If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9
This morning’s service focuses on the terrible reality of our own sinfulness and the incredible faithfulness of our Savior to forgive. The Call to Worship from Psalm 85 declares to the Lord, “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin.” We sing Gently, Gently Lay Your Rod—Psalm 6, acknowledging our “sinful heart[s],” our “great need,” and our “guilty life.” 2 Corinthians reminds us that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them,” and we respond with Come Ye Sinners, Poor And Needy, a hymn that celebrates Jesus’ love and pity towards all those “lost and ruined by the fall.” The sermon text presents David in dialogue with the Lord, where he writes “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). In turn, we use the words of Psalm 38 to “confess our iniquities” and declare our sorrow over our sin. Hymns like My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less, Rock Of Ages, Cleft For Me, and Nothing But The Blood, all point us to Jesus as the only cure for sin and the only source for cleansing and pardon. We are sent out with a promise from Jude that this same Jesus will keep us from stumbling and present us blameless to His Father in Heaven.
—Henry C. Haffner
