Have Mercy On Me
by
Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001)
(Chapter 1 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, Justice)
A young man had committed a misdemeanor and was appearing before a judge for the first time. He was fidgety and nervous. The judge, in an effort to settle him down, said, "Son, don't be nervous. I'll see to it that you get justice." The young man nervously replied, "Yes, sir, Mr. Judge. That's what I'm afraid of, but please, could you throw a little mercy in on the side."
This is a book on justice. Its author pleads with the reader to please throw a little mercy in on the side.
Now why do I plead for your mercy? Because this book is different. This, like my books on prayer, the Holy Spirit and others, comes from a series of Bible studies that I have taught to the membership of the First Baptist Church of Hammond on Wednesday nights. My custom has been to take the outlines from which I taught and spend many hours dictating them for transcription and publication. Such is not the case in this book. I simply did not have the time, for many reasons. There were more demands on my time than ever. Because of that, I have simply had the Bible studies on Wednesday night transcribed, edited, proofread and prepared for publication. As you read, please consider yourself sitting in the auditorium of our church, listening to a Bible study. I think you will find it easier to forgive me for the repetition of statements and even illustrations.
I do not claim to be an author; I simply want to leave all that I can for the following generation. At this printing, I am 65 years of age, which means that I'm old enough for Social Security. I have been preaching for over 46 years and pastoring for 44 of those. During these years of pastoring hundreds of thousands of people, preaching over 51,000 sermons and having a personal acquaintance with thousands of preachers, I have seen thousands of justices and injustices. One of the main injustices that I have noticed is the injustice of misinterpreting Bible verses concerning justice.
Please be lenient with me as you read. Have mercy on me by avoiding the position of critique, and as you give me justice, please, Judge, throw a little mercy in on the side.
Dr. Jack Hyles
