Sandra McCracken - Have Mercy Lyrics

Have Mercy is a short prayer song that cries to God for compassion. The first section repeats "Have mercy on us, have mercy on us, O Lord," in a simple, chant-like form. The second section adds the prayer "Oh help my unbelief," which recalls the father in the Gospel of Mark who asked Jesus to help his unbelief, and returns to the same plea for mercy.

The last section repeats the opening cry and ends with the single word mercy. The themes follow Psalm 51:1 on asking for mercy according to steadfast love, Mark 9:24 on the prayer to help unbelief, and Hebrews 4:16 on approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy. Because the wording is so brief and repeated, the song is easy for a group to learn and sing, and the tone is humble, quiet and reverent, suited to a time of confession or prayer in a gathering where the congregation joins in without needing the words in front of them.