Not of Merit but of Mercy

 

 

Not of merit but of mercy

Cannot be earned by you or me,

No payment is thus exacted

Yet in fact, ‘tis not free.

 

There I go a wandering

Amidst my conflicting spree,

Ah, but need I remind you again

Free did cost somebody?

 

Life eternal is costly

Though to the saved it’s free;

Costing Jesus every drop of blood

Shed on Mt Calvary.

 

How dare I try to earn

What’s been given free

Naught of merit but of mercy,

Offered by Christ to me?

 

‘Tis true, rewards of merit,

Must be dutifully earned

But to apply this to Jesus’ sacrifice,

Does God’s mercy spurn.

 

 

It is not gratefulness

And certainly not appreciation

To even think of trying to merit

The gift of salvation.

 

No amount of money

And no resumé of works

Can merit the kingdom of heaven;

Not even in the church.

 

While works can’t save

They accompany the saved

And testify of God’s saving power

Even beyond the grave.

 

Blessed are the dead

Which die in the Lord

That they may rest from their labours

And their works follow them.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7

 

But God, who is rich in mercy,

For his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins,

Hath quickened us together with Christ,

(By grace are ye saved;)

 

And have raised us up together,

And made us to sit together

In heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

 

That in the ages to come

He might show the exceeding riches

Of his grace in his kindness

Towards us through Christ Jesus.

 

 

Not of merit but of mercy

All that we have in Christ,

Any attempt to earn the Father’s love

Spurns the Son’s sacrifice!

 

Stewart Russell © June 5, 2025