O God of Mercy, Hear Our Plea
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
O God, we’ve seen Your faithfulness
You brought us from the wilderness
But now our faith is frail and weak
O God of mercy, hear our plea
Verse 2
When will You comfort our distress?
How long until the promised rest?
We cry to You from deepest need
O God of mercy, hear our plea
Chorus
Abba, Father, our Redeemer
In this barren land be our hope and stren
Until glory we will trust and sing
Abba, Father, hear our plea
Verse 3
We join creation’s longing groan
To take Your ransomed children home
For then the eyes of all will see
The God of mercy hears our plea
Behind the Hymn
"O God of Mercy, Hear Our Plea" was written by Brittany Born and Matt Merker, contemporary hymn writers associated with the Reformed and Sovereign Grace worship communities. Merker serves as a hymn writer and editor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., where he has been instrumental in commissioning and curating new hymns for congregational use under the ministry of pastor Mark Dever. Born is a songwriter who has contributed to several modern hymns in the Sovereign Grace catalog. This hymn is a prayer for mercy — a cry that echoes the penitential psalms and the tax collector's prayer in Luke 18:13: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." The song reflects a growing movement within Reformed churches to reclaim the language of lament, confession, and petition in congregational singing, countering the tendency toward exclusively celebratory worship. Its honest, humble tone gives congregations permission to bring their failures and need for grace into their corporate worship. The hymn exemplifies the conviction that the best worship songs teach us not only who God is but who we are before Him.