Bertie had quarreled with his little cousin and was very sorry for it but did not have the courage to confess it; so he said that when she comes again, he will act so she would know he is sorry.

How much like us all was Bertie; it is so hard to come right out and say, “I have done wrong and am sorry for it,” that we put it off from time to time, and at last never say it. We resolve that we will act better, and others will see by that that we are sorry. I have found this to be a poor way to get along; for, although we may do better for a time, the old impulses are strong, and we gradually get careless, and forget to watch; and before we are aware of it, we have fallen into error again.

Proverbs 28:13 says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Confessing our sins will help us to forsake them, and without doing this we cannot hope for pardon. Our words and our deeds must agree; we must confess our sins, and then act as though we were truly sorry for them. Paul expresses the same thought: “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).

“Oh,” says one, “it is so hard to confess; I can confess to God, but when it comes to confessing to others—that is too humiliating.”

When we have confessed one error, it is easier to confess the next, and these are stepping-stones to perfection. It is sweet to lie down at night with the recollection that all our sins against God and others are forgiven, because God says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9); and as we have confessed them, we know God has forgiven them; and if others do not forgive us, it does not alter our relation to God. We are free; and so the record of each day may be completed, perfect, and in the end we shall have nothing to confess, for we have been doing that all along, and we are then ready to have Jesus confess our names before His Father and the holy angels and bid us welcome to His heavenly home.

So, don’t forget: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

The Onward Way

By Charlotte Murray

Our life is one long journey, and the road

Is sometimes rough and rugged; but our God

Who loveth us, His children, knows the way.

And He will gently lead us, day by day.

We meet with certain milestones on our way,

That help to cheer us onward; for they say,

“Our God hath kept you so far, year by year;

Then will you dread the future? Will you fear?”

How can we, when He holds us by the hand,

And promises to lead us to His land?

Then let us simply trust Him, nor allow

One single shade of doubt to vex us now.