Prayers of Confession

PSALM 32:1-5—“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) Thus does the apostle assure the Lord’s people that if they confess their sins to God they will be forgiven. David wrote, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Here the term “blessed” has much the same meaning as in the Beatitudes, that is, “Oh, how happy.”

And what joy there is in the realization that our sins are forgiven, for if we are honest with ourselves we will realize that every day we stand in need of forgiveness, that every day we come far short of that perfection of thought, word, and deed which would commend us to God upon the basis of our own righteousness. And when we realize the consequences of sin, that it alienates us from God, and brings condemnation which leads to death, how gloomy indeed would be the outlook did we not have the assurance of forgiveness.

David speaks of our sins being covered. Other scriptures speak of this covering as a “robe,” a “robe of righteousness.” (Isa. 61:10) And while the Scriptures do not use the expression, “robe of Christ’s righteousness,” it is, nevertheless, the merit of his righteousness that covers our imperfections and makes us acceptable to the Heavenly Father. Thus we have forgiveness of sin and are acceptable to God through the merit of Jesus’ shed blood. It is his blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,” continues the Psalmist. The Hebrew word here translated “imputeth” has the thought of weaving together, or, symbolically speaking, reckoning, or adding up. The thought is that the Lord, in exercising his mercy toward his people, does not reckon up the penalties that ordinarily might be attached to their sins, and demand payment. If he did this, the sum of all our sins would be too great for us to pay.

David says that the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him until he acknowledged his sin and sought forgiveness. The blessing of divine forgiveness of sin, like all other blessings which our Heavenly Father bestows so lavishly upon his people, is made dependent upon our asking for it. And, in our Lord’s prayer, we have the further thought that it is essential that we comport ourselves toward others as we would that God deal with us in the matter of forgiveness—“forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

PSALM 51:1, 2, 7-13—In these verses we are reminded that divine forgiveness is an expression of divine mercy. We have no just right to expect forgiveness, but because of God’s loving-kindness we are assured that it will be forthcoming if we earnestly seek after it through the acknowledging of our sins, and our petitions for mercy.

“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin,” continues David. The laver of water in the court of the tabernacle was a symbol of God’s provision for the “washing” of his people, their cleansing from sin. While it is proper to ask the Lord to cleanse us, it is essential also that we do all we can to cleanse ourselves by the proper application of the truth in our lives. This is spoken of by the apostle as a washing of “water by the Word.”—Eph. 5:26

David asked to be purged with hyssop. Antitypically, this seems to picture the bitter trials which the Lord permits to come into the lives of his people in order that they might be made purer, and brought closer to him. At times it requires unusually severe trials to call our attention to imperfections which should be put away in order to enjoy the full favor of God, to hear his voice of “joy and gladness.”

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” There are unwilling imperfections which do not imply a wrong heart condition, while some transgressions may indicate a partially wrong condition of the heart; that is, that we have had an improper motive in doing certain things. Probably it is sins of this sort that require “hyssop” experiences in order that we be cleansed. But how great is the mercy of God in making it possible that even sins of this nature may be forgiven, and that we may look to him for a heart-cleansing in order to return to his favor!

What a calamity it would be for anyone who once enjoyed the sunshine of God’s smile to be cast away from his presence! David prayed that the Holy Spirit be not taken from him. He did not possess the Holy Spirit in the same sense as we do in the Gospel age; but evidently he did enjoy a sense of divine power and love overshadowing him and caring for all his needs. And he realized what a great calamity it would be if this were withdrawn.

In this age, the Lord’s people are given the Holy Spirit of begetting to sonship in the divine family; and by the same Spirit they are anointed to be the servants of God, to be co-workers with him. For us to lose the Holy Spirit would mean the loss of everything, even life itself. How earnestly therefore we should seek the Lord’s forgiveness and endeavor to make use of all the provisions of divine grace whereby we are kept from falling. It is appropriate, indeed, that we should pray, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults; keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins,” for if we are sincere in thus seeking the Lord’s strength and his forgiveness, then we shall be “innocent from the great transgression.”—Psalm 19:13

QUESTIONS

What New Testament writer gives us a definite assurance of God’s forgiveness of our sins, and upon what basis?

In what way does the Lord cover our sins?

In what sense does the Lord refrain from imputing our transgressions to us?

Do we have a just right to expect God to forgive our transgressions?

Is there any way in which we can cleanse ourselves?

What is symbolized by the use of the term “hyssop”?

Explain the difference in the operation of the Holy Spirit in the life of David and the lives of all true Christians.

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