Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive

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Author: Rosamond Herklots

Rosamond E. Herklots was born of British parents in North India. Educated at Leeds University in England, she worked for many years as secretary to an eminent neurologist, and later in the head office of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in London. She began writing hymns late in life, and some achieved an immediate success. --www.societyholytrinity.org/2007gr-hymnfestcommentary.htm Herklots began writing poetry in her childhood and turned to hymn writing in her adult years. She wrote over seventy hymns, many specifically with children in mind. --Presbyterian Hymnal Companion  Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Forgive our sins as we forgive
Title: Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive
Author: Rosamond Herklots (1969)
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Place of Origin: England
Language: English
Copyright: © 1969 Oxford University Press
Liturgical Use: Confession Songs

Notes

Scripture References:
all st. = Matt. 18:21-35
st.1 = Matt. 6:12

Rosamond E. Herklots (b. Masuri, India, 1905; d. Bromley, Kent, England, 1987) wrote these words in 1966 after digging out weeds in her garden and thinking how bitterness, hatred, and resentment are like poisonous weeds growing in the Christian garden of life. "Forgive Our Sins" is a hymn about being ready to forgive others again and again-as Jesus said, seventy-times-seven times! We have many hymns about God's forgiveness of our sins, but this one adds a most helpful guide in forgiving others' sins.

Herklots revised her own text into the second-person singular ("you") in 1967. That text was first published in 1969 in the British supplementary hymnal 100 Hymns for Today with the subhead “The Unforgiving Heart.” It quickly became her best-known hymn, included in most recent hymnals.

Trained as a teacher at Leeds University, Herklots taught school briefly but from 1930 to 1980 worked as a medical secretary for a London neurologist. She had written poetry since childhood, and after encouragement by members of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland and by Oxford University Press she wrote about a hundred hymns. Some were published initially in various British hymnals and supplements, and some were contest-winners sung on BBC- TV.

Liturgical Use:
Early in the service of confession and forgiveness; as a call to forgiving each other¬especially prior to the Lord's Supper or to the offering of gifts.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 58 of 58)

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #550

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #362

Hymns Old and New #141

Sing Glory #145

Santo, Santo, Santo #504

Oramos Cantando = We Pray In Song #779

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #199a

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #199b

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #694

Text InfoAudio

Glory to God #444

Hymnal #137

Hymns and Psalms #134a

Hymns and Psalms #134b

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #918

Text InfoTune InfoScoreAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #266

Audio

Small Church Music #3366

The Presbyterian Hymnal #347

Audio

The United Methodist Hymnal #390

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #85

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #494

Voices United #364

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #299

Hymns of the Saints #108

The Book of Praise #751

Catholic Book of Worship III #620

Christian Worship #733

Community of Christ Sings #215

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #180

Audio

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #605

Gather (3rd ed.) #965

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #556

Audio

Lift Up Your Hearts #638

Moravian Book of Worship #777

One in Faith #575

The Covenant Hymnal #355

Worship and Rejoice #382

Christian Worship (1993) #493

Hymnal Supplement 98 #877

Lutheran Service Book #843

RitualSong (2nd ed.) #1062

RitualSong #952

The Hymnal 1982 #674

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #572

Ancient and Modern #119

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #486

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #486

Common Praise (1998) #614

Singing the Faith #423

Together in Song #635

Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship #184

Page Scan

Common Praise #428

Trinity Psalter Hymnal #179

The New English Hymnal #66

Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #848

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #111

Worship (4th ed.) #967

Worship (3rd ed.) #754

Gather Comprehensive #879

Include 9 pre-1979 instances
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