Father, to us Thy mercy Thou hast shown, In Thine own way; Sinners like us as dear sons Thou wouldst own, In love for aye. Vessels of mercy, Thou didst us prepare; Vessels of honor, we Thyself declare.
G
Father, to us Thy mercy
C
Thou hast
G
shown,
In Thine own
D
way;
Sinners like
G
us as dear sons
C
Thou wouldst
G
own,
In
G-D
love for
G
aye.
D
Vessels of
A
mercy,
A7
Thou didst us pre
D7
pare;
G
Vessels of
C
honor, we Thy
G-D
self de
G
clare.
2
“In mercy I delight, not sacrifice,” Thou hast declared; Thru this Thy mercy, favor in Thine eyes We all have shared. ’Tis not of them that will nor them that run, But of Thee showing mercy as was done.
"In mercy I delight, not sacrifice,"
Thou hast declared;
Thru this Thy mercy, favor in Thine eyes
We all have shared.
’Tis not of them that will nor them that run,
But of Thee showing mercy as was done.
G
"In mercy I delight, not
C G
sacrifice,"
Thou hast
D
declared;
Thru this Thy
G
mercy, favor
C
in Thine
G
eyes
We
G-D
all have
G
shared.
D
’Tis not of
A
them that
A7
will nor them that
D7
run,
G
But of Thee
C
showing mercy
G-D
as was
G
done.
3
Father, Thy mercy with Thy love and grace Did we obtain; And in Thy mercy, with Thee face to face, We’ll e’er remain; And for Thy mercy we would worship Thee Through all our days and through eternity.
Father, Thy mercy with Thy love and grace
Did we obtain;
And in Thy mercy, with Thee face to face,
We'll e'er remain;
And for Thy mercy we would worship Thee
Through all our days and through eternity.
G
Father, Thy mercy with Thy
C
love and
G
grace
Did we
D
obtain;
And in Thy
G
mercy, with Thee
C
face to
G
face,
We'll
G-D
e'er
G
remain;
D
And for Thy
A
mercy
A7
we would worship
D7
Thee
G
Through all our
C
days and through
G-D G
eternity.
Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.
The apostles are also the real witnesses of God’s mercy. When we consider the twelve foundations, we must recognize the mercy of God. If God loves us and gives us a gift when we are in a pitiful state and unworthy of love, this is an act of mercy. Mercy is more far-reaching than grace. God is not only a God of grace but also a God of mercy. If we were worthy of God’s love and gift, we would qualify for God’s grace. But we are in a truly pitiful state. Therefore, we should praise God that His mercy is so far-reaching that it has reached poor sinners like us.
We need to look closely at the twelve foundation stones. When we study the four Gospels, we see that although Peter was poor and pitiful, he was nevertheless chosen and used by the Lord. He was adorned and equipped by mercy, and his name is on one of the foundations of the city. After the adornment of God’s mercy, Peter became qualified for God’s grace. If we are humble, we will realize how truly pitiful we are before the Lord and how worthless we are in His eyes. We need His mercy. But after we receive His mercy, we can praise Him and tell Him that now we qualify for His grace. It has nothing to do with our qualifications—it is all the Lord’s mercy.
Praise the Lord! God’s mercy and His grace are both the expression of His love. When we are in a pitiful condition, His mercy reaches us and brings us into a state where He is able to favor us with His grace. Hallelujah. 😀