6. We have sinned with our fathers. Here
begins a long and particular confession. Confession of sin is the readiest way
to secure an answer to the prayer of verse 4; God visits with his salvation the soul which acknowledges its need of
a Saviour. People may be said to have sinned with their fathers when they imitate
them, when they follow the same objects, and make their own lives to be mere
continuations of the follies of their sires. Moreover, Israel was but one
nation in all time, and the confession which follows sets forth the national
rather than the personal sin of the Lord’s people. They enjoyed national
privileges, and therefore they shared in national guilt. We have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Thus is the confession repeated three
times, in token of the sincerity and heartiness of it. Sins of omission,
commission, and rebellion we ought to acknowledge under distinct heads, that we
may show a due sense of the number and heinousness of our offenses.
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