Repentance and Confession of Sin

Verse 1

Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before His feet,
For none can perish there.

Verse 2

Thy promise is my only plea;
With this I venture nigh:
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

Verse 3

Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without, and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

Verse 4

Be Thou my Shield and Hiding-place,
That, sheltered near Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him, Thou hast died.

Verse 5

O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead Thy gracious Name!

Verse 1

Come, let us to the Lord our God
With contrite hearts return;
Our God is gracious, nor will leave
The desolate to mourn.

Verse 2

His voice commands the tempest forth,
And stills the stormy wave;
And, though His arm be strong to smite,
’Tis also strong to save.

Verse 3

Long hath the night of sorrow reigned;
The dawn shall bring us light:
God shall appear, and we shall rise
With gladness in His sight.

Verse 4

Our hearts, if God we seek to know,
Shall know Him, and rejoice;
His coming like the morn shall be,
Like morning songs His voice.

Verse 5

As dew upon the tender herb,
Diffusing fragrance round,
As showers that usher in the spring,
And cheer the thirsty ground;

Verse 6

So shall His presence bless our souls,
And shed a joyful light;
That hallowed morn shall chase away
The sorrows of the night.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Kindled His relentings are;
Me He now delights to spare;
Cries, “How shall I give Thee up?”
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Verse 4

There for me the Saviour stands,
Shows His wounds, and spreads His hands;
God is Love: I know, I feel,
Jesus weeps, but loves me still.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Father, again in Jesus’ Name we meet,
And bow in penitence beneath Thy feet:
Again to Thee our feeble voices raise,
To sue for mercy, and to sing Thy praise.

Verse 2

O we would bless Thee for Thy ceaseless care,
And all Thy work from day to day declare:
Is not our life with hourly mercies crowned?
Does not Thine arm encircle us around?

Verse 3

Alas, unworthy of Thy boundless love,
Too oft with careless feet from Thee we rove;
But now, encouraged by Thy voice, we come,
Returning sinners to a Father’s home.

Verse 4

O by that Name in whom all fulness dwells,
O by that love which every love excels,
O by that blood so freely shed for sin,
Open blest mercy’s gate, and take us in.

Verse 1

Father, hear Thy children’s call;
Humbly at Thy feet we fall,
Prodigals, confessing all:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 2

Christ, beneath Thy cross we blame
All our life of sin and shame,
Penitent, we breathe Thy Name:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 3

Holy Spirit, grieved and tried,
Oft forgotten and defied,
Now we mourn our stubborn pride:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 4

Love that caused us first to be,
Love that bled upon the tree,
Love that draws us lovingly:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 5

We Thy call have disobeyed,
Into paths of sin have strayed,
And repentance have delayed:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 6

Sick, we come to Thee for cure,
Guilty, seek Thy mercy sure,
Evil, long to be made pure:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 7

Blind, we pray that we may see,
Bound, we pray to be made free,
Stained, we pray for sanctity:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 8

Thou who hearest each contrite sigh,
Bidding sinful souls draw nigh,
Willing not that one should die,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 9

By the love that bids Thee spare,
By the heaven Thou dost prepare,
By Thy promises to prayer,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 1

Have mercy, Lord, on me,
As Thou wert ever kind;
Let me, oppressed with loads of guilt,
Thy wonted mercy find.

Verse 2

Against Thee, Lord, alone,
And only in Thy sight,
Have I transgressed; and though condemned
Must own Thy judgments right.

Verse 3

Blot out my crying sins,
Nor me in anger view;
Create in me a heart that’s clean,
An upright mind renew.

Verse 4

Withdraw not Thou Thy help,
Nor cast me from Thy sight;
Nor let Thy Holy Spirit take
His everlasting flight.

Verse 5

The joy Thy favors give
Let me again obtain,
And Thy free Spirit’s firm support
My fainting soul sustain.

Verse 1

How oft, alas! this wretched heart
Has wandered from the Lord,
How oft my roving thoughts depart,
Forgetful of His word.

Verse 2

Yet sovereign mercy calls, “Return;”
Dear Lord, and may I come?
My vile ingratitude I mourn;
O take the wanderer home.

Verse 3

And canst Thou, wilt Thou yet forgive,
And bid my crimes remove?
And shall a pardoned rebel live
To speak Thy wondrous love?

Verse 4

Almighty grace, thy healing power,
How glorious, how Divine!
That can to bliss and life restore
So vile a heart as mine.

Verse 5

Thy pardoning love, so free, so sweet,
Dear Saviour, I adore;
O keep me at Thy sacred feet,
And let me rove no more.

Verse 1

I was a wandering sheep,
I did not love the fold;
I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,
I would not be controlled.
I was a wayward child,
I did not love my home;
I did not love my Father’s voice,
I loved afar to roam.

Verse 2

The Shepherd sought His sheep,
The Father sought His child;
They followed me o’er vale and hill,
O’er deserts waste and wild:
They found me nigh to death,
Famished and faint and lone;
They bound me with the bands of love,
They saved the wandering one.

Verse 3

Jesus my Shepherd is;
’Twas He that loved my soul,
’Twas He that washed me in His blood,
’Twas He that made me whole;
’Twas He that sought the lost,
That found the wandering sheep,
’Twas He that brought me to the fold,
’Tis He that still doth keep.

Verse 4

I was a wandering sheep,
I would not be controlled;
But now I love my Shepherd’s voice,
I love, I love the fold.
I was a wayward child,
I once preferred to roam;
But now I love my Father’s voice,
I love, I love His home.

Verse 1

Lord, in this Thy mercy’s day,
Ere it pass for aye away,
On our knees we fall and pray.

Verse 2

Holy Jesus, grant us tears,
Fill us with heart-searching fears
Ere that awful doom appears.

Verse 3

Lord, on us Thy Spirit pour,
Kneeling lowly at the door,
Ere it close for evermore.

Verse 4

By Thy night of agony,
By Thy supplicating cry,
By Thy willingness to die,

Verse 5

By Thy tears of bitter woe
For Jerusalem below,
Let us not Thy love forego.

Verse 6

’Neath Thy wings let us have place,
Lest we lose this day of grace
Ere we shall behold Thy face.

Verse 1

Lord, when we bend before Thy throne,
And our confessions pour,
Teach us to feel the sins we own,
And hate what we deplore.

Verse 2

Our broken spirits pitying see,
And penitence impart;
Then let a kindling glance from Thee
Beam hope upon the heart.

Verse 3

When our responsive tongues essay
Their grateful hymns to raise,
Grant that our souls may join the lay,
And mount to Thee in praise.

Verse 4

When we disclose our wants in prayer,
May we our wills resign;
And not a thought our bosom share
Which is not wholly Thine.

Verse 5

Let faith each meek petition fill,
And waft it to the skies;
And teach our hearts ’tis goodness still
That grants it, or denies.

Verse 1

My Lord, my Master, at Thy feet adoring,
I see Thee bowed beneath Thy load of woe:
For me, a sinner, is Thy life-blood pouring;
For Thee, my Saviour, scarce my tears will flow.

Verse 2

Thine own disciple to the Jews has sold Thee;
With friendship’s kiss and loyal word he came:
How oft of faithful love my lips have told Thee,
While Thou hast seen my falsehood and my shame.

Verse 3

With taunts and scoffs they mock what seems Thy weakness,
With blows and outrage adding pain to pain:
Thou art unmoved and steadfast in Thy meekness;
When I am wronged how quickly I complain.

Verse 4

My Lord, my Saviour, when I see Thee wearing
Upon Thy bleeding brow the crown of thorn,
Shall I for pleasure live, or shrink from bearing
Whate’er my lot may be of pain or scorn?

Verse 5

O Victim of Thy love! O pangs most healing!
O saving death! O wounds that I adore!
O shame most glorious! Christ, before Thee kneeling,
I pray Thee keep me Thine for evermore.

Verse 1

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
They take such hold on me,
I am not able to look up,
Save only, Christ, to Thee;
In Thee is all forgiveness,
In Thee abundant grace,
My shadow and my sunshine
The brightness of Thy face.

Verse 2

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
How sad on Thee they fall;
Seen through Thy gentle patience,
I tenfold feel them all;
I know they are forgiven,
But still, their pain to me
Is all the grief and anguish
They laid, my Lord, on Thee.

Verse 3

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
Their guilt I never knew
Till with Thee in the desert
I near Thy passion drew;
Till with Thee in the garden
I heard Thy pleading prayer,
And saw the sweat-drops bloody
That told Thy sorrow there.

Verse 4

Therefore my songs, my Saviour,
E’en in this time of woe,
Shall tell of all Thy goodness
To suffering man below;
Thy goodness and Thy favor,
Whose presence from above
Rejoice those hearts, my Saviour,
That live in Thee and love.

Verse 1

No, not despairingly
Come I to Thee;
No, not distrustingly
Bend I the knee:
Sin hath gone over me,
Yet is this still my plea,
Jesus hath died.

Verse 2

Ah! mine iniquity
Crimson has been,
Infinite, infinite
Sin upon sin;
Sin of not loving Thee,
Sin of not trusting Thee,
Infinite sin.

Verse 3

Lord, I confess to Thee
Sadly my sin;
All I am tell I Thee,
All I have been:
Purge Thou my sin away,
Wash Thou my soul this day;
Lord, make me clean.

Verse 4

Faithful and just art Thou,
Forgiving all;
Loving and kind art Thou
When poor ones call:
Lord, let the cleansing blood,
Blood of the Lamb of God,
Pass o’er my soul.

Verse 5

Then all is peace and light
This soul within;
Thus shall I walk with Thee,
The loved Unseen;
Leaning on Thee, my God,
Guided along the road,
Nothing between.

Verse 1

O Jesus, Saviour of the lost,
My Rock and Hiding-place,
By storms of sin and sorrow tossed,
I seek Thy sheltering grace.

Verse 2

Guilty, forgive me, Lord, I cry;
Pursued by foes, I come;
A sinner, save me, or I die,
An outcast, take me home.

Verse 3

Once safe in Thine almighty arms,
Let storms come on amain;
There danger never, never harms;
There death itself is gain.

Verse 4

And when I stand before Thy throne,
And all Thy glories see,
Still be my righteousness alone
To hide myself in Thee.

Verse 1

O Lord, turn not Thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life
With tears and bitter cry.

Verse 2

Thy mercy-gates are open wide
To them that mourn their sin;
O shut them not against us, Lord,
But let us enter in.

Verse 3

We need not to confess our fault,
For surely Thou canst tell;
What we have done, and what we are,
Thou knowest very well.

Verse 4

Wherefore, to beg and to entreat,
With tears we come to Thee,
As children that have done amiss
Fall at their father’s knee.

Verse 5

And need we, then, O Lord, repeat
The blessing which we crave,
When Thou dost know, before we speak,
The thing that we would have?

Verse 6

Mercy, O Lord, mercy we seek,
This is the total sum;
For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer;
O let Thy mercy come.

Verse 1

O Thou that hear’st when sinners cry,
Though all my crimes before Thee lie,
Behold them not with angry look,
But blot their memory from Thy book.

Verse 2

Create my nature pure within,
And form my soul averse to sin;
Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart,
Nor hide Thy presence from my heart.

Verse 3

I cannot live without Thy light,
Cast out and banished from Thy sight;
Thy holy joys, my God, restore,
And guard me, that I fall no more.

Verse 4

A broken heart, my God, my King,
Is all the sacrifice I bring;
The God of grace will ne’er despise
A broken heart for sacrifice.

Verse 5

My soul lies humbled in the dust,
And owns Thy dreadful sentence just;
Look down, O Lord, with pitying eye,
And save the soul condemned to die.

Verse 6

Then will I teach the world Thy ways;
Sinners shall learn Thy sovereign grace;
I’ll lead them to my Saviour’s blood,
And they shall praise a pardoning God.

Verse 7

O may Thy love inspire my tongue;
Salvation shall be all my song,
And all my powers shall join to bless
The Lord, my Strength and Righteousness.

Verse 1

O Thou, the contrite sinners’ Friend,
Who, loving, lov’st them to the end,
On this alone my hopes depend,
That Thou wilt plead for me.

Verse 2

When, weary in the Christian race,
Far off appears my resting-place,
And, fainting, I mistrust Thy grace,
Then, Saviour, plead for me.

Verse 3

When I have erred and gone astray,
Afar from Thine and wisdom’s way,
And see no glimmering guiding ray,
Still, Saviour, plead for me.

Verse 4

When Satan, by my sins made bold,
Strives from Thy cross to loose my hold,
Then with Thy pitying arms enfold,
And plead, O plead for me.

Verse 5

And when my dying hour draws near,
O’ercast with sorrow, pain, and fear,
Then to my fainting sight appear,
Pleading in heaven for me.

Verse 6

When the full light of heavenly day
Reveals my sins in dread array,
Say Thou hast washed them all away;
O say Thou plead’st for me.

Verse 1

Out of the deep I call
To Thee, O Lord, to Thee;
Before Thy throne of grace I fall;
Be merciful to me.

Verse 2

Out of the deep I cry,
The woeful deep of sin,
Of evil done in days gone by,
Of evil now within.

Verse 3

Out of the deep of fear
And dread of coming shame,
From morning watch till night is near
I plead the precious Name.

Verse 4

Lord, there is mercy now,
As ever was, with Thee;
Before Thy throne of grace I bow,
Be merciful to me.

Verse 1

Saviour, when in dust to Thee
Low we bow the adoring knee;
When, repentant, to the skies
Scarce we lift our weeping eyes,
O by all the pains and woe
Suffered once for man below,
Bending from Thy throne on high,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 2

By Thy helpless infant years,
By Thy life of want and tears,
By Thy days of sore distress
In the savage wilderness,
By the dread mysterious hour
Of the insulting tempter’s power,—
Turn, O turn a favoring eye,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 3

By the sacred griefs that wept
O’er the grave where Lazarus slept,
By the boding tears that flowed
Over Salem’s loved abode,
By the anguished sigh that told
Treachery lurked within Thy fold,—
From Thy seat above the sky
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 4

By Thine hour of dire despair,
By Thine agony of prayer,
By the cross, the nail, the thorn,
Piercing spear, and torturing scorn,
By the gloom that veiled the skies
O’er the dreadful sacrifice,—
Listen to our humble cry,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 5

By Thy deep expiring groan,
By the sad sepulchral stone,
By the vault whose dark abode
Held in vain the rising God,—
O from earth to heaven restored,
Mighty, re-ascended Lord,
Listen to the cry
Of our solemn litany.

Verse 1

Sinful, sighing to be blest;
Bound, and longing to be free;
Weary, waiting for my rest:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 2

Goodness I have none to plead,
Sinfulness in all I see,
I can only bring my need:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 3

Broken heart and downcast eyes
Dare not lift themselves to Thee;
Yet Thou canst interpret sighs:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 4

From this sinful heart of mine
To Thy bosom I would flee;
I am not my own, but Thine:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 5

There is One beside the throne,
And my only hope and plea
Are in Him, and Him alone:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 6

He my cause will undertake,
My Interpreter will be;
He’s my all; and for His sake
God be merciful to me.

Verse 1

Take me, O my Father, take me;
Take me, save me, through Thy Son;
That which Thou wouldst have me, make me,
Let Thy will in me be done.
Long from Thee my footsteps straying,
Thorny proved the way I trod;
Weary come I now, and praying,
Take me to Thy love, my God.

Verse 2

Fruitless years with grief recalling,
Humbly I confess my sin;
At Thy feet, O Father, falling,
To Thy household take me in.
Freely now to Thee I proffer
This relenting heart of mine;
Freely life and soul I offer,
Gift unworthy love like Thine.

Verse 3

Once the world’s Redeemer, dying,
Bore our sins upon the tree;
On that sacrifice relying,
Now I look in hope to Thee:
Father, take me; all forgiving,
Fold me to Thy loving breast;
In Thy love for ever living
I must be for ever blest.

Verse 1

Weary of earth, and laden with my sin,
I look at heaven and long to enter in;
But there no evil thing may find a home;
And yet I hear a voice that bids me “Come.”

Verse 2

So vile I am, how dare I hope to stand
In the pure glory of that holy land?
Before the whiteness of that throne appear?
Yet there are hands stretched out to draw me near.

Verse 3

The while I fain would tread the heavenly way,
Evil is ever with me day by day;
Yet on mine ears the gracious tidings fall,
“Repent, confess, thou shalt be loosed from all.”

Verse 4

It is the voice of Jesus that I hear;
His are the hands stretched out to draw me near,
And His the blood that can for all atone,
And set me faultless there before the throne.

Verse 5

O great Absolver, grant my soul may wear
The lowliest garb of penitence and prayer,
That in the Father’s courts my glorious dress
May be the garment of Thy righteousness.

Verse 6

Yea, Thou wilt answer for me, righteous Lord;
Thine all the merits, mine the great reward;
Thine the sharp thorns, and mine the golden crown;
Mine the life won, and Thine the life laid down.

Verse 1

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace, and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.

Verse 2

We have not feared Thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath Thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed, and word, and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know Thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

Verse 3

We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by Thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and own the love Thou art.

Verse 4

We have not served Thee as we ought;
Alas! the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost, or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For Thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

Verse 5

When shall we know Thee as we ought,
And fear, and love, and serve aright!
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light!
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see Thy face, and serve Thee there.

Verse 1

With broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 2

I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed,
Christ and His cross my only plea:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 3

Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 4

Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone;
To Calvary alone I flee:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 5

And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be,
“God has been merciful to me.”