Do not measure God’s mercy only by what the eyes can see, as if release from a present affliction were the whole of His gift. When the Apostle marveled that a blasphemer obtained mercy, he did not mean only that punishment was withheld. For not only has God released us from the impending punishment, but He has made us righteous too, and sons, and brethren, and heirs, and joint-heirs. Therefore grace was exceeding abundant. The gifts bestowed are beyond mercy, since they are not such as would come of mercy only, but of affection and excessive love. When you cry out for the face of the skin to be restored to youth and flawlessness, do not limit the Divine bounty to the vanishing bloom of the body. There is a light that no earthly oil can fuel, and a countenance no time can furrow. He said, Let light shine out of darkness, and He has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That is the countenance before which the Seraphim veil their own. That is the beauty which age cannot wither, for it is not of nature’s rule but of the disposition according to deliberate choice. The world admires a face free from blemish, yet there is nothing which both unbelievers and all men so admire, as when we are merciful. Acts of mercy grant us a great, a marvelous light. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, if thou showest pity upon thy neighbour. This is the oil that causes light in the soul, while the flame of the fire is great against our sins.
You feel the wound of an affliction because the facts seem opposite to the report: you have heard that He went about healing, yet when you have come to Him with this trouble, He seems to delay. But do not be moved by the affliction as though you were not counted worthy of so much as an answer. The imperfection you see is two-fold, from the course of years and from the frailty of nature itself, which yields to every change. But by faith also Sarah received strength to conceive seed even when she was past age. She who was become dead, who was barren, received power where nature had utterly failed. What is more barren than the flesh that has passed its prime, and what more dead than the hope of a bloom that belongs only to youth? Yet faith does not demand a due. It does not approach as though worthy, but entreats only to find mercy, and merely gives a lamentable account of its own affliction. Do not say therefore this: one receives mercy and I am not yet healed. For this is the grievous thing, to think that mercy must be shown only by restoring what time has taken. He is not the physician who merely smooths the skin, but He that raises up them that are cast down. Seek the mercy that delivers from evils and also gives so many good things besides.
We enter heaven when we enter here; not in place, I mean, but in disposition. Night and day pray exceedingly, and let this be a sign of joy. As any husbandman longs to see the pleasant sight of his field, so let the earnest desire be to perfect that which is lacking in faith. I do not forbid you to ask for the removal of this infirmity, for the cry of the blind men was nothing else but mercy. They did not merely approach Him, but with loud cries, alleging nought else. Yet observe how our Lord often dealt with those who sought the healing of the body. Whom would not this have offended, seeing the facts so opposite to the report? Yet He repelled the woman not to wound her, but to reveal the exceeding greatness of her faith. Perhaps He sees in you a mercy that has not yet kindled into full flame. Nothing incenses God so much as to be pitiless, but nothing makes us so like His own character as to show mercy. The mercy we show to our neighbors we do not lay up so much for them as for ourselves against That Day. If you would behold a face radiant and a form made whole beyond all corruption, then prize mercy before wealth, and apart from wealth, have a merciful soul. For the glory that comes from the Spirit transforms us from glory to glory. That is the renewal that makes the flesh itself seem but a shadow. The things that are seen are temporary; a great thing is man only when he is an honorable thing, a merciful man. That is the true character of man, yea rather the character of God.
You have believed that He is able to save. This much only did we contribute. Continue with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, and remember that this ministry of hearing your prayer, even this very thing, is of mercy and loving-kindness too. Do not faint because the hidden things of shame, the decay of the outward vessel, press upon you. The veil of the temple was rent that the inner sanctuary might be revealed. So let the visible scar be the occasion for the invisible glory to shine brighter. When the flame of the fire is great, mercy is that which quenches the fire, and this brings light to us. Let your own mouth, which now cries for mercy upon your face, be filled with mercy towards those who are debtors to you in money or in sins. For he that does not forgive his neighbor seeks a kingdom he will not find, but he that shows pity, even if he has done innumerable wrongs, obtains mercy from God. By this means shall we be freed from the fire, and by this means does the true brightness break forth.