“Ah! mine iniquity crimson hath been, infinite, infinite, sin upon sin.”

 

 

 Hymn: “No, Not Despairingly” – Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Tune: KEDRON

I began my church-going life with too much talk about sin, and it looks like I will end it with not enough talk about sin.

In our church-growth-fueled fervor, it would be dubious to hear sin talked about much from the local pulpit for fear that someone might be offended and put-off…or might not return with intention to join our ranks and contribute to our cause.

Believe me, I don’t want to return to the guilt-trip-inducing tactics of previous generations. I think “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a great piece of literature, but I don’t want to be frightened into good behavior through the words of Jonathan Edwards. I also don’t want to be lulled into peaceful ignorance on the wings of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. There must be a place somewhere between “I’m Okay, You’re Okay,” and “Nobody’s Okay, We’re All Going to Hell.”

Somebody has to remind us that we are sinners – that by nature, we all tend to wander off course. Otherwise there is no need to be redeemed… and no appreciation for the redemption that is ours.

Horatius Bonar does this carefully, caringly in today’s hymn. He sees an infinitely high stacking of transgressions, one upon the other, reaching further than the eye can see or the mind fathom.  In reality, he has a pretty good grasp on the human condition. There is no listing of the petty stuff or the immoralities of ill-spent youth. Rather he lists only two categories: 1) sin of not loving thee and 2) sin of not trusting thee. I’m not a great theologian, but most of my other sins stem from these two. How about yours?

This is not to be a downer post, although it may seem so. This hymnline is to remind us that we are sinners who have been redeemed from a stack-pile of lapses in our commitments. It reminds us to get back on the path and renew our thanksgiving to the One who saves.

When we get to that point, we can re-utter the first word of this hymnline; but now the “ah” can become an expression of relief.