“Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?”
These words haunted me as I drove my car this morning. I was listening to a Selah song, which is an adaptation of Charles Wesley’s Depth of Mercy. God used Wesley’s words and Selah’s vocals to break through my hardened heart and drew me into a time of deep mourning for my sins.
Fortunately, God did not leave me there. The next song on the playlist was “Glory to His Name” which bold proclaims
“Down at the cross where my Savior died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His Name!”
My mourning turned into rejoicing when I heard the words of forgiveness. What a message we have – what a transformation we offer! From despair to hope; from mourning to rejoicing; from sin to salvation!!!
Walter Brueggemann wrote that Old Testament prophets used the basic rhythm of mourning to promise to nudge God’s people out of sin and into grace. When we think about “prophetic” ministry, we usually think about the ministry of mourning – bemoaning sin and its acceptance by God’s people. However, the prophets also held out the promise of what God does for sinners who repent.
My prophet voice this morning came from Selah. My hope comes from Jesus.