Monty Python mocked confession with The Spanish Inquisition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt0Y39eMvpI&feature=fvwrel.  Confession, though, is an important part of the Christian life.  Why is it that so many people neglect this aspect of the faith?  I think that we feel the need to be private about our weaknesses.  We end up burying our sin deep inside where it festers and becomes more dark and rancid.  We believe that we must portray a ‘togetherness’ which is largely false.  The drunken spirit of cenfession that exists at the local bar, ironically, may be more healthy and in line with God’s desire for us than the sober superficiality that marks the lives of many church-goers.  Of course, the ideal in this psalm is an open, public confession of sin to a forgiving God and a supportive, understanding community.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.^[a]

 ¹ Blessed is the one
   whose transgressions are forgiven,
   whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one
   whose sin the LORD does not count against them
   and in whose spirit is no deceit.

 ³ When I kept silent,
   my bones wasted away
   through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night
   your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
   as in the heat of summer.^[b]

 ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
   and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
   my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
   the guilt of my sin.

 ⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
   while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
   will not reach them.
⁷ You are my hiding place;
   you will protect me from trouble
   and surround me with songs of deliverance.

 ⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
⁹ Do not be like the horse or the mule,
   which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
   or they will not come to you.
¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
   but the LORD’s unfailing love
   surrounds the one who trusts in him.

 ¹¹ Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
   sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Questions

1. Who is blessed according to v. 1?
2. What happened when the psalmist confessed his sin to God?
3. How can someone wh is confessing that they are not righteous rejoice because they are righteous?
4. What sin have you confessed to God?
5. To whom do you confess your deepest sin, and who confesses to you?