Lord, for Thy tender mercy's sake

General information

This is a sixteenth-century prayer for forgiveness of sins. An early publication was in a compilation by Henry Bull in 1566. The modern prayer is an amended excerpt from a longer prayer entitled "A prayer for remission of sins, and for the leading of a Godly life".

Settings by composers

• Richard Farrant — Lord, for thy tender mercy's sake  English SATB, ATTB
• Phil Orrin — Lord, for Thy tender mercy's sake  English SATB 

Text and translations

English text

  O Lord, therefore I come unto thee, not hoping in mine own righteousness, but trusting only in thy great mercies and promises made unto me in Christ Jesu my Lord; for whose sake I beseech thee to cleanse me from all my sins, and do away all mine iniquities.
  For thy tender mercy sake lay not my sins to my charge, but forgive that is past; and give me grace to amend my life, to decline from sin, and incline to virtue, that I may walk with an upright heart, a clean conscience, and single eye before thee this day (or night,) and evermore.

Excerpt from 1842 reprint, p. 174

English text Lord, for Thy tender mercy's sake, lay not our sins to our charge, But forgive that is past, give us grace to amend our sinful lives, to decline from sin, and incline to virtue, that we may walk in a perfect heart. Amen.

English text Lord, for thy tender mercy's sake, lay not our sins to our charge, but forgive that is past, and give us grace to amend our sinful lives. To decline from sin and incline to virtue, that we may walk in a perfect heart [or: in an upright heart] before thee, now and evermore. Amen.

German translation Herr, rechne uns um deines liebevollen Erbarmens willen unsere Sünden nicht an, sondern vergib uns, was vergangen ist, und gib uns die Gnade, unser sündiges Leben zu bessern. Dass wir von der Sünde ablassen und uns zur Tugend neigen, damit wir mit aufrichtigem Herz vor dir wandeln können, jetzt und immerdar. Amen. Translation by Heinz Waldmann

References:

• Bull, Henry, compiler. 1566. Christian praiers and holie meditations, as well for private as publique exercise: Gathered out of the most godly learned in our time. London: Henry Middleton. Further editions in 1570 and 1578.
• Bull, Henry, collector. 1566. Christian prayers and holy meditations, as well for private as public exercise. Collected by Henry Bull. "Reprinted" (actually re-typeset) in 1842 for the Parker Society. Cambridge University Press, 210 pp.

External websites:

• Bull's 1578 edition, scan at Archive.org
• Bull's 1566 book, 1842 reprint