Mercy is one of the attributes of God. And the Bible has much to say about showing mercy to those in need. One of the best-known passages about this is Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (KJV). How challenging to see that He has said that not only are we to “do” mercy, but actually to “love” mercy! As an attribute of God, we see it in the way He acts with such patience and kindness to those in need. Mercy is not only a divine quality that is at the very heart of God in His grace; it is also a quality which we should be cultivating. For example, think of the way Isaiah so often points to the treatment of the widow and the orphan as evidence of the way He expects His people to respond to those who are hurting. And in Hosea 6:6 we read that without a heart of mercy, our rituals of worship are displeasing to the Lord. “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” And we read the same thing in even stronger terms in Isaiah 1:13-15.
Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
And so what are the ways people are experiencing hurt today, creating opportunities for us to show mercy? The list is almost endless, as it takes only a moment to begin composing such a list. We don’t have to look far, as the news every day is filled with examples. Think of those suffering under the evil hand of oppressors in dictatorships and in countries experiencing the horrors of war in regions where the ravages of war are robbing people of food, freedom, and even their lives. There are also those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, especially as a victim of criminal activity. It will include the homeless and hungry and jobless, whom we actually see as we drive around while shopping. And the list will include people close to us in our own churches and communities, and perhaps even in our own families. It might be the loneliness of old age or the pain of broken relationships or those struggling with depression.
It can all seem so hopeless, since there are so many hurting people and so many causes of anxiety and anguish. Where can we start? How can we make a difference? As with so many things, we can start with just one soul whom we already know. It might be as simple as a visit to someone in a nursing home or a birthday card to someone without family or a co-worker trying to make ends meet, financially. What matters is that, as Micah wrote, that we love mercy. If that is present in our hearts, the Lord will guide us to that person. And we will find, as Paul said, that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). When we ask the Lord to give us a mercy-filled heart, He will sure do that and lead us to someone who needs to feel that loving touch of mercy.
Historically, this has been understood to be part of the diaconal mercy ministry of the church. It has always been one of the marks of a healthy church. In part, this was revived by Calvin in Geneva during the sixteenth century Reformation there as he elevated the office of deacon to provide material assistance to the poor in the city. Today, deacons need to be challenged again to see this important ministry that has been given to them, and to cultivate that mercy spirit among members of the congreegation. They have a tremendously valuable work to do to visit the sick, to encourage the financially struggling, and to lead in disaster relief after a storm or fire or earthquake.
Sadly, this legitimate dimension of gospel ministry became corrupted in the 19th century with the “social gospel” movement that came to dominate liberal theology and church life. Instead of mercy ministry being a result and effect of the gospel, it came to be regarded as the very essence of the gospel itself. In part, this was due to the liberal theology that rejected the classic understanding of the gospel as involving Jesus’ work of propitiatory atonement to rescue His people from the guilt and power of their sins. It was the belief that mankind’s greatest need was entirely material and social, not spiritual. Thus the “good news” was re-defined as helping people receive aid to elevate the quality of their physical life, through economic and material assistance, providing jobs and housing, improving medical care, and working to eradicate racial injustice.
This included a re-definition of Jesus’ person and work, rejecting the biblical explanation of His work as a redeemer who came to provide atonement for our sin, and instead promoting Him as an example for us to imitate, a social justice warrior. J. Gresham Machen eloquently described this in his classic 1923 book, “Christianity and Liberalism.” The Jesus of the social gospel became the model whom we should emulate. And the goal of the Christian life was changed to having a faith LIKE Jesus instead of having faith IN Jesus. Thus the mission of the church (and the focus of the labors of foreign missionaries) became indistinguishable from the work of such government welfare agencies as the Peace Corps and foreign aid. All of these things are needed and valuable and consistent with a life that has embraced the gospel, but they are not the gospel, especially if they can be done in a purely secular framework with no reference to Jesus and the cross.
In contrast to that liberal perversion of the gospel, evangelical Christianity keeps the focus on the cross as the place where Jesus died as our substitute, calling us to place our faith in Him for forgiveness and eternal life. But we also insist that our hearts must be hearts of mercy for the suffering around us, not as a replacement for the biblical gospel, but as the inevitable result of gospel life. One of the ways we see this mercy ministry of balanced biblical compassion and mercy ministry being renewed in our churches is in the hymnody of the church. One example of this new topic being included is the hymn, “Let Your Heart Be Broken,” written in 1975 by Bryan Jeffery Leech (1931-2015). Mercy ministry was a prominent theme during his hymn-writing career, which lasted until his death near San Francisco at the age of 84. Leech wrote hymns that included “Come, Share the Lord,” “Kind and Merciful God,” “Your Cause Be Mine,” “We Are God’s People,” and “Lord, When We Praise You with Glorious Music.”
Leech was born on May 14, 1931, in Middlesex, England, but spent more than half his life in the United States. After a stint in the Royal Navy, he enrolled in London Bible College. He came to the United States in 1955 and studied at Barrington College and later at the Evangelical Congregational Church’s North Park Seminary in Chicago. After being ordained in the ECC denomination in 1961, he ministered at Covenant congregations in Boston, Massachusetts; Montclair, New Jersey; as well as in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Oakland, California. In the latter years of his ministry, he was named pastor emeritus at First Covenant Church in Oakland. He did not recognize his talent for writing hymns until his mid-thirties. He went on to compose more than 500 songs, hymns, anthems, and cantatas.
The Evangelical Covenant Church’s background is in free-church Swedish immigrants known as Mission Friends, a pietistic group who had broken off from the Lutheran Church of Sweden. They formed a mission society, and in the 1880s meetings were held to determine whether or not to form a union of mission churches. The majority joined together, forming the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America (now ECC) on February 20, 1885, in Chicago, Illinois. A smaller percentage known as the Free Friends remained independent and became what is now the Evangelical Free Church, perhaps best known as the denomination in which popular evangelical preacher Chuck Swindoll is a member.
A pietistic religious awakening had swept through Sweden around the middle of the 19th century. Before leaving their homeland some Swedes met in people’s homes, as they felt the state church was becoming overly powerful. There they conducted private services, called conventicles, including hymn singing accompanied by guitars, and read scripture from their Bibles, but they were sometimes interrupted by church officials, who wanted to keep them in congregations at church. The Conventicle Act, in effect until 1858, prevented them from holding private religious gatherings. This reinforced their yearning to be in a church where they could worship freely. With this awakening and reformation came the Swedish Mission Church in 1878. The state church discouraged the gathering of these believers.
People from this movement emigrated to North America, where they formed the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America. They desired to create a voluntary “covenant of churches” that were committed to sharing the gospel, as well as to provide means for ministerial training. The name was changed to the Evangelical Covenant Church of America in 1954. The “of America” was eventually abandoned because the denomination includes a Canadian conference.
And so as we sing this hymn that came out of the ECC, we should recognize that it is somewhat unique in that, unlike so many hymns which are prayers or praise addressed to God, in this instance we are singing to one another (“Let your heart be broken”), and by implication then also to ourselves. We are challenging ourselves and our neighbors to ask God to create within us hearts that are sensitive to the hurting world around us.
In stanza 1, we tell ourselves and our friends about the hurting people all around us, both near and around the world. Yes, their greatest need is to hear and believe the gospel of Jesus’ saving work. But James 2:15-16 tells us that we also need to respond to their very real physical, material, temporal needs. The hymn lyric in this stanza is very direct, desiring hearts that are broken and in need of food and water, medical care and compassion.
Let your heart be broken for a world in need:
Feed the mouths that hunger, soothe the wounds that bleed,
Give the cup of water and the loaf of bread –
Be the hands of Jesus, serving in His stead.
In stanza 2, we tell ourselves and our friends that when we do this, we are becoming “living expression of the Living Word.” This is not just because Jesus did these things in His earthly ministry (which He did!), but also because He calls us to follow Him, demonstrating the same kind of care which He did. We could also connect this with the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves. And this is especially for those “who’ve never seen or heard.”
Here on earth applying principles of love,
Visible expression – God still rules above –
Living illustration of the Living Word
To the minds of all who’ve never seen or heard.
In stanza 3, we tell ourselves and our friends what it looks like to be a blessing to others. It reminds us of Jesus’ command to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, and also to that simple chorus, “Freely, freely you have received, freely, freely give.” Leech’s words suggest that for those who are “wanting,” we can “fill the vacant place” left by the lack of someone to care. We can “be the means through which the Lord reveals His grace.” Here we remember Jesus’ words that when we have done such deeds of kindness “to one of the least of these,” we have done it to Him (Matthew 25:40-45).
Blest to be a blessing, privileged to care,
Challenged by the need apparent everywhere.
Where mankind is wanting, fill the vacant place.
Be the means through which the Lord reveals His grace.
In stanza 4, we tell ourselves and our friends that our faith needs to be put into action. This is the message of James 2:26 where we read that “faith without works is dead.” Some have chosen to omit this stanza. Part of the reason may be that it lies a little too close to the theology of the social gospel. Lines 1, 3, and 4 are not really a problem, as long as they are viewed in context with the rest of the hymn. More likely the primary concern is a theological one. It would not be biblically true to say that we “make Him Master.” His Lordship is not something He depends on us to do, or that He needs our permission to become our Master. He comes to us as conqueror, not a beggar!
Add to your believing deeds that prove it true,
Knowing Christ as Savior, make Him Master, too.
Follow in His footsteps, go where He has trod;
In the world’s great troubles risk yourself for God.
In stanza 5, we tell ourselves and our friends that we want tender hearts and clear vision, to see and feel these needs. Leech returns to that opening phrase about having a heart that is broken by what we see and feel. If we’re not prayerful and watchful, we can become blind and uncaring, unmoved “by a brother’s pain.” The hymn challenges us to consider what “rich resources” God has entrusted to us, with which we can “give and give again” to alleviate some of those needs.
Let your heart be tender and your vision clear;
See mankind as God sees, serve Him far and near.
Let your heart be broken by a brother’s pain;
Share your rich resources, give and give again.
Several different tunes have been chosen in different hymnals. One of them is the tune, PENITENCE (LANE), which was written in 1879 by Spencer Lane (1843-1903). This tune will also be familiar to many as the tune used for the hymn text “In the Hour of Trial,” a hymn written in 1834 by James Montgomery. Lane was born at Tilton, New Hampshire. He served in the 8th NH Infantry during the American Civil War. After the war, he studied at the New England Conservatory and taught vocal and instrumental music at Oneida and Utica, New York, where he married Isabel. He later moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he ran a music store and served as organist and directed the choir for the St. James Episcopal Church for 13 years. He moved to Monson, Massachusetts, then to Richmond, Virginia, and in 1896 to Baltimore, Maryland. In Baltimore he worked for the music firm of Sanders & Stayman and was music director at the All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church. While at Woonsocket, his pastor gave him the hymns for an evening service, one of whose tune he didn’t care for, he composed another tune for it, PENITENCE. That is his only hymn contribution. He died at Reedville, Virginia.
Here is the singing of the hymn to a different tune.