This hymn, “Thy mercy, my God,” was attributed to J.S. when it was published in 1776, and someone along the way connected those initials to Englishman John Stocker, but apparently there is no paper trail to say this is or isn’t an accurate attribute.

Musician Sandra McCracken, working with the hymn revivalists of Indelible Grace, wrote new music for it and performs her composition above. I copied the words from the 1792 American edition of A Selection of Hymns:  from the best authors, intended to be an appendix to Dr. Watt’s psalms and hymns.

1 Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last
Hath won my affections and bound my soul fast.

2 Without thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin soon would reduce me to utter despair;
But, thro’ thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And he that first made me, still keeps me alive.

3 Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolv’d by thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep to the praise of the mercy I found.

4 The door of thy mercy stands open all day
To th’ poor and the needy, who knock by the way;
No sinner shall ever be empty sent back,
Who comes seeking mercy for Jesus’s sake.

5 Thy mercy is endless, most tender and free;
No sinner need doubt, since ’tis given to me;
No merit will buy it, nor fears stop its course;
Good works are the fruits of its freeness and force.

6 Thy mercy in Jesus exempts me from hell;
Its glories I’ll sing: and its wonders I’ll tell:
‘Twas Jesus my friend when he hung on the tree
That open’d the channel of mercy for me.

7 Great Father of mercies, thy goodness I own,
And covenant love of thy crucify’d son:
All praise to the spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.