Believe, and fear not! in the blackest cloud A sunbeam hides; and from the deepest pang, Some hidden _mercy_ may a God declare! _R. Montgomery._ By all the tender _mercy_ God hath shown to human grief, When fate, or man’s perverseness, Denied and barr’d relief,-- By the helpless woe which taught me To look to Him alone, From the vain appeals for justice And wild efforts of my own,-- By thy light--thou unseen future, And thy tears--thou bitter past, I will hope--though all forsake me-- In His _Mercy_ to the last! _Mrs. Norton._ If Heaven Did in the balance of strict justice weigh The iniquity of men, who could abide Its judgment? Did not _mercy_ temper wrath, Eternal ruin would o’erwhelm mankind. _Samuel Hayes._ _Mercy_ descends From heaven, and o’er the penitential heart, Rent by the agonizing pains of guilt, Spreads the soft blessings of internal peace. _Samuel Hayes._ Mankind are all pilgrims on life’s weary road, And many would wander astray In seeking eternity’s silent abode, Did _Mercy_ not point out the way. _G. P. Morris._ I hear a sound that comes from far; It fills my soul with joy and love; Not seraphs’ voices sweeter are, That echo through the courts above. ’Tis _mercy’s_ voice that strikes my ear, From Calvary it sounds abroad; It soothes my soul and calms my fear; It speaks of pardon bought with blood. And is it true that many fly The sound that bids my soul rejoice, And rather choose with fools to die, Than turn an ear to _mercy’s_ voice. With such, I own, I once appeared, But now I know how great their loss; For sweeter sounds were never heard, Than _mercy_ utters from the cross. _Kelly._ Lord have _mercy_ when we strive To save, through Thee, our souls alive! When the pampered flesh is strong, When the strife is fierce and long; When our wakening thoughts begin First to loathe their cherished sin, And our weary spirits fail, And our aching brows are pale, Oh, then have _mercy_, Lord! _H. H. Milman._ MESSAGE. I have a _message_ from God unto thee.--Judges, iii. 20. The priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the _messenger_ of the Lord of Hosts.--Malachi, ii. 7. Behold I will send my _messenger_, and he shall prepare the way before me.--Malachi, iii. 1. This is the _message_ that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.--I. John, iii. 11.