How does love cover all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12)?

"Hatred" is next brought before us, the precise reverse of God in His love, the transcript of Satan in his malice. So evident is its association, that it is needless to state its parentage; it is "as Cain," who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. But, even if in its lightest form, it "stirs up strifes," resenting all interference with man's will, as God is nowhere in its thoughts. "But love covers all transgressions." Such is the deep feeling of the divine nature in a man of God. Personal resentment is far from the heart. He is pleased to forgive and forget. So the Apostle repeats (1 Peter 4:8) that love covers a multitude of sins, as James similarly concludes his epistle. Yet even Israel, not Christians only, were to be holy; and if a false witness rose up and was convicted, when both stood before Jehovah, then, instead of covering, they were bound to do to him as he meant against his brother, and so put the evil away from among them. Any other course is Satan's work by setting one scripture to annul another, instead of obeying all. To bring human feeling into such a case is as contrary to the gospel as it was to the law. "Do ye not judge them that are within?" "Holiness becomes thy house, O Jehovah, for ever." This is as inalienable as love's privilege to cover all transgressions personally. When our Lord on the mount taught His disciples not to resist evil (Matt. 5:38- 42) according to the law of retaliation, it was for Christian life in its individual walk. The same Lord insisted on unsparing judgment of evil in the Church. So we all know how wrong it is to efface 1 Corinthians 5 in practice by forbidding the uprooting of the tares in Matthew 13:29. How unintelligent and blind!

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life" (v. 11), for from such a mouth flows living water, words of refreshing value, influenced by the truth of God's Word. But from the mouth of the wicked come words of violence. While hatred stirs up anger and strife, love in contrast serves to cover sins (v. 12). Of course, there are cases where sin needs to be exposed, but if it is not harmful to others, wisdom seeks to cover wrong doing.

Love is far from being indifferent to sin; but love does not necessarily expose sins, or gloat over the failure of others. If possible, love will deal with sins privately, so that they do not needlessly become public. When they are dealt with, and judged, love will no longer speak of them or spread them abroad. Love does not make mischief, or lead people to act as busybodies. Love covers a multitude of sins, as the wise man says, “Hatred stirs up strifes: but love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12).

A short notice of some other Hebrew words may help. We have nasa, 'to lift up,' and so to forgive, to lift up the sins away in the mind of the person offended, or to show favour in lifting up the countenance of the favoured person. Ps. 4:6. We have also kasah, 'to cover,' as in Ps. 32: 1, where sin is 'covered': sometimes used with al, as in Prov. 10:12, "love covereth all sins," forgives: they are out of sight and mind. The person is looked at with love, and not the faults with offence.

"He that covereth a transgression seeketh love, but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends" (verse 9). To cover a transgression does not mean to ignore sin. How he who has sinned and is in transgression is to be dealt with is given to us in Galatians 6:1-5. To act in the spirit of love towards one who has sinned is Christ-like. To repeat the matter, gossip about it, harp on the shortcomings and failure, is Satan-like, for he is the accuser of the brethren.

"He who covers a transgression seeks love" (v. 9). This does not refer to one's covering his own transgression, which we ought to confess honestly to the Lord, but we should not expose another's transgression unless is a matter that affects others. But there are matters of lesser importance that we may hear, but ought not to repeat, for such indiscretion may lead to separating friends.

But in a world of contrariety and evil, there is a mightier power and of a higher source. "He that covers transgression seeks" not a bribe, but "love"; as on the other hand, "He that brings up a matter again," without any motive higher than idle talk, with no positive aim of edification, "separates chief friends." Love is not at work.

Now this love covered a multitude of sins. He is not speaking here with a view to ultimate pardon, but of the present notice which God takes — His present relations of government with His people; for we have present relationships with God. If the assembly is at variance, if there is little love, if the intercourse among Christians is with straitened hearts and difficult the existing evil, the mutual wrongs, subsist before God: but if there is love, which neither commits nor resents any wrongs, but pardons such things, and only finds in them occasion for its own exercise, it is then the love which the eye of God rests upon, and not the evil. Even if there are misdeeds — sins — love occupies itself about them, the offender is brought back, is restored, by the charity of the assembly; the sins are removed from the eye of God, they are covered. It is a quotation from the book of Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." We have a right to forgive them — to wash the feet of our brother (compare James 5:15, and 1 John 5:16). We not only forgive, but love maintains the assembly before God according to His own nature so that He can bless it.

"But before all things" (for it ought in practice to take precedence of all), he adds, "having your love toward each other fervent, because love covereth a multitude of sins" (ver. 8): this last clause an application of Prov. 10:12. As hatred makes the worst of everything, love is entitled to bury things out of sight; and God endorses it as answering to His own nature. Needless to say that holy discipline retains its needed but sorrowful action.

And of greatest importance is fervent love among the saints. For love is the warmth and energy of God's own nature, in which believers by grace have a share. Light may expose sin, but love covers a multitude of sins. It is certainly not that we are to count-enance or protect what is evil, but love will lead another to Judge his own sin, and thus it is covered, not emblazoned abroad, God delights is such warmth of love.