there but for the grace of God go I

Idioms and Phrases

I also could be in that terrible situation, as in Seeing him with two flat tires on the highway, she said “There but for the grace of God go I .” This expression has been attributed to John Bradford, who so remarked on seeing criminals being led to their execution (c. 1553) and who in fact was executed himself as a heretic a few years later. A number of religious leaders, including John Bunyan, have been credited with it as well.