October 05, 2007 Lamentations 3:4

10/05/2007

Lamentations 3:4 - 6 (HCSB)
⁴He has worn away my flesh and skin;
     He has shattered my bones.
⁵He has laid siege against me,
     encircling me with bitterness and hardship.
⁶He has made me dwell in darkness
     like those who have been dead for ages.

Lamentations 3:22 - 23 (HCSB)
²²_ëBecause of_û the LORD’s faithful love
     we do not perish,
     for His mercies never end.
²³They are new every morning;
     great is Your faithfulness!

The book of Lamentations was given to the Jews in exile. Their great capital city had been ransacked, their temple burned and almost everyone carried off into exile. Jeremiah provided the Lamentations to the exiled Jews so that they could reflect on their own sin as well as the providence of their Lord.

Verses 3:22 and 23 stand out like a lighthouse on a shore. The majority of Lamentations is similar to verses 3:4-6. But when we get to verse 3:22, we are reminded that God’s love is faithful. And even in the midst of their anguish, they acknowledged His Mercy. You may recognize the words in these verses as the inspiration for the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness.

        Great is Thy faithfulness,
        Oh God my Father,
        There is no shadow of turning in thee.

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand has provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

We too should remember that even when we fail, God may allow calamity to befall us because we are deserving of discipline. But His Love and Mercy never fail and He will not allow us to perish. Great is His faithfulness.

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