Psalm 32:5

David’s grief for sin was bitter. Its effects were visible upon his physical body: “his bones waxed old”; “his moisture was turned into the drought of summer.” No remedy could he find, until he made a full confession before the throne of heavenly grace. He tells us that for a time he kept silence, and his heart became more and more filled with grief; like a mountain tarn whose outlet is blocked up, his soul was swollen with torrents of sorrow.

He made excuses; he endeavored to divert his thoughts, but it was all to no avail. Like a festering sore his anguish gathered, and because he would not use the lancet of confession, his spirit was full of torment and knew no rest. At last it came to this: he had to return to his God in humble penitence or die outright. So he hastened to the mercy seat, and there unrolled the volume of his iniquities before the All-Seeing One, acknowledging all the evil of his ways in language such as you read in Psalm 51 and other penitential Psalms.

Having done this—a work so simple and yet so difficult for pride—he immediately received the sign of divine forgiveness. The bones that had been broken were made to rejoice, and he came out from his private room to sing of the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven.

See the value of a confession of sin wrought by grace! It is to be prized above all price, for in every case where there is a genuine, gracious confession, mercy is freely given—not because the repentance and confession deserve mercy, but for Christ's sake. Blessed be God, there is always healing for the broken heart; the fountain is always flowing to cleanse us from our sins. Truly, O Lord, you are a God “ready to pardon!” Therefore, we will acknowledge our iniquities.