NEW EVERY
MORNING
Lamentations
3:21-24
But this I
call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is
your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope
in Him.
As I have
been considering the coming New Year a portion of this verse in Lamentations
came into my mind. Hope in the face of adversity is a common theme in the story
of humanity; it is also a common biblical theme and it is vividly portrayed in
this poetic narrative.
The book of
Lamentations consists of five separate poems;
In chapter
1 the prophet dwells on the many miseries which have oppressed the city of
In chapter
2 these miseries are described in connection with national sins and the acts of
God.
Chapter 3
speaks of hope for the people of God. The chastisement that they endure is only
be for their good; a better day would dawn for
them.
Chapter 4
laments the ruin and desolation that had come upon the city and temple, but
traces it only to the people's sins.
Chapter 5
is a prayer that
Chapter 3
has 66 verses and in the ESV commentary it states, “I Am the Man Who Has Seen
Affliction. Chapter 3 has one speaker, a man who has endured suffering and
experienced God’s faithfulness (vv 1-24) and responded to God’s sovereignty and
goodness (vv 25-39). He prays for renewal (vv 40-47) and maintains confidence
in God’s concern for him and
What I wish
to focus on is the phrase found in the beginning of verse 23, “They are new
every morning”. A quote like that on its own can have a number of different
meanings and we could interpret it in a variety of ways. As all literary works
require context, this poetic expression is no different.
Verse 21
begins with a declaration of a man determined to stir up his heart toward God
when he states “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope”. When
things seem adversarial we need to recall and remember the goodness and the
grace of God. As those experiences of joy and comfort fill our mind, they
remind us of the hope that faith in God brings.
Then the
speaker states in verse 22 the first phrase in a series of expressions that
support his desire and factually states “The steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases; His mercies never come to an end”. This man is stating that God’s love
and His mercies are profound, unending, unquestioned and eternal.
Let us
pause briefly now and ask a question. Do I or do you live in this frame of
mind? Take a moment and meditate on it. Do we see God’s love and mercy that
way?
The next
phrase at the beginning of verse 23 is what ignited my mind and heart to
explore this topic further as it says, “they are new every morning”. There are
many times when I have gone to bed with a hurt or a heavy heart coming from
anger or disappointment with circumstances and life. I pray for understanding
or resolution. Often I awake the next morning with that
feeling of renewal, a fresh perspective, a sense of God’s purposes and I
see that through darkness of night and brand new day dawns; God brings hope.
What things are new? A discovery in how His amazing love
coupled with His mercies bring a joy back to life. It may not solve our
problem but certainly our hearts and minds are framed by these truths and
assist us to decide or embrace the situation. The end of the verse is punctuated
by simply saying “great is your faithfulness”. In other words, God comes
through every time.
As verse 24
unfolds, the man says “the Lord is my portion”. The word portion here refers to
our inheritance, what we possess through our daily renewal with God that is
imparted to us by his love and mercy. The man simply ends this section by
saying “therefore I will hope in Him”. In other words, because of all these
things my future is bright regardless of what happens to me because I hope in
God.
How is your future....how is your hope?
By: David
Jones