Mercy

God delighteth in mercy. It is not drawn from Him unwillingly ; nor is it forced out of him by importunity ; it is not dragged out of his heart by the cries of his family ; but he delights in it as being his darling attribute , the very pleasure of God being in showing mercy to the miserable . How hard is for us to believe this untill mercy visits the soul and a sweet sense of it is felt in the conscience .  How we represent  to ourselves God in his anger , in his justice , in his terrible displeasure against sin and sinners ; how unable to believe that that there is mercy for us , and that he delights in manifesting mercy to poor , miserable . penitent sinners .  Who would ever have thought of mercy unless it had been first in the bosom of God ?Who could have ventured to entertain or suggest such a thought that " There is forgiveness with God " so he can "pardon iniquity ,and transgression , and sin ;" that he can cast all our sins behind his back , and blot them out as a cloud , yea , as a thick cloud ? This is what God has revealed of himself in his word, but it is only as mercy visits the troubled breast , that God displays his goodness and love in the revelation of his dear Son , that we can rise up into any sweet apprehension of what his mercy really is , and rejoice in it not only as suitable , but as saving .

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