Public Confession of Sin

I recently finished the Westminster Directory of Public Worship. Essentially, it's "how to" book for worship services in the Puritan era. It was a tremendously helpful little book for a pastor-in-training. As you can probably guess from this blog, I think history (although not the final authority) should have an impact on how we, as a church, do what we do. The Bible is the final rule of faith and practice, and history can help us understand "historically" where there have been weaknesses and strengths. In short, we can learn from the past.


A part of the directory that really stood out in my mind was the Westminster divines' admonition to put great attention to the specifics of our corporate prayers in the worship service. Particularly, they advocate for a robust public confession of sin in the weekly corporate worship service. Here's how they say it,

"After reading of the word, (and singing of the psalm,) the minister who is to preach, is to endeavour to get his own and his hearers hearts to be rightly affected with their sins, that they may all mourn in sense thereof before the Lord, and hunger and thirst after the grace of God in Jesus Christ, by proceeding to a more full confession of sin, with shame and holy confusion of face, and to call upon the Lord to this effect..."

They then offer a pattern public confession that is both deep and wide. This portion of the directory really got me thinking. Do I daily confess sin as I should? Not to mention, do I lead the people I shepherd into corporate confession of sin? Especially today, on Good Friday, we would be served well to think long and hard about the sin in our own hearts that drove Christ to the cross.

Puritan William Bridge describes our sin this way, "For if the guilt of sin be so great that nothing can satisfy it but the blood of Jesus; and the filth of sin be so great that nothing can fetch out the stain thereof but the blood of Jesus, how great, how heinous, how sinful must the evil of sin be!"