The penitential psalms are psalms which freely confess sins. David says, ‘When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy one me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.’ (Ps 32:3-4) It is only when he acknowledges his sin and confesses his transgressions that he receives forgiveness (Ps 32:5) and an assurance of cleansing.
Confession is an integral part of repentance, and one which can be found in many books of the Bible (see, for example, Neh 1:5-7, Neh 9:1-3, Ezra 10:1, Dan 9:4-6), not to mention Mark 1:5, Acts 19:18, 1 Jn 1:9). But confession is not something we find easy to do. Blame-shifting, making excuses and rationalisation for our sin are far more common responses than confession (see Gen 3:12-13), and those of us in Protestant denominations find confession to people almost impossible to do, despite the Biblical command to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other (James 1:16).
We need to understand that confession is necessary because it cuts through our denial and places us in a position where we acknowledge God’s righteous judgments and accept responsibility for our own sin. David undoubtedly sinned against people – Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, to name but a few caught up in his actions – but he also recognised that sin is fundamentally rebellion against God. (Ps 51:4) He also recognised God’s righteousness and his own sinfulness (see also Neh 9:34). Confession helps us to name sin, to stop hiding behind our excuses and to align ourselves with God’s word and God’s judgments. It also helps us to recognise our sinful nature and thus becomes the propellant which allows us to depend daily on God’s grace, strength and power, rather than living in our own strength (see 1 Cor 10:12). When we confess our sins before other people, we are prevented from living divided lives and have to live out the gospel in community, recognising our role as part of the body of Christ and recognising that we need other people too. It is profoundly humbling to confess sins. When we do so, there is no room for pride and no room for the enemy to gain a foothold. Instead, we learn the value of other people’s forgiveness and fellowship and can become people who are able to teach transgressors God’s ways so that they can turn back to Him. (Ps 51:13) No wonder they say that confession is good for the soul!