"I, a poor miserable sinner..." or so begins one of my favorite confessions of sin in our service book. In a culture bathed in self-help and "your best life now" true Christianity stands in direct opposition declaring that all have sinned, there is none righteous (Rom 3). At its most basic level the Christian faith can be summed up with the phrase: The forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Certainly it is bigger in scope than this, but without this vital truth, it is mere religion and worth nothing.

So it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite weekly elements of the liturgy is the confession of sin and absolution (or declaration of pardon, for my Reformed brethren). I like, especially, that it acts as a preparatory element near the very beginning of our service as it releases in me a true sense of thanksgiving and joy, freeing me to worship wholeheartedly, because I am reminded that I have been washed in the blood of Christ and that my sins are nailed to his cross for it in that special time I am a man weighed down by my repeated failures. When it is declared by my pastor that God has forgiven my wrongs and shortcomings, I do not just think the slate is wiped clean. It actually is! Hallelujah!

The Didache, one of the earliest documents discussing Christian worship, admonishes, "Assemble on the day of the Lord, break bread and celebrate the Eucharist; but first confess your sins, that your sacrifice my be holy." As the church grew, it is unfortunate that the priesthood of all believers and the saving work of Christ's atoning work alone became subverted and confused during the late Patristic period and suffered further corruption during the Middle Ages. The Reformers appreciated the value of a preparatory confession, but they could not retain much of the existing liturgical forms because of their impurity in soliciting forgiveness from Mary or the saints vice Christ. Thus, you will find varying prayers in Protestant churches. One of the most common reads:

Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess to You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Therefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Simple and right to the point. Why should God forgive us? Not for what we bring, as the old hymn puts it, simply to the cross I cling. In other words, for the "sake of our Lord Jesus Christ." In my upcoming album I wanted a song that spoke of this truth as a joyful response to being pardoned. I struggled finding the right words and setting them to an appropriate arrangement. I finally settled on a short hymn by Charles Wesley entitled, Depth of Mercy, updating and rearranging the words to fit a verse/chorus pattern and setting it to my own tune that is built around a simple string arpeggio and cahon beat. Chris later added some horns, piano and cellos as the song builds. I haven't found a way to play it live, yet, but look forward to trying it at some point. For a great article on this topic for worship planners, head over to the Calvin Institute of Worship, here.

Great verse to memorize on this topic:

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9)

Book Recommendation on the topic of Sin:

Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle by Henri Blocher