“J. T. G.” We read in the first epistle of John, that “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession involves the moral judgment of sin in the conscience, which is a very important element. It is one thing to ask for pardon, and another thing to confess my sins. The believer is forgiven nil trespasses; he stands on the ground, and breathes the very atmosphere of forgiveness. But if he commit sin, there must be the confession of that sin, in the presence of God, ere he can enjoy the sense of pardon, or be restored to communion. To ask for the forgiveness of my sins, as though I were yet in the condition of an unforgiven sinner, would be a denial of the truth of the gospel. But if, as a child of God, I sin against my heavenly Father, in thought, word, or deed, my communion must, be suspended until, by confession founded on the death and advocacy of Jesus, my sin is forgiven, and my conscience cleansed from the soil which I had contracted. It is a most perilous thing to go on with unconfessed sin upon the conscience; it hardens the heart, deadens the moral sense, and puts one into the hands of Satan, who may lead us we know not whither. May the Lord keep us in the security of His own presence.