All short of this is mercy. By
Thomas Reed. In order to awaken self-abasement
and gratitude, I should consider both what I deserve and what
blessings I have in Christ. 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 experiencing 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
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 mercifully snatched you as a brand out of the burning. Because of His great love for
us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even
when we were dead in transgressions. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4
and 5. He saved us, not because of righteous
things we had done, but because of His mercy. Titus 3.5 Praise be to the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given
us new birth into a living hope. 1 Peter 1.3