In the book of Lamentations chapter 3:22-25, we have some rich promises about God’s character from which we may find great comfort and hope. It reads “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to the soul that seeks Him”.
In the earlier part of this chapter, Jeremiah is complaining bitterly to God about his problems. He is feeling wretched and blames God, saying “He has brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is He turned, He turns His hand against me all the day”. Then in verse 21 Jeremiah calls to mind the goodness of God and the dark clouds of his miseries begin to disperse. Here is a good lesson for us all. Dark days will come, but we are told in Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and He knows them that trust in Him”. Let us then “Trust in Him at all times; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).
Let us look at some of the promises contained in Lamentations 3:22-25 quoted above. In the first place, we learn that God is merciful. We are told that He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4) and that He “delights in mercy” (Micah 7:18). We are also assured that because of God’s mercies “we are not consumed.” If God were to deal with us according to His justice because of our sins, He must surely destroy us, for we are told that “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29) and that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). It is very comforting to remind ourselves that God “has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). Because of what the Lord Jesus accomplished for us on the Cross, God assures those who trust in Him that “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
Lamentations 3: 22 and 23 contain some precious promises. Here we learn that God’s mercies and compassion do not fail; they are “new every morning”. Such being the case, we can start each day with the humble, confident assurance that whatever the day may bring, God will be near to help. In the book of Psalms, we find that the writer was in the habit of starting the day with God. We read “Morning by morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3 NIV).
Now we know that God will draw near to us at any time of the day or night if we draw near to Him. Psalm 55:17 reads “Evening and morning and at noon I cry out and He hears my voice”, but I believe it can be a good habit to spend time with the Lord early in the day and receive fresh supplies of His strength, mercy and compassion, and to listen for His voice. “Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies they never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning,
Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord,
Great is Thy faithfulness”.
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord,
Great is Thy faithfulness”.
This article was written by Pastor Geoffrey Davies. He is a frequent contributor to this column. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, where he pastored a church for over twenty-five years. Since 1983 he has traveled widely, continuing his ministry of encouragement and Bible teaching.
