Song of Confession
We have sinned against each other
Take our sins away
We’ve betrayed our sister and brother
Take our sins away
Teach us how to love our neighbor
Take our sins away
Teach our hands to do your labor
Take our sins away
And all the times that we have forgotten the depths of your great love
And all the times that we have forgotten the depth of your great love
Take our sins away
Teach us how to have compassion
And take our sins away
Spur our words into action
Take our sins away
When we fail to turn and listen
Take our sins away
Building up the walls of division
Take our sins away
And all the times that we have forgotten the depths of your great love
And all the times that we have forgotten the depth of your great love
Take our sins away
LINER NOTES
"We have failed to turn and listen.’ In Hebrew Scriptures, the word often used for repent is 'shv,' meaning to turn or return. In our unwillingness to turn and listen to the LORD, we have failed to be shaped into the people that God calls us to be as the people of God. We have acted on behalf of our own interests, instead of the interests of others. We who are in positions of power have too often neglected those who are vulnerable and ignored those who are oppressed. We have suffered from spiritual amnesia: We have forgotten ‘the depths of Your great love.’ We have said Gospel words, and failed to show Gospel actions. We have failed, and forgotten. We have sinned. Lord, teach us how to love our neighbors and embody your Love. May we together confess, turn, listen, remember, and respond to the love that God has first shown us.” - Seth
“The Song of Confession might be the most important song on the album. This text is original to Seth, and I am so thankful for it and to know a songwriter/theologian like him. In this song he has articulated something that we desperately need to be saying to each other. I think about all the systemic injustices that I am complicit in and I know I need to be singing this song. When I heard about the tragedy in Charleston, SC and I read online posts wondering what the response of the white church should be, the only thing I could think was the Song of Confession: ‘We have sinned against each other / Take our sins away / We've betrayed our sister and brother / Take our sins away.’ I know it's not enough, but I think I've got to start by singing this song, and I'm so thankful to Seth and the Spirit for adding it to my musical vocabulary.” - Greg
Seth – Piano, Lead Vocals; TWRB – Harmony Vocals
Music and Lyrics © Seth Thomas Crissman, 2015