I confess my gratitude for the great mercy of a Great God.
Nehemiah 9:16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
As I sat thinking about these verses, a hymn from my past came to mind (words by Frederick W. Faber)…
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Savior;
There is healing in His blood.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.
’Tis not all we owe to Jesus;
It is something more than all;
Greater good because of evil,
Larger mercy through the fall.
These are not all the verses… but some that echo for me sweet truths of God’s mercy to His children.
(updated) I went to youtube to see if I could find the song “blainemonster” mentioned from Rich Mullins. I found this live version from 1997 to add to the post here. Hope you enjoy it as well, even if RichM didn’t seem to be as impressed with it 😉
The Tells of Tim 
Wow. Thanks Tim – you’ve reminded me of Rich Mullins’ song “The Love of God” which obviously hints back to this hymn. 🙂
God’s mercy is our redemption. It guides us home and delivers us from our sins. He is love abounding and His mercy leaves me speechless. I am undeserving of such mercy, and yet, he bestows it upon me. He is the everlasting, awesome and Almighty God.
Amen, Jesus Christ, in His mercy, died on the Cross and rose again victorious over death and sin. Jesus Christ suffered and died in my place and He alone is the Victor and our Redeemer. I too am often speechless as an undeserving recipient of God’s grace, love and mercy.