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It is all mercy!
(Thomas Reade, 'Christian Meditations')
It is profitable to consider what I deserve,
and what I enjoy, to awaken self abasement,
and gratitude.
If the righteous Lord were to deal with me
according to my deservings, I would at this
moment be under the rack of excruciating pain;
or, under the pressure of most abject poverty;
thus feeling the foretaste of eternal woe.
If thus dealt with in strictest justice, Death
would receive his commission to hurl my
affrighted soul into the gulf of endless
misery, there to remain an everlasting
monument of the vengeance of a holy God.
All short of this is mercy!
Do I enjoy a portion of health?
It is all mercy!
Am I undergoing a sanctified affliction?
It is all mercy!
Do I partake of the bounties of Providence?
It is all mercy!
Do I possess dear, affectionate friends?
It is all mercy!
Do I experience the love of God in Christ,
pardoning my sins, and purifying my heart?
Oh! this is mercy beyond the power
of language to praise or to express!
Rejoice in such a Savior, who snatched
you as a brand out of the burning!
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