God, be Merciful to Me, A Sinner!

He that has any feeling of his own sinfulness, ought to thank God for it. 

That very sense of weakness, wickedness, and corruption, which perhaps makes you uncomfortable, 

is in reality a token for good, and a cause for praise. 

The first step towards being really good, is to feel bad. 

The preparation for heaven, is to know that we deserve hell. 

Before we can be counted righteous we must know ourselves to be miserable sinners. 

Before we can have inward happiness and peace with God, 

we must learn to be ashamed and confounded because of our manifold transgressions. 

Before we can rejoice in a well-grounded hope, we must be taught to say,  

“Unclean, unclean! God, be merciful to me a sinner!”

~ J.C. Ryle