To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All

To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All

LSB #613

v. 1: To Thee, omniscient Lord of all,
In grief and shame I humbly call;
I see my sins against Thee, Lord,
The sins of thought and deed and word.
They press me sore; I cry to Thee:
O God, be merciful to me!

This hymn reminds us of a couple of important realities. First, our Lord is omniscient, which means all knowing. There is nothing He does not know. There is nothing we can hide from Him. So when we confess our sins, it is not like we are telling Him something He doesn’t already know! Second, we sin by our thoughts, our deeds, and our words. If we manage to control our deeds, sometimes harsh and sinful words come out. Yet even if we manage to control them, the sinful thoughts were already there! There is no escaping the sin in us. And when we know them and the damage they do to our relationships with each other and with God, what can we do but cry out to God for mercy! Rid me of this sin! Heal me of this disease! And He does! It is the very thing He has come to do. So when we confess our sins, it is not to do something for God - He already knows them all. It is for God to do something for us - that we hear those words for which there are no equal on earth: I forgive you. A God who uses His power to help us! That good news is what this Lenten season is all about.