 10, it says, all day long I have stretched forth my hand unto a disobedient and gay and sane people. In fact, in Acts chapter 17, he says, at times of ignorance, God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. And my friend, that command's absolute. It applies for children. It applies for old. It applies for us in Britain. It applies for those living in the Middle East. God has commanded everywhere, all men, to repent and to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And my friend, you may be the best person in this community and the best person in this church, but have you failed at this one point? God says you're a sinner and you've broken all the commands of God. See, there's a warning here, not only for the sinner, but also for the saint. God has told us to pray always without ceasing. God has told us to remember Him at the Lord's table. God has told us to go through the waters of baptism and to profess and to confess our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has told us to go into all the world and to preach the gospel. My friend, those commandments are just as authoritative as the Ten Commandments. They come from the same mouth, the lips of God Almighty. God commands us. to obey His command. My friend, can I ask you tonight, have you lived up to the commands of God and the obligations He has asked of you? Are you living up to the obligations that you've even committed yourself with your word to God? My friend, any failure, Moses makes it clear here in verse 23, if ye will not do so, behold, wake up. Ye have sinned against the Lord. It was a description of their sin, but it was also the direction of their sin. Because reminding them of the seriousness of their position, he said in verse 21, And will go all of you armed over the Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him. Crossing over the Jordan, we are told in verse 32 that they were crossed over armed. Going up against the cities of Jericho and Ai, they conquered them by putting the inhabitants to the sword. And if they had not crossed over, these cities would not have been taken. And if they were doing so, they would not only have been sinning against the Lord, but they would have been sinning against their brethren. Those brethren had fought for them that claimed the land of Gilead. They had now an obligation out of gratitude to go along with their brethren, and to put the sword and to win their land of inheritance for them to live in. But Moses also makes it clear, not only would they have failed if they didn't go over to Jordan, not only would they have failed their obligation to mankind, more importantly, they would have failed their obligation to God. Because every sin ultimately is a sin against God. What does Moses say in verse 23? If ye will not do so, Ye have sinned, we've discovered that, but ye have sinned against the Lord. A man won't recognize tonight when you fail to love your neighbor as yourself and you fail to do good to those around you. Not only have you failed your horizontal commitments, you have also failed your vertical commitments. My friend, the reason why we have to do those things is because God has created us to do those things. Every sin and failing our neighbor ultimately is a sin against God Almighty. In fact, we've discovered, Joseph discovered this truth. In Genesis chapter 39, Potiphar had shown great love and goodness towards young Joseph. They had promoted him and put him the head of the household. They had given him great responsibility. They had placed a lot of trust in this young servant lad. But what did Joseph say when Potiphar's wife sought to tempt him and to lead him into sin? He didn't say, I can't do this great wickedness because of the trust and the loyalty your husband has shown to me. He says in Genesis 39 verse 9, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? He knew he could not sin against Potiphar because God had obligated him to love his neighbor. And man and woman, recognize tonight those little sins. Sins against your wife. Sins against your husband. Sins against those in the community. Those failed commitments where you made promises and didn't keep your promises. My friend, none of you sinned and failed then, but ultimately you failed that vertical relationship. God was a witness in that oath and covenant. God heard the words that you said that day, and you have sinned against your God Almighty. For example, a person could break into your house. As well as stealing your goods, they could spray paint your walls and break your furniture. And in always waking you up, they could assault you and badly injure you. However, in our land, if you get better, you still have no right or privilege to go into their house and to vandalize their home and to badly injure them. What is the rights we have in this land? That criminal must go to the courts. Because not only have they sinned against you, they've sinned against the laws of this land. Our king has told them on how to behave. and breaking and ignoring His commands, they've insulted our King Charles. And therefore, they must go to the courts where the King's crown is to be held responsible there. And so one day, man or woman, the reason why our God has authority is because our God has the power to hold us accountable for our actions. One day, God will call all of us to His great white throne of judgment, and He'll remember those promises, Those commitments we've made to a friend and a neighbor. God says you failed. You've lied and broken your oath. I was a witness and I will bring judgment upon you. It isn't Moses did. Moses brought them there to the mountains, Gerizim, there outside the wilderness. And that day when they made a covenant promise to God, he says, God is now your witness. He has heard your words. Man won't recognize tonight that sin of covenant breaking, that sin of ignoring God's 10 commandments is a sin against the maker. We have sinned against God Almighty. There's a description of their sin, the direction of their sin, but there's also the danger of their sin, because warning them against refusing to cross over the Jordan, Moses said in verse 17, from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them." The word discouraged here means to hinder, hold back, or frustrate. In other words, Moses knew if the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Anassah refused to take arms and cross over the Jordan, it would have a detrimental effect upon the rest of the tribes. In other words, he would know that their rebellion was contagious. It would discourage the other tribes and it would also encourage them to ignore God's promise to go into the land of Canaan and seize it for themselves. Moses recognized that disobedience as a demoralizing effect. Those sins against God also have consequences in those around us. In fact, we see that in Numbers 13 and 14. Moses brings it up here in Numbers 32. It reminds him of Kedesh Barnea and how those spies came with an unbelieving report. And who did it affect? It only affected them, their unbelief. Their unbelief also affected the rest of the Israelites. and caused them to sin against God. And you know man is an island. No man sins privately to himself. When he sins, his character has been changed. That conscience that was once sensitive that held him back and made him ashamed of certain things and made him embarrassed when he heard certain things, his sin has now shaped and warped his character, and he is now a bad light, an example. to all those around him." In fact, we see it in Solomon. Solomon sinned in taking too many wives unto himself. It turned his heart from the Lord. And who did it affect? Not only affect Solomon, but it also affected his son, Rehoboam. Though God forgave Solomon, Solomon is in heaven today, yet the scar of that sin lived on in his family. It caused the kingdom of Israel to be split in two under the reign of Rehoboam. In fact, if you go through all the kings, you'll discover that their sins, even Jehoshaphat, going into affinity with Ahab, it left a curse upon his children. They thought it was okay to marry unbelievers and to mix in the world to their own detrimental effect. A man or woman, you feel to live up to your obligations. Not only are you harming yourself, you're harming your children. They may not know the Scriptures and understand the full Word of God, but they look at you, and they look to you to see how a Christian lives. And when they see you breeding a culture within the home, thinking that certain things are okay and certain things can be said and went to, my friend, it has a demoralizing effect. It affects all those around you. In fact, in Micah 2, verse 8, it says, You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts." My friend, tonight, if you love your children and you love your wife, my friend, can you not do the honorable thing tonight? That secret sin that has changed your character and has seared your conscience, my friend, could you not bring that secret sin on behalf of your wife and family? Can you not confess it to the Lord that you may bring no detrimental effect to your family? See, that was the argument Moses knew here. He knew that these two and a half tribes loved the other tribes. He says, on their account, make sure you keep your obligation. Go through with God. Sinner tonight, think of your family. Think of your loved ones. Would you not come tonight and ask Christ to come into your heart? to know the influence of Christ within your home. But it was also the danger of their sin, but the discovery of their sin, warning them not to turn back and abandon their brethren. He said in verse 23, but if you will not do so, behold, Ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out." And there's a number of things here in his last little statement that is so memorable that even sinners quote it. There's a number of things to notice in these words. Firstly, he did not say, the Lord would find out their sin. He said, your sin will find you out. In other words, God had instilled here a principle in his creation that sin by his providence will one day find us out here on earth. In fact, notice also he doesn't say it's your sin that will find you out, but he also puts it in the future tense. In other words, he alarms you. Yes, you may got away with it today, but you'll not forever get away with it. One day the Lord will have His providence. He'll get that sin to find you out. In fact, He doesn't say it may find you out. He says, be sure. It's certain. It's concrete. Sinner tonight, you can ignore me. You can go on in that sin. You think that your mask of religion has hidden your unregenerate heart. My friend, one day you'll be discovered. You cannot escape this responsibility. You need to get to the foot of the cross and ask the Lord to cleanse that sin. You see, there is no escaping off our sin. Like a relentless bloodhound, it will eventually track you down. In fact, I even heard a story recently, this famous hunter in Russia, he went all over Africa and shot many animals, but he went deep into Siberia to find the Siberian tiger And he shot it, and he injured it, but he couldn't find it. He searched for days, and the tiger would never reveal itself. The blood on its tracks had soon disappeared, and he realized, I might as well go home. There's no way I'm finding this Siberian tiger. Well, a month later, when he lived hundreds and hundreds of miles away, that Siberian tiger somehow got the scent of that hunter. And when he was living with his guard down in his home, that tiger one day pounced upon him. and gobbled him up. The tiger had traveled hundreds of miles to get its revenge. It had remembered the gunshot, and one day that tiger found him out. And my friends, so it is with sin. You can hide it, you can mask it, and you can conceal it. But one day, it'll reveal its ugly head. You may think in work you've made a mistake, and you thought you have successfully covered up. But how often you find the boss discovers it. Later on, there's a great audit. All things are searched and analyzed through. And when you thought you had hid your mistake, oh, it soon reveals itself in your life. See, sin cannot be successfully hidden. Like Moses, who looked to the left, and he looked to the right, and he thought nobody saw him. When he murdered that man and hid his body in the desert, what happened the next day? That when he went out to sort those two Hebrew brethren, they said, who made you a judge and a prince over us? Are you going to murder us like you did with that Egyptian? And my friend, do not leave and hide that sin. One day, that bad, look at a magazine, that couple of dishonest dollars you had put into the cash register, that intentional error in the tax records, God has instilled the prince. Be sure your sin will find you out. But notice here the discovery of their sin. But notice lastly the deadliness of their sin. Because urging them not to sin, the Lord said in verse 22, And the land be subdued before the Lord, then afterward ye shall return. And be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel. And this land shall be your possession before the Lord. Now going over and fighting with their brethren, he said they would be guiltless. Fulfilling their obligations, they would have no more responsibility. More than that, he would give them a land that he had promised. Coming in guiltless and sin free, they could enter into the land of inheritance. However, if they sinned, one day that sin would take them out of the promised land. It would not let them inherit the grace and the goodness of God. Sin would bar them from all God's promises He had made to them. In fact, we see that later on, Israel backsliding and sinning. What did the Lord do? The Lord drove them out of the promised land. And recognize this is the greatest argument to get rid of that secret sin. See, secret sin is an awful hold. We're embarrassed. The reason why we hide it is because we don't want our community to find it. But recognize this is the reason why you should step up to the mark and confess that sin. Sin is a thief. If you do not deal with that cancer, that cancer will deal with you. It will draw you down into that awful place called hell forevermore. In fact, John reminds us of that in Revelation 21 verse 27. He says, "...there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile it, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." In fact, the hymn writer put it like this, not that defileth, not that defileth can ever enter in. And my friend, if you want to get into that wonderful place called heaven, know that you need to confess your sin and to hear that great declaration in the courts of heaven that we are now legally just in God's sight. But one day God is going to make us morally clean. In fact, when Paul despaired and he still found sin in his life, he said, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Here was the culmination of salvation. He said, thank God, the Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, if you want to get to heaven, You need God to work that wonderful grace in your life, where God puts His righteousness and takes His blood and covers your sin. And God's Spirit then deals with your nature and makes you fit to enter into heaven. You see, God has told us in His Word, that God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil, it'll be revealed. In Mark 4, verse 22, it says, for there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested. Neither is anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. In fact, God reinstates this principle again in 2 Corinthians 5 and 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. that everyone may receive the things done in the body according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And my friend, why keep carrying that burden of that secret sin? In fact, it reminds me of a businessman in Vermont. Thirteen years ago, he had committed murder. And for 10 years, he had carried that guilt. And he thought he had committed the perfect crime. He moved to a new state, and the police had stopped their investigations. He was clean free. Nobody was holding him to that murder. But his conscience was. God was niggling at him. Every time he heard the police siren, he woke up and broke out in a sweat. When he walked down the streets and saw a policeman, he would run down a street alley. He was always looking over his shoulder. He knew what he had done. And he knew that one day that sin would find him out. And what was his answer? Confession. He went to the police station in Vermont and he confessed his crime. And the policeman says, why are you confessing this? You have got away scot-free. He says, if you were living in my shoes, you would know how miserable I've been these past 10 years carrying that burden. I need to confess it. I need to get that burden off my chest. A man or woman tonight, are you carrying that burden, an awful burden of secret sin? My friend, confession is the only answer. Bring it to the Lord and God will forgive you. And God will give you the grace to go out and to face your family and your community, to go out and to make restitution in the community of those who have faulted those around you. The Lord not do that for Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had sinned. He had robbed his people. But Christ didn't leave the home. until he had restored fourfold all those things he had stolen from his neighbor. My friend, that's what my Savior will do tonight. Yes, it may cause you to stand out, and yes, it may cause the frowns and the shock of this community, but my Savior will not only forgive you, he'll stand with you, and he'll give you the grace to go through with God and to enter into the pearly gates of heaven. As the hymn writer says, God knows all you've thought or done. From him you cannot hide. and fast to Him and He'll forgive. already, burdens are lifted at Calvary. Don't carry that secret sin any longer. Bring it to the Lord and know His forgiveness forevermore. You know, in closing, can we sing that hymn that just resonates with that truth? Maybe tonight that message has been spoken to you and you're carrying that secret sin. Well, the Lord has been searching your heart tonight. Can you not come to Him? The Lord says He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. Even in this meeting tonight, we confess our sin to Him. Let's stand together and sing the first three verses of this hymn, the first three verses of the hymn 644. Cry me, O Saviour, though my thoughts I pray. See if there be some way in me. Cleanse me from every sin and set me free. where once I and my desire to magnify thy name. Lord, take my life and make it holy light. I surrender Our Father in heaven, how we think of the psalmist when he thought he had sinned successfully with Bathsheba and covered his sin. Lord, how you sent Nathan to his presence and exposed him in front of his whole nation. Thou art the man. And Lord, how David confessed in Psalm 32 that, Lord, he was miserable. Day and night, thy hand was heavy upon me. And Lord, how he even confessed his tears, because he cried so much they had turned into the drought of the summer. But we thank thee, Lord, in Psalm 51, when he confessed against thee, and thee only have I sinned. We thank thee, Lord, of the blood and the hyssop, and how that was applied to his life, and how David was saved and forgiven for an awful transgression, and how the burden was lifted from his shoulders. Lord, do the same tonight. For some man and some woman who is carrying that awful burden of secret sin, give them the grace and the courage to trust in God's grace to confess it. And Lord, may they prove the grace of God in its forgiveness and also in His ability to sustain them, to go out and to make restitution to all those that they have offended. Bless us and hide Thy Word and the challenge of it in our hearts here tonight. For we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.