Mercy

Mercy

God of the Publican,

Be merciful to me a sinner; this I am by nature and practice, this thy
Word proclaims me to be, this I hope I feel myself to be; Yet thou has not left
me to despair, for there is no 'peradventure' in thy grace; I have all the
assurance I need that with thee is plenteous redemption.

In spite of the number and heinousness of my sins thou hast given me a
token for good; the golden septre is held out, and thou hast said 'Touch it and
live'. May I encourage myself by a sense of thy all-sufficiency, by faith in thy
promises, by views of the experiences of others. To that dear refuge in which so
man have sheltered from every storm may I repair, in that fountain always freely
open for sin may I be cleansed from every defilement. Sin is that abominable
thing which thy soul hates, and this alone separates thee and me. Thou canst not
contradict the essential perfections of thy nature; thou canst not make me
happy with thyself, till thou hast made me holy like thyself.

O holy God, make me such a creature as thou canst take pleasure in, and
such a being that I can take pleasure in thee. May I consent to and delight in
thy law after the inner man, never complain over the strictness of thy demands,
but mourn over my want of conformity to them; never question thy commandments,
but esteem them to be right. By thy Spirit within me may my practice spring from
principle, and my dispositions be conformable with duty.

Valley of Vision