We turn to the passage we read
in Matthew chapter 9. And there in the midst of this
chapter from verse 9 we read, And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom,
and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed
him. And it came to pass, as Jesus
sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans
and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he
said unto them, they that be whole need not a physician, but
they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come
to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. But go ye and learn what that
meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Our great need as sinners before
a holy God is salvation. Throughout this chapter we read
of several who are pictures of a great need of salvation, of
several sick, One sick of the palsy, so sick that he couldn't
come to Christ to be healed, but others carried him on his
bed. And the Lord, seeing him, forgave
him. A woman who had an issue of blood
for 12 years, she could not heal herself, comes unto Christ, and he made her whole. blind men who cried out unto
Jesus to have mercy upon them. Thou son of David, have mercy
on us. And he touched their eyes, saying,
according to your faith be it unto you. A dumb man possessed
with a devil whom Christ delivered. All pictures in an outward form
of sinners who are wretched within. Those like you and I who are
sick of the palsy, sick with sin that we cannot deliver ourselves
from, that we cannot free ourselves from. Sin that pervades all that
we are, all that we do, all that we think. A woman with an issue of blood,
she was bleeding, she was dying. And we are bleeding and dying
by nature from the day we're born. We go forth speaking lies,
we're sinners. We cannot help ourselves. There
is an issue of blood from us, an issue of death that pours
out from our hearts. Everything we say and do condemns
us. until there's no more life left
within us until the last drop of blood pours away and we sink
into eternity. We're dying. Spiritually we are
blind men that cannot see and we need one to touch our eyes
that we may see. We are truly dumb men possessed
with devils. Such is the nature of sin within
our hearts. We are as those possessed with
a devil. That devil calls sin an evil
heart that corrupts all that we are and all that we do. If
we knew what we were, if we knew the depth of our sin and the
reality of it before a holy God, we'd be crushed. We'd drop down
dead in a moment if God showed us just how evil our hearts truly
are. We only stand up and breathe
because He is gracious enough to us to only show us in measure. But when God begins to reveal
unto us just what we are, just how blind we are, just how dead
we are, just how dumb we are, just how possessed we are by
sin, how it breaks us, how it crushes us, how it teaches us
our need of salvation. And if God is pleased to send
us the truth by the gospel in Christ, we will come to see that
salvation is by mercy, by the grace of God alone, and can come
no other way. Jesus said unto these Pharisees,
they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are
sick. You will only seek salvation. You will only desire salvation. You will only desire the mercy
of Christ if you know you're sick. He says, I'm not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance will only cry out
unto him. will only come to Him when we're
shown by His Spirit that we are sinners and not righteous as
we think we are by nature. The Pharisees had no time for
His mercy, had no need of it because they thought they were
righteous. And by nature you and I are the
same. But Jesus said unto them, and
he says unto us and all that will hear, go ye and learn what
that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Go ye and
learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. The gospel It's not a message
of reward for our goodness. It's not a message of the reward
of heaven, of salvation, to those that work, to those that are
better than others, to those with a zeal in religion. Salvation
does not come as a consequence of our efforts, our striving,
our zeal. It's not a reward for our prayers
or our scripture reading or our attendance at meetings. It's
not a reward for any outward good that we may do, for our
upright living. It's not a reward for our zeal
or our desire or our attempting or trying to please God however
imperfect. We may know that we're not perfect. We may know that we're sinners. But we may feel that we do better
than others. And at least we come to the meeting. And at least we want to know
God. And at least we're striving.
And at least we pray. And surely God will reward my
desire, my attempts, my sincerity. But when we come to Him like
that, Christ will respond and say, go and learn what it meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice,
for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Go away and learn what you are
and learn what it means. that salvation is of grace, I
will have mercy and not sacrifice. I will show mercy unto a people
that can do nothing else, unto a wretched, vile, lost people
who have no ability, no strength, no wisdom, who are at the end
of themselves, who know they're wicked from head to toe, who
know they're lepers, who know they're sick at a palsy, who
know they're dying with an issue of blood, who know they're dead
in trespasses and sins, who know they're blind, they cannot see,
they do not know the way. I will have mercy unto such as
these. for mercy is at the heart of
the gospel. It is the gospel, the grace of
God that brings salvation, the forgiveness of God through the
blood of Jesus Christ. He came not to call the righteous
but sinners. He came not to condemn, He came
not with the law to condemn us and to slay us and to judge us,
but he came preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He came preaching
the grace of God. He came declaring unto his own
and to wretched lost sinners like you and I and to the dead
and to the weak. He came to them, to sinners,
saying, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. Before we will ever understand
what it means that I will have mercy, we must be brought to
understand just how bad we are by nature. just how leprous we are, just
how weak we are. I will have mercy, not sacrifice. Who was he speaking to? These
Pharisees. When the Pharisees saw that publicans
and sinners came to Christ and sat down with him, that he ate
with publicans and sinners, they saw it and said to his disciples,
why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? They condemned him. When Christ healed the sick of
the palsy and said unto him, thy sins be forgiven thee, certain
of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth. All they did when they saw him
and heard him heal, save, deliver, When they saw the grace of God
in Jesus Christ, they found fault and condemned Him. And when they
looked on others, all they could see was their faults and their
failings. Because their whole approach
unto God was on the basis of what they
did and how they performed. They came to God based upon their
works, their righteousness, their uprightness, their holiness. They looked on others and saw
that they were better than them. They saw these publicans and
sinners that sat with Christ and they thought, well I'm not
like they are. I don't go where they go, I don't
do what they do, I don't say what they say. I go to the house
of God, I read the scriptures, I pray, I'm zealous. God will receive me, not these
sinners, not these wretched people in the streets, not these vile
blasphemers. So when they saw those sat with
Christ, they were full of consternation. How could he sit with these and
not us? How they hated it. How they hated
this message of grace and of mercy. How much they had sacrificed
in their lives for God. What a sacrifice they made with
their time. What a sacrifice they made of
their money in order to serve God. Oh how zealous they were,
they gave up everything. They were at every meeting. They
were listening, they were doing every day. They made such a sacrifice
and here's Christ passing them by and sitting with publicans
and sinners that deserve condemnation. What is your attitude when you
hear of Christ's mercy in this way? Or when you hear of those that
sin, what's your attitude to them? Should someone be brought unto
you found in sin, found in adultery, like that woman that was dragged
before Christ in John chapter 8, the Pharisees, they brought
that woman unto him, found in adultery, found guilty, they
caught her. The scribes and Pharisees brought
unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in
the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they
said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But
Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground as
though he heard them not. So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one
by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last. And Jesus
was left alone, and a woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had
lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he saith unto
her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Have no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Now if you were like those scribes
and Pharisees, when you come across someone who falls, When
somebody sins, what's your attitude to them? Do you say, well, they've broken the law. We can't
have this. We can't have this in the church. They must be disciplined, cast
out. They can come back when they're
better. Or do you see your own sin and
say, well, I could have done worse. And in my heart, I've
done worse. Do you show mercy unto those
that fall? Or do you condemn? I will have
mercy and not sacrifice, the Lord said. But how the Pharisees
hated this. They brought that woman unto
him in order to accuse him. To see whether he would bring
down the judgment of Moses' law which rightly condemned her. Or whether he would set it aside
so they could say, oh he despises the law, he sets aside judgment. How can you set it aside in order
to forgive? but he exposed their own sin
and their own hypocrisy in condemning another. How they hated this. How they hated his forgiveness,
how they hated his mercy, how they hated his being merciful
to sinners that they would condemn. And how do religious today hate
it? In spite of all they may claim,
in spite of all they may say, Religious man hates the message
of grace, of forgiveness, and of mercy when it's truly preached. By nature we find fault one with
another. By nature we can see all the
wrong in our brother and sister, all the wrong in our fellow men,
and none of our own sin. By nature we are not gracious,
we are not forgiving, we are not merciful. You can see this
all around the world, all around you and if you look within you
can see it within. when someone is found out how
many voices are raised up in condemnation when someone in
public life falls from height when someone that's known is
accused of some crime how many voices there are that raise up
and say yes they should be thrown out take their job away from
them put them behind bars how self-righteous we are when every one of us is as guilty We've all done the same in our
hearts. We're all just as wicked. We
all need mercy and we all have no ability to please God. You see the blindness of these
Pharisees and the blindness of you and I by nature is that we do not know what we
are. To look upon others as though
we're better than them shows the utter blindness in our hearts
to what we are. We are no better. We're vile,
we're lepers. We're dead. And our works and our righteousness
and our religion is vile. It's just pride. It's just coming
to God, seeking a reward, trying to make a deal with him. Trying
to say, I've done this and I've done that, now reward me with
salvation. It's just seeking our own end. It's just selfishness. We don't
serve him because we love him. We serve him for what he will
give us. Now many will say, well I know
that I'm a sinner. And I know I cannot live right
before God. I know that I cannot keep his
law to perfection. I know that I'm going to fall
short. I know that if righteousness
demanded my perfect keeping of the law, I'm never going to come
to that level. I know that. I know I come short. But surely God will reward my
desire. If He looks upon my heart, He
knows that I'm trying my best. He knows I desire to be saved. He knows I know I'm not good
enough, but I'm trying to read the scriptures and I'm trying
to pray. He knows that I'm trying, I'm
sincere in my works. But this is why Christ says even
to them, Go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy
and not sacrifice. Our works, however weak, however
feeble, however sincere, however hard we try, if we don't come
to God knowing that we are utterly wretched and at His mercy, All
we're doing is presenting our sincerity as being deserving
of salvation. It may not be much, Lord, but
I'm sincere. Give me heaven. We're coming
in the pride of our own will and our own self-righteousness,
however small it may be, however sincere it may be. and in so
doing we are turning our back upon his mercy and grace and
saying I don't need mercy I just need the reward for my sincere
efforts. I'm not totally dead, I'm not
totally vile, I'm not as bad as some of these others I'm a
sinner, yes, but I'm not the worst sinner. So God should reward
me. Like the brother of the prodigal
son, the one son ran off with his inheritance and wasted it
and spent it and sinned his way to nothing until God eventually
showed him what he was and convicted him and brought him back to his
father crying out for mercy. But the other son stayed with
his father and served. and when he saw the mercy shown
under his wayward brother he was full of indignation but I've
been here all these years and I've served all these years why
does he have the fatted calf and this feasting and all this
given to him? How we feel that our works are
deserving of more that God should reward us But if God shows us what we are,
then we would simply look on our brother and rejoice that
God has shown him mercy, and rejoice that he's shown us mercy. Go and learn what that meaneth.
I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I am not come to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. What are you? What am I? Are you righteous or are you
a sinner? You may say well I'm not righteous For you know you sin, but do
you think that you are better than some? And have you something
with which you hope God will be pleased? Is there some sincerity,
some desire, some obedience that you feel God should look kindly
upon? Or do you look within and see
nothing to plead? Nothing but sin, nothing but
darkness, nothing but condemnation, nothing but guilt. Do you say,
I'm the chief of sinners, I'm vile, I'm blind. Oh Lord, Son of David, have mercy
upon me. Do we think we see when we are
blind? Do we think we live when we are
dead? Do we think there's some good
in us when in reality that's all just pride? Those who think they serve God,
who do God's service whilst condemning others demonstrate the wickedness
of their heart that we should look down on others as worse
than us. They brought that woman, a guilty
woman, unto the Lord. And he convicted them by speaking
into their hearts and saying, he who is without sin cast the
first stone. Have you a stone in your hand?
Or do you stand before God guilty? He came not to call the righteous,
but sinners. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief, Paul says. Sinners. In this chapter we read of seven
examples of a sinner like you and I. Seven examples. Firstly, there's this man sick
of the palsy. Jesus entered into a ship and
passed over and came into his own city. And behold, they brought
him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing
their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good
cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. Has God shown you the palsy in
your heart, the sickness within? Have you said to your friends,
take me to Christ. Bring me unto him. Cause me to hear his gospel preached. I need to hear. I need his mercy. And herein, have you heard his
words, Son, be of a good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven thee. The
scribes condemned Jesus, this man blasphemeth. And Jesus, knowing
their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether it is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
to say, Arise and walk? But that ye may know that the
Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins. Then saith he
to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto
thine house. And he arose and departed to
his house. This man receives sinners. He had the power to heal him
and in so doing he had the power to forgive him of all his sins.
He comes next to Matthew. People saw it, the multitude
saw, they marveled and glorified God which had given such power
unto men. And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom,
and he saith unto him, follow me. And he arose and followed
him. Matthew, a collector of tax,
was the sort of man in society that others despised and hated.
He was a bit of a thief in essence. He stole from the weak to enrich
himself and others. He was merciless. He was like those in the world
like you and I that seek after what we can get. and we will
take it at others' expense. We have no care for others, we
just seek our own glory and our own gain. And he'd be the last man to just
arise and leave what he was doing and follow Jesus by nature. But
such was the power of Christ's call unto him that when he passed
this vile sinner, this thief, this crook, this extortioner,
and said unto him, follow me. He arose and followed him. Having declared unto them, to
go and learn what it means, I will have mercy. Disciples of John
came, saying, Why do the Pharisees fast off, but thy disciples fast
not? Jesus saith unto them, Can the
children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? For the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment. that
which is put in to fill it up take it from the garment and
the rent is made worse neither do men put new wine into old
bottles else the bottles break and the wine runneth out and
the bottles perish but they put new wine into new bottles and
both are preserved. Salvation is total when Christ
saves He makes new bottles filled with new wine. He transforms
the sinner. He washes him clean. He takes
away all that was wicked, all that was vile. He washes away
every sin. He gives him a new heart. He
gives him life. He transforms him. While he spaked these things
unto them, Behold, there came a certain ruler and worshipped
him, saying, My daughter is even now dead, but come and lay thy
hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose and followed
him, and so did his disciples. And behold, a woman which was
diseased with an issue of blood, twelve years came behind him
and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself,
If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. Jesus turned
him about and when he saw her he said daughter be of good comfort
thy faith have made thee whole and the woman was made whole
from that hour. She was dying. She was bleeding. She knew she was dying. She knew
she was lost. But God gave her the faith to
seek his mercy. And he touched her and said,
Thy faith hath made thee whole. And when Jesus came into the
ruler's house and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
he said unto them, Give place, for the maid is not dead, but
sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
Why did they laugh? Because she was dead. She was
utterly dead. but not to him. No matter how
dead we may be in our sins, he can come in his gospel and touch
the worst of sinners, the vilest, those dead in the grave like
Lazarus, those who stink because they've lied in the grave for
so long. And he can call out unto them
and touch them and make them to live. But when the people
were put forth, he went in and took her by the hand and the
maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad
into all that land. Yes, he healed this woman. He healed this dead girl. A picture
of you and I dead in trespasses and sins, like Lazarus dead in
the grave. How we need Christ to come and
call us by name, Lazarus, Lazarus, come forth. Again we read of two blind men.
And when Jesus departed, thence two blind men followed him, crying
and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when he
was come into the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus
saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this. They said
unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying,
According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were
opened. And Jesus straightly charged
them, saying, See that no man know it. But they, when they
were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
They were blind. They could not see. What a contrast
with these religious that kept coming unto Christ, seeking to
destroy him, seeking to accuse him, seeking to find fault, full
of their own self-righteousness, thinking they could see when
they were blind. Here are blind men that know
they're blind. and their cry unto Jesus when
he comes their way is thou son of David have mercy on us have mercy on us not reward me
Lord for my belief reward me for my zeal reward me for my
works reward me for my decision but have mercy on us They knew what it meant. Go ye and learn what that mean
if I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I have not come
to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. They knew what
it meant. They were lost. They were blind.
Have mercy on us. And lastly, seventhly, we read,
as they went out They brought to him a dumb man possessed with
a devil. And when the devil was cast out,
the dumb spake and the multitudes marveled, saying, it was never
so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, he casteth
out devils through the prince of the devils. Oh, the mercy and the grace of
God. we see in all these examples.
Seven sinners saved by grace. Perfect salvation. The perfect
grace and mercy of God. But how could Christ show the
mercy? The Pharisees' objections when
they brought that woman into his midst was that if you're
to uphold the law, she's guilty. She's guilty. She deserves to
be condemned. Guilty sinners should be condemned. Otherwise the law will be broken.
And how can God be merciful to sinners? who deserve condemnation. How can they be? How can they
be saved? How can he show mercy? How can
Christ deliver us when we're guilty? Only one way. Only if another pays the price.
We're condemned already. We're guilty of our unbelief.
We're guilty of our self-righteous pride. We're guilty of our condemning
one another. We're guilty of not coming unto
God by nature and crying out unto him for mercy. We're guilty
of rejecting him. We're guilty of shutting our
ears to the gospel. We're guilty of our apathy and
our coldness of heart. We're guilty from head to toe. We're utterly blind and utterly
dead. We're possessed with sin like
a devil that tears us apart. We cannot do anything. We're
utterly guilty. Then how can he show us grace? Only if he takes that guilt away.
Only if God pours out the judgment of that law upon another in our
place. Only if that law is satisfied
when it looks upon our every sin and says guilty. When it
looks upon us and finds us as having not worshipped God with
all our heart, soul and mind. When it finds us as having had
other gods. When it finds us as having been
adulterous under God and gone off after other gods and other
lovers. When it finds us having stolen
from Him. and stolen our time and our affections. When it finds us having condemned
others, when it finds us having lied and having been covetous
and sought after other things and other riches and other glory,
when that law finds us having broken his Sabbath, not resting
in him but trying to work our way to heaven by our own works
and our own efforts. When that law condemns us and
finds us guilty what is going to answer it? It says the soul
that sin if it must die then either we die under it's just
condemnation as those who are condemned already. Condemned
in Adam when he fell, condemned every day from when we were born,
when we went forth from the womb speaking lies. We're condemned
already, either we will pay the price ourselves. Either when
we breathe our last breath and enter eternity, God will say
unto us, away with you, depart from me ye workers of iniquity,
I never knew you. Either we will go away to start
paying the price of that law, to pay its penalty, to know its
everlasting death and judgment. And we will go into outer darkness.
because of our rejection of Christ and rejection of his word and
our seeking to come to heaven by our own works. Oh God will
say, thy sins be forgiven thee because the price has been paid.
Because that law has been answered on your behalf by another. because
that law said that the soul that sinneth it must die and another
came and died in your place because the price was paid because you've
been redeemed the redemption money has been paid and I've
set you free because a ransom has been paid and I've set you
at liberty either he will say in mercy you're
forgiven the price has been paid. And if he does, it will be because
his own son, Jesus Christ, took your sin, took your guilt, took
your depravity, took the condemnation, and went to the cross, and was
nailed upon it, and was made sin for you, that you might be
made the righteousness of God in him. Either in his flesh he
bore your sins, your unbelief, your rebellion, and God condemned
him, and he shed his blood and died in your place. Either he
did that for you, or you must pay the price. But each of these
that Jesus met in mercy, each of these sinners whom he came
across, whom he touched and forgave, he forgave because he suffered
in their place. He was heading to Calvary for
them. He was heading to the cross to
pay the price for them in order that he might show them mercy.
He would not have their sacrifice, it was not sufficient. We could
live every day being as zealous as we can, striving as hard as
we can, it would not come close to what the perfection of God's
law demands. We're still full of pride and
arrogance. We don't come close, we're sinful
from head to toe. But Christ, the perfection of
his people, the righteousness of God, went on their behalf
to the cross and suffered in their stead. It cost him. It cost his blood. It cost his
life. It cost him his all. He gave
himself for them. He took their sins upon him that
he might forgive them of every one. He washed them in his own
blood. He cleansed them. He was made
sin that he might make them the righteousness of God. He went
into the abyss, into the darkness upon the cross when he was made
sin. He drank the cup of God's wrath to its dregs. He suffered
the eternity of hell in three hours of darkness upon the cross. He felt the weight and the burden
and the guilt of sin upon him. He was broken inside. He was
abandoned by all men. And he cried out to the Father in
the darkness, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He
gave his all. that he might show the seven
we read of here mercy, and that he might show a multitude of
others whom the Father gave him before the creation of the world,
a people chosen, elected unto salvation, a people whose names
were upon his heart when he hung there upon the cross, a people
whose sins were all individually laid upon him, a people whom
he loved with an everlasting love. He paid the price for everyone
that he might preach his gospel to everyone and say unto them
in particular, I will have mercy. Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. We read, Jesus went about all
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes,
he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted
and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Then
saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous,
but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of
the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Oh, what a blessing if God has
sent one of his few labourers Somebody preaching the gospel
of Christ. Somebody preaching this message
of grace and the mercy of God unto you and I. When he saw the
multitudes he was moved with compassion on them because they
fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.
Is that you? Is that you? Are you sick in
your sin? Are you afflicted by every disease? Are you blind? Do you have an
issue of blood? Are you dumb? Are you sick of
the palsy? Are you dead like that maid?
Dead in trespasses and sins. Has God brought you to an end
of your sacrifices? To an end of all your efforts
for him to attain unto salvation? Has he brought you in dead? Has
he brought you in blind? Has he brought you to say, Lord,
I'm lost. Have mercy upon me, the sinner. Have mercy upon me, the sinner. And has Christ looked upon you
in grace, in compassion, and said, I will have mercy. I will
have mercy. I know you. love you. I suffered and died for you.
I was in the darkness for you. I was forsaken by my father for
you. I drank the cup of God's wrath
for you. I endured hell for you. I was
cast out by every man in this world for you. I was despised
by the scribes and the Pharisees for you. They cast me out as
one that blasphemed because I loved you. They sought to stone me
to death because I love you. They took me and nailed me to
a cross and crucified me. because I love you and I gave
myself for you. Paul said he loved me and gave
himself for me. Did he love you and give himself
for you? Has he shown you mercy? Go and learn what that meaneth.
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. I will have mercy. Amen.