to bridge without great struggles" (Tholuck). Pa. xxxii., 'The blessedness of forgive- neee;' written subHequently. Other psalms have been sometimes associated with hiR confession, viz. Ps, vi., xxxviii.; three others, viz. Ps. cii., cxxx., cxliii., make up " the seven penitential psalms." 4. David is here set before us as "the model and ideal of and the encouragement to true penitence." Consider his acknowledgment of sin as to-- I. IT& HATTER; or the conviction, contrition, change of mind and will, which is expresHed, For words alone a.re not properly confession in the view of him who "looketh at the heart." Having, by means of the prophetic word, been led to enter into himself (Luke xv.17), and had his sin brought to remembrance(" the twin-brother of repentance"), its aggravation described and its punishment declared, he not only recognizes the fact of hie ein; but also: 1. Looks at it as committed against the Lord; the living God, the Holy One of Israel; and not simply against man. "Thou hast despised men (ver. 10). "For my transgressions do I know, And my sin is ever before me. Age.inst thee only he.ve I sinned, And done the.t which is evil in thine eyes," ete. (Ps. Ii. 3, 4.) 2. Takes the blame of it entirely to himself, as individually responsible, inexcusable, and guilty; thus accepting the judgment of conscience, without indulging vain and misleading thoughts. 3. Feels sorrow, shame, and self-condemnation on account of its nature and enormity ; transgression, iniquity, sin (Ps. xx.xii. 1, 2); rebellion against the supreme King, disobedience to his Law; debt, pollution, guile, leprosy, bloodguiltiness (Ps. Ii. 14). He expresses no/ear of consequences, and deprecates them only in so far as they include separation from God and loss of the blessings of his fellowship. 4. Puts it away from him with aversion and hatred, and purposes to forsake it completely (Prov. x.xviii. 13); which confession implies and testifies. "For mine iniqnity will I confess; I will be sorry for my Bin." (Ps. :u:xviii 18.) II. ITs HANNER; or the evidence afforded of its sincerity by the language employed and the attendant circumstances. Observe: 1. Its promptness, readiness, and spon- taneity. As soon as he became fully alive to his sin, he said, "I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah" (J's, xxxii. 5). 2. Its brevity. Two words only: "I-have-sinned against-Jehovah.' "There is in the Bible no confession so uncon- ditional, no expression of repentance so short, but also none so thoroughly true" (Disselhofi). "Saul confessed his sin more largely, less effectually. God cares not /or phrases, but for affections" (Hall). 3. Its frankness and/ulness, without prevarica- tion or extenuation. "The plain and simple confession, • I have sinned against God,' is a great thing, if we remember how rich the com1pt heart is in the discovery of excuses and apparent justification, and that the king was assailed by one of his subjects with hard, unsparing rebuke" (Hengstenberg). 4. Its publicity. He had sought to hide his sin, but he did not seek to hide his penitence. He would have it set " in the sight of this sun,n even as his chastisement would be; in order that the ways of God might be justified before men, e.nd the evil effects of transgression upon them in some measure repaired. It is for this purpose, among others, that confession is made a. condition of forgiveness (Job xxxiii. 27, 28; 1 John i. 9). "The necessity of confession (to God) arises from the load of unacknowledged guilt. By confession we sever ourselves from our sin and we disown it. Confession relieves by giving a sense of honesty. So long BS we retain sin unconfessed, we e.re conscious of a secret insincerity" (F. W. Robertson, vol. v.). III. 1TB ACCOMPANIMENT; or the further thoughts, feelings, and purposes which should be present in every penitential confession. 1. Faith in the "loving-kindness e.nd tender mercies" of God (Ps. Ii. 1). "But with thee is forgiveness, That thou mayest be fee.red." (Ps. cux. 4, 7.) !110 THE SEOOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. [en. xn, 1-31.
2. Prayer for pardon, purity, the Holy Spirit (1 Sam. xvi. 4--18); •atendf11StneBA, freedom, joy, &ndaalvation (Pt1. Ii. 7-12). 3. Submission to the will of God (Ps. xxxii. 9; xnviii. 13). 4. Con~ecration to his service (Ps. Ii. 18-17). "They were not mauy words whioh he sp0ke, but in them he owned two realities--11in and God. But to own them in their true meaning-sin as against God, and God as the Holy One, and yet God BS merciful and gracious-wBB to return to the way of peace. Lower than this penitence could not descend, higher than this faith could noi rise; and God 'Was Jehovah, and David's sin was put away" (Edersheim). "It was not hie sin, but .hie struf,!:gle with sin, which makes his history remarkable" (D. Macleod). " Davia experienced in a greater degree than any other Old Testament character the restlessness and desolation of a soul burdened · with the consciousness of guilt, the desire for reconciliation with God, the struggle aft.er purity ·and renovation of heart, the joy of fellowship, the heroic, the sll-oonquering power of confidence in God, the ardent love of a gracious heart for God; and has given in his psalms the imperishable testimony as to what is the fruit of the Law and what the fruit of the, Spirit in man" (Oehler, • Theology of the Old Test.,' ii. 159). "1'he charm of his great name is broken. Our reverence for David is shaken, not destroyed. He is not what he was before; but he is far nobler and greater than many a just man who never fell and never repented. He is far more closely bound up with the sympathies of mankind than if he had never fallen" (Stanley). Even Bayle is constrained to say, "His amour with. the wife of Uriah and the order he gave to destroy her husband are two most .enormous crimes. But he was so grieved for them, and expiated them by so admirable a rep~ntance, that this is not the passage in his life wherein he contributes the least to ..the instruction and edification of the faithful We therein leam the frailty of ee.ints, and.it is a precept of vigilance; we therein leam in what manner we ought to lament our sins, and it is an excellent model."-D. I•.