We choose hymns for each of our kids and sing a verse before bedtime. "Thy Mercy, My God": is the hymn we picked for Rocco. It reminds me of Romans 12:1 where Paul turns the corner from orthodoxy to orthopraxy, from the light of the Gospel to living in light of the Gospel. In this verse, Paul says, "Therefore, in view of God's mercies..." He uses the phrase "in view of God's mercies" as a summary statement of the entire Gospel he has spent the 11 prior chapters detailing with theological precision. Therefore, "God's mercies" can be used as a way of referring to the entirety of the Gospel. This song speaks to the glorious joy and gratitude of a heart saved by grace through faith in Christ alone to the glory of God alone!
The author: John Stocker, of Honitan, Devonshire. Contributed during 1776 and 1777 nine hymns to "Gospel Magazine" Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal, 1908
1 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.
2 Without thy free mercy I could not live here
Sin soon would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through Thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me, still keeps me alive.
3 Thy mercy surpasses the sin of 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 found.
4 The door of Thy mercy stands open all day
To the needy and poor, who knock by the way;
No sinner shall ever be empty sent back,
Who comes seeking mercy for Jesus' dear sake.
5 Thy mercy in Jesus exempts me from hell;
Its glories I'll sing, and its wonders I'll tell:
'Twas Jesus the friend when He hung on the tree
That opened the channel of mercy for me.
6 Great Father of mercies, thy goodness I own,
And covenant love of thy crucified Son:
All praise to the Spirit, whose action divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.
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