Public confession.
Public confession.
That confession is public by which the entire communion confesses its sins as the minister’s voice leads it, and then asks for the forgiveness of those sins, whether this is done ordinarily in daily prayers or extraordinarily in public disasters, either present or impending. “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions with all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat” [Lev. 16:21]. Fagius (Paraph. Chald. of this passage) reports the form of words which the priest generally said in that confession: “O Lord, they have sinned; they have done wickedly, this people of Yours; the house of Israel have transgressed before You. I beseech You, O Lord, forgive now the iniquities, the transgressions, and the sins with which Your people, the house of Israel, have sinned and transgressed and done evil in Your sight, just as it is written in the Law of Moses, Your servant.” “The Israelites draw water and pour it out before the Lord and fast on that day, saying, ‘We have sinned against the Lord’ ” (1 Sam. 7:6.) “The sons of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers” (Neh. 9:1–2). “We have sinned, we have committed iniquity and acted wickedly and rebelled and turned away from Your Commandments and Your judgments” (Dan. 9:5). (See also Judg. 10:10; 2 Chron. 30:15.)