He Frankly Forgave Them Both

1 Mercy is welcome news indeed
To those that guilty stand;
Wretches that feel what help they need
Will bless the helping hand.

2 Who rightly would his alms dispose
Must give them to the poor.
None but the wounded patient knows
The comfort of his cure.

3 We all have sinned against our God;
Exception none can boast;
But he that feels the heaviest load
Will prize forgiveness most.

4 No reckoning can we rightly keep,
For who the sum can know?
Some souls are fifty pieces deep,
And some five hundred owe.

5 But let our debts be what they may,
However great or small,
As soon as we have nought to pay,
Our Lord forgives us all.

6 ’Tis perfect poverty alone
That sets the soul at large;
While we can call one mite our own,
We have no full discharge.

Source: A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship. In four parts (10th ed.) (Gadsby's Hymns) #218