A friend reminded me of a line in an old gospel song: "Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me..."

    Without one plea... 

    Another great gospel song says, "nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling."

    Nothing in my hands I bring...

    When we throw ourselves at the mercy of the judge in our present court system, we still try to justify ourselves.  "Your honor, I know I used to beat my wife and be a drunk but I've cleaned my act up now and I throw myself at your mercy."

    That's not mercy. That is you appealing to the judge to let you off for a past crime because you cleaned your act up (justified yourself).

    My friend went on to say, "An offer of value (I've gotten my act together) from the guilty one constrains the judge. In Scriptural mercy we have nothing to barter. We are "without one plea" as the hymn of invitation says. God is not constrained from destroying us, yet His love comes through anyway. His unmerited, unconstrained purpose is to love us."

    Good news for those who God gave Jesus to save.