“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but he whose confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” God naturally desires and expects that if we are sorry for our sins we shall tell Him that this is so, and also confess to Him the sins and misdoings which have thus made us sorry. He knows what our faults are better than we know ourselves; but nevertheless it is only reasonable that He should require us to acknowledge them before Him if we would obtain forgiveness from Him.
A father asks no less of his child who has disobeyed him: “Only tell me what you have done,” he is likely to say, “and I will forgive you; “and a master expects no less of a servant who has failed in his service. Any one of us, indeed, who has been wronged expects him who did the wrong to acknowledge it if he desires to be reconciled. And shall we treat God with less respect than we demand from one another? He does not wish to worry us if He asks us thus to make confession to Him; it is for our profit no less than for the satisfaction of His honor. “Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou halt transgressed against the Lord.”
To do this is a great advantage to ourselves also. For our sins are thus made to pass before our own eyes also, and we also are brought face to face with our faults so that we must thenceforward be aware of them, and know what they are. Again, by confession we also unburden ourselves of our sins before God, and lay them down at the foot of the cross of our Savior, that His blood may wash them all away.
It may be humbling to do this, but that, again, is just what we need. When we have been thoroughly humbled we are spiritually safer. When we have honestly confessed any sin with a true, penitent heart we shall be the less likely to repeat it, and the better able to resist all temptations to yield to it again.
Prayer
Grant me grace, O God, I beseech Thee, with all humility and earnestness to confess my sins unto Thee, that Thou mayest forgive me all my sins, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Cathedral Close 