Christ, Have Mercy
Dear God,
I cast myself at the foot of the cross, bewailing my exceeding sinfulness. I plead your precious promises and earnestly pray to you to shed abroad in my heart more love, more humility, more faith, more hope, more peace and joy; in short, to fill me with all the fullness of God, and make me worthy to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Amen.
(William Wilberforce)
Like the two blind men who cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David,” Savior, we cry to you, “Have mercy on us.” Like the tax collector, who stood far of from the temple and would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” Savior, we cry to you, “Be merciful to us!”[1]
Psalm 51:1-12 NRSV
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore, teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
The Cost of Confession
True confession of sin involves repentance, a sincere change of mind. During that year when David covered his sins, he thought he would “get away” with something. But when Nathan confronted him with his sins, David’s heart smote him, and he repented. There is a difference between admitting sins and confessing sins. Confession literally means “to say the same thing.” If we say the same thing about our sins that God says about them, and we truly mean it, then we are confessing sin. David even went so far as to admit his sinful nature, born in sin (v. 5). Beware of “cheap confession.” Merely praying with the lips, “Lord, I have sinned, please forgive me!” is not confession. True confession costs something—a broken spirit and a contrite heart. This does not mean that we do penance and earn forgiveness, but it does mean that we are so broken by our sins that we hide nothing from God.[2]
Almighty and most merciful Father,
We have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.
O Lord, have mercy upon us.
Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.
(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
Lord, Have Mercy
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1]#100 in “The Sing! Hymnal” (Crossway, 2025) based on Matthew 9:27 and Luke 18:13.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Ps 32–51.
