The Rest...

(I thought it would be a good idea to include the rest of "Thy Mercy, My God"; it certainly deserves a whole post.)This hymn literally breaks my heart when I hear it. It takes me instantly to the foot of the cross, broken and exposed before my Savior. Grace is this undefinable and immeasurable thing that I'm not sure we can understand, only experience. And I think you know when you have experienced it, it changes you, and are able to understand more and more, how broken and sinful we are, and how great and merciful is the grace of God. I posted the second verse the other day because that is the one that really gets me. "Without they sweet mercy, I could not live here; Sin would reduce me to utter despair;", ahhh! Say that to yourself and realize the magnitude of that; because it is absolutely true. In this world, where we are fighting battles on all levels, trying to live a life that glorifies God in the midst of a culture focused on glorifying "self"; it is only by the grace and mercy of God that we are not crushed, defeated, and "reduced to utter despair" by the simple reality of the world in which we live. It's only "through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive, And he that first made me still keeps me alive." AMEN! He sustains me, he revives my broken and discouraged spirit, and keeps me alive until he returns or calls me home. And so this hymn is one very dear to my heart, that speaks of the wonderful gift that God lavishes upon us, when we need it most, and deserve it least.

"Thy Mercy, My God"

Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,

The joy of my heart. and the boast of my tongue;

Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,

Hath won my affections, and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here;

Sin would reduce me to utter despair;

But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,

And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,

Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart;

Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground,

And weep to the praise of the mercy I’ve found.

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own,

And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son;

All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine

Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.

All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine

Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine.