Link - Luther's Sermon on Confession
First of all we know that the Scriptures speak of three kinds of confession.
The first is that which is made to God, of which the prophet David speaks in Psalm 32:5: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and my iniquity did I not hide: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” Likewise, in the preceding third verse David says: “When I kept silence, my bones wasted away as with the drought of summer ;” that is, before God no one is able to stand unless he come with this confession, as Psalm 130:4 declares: “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared ;” that is, whoever would deal with thee must deal so that this confession proceeds from his heart, which says: Lord, if thou be not merciful all is lost, no matter how pious I may be. Every saint must make this confession, as again we read in the Psalm mentioned, verse 6, “For this let everyone that is godly pray unto thee.” Therefore, this kind of confession teaches us that we are all alike wicked and sinners, as the saying is, If one of us is good, all of us are good. If anyone have special grace, let him thank God and refrain from boasting.
