The beauty of the Bible is not only its Truth, but its Truthfulness. It contains not only doctrine, but instructions for applying it to real life. Take the discipline of repentance.
The Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) show true contrition and genuine sorrow. David has committed adultery and a coverup murder (2 Samuel 11). His pleas are heart cries of one who has sinned away his integrity and any claim on holiness. Life is shattered.
David makes no excuse. He does not blame Bathsheba or the pressures of royalty, nor does he call his sins by lesser names. He is guilty of capital crimes. He is worthy of God’s wrath and knows it. He confesses it all to God.
The result? Not judgment, but forgiveness. For sure there would be repercussions in the lives of others and ultimately all Israel. God’s name was still on the line here and David was disciplined. But just as God’s reputation for justice was at stake, so also was His love of mercy. David receives forgiveness, healing, and even protection from the God he has offended. This is why David is a “man after God’s own heart,” not because he shares God’s perfection but because he shares God’s grace. He grasps that God, at His center, is righteous: both just AND merciful.
Reading through these psalms (which we should do in order and at one sitting) takes us through a complex set of emotions, but a surprisingly simple idea: When we confess, God forgives (1 John 1:8-10). He can do this, of course, because Jesus has paid for those sins. (See Romans 3:21-26. David did not know the details, but he clearly knew that God was great enough to create a just way to forgive sins in order to keep His promises to sinners.)
Our sin, left unconfessed, will breed self-righteousness (“It wasn’t that bad”), bitterness (“I was entitled to it”), or hardness of heart (“I don’t care what anyone thinks, including God”). Guilt will out, one way or another, and it will destroy us.
But confession (agreeing with God about our sin and our condition based upon Christ’s work upon the Cross) restores all that we have lost, and then some. The prodigal was still a son all the time he was sinning (Luke 15), but when he came home and humbled himself before his offended father, he was restored with love–and a banquet which his self-righteous brother would not attend and could not comprehend.
Like the prodigal, and David, we will find that our Heavenly Father gives us the same rich reception. If you are broken by your sin, call yourself blessed and return to your Father. He’s watching for you.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20