There is something magisterial and rather comforting about the following prayer of forgiveness. I don’t mean to stress the way it lingers on our “wretchedness” but I do love the sense of God’s love of all creation and willingness to forgive.
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
From the liturgy of the Scottish Episcopal Church
I suspect he or she forgives what we don’t regret. Is that presuming on God’s mercy?
Makes me think of Psalm 103, another reminder of God’s love, mercy and willingness to forgive.
I love that prayer. I’m fascinated, however, by the way we’ve lost all the relative pronouns because (I presume) we no longer use the archaic second person singular of the verb in addressing God. Not that I’m in favour of treating God to exclusively 16th century English or whatever – but “who hatest nothing that thou has made” has a wonderful flow to it. Poetry again, huh?