I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:5.

David often triumphed in God, and yet he dwelt much upon his own unworthiness and sinfulness. His conscience was not asleep or dead. “My sin,” he cried, “is ever before me.” Psalm 51:3. He did not flatter himself that sin was a matter with which he had nothing to do, and that should not concern him. As he saw the depths of deceit in his heart, he … prayed that God would … cleanse him from secret faults.

It is not safe for us to close our eyes and harden our consciences, that we shall not see or realize our sins.^{24SDA Bible Commentary 3:1147.}

The humble heart will not think confession beneath him. He will not feel it a disgrace to confess if he has in any way, even in thought, hurt his brother or hindered God’s work through him.^{25Manuscript 23, 1899.}

Sins not repented of are sins not forgiven. Those who think themselves forgiven for sins of which they have never felt the sinfulness and over which they have never felt contrition of soul, only deceive themselves…. Our strength lies in our conscious weakness…. In self-distrust we cry to God for help, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Casting away all confidence in the arm of flesh, we cling with firm grasp to Jesus….

Heaven will never be reached by an easy-going people merely professing to be Christians. God calls for thorough work on the part of every one of His followers….

By resolute self-denial,
By constant watchfulness,
By earnest prayer,
By the diligent use of every means of grace,
And by the help of Jesus Christ our Redeemer,
We shall come off victorious.
The rest in heaven is for the weary,
The crown for the brows of the warriors.^{26Letter 24, 1888.}