Meditation on Sin

Contrition Convinces Us of the Seriousness of Sin

O holy God, just Judge, my heart is contrite and humble. My spirit is sad and afflicted because of my sins (Isaiah 66:2). I am overwhelmed with anxiety and weighed down. I’ve lost all my courage, and my eyes are dark with depression. I am overwhelmed and I begin to weep. My spirit is full of anxiety, and I forget to eat. My heart is wounded, and a fountain of tears pours forth, the blood of a wounded heart. Who can discern one’s errors (Psalm 19:13)? Who understands the pain of the heart surrounded by failures and faults? M parched and contrite soul thirsts for You, the font of life (Psalm 42:2). O Christ, nourish me with the dew of the Spirit and of grace. My anguished heart groans for You. O true joy, give to me peace and quiet of conscience (Psalm 51:10) so, justified by faith, I might have peace with God (Romans 5:1).

My heart condemns me, but You, who are stronger than my heart, absolve me (1 John 3:20). My conscience accuses me, but You, who affixed the handwriting of conscience to the cross, acquits me (Colossians 2:14). I offer you, my God, my contrite and humbled heart as a most grateful sacrifice (Psalm 51:19). I offer to You my groans, messengers of true and real sorrow over sin. I offer You my tears, abundant witnesses of earnest sorrow. I despair of myself. In You, hope is repaired. Of myself, I fail. In You, I am restored. In me, there is anguish. In You, I find joy again. I am weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28). You restore me and give rest to my soul. The deep calls out to the deep (Psalm 42:7). The depth of my misery calls out to the depth of Your mercy. From the depths I cry out to You (Psalm 130:1). Cast my sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your wrath (Psalm 38:3). There is no peace in my bones because of my sin. My sins overwhelm me. They are like a great weight that becomes ever more burdensome as it is carried.

Heal my soul, O heavenly Physician, or death will swallow me. Take the weight of sins away from me, You who bore that weight on the cross, or I will lose hope under this unbearable burden. Have mercy on me, Font of grace and mercy. Amen.

Johann Gerhard