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I. IT IS HIDDEN. Otherwise, of course, it would not need to be revealed. How is it hidden?

1. By secrecy. The sin is not committed in the light of day and before the eyes of a crowd. The wicked deed is done in the dark.

2. By circumstances. Events are such that the evil does not come out to the light. Snow falls and conceals the footprints of the thief.

3. By falsehood. Charged with his crime, the sinner denies it. For a while his lie is accepted, if there is no proof against him.

4. By negligence. It is not the business of everybody to be an amateur detective. The world lets much wickedness pass from sheer indifference.

II. IT WILL BE REVEALED.

1. Certainly in the future judgment. Then the secrets of all hearts shall be made known. God knows the wickedness that is hidden from man, for nothing can be concealed from his all-searching gaze. We are not only to expect that God will then punish sin. Further than this, there will be a general unveiling of character. The hypocrite will be unmasked. Everybody will be seen in his true nature.

2. Possibly on earth. Even here Heaven may reveal the iniquity. A providential turn of events may bring it all to light. Without any handwriting on the wall or any trumpet-toned annunciation, the slow and awful unrolling of providence may make the ugly story known.

III. ITS REVELATION WILL BE FOLLOWED BY ITS PUNISHMENT. This follows naturally: no avenging angel needs to be sent from heaven. "The earth shaft rise up against him." It is as though the earth itself were horror-stricken at the sight of such enormity. She cannot bear the presence of the wicked man. Her silence would be like acquiescence, or even complicity, in his guilt. Nature itself works for the punishment of sin. The laws of nature are on the side of righteousness. They are God's laws, and all the laws of God are in harmony. All that is needed is sufficient time and scope, and the course of nature itself will produce the punishment. We see this already in regard to sins of the flesh, which bring disease, misery, death. It will take longer time, and the free opportunities of another world, to bring about the same result with all other sins.

IV. ITS EARLIER CONFESSION WILL PREVENT LATER REVELATION. An this dark and direful doom is not inevitable. We are warned of it in order that we may avoid it. There is no necessity for us to wait for the Divine unveiling of our sin. Though that is certain to come if we do wait long enough for it; we may yet anticipate it by confession. God does not desire to expose the most guilty man to shame and suffering. His great wish is to conquer sin in the heart of the sinner. If the wickedness is owned and repented of, that is what God most wishes, and greatly prefers to the punishment of the impenitent. Not only does love yearn to save the sinner, but righteousness also desires to cast out the sill, as a more effectual conquest of it than merely punishing it while it is still retained in the heart of a man. Still, the thought of the impending revelation of sin shows how necessary an unreserved and complete confession is, if the sinner is to be forgiven. This is the first condition of pardon. While we hold to our sin, God cannot set us free from it and its consequences. - W.F.A.

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KJV: The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

WEB: The heavens shall reveal his iniquity. The earth shall rise up against him.