“For Your Son has suffered for me,
“Lord, to You I Make Confession,” which is number 608 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Giv’n Himself to rescue me,
Died to save me and restore me,
Reconciled and set me free.
Lord, on You I cast my burden—
Sink it in the deepest sea!
Let me know Your gracious pardon,
Cleanse me from iniquity.
Let Your Spirit leave me never;
Make me only Yours forever.”
According to our hymn, so much has been done for us. We have been rescued, saved, restored, reconciled, set free, and cleansed. From what (or from whom?) have we been rescued, saved and set free? From what have we been cleansed? With whom have we been reconciled? To what have we been restored? The image of God, the righteousness lost in the fall into sin, is restored through faith in Christ. We have “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10 ESV). “In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19a ESV). We, who were once lost in sin and enemies of God, have been brought into a right relationship with Him. We are cleansed from sin “by the washing of water with the Word” that is Holy Baptism (Ephesians 5:26b ESV). We have been rescued, saved, and set free from sin, death, and Satan.
All of this was accomplished through a single act of sacrificial love. We have been rescued, saved, set free, reconciled, and cleansed because Jesus “offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:12b ESV). His saving work complete, the Son of God cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” and bowed His head and died (John 19:30b ESV). On the first Easter morning, Jesus was raised to life in triumph over all that held us captive, over everything that separated us from God. Jesus died to destroy “one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14b-15 ESV).
Saved and set free, we cast the burden of our sins on the Lord, praying in our hymn that God would take that burden and “sink it in the deepest sea.” That is exactly what He has promised to do: “He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19b ESV). Our sins are removed forever from His sight. “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12 ESV). Our sins are cast away from the sight of God, but we will not be sent away. We pray, “Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11 ESV). God has answered our prayer. He has made us His own, and we are His forever.
We Pra: Lord and Savior, sink my sins in the deepest sea and keep me in Your care forever. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn “Lord, to You I Make Confession,” which is number 608 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on July 3, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
Reflection Questions:
1. What is it that God has saved us from?
2. What does it mean to you to hear that God sinks our sins into the deepest sea?
3. What was it that Jesus did to make our forgiveness possible?