Matthias Loy was a big deal in American Lutheranism. Some of his hymns and hymn translations are in LSB. He and the first president of our church body were good friends even when they split over the predestinarian controversy. I like this take on grace.
Graciousness is the theme of which saints and angels delight to sing. “Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Ps. 86:15. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plentous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will He keep his anger for ever.” Ps. 103:8, 9. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniqui ties, who healeth all thy diseases, who redemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercie.” Ps. 103:2-4. This grace bringeth salvation, and is revealed in Christ for the consolation and joy of all men, who are called by the Gospel to come to Jesus and find rest for their souls through faith “to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, accord ing to the riches of His grace.” The grace of God ex cludes all merit of man. The very idea of grace excludes merit. The word always means favor shown to the unworthy. When we say that any thing is a gift of God’s grace, we mean that it is a gift which we have in no way deserved at His hands. If God dealt with us as we deserve we would receive only punish ment for our sins, and on their account every bless ing would be with held from us. When we say that He is gracious and deals with us accord ing to His grace, we mean that He does not deal with us accord ing to our deserts, but accord ing to His loving kindness, which has compassion on us in our misery and helplessness and comes to our assistance with out any worthiness of ours. It is the grace of God that bringeth salvation. It is the grace of God that devised the way by which the sinner may escape the damnation of hell, which his sin deserves; it is the grace of God that gives His only be got ten Son, that whoso ever be lieves in Him should have everlasting life; it is the grace of God that brings to us the sal va tion which Christ purchased with His precious blood and His innocent suffer ings and death; and it is the grace of God which works and sustains the faith in our souls by which we lay hold of the great salvation. All that is given us, that we may have everlasting life.
