Perdón, Señor (Forgive Us, Lord)

Hymn Information

First Line: Perdón, Señor (Forgive us, Lord)
Author: Jorge Lockward, b. 1965
Translator (English): Raquel M. Martinez
Tune Name: CONFESSION
Composer: Jorge Lockward, b. 1965
Topic: Elements of Worship: Confession

Copyright Information

Text Copyright

Tune Copyright

Reprint/Projection Information

Words and Music: Permitted with a license from CCLI.com. If you do not own this license, please contact the copyright holder for permission.

Scripture References

Ezekiel 36:25-26
·
Matthew 6:12-13
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Romans 6:16-20

Further Reflections on Scripture References

This song of confession moves from stanzas that articulate specific categories of our own sin (injustice, indifference, and so on) to stanzas that speak of our own forgiving, God’s promised grace and deliverance, and joyful service in freedom. The author intended that these verses (especially the first two) serve as suggestions; he encourages you to add verses appropriate for our own congregation’s context.

Sing! A New Creation

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Our songs and prayers include honesty before God in which we express the pain we experience over our own sins and failures, the difficulties in both our lives and others’ lives, and our laments at the suffering and brokenness that marks our world and our lives. We have assurance, says Belgic Confession, Article 26, that Christ, our intercessor, will hear us, “since he suffered, being tempted, he is also able to help those who are tempted.”

We are encouraged to approach the throne with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Belgic Confession, Article 26, based on Hebrews 4). “We grieve that the church…has become a broken communion in a broken world” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 40).

We also “lament that our abuse of creation has brought lasting damage to the world we have been given...” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 51). And we cry to God for those who suffer in our world, knowing “that God…is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged...” (Belhar Confession, Section 4).

642

Perdón, Señor (Forgive Us, Lord)

Assurance

Optional response of Assurance (Ezek. 36:25-26)

I will sprinkle clean water upon you,

and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,

and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

A new heart I will give you,

and a new spirit I will put within you;

and I will remove from your body the heart of stone

and give you a heart of flesh.

Following this assurance, consider responding by singing the words “Gloria͜ a Dios”/“Glory to God,”

“Jesu christo”/“Jesus Christ,” “te bendecimos”/“we bless you,” “te͜ adoramamos”/“we praise you, Lord,”

or “te glorificamos” /“we glorify you,” to the first two measures of music.

Text: Ezekiel 36:25-26, NRSV

— Lift Up Your Hearts (http://www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org)

Additional Prayers

A Prayer for New Hearts

God of the wronged and wounded, we live too easily amidst grave oppression. We don’t ask about it, look into it, fight against it. We are indifferent to it. O God, champion of the forgotten, forgive us, we pray, and kindle in us a new hunger for justice, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

— Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

642

Perdón, Señor (Forgive Us, Lord)

Tune Information

Name: CONFESSION
Key: d minor

642

Perdón, Señor (Forgive Us, Lord)

Hymn Story/Background

This song of confession moves from verses that articulate specific categories of our own sin (injustice, indifference, and so on) to ones that speak of our own forgiving, God’s promised grace and deliverance, and joyful service in freedom. Jorge Lockward intended that these verses, (especially the first two) serve as suggestions; he encourages you to add verses appropriate for your own congregation’s context.

— Sing! A New Creation

Author and Composer Information

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Jorge Lockward (b. 1965) currently lives in New York City where he works as Director of the Global Praise Program of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, lectures on worship at Union Theological Seminary, and leads the New York based ecumenical chorale Cántico Nuevo. Jorge was a committee member of the Spanish Language United Methodist Hymnal, Mil Voces para Celebrar and has served as consultant on other denominational hymnals. He is the editor of Regocijate y Canta (1995), a collection of Latino worship choruses, Tenemos Esperanza (2001), a trilingual (Spanish, Portuguese, English) songbook and recording, assistant editor of Global Praise 3: More Songs for Worship and Witness (2004) and co-editor of For Everyone Born: Global Songs for an Emerging Church (2008).

He has served as member of the executive committee of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, (1999-2002), the editorial board for Reformed Worship (1999-2002), and the board of directors of Choristers Guild (1999-2002).

As song leader and workshop leader, he models a passion for the ways congregational song both reflects and shapes the theology and praxis of the assembled community. Presently, he is the Minister of Worship for a new United Methodist church in the Northwest Bronx.

— GIA Publications, Inc. (http://www.giamusic.com)

Raquel Mora Martinez (b. Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, 1940) served on the editorial committee for Celebremos, a collection of Hispanic songs, and also supervised the revision of Himmnario Metodista (1973), both United Methodist publications. Martinez, a church musician and editor for Word, Inc., received a B.A. in music education from the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas, and a Master of Sacred Music degree from the Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas. She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

— Bert Polman