Part III of “Springtime Scriptures”
This week, we’re looking at “Springtime Scriptures” – passages that talk about God’s work of making all things new. So far, we’ve seen God’s promise to do something new (“I Am Going to Do Something New“). We’ve also considered Paul’s declaration that we are new creations in Christ (“If Anyone Is in Christ, That Person Is a New Creation“). Today, we go back to the Old Testament and Jeremiah’s claim that God’s mercies are new every morning.
“Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and bitterness. My soul certainly remembers, and is bent over within me. I recall this to my mind, therefore I wait. The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:19-23)
The last phrase of this passage is familiar: “Great is Your faithfulness.” But the reason that God’s faithfulness is great comes in the previous verses. God’s acts of mercy do not end, and His compassions do not fail!
Jeremiah’s Lament
Jeremiah is traditionally recognized as the author of Lamentations. The title of the book comes from the word “lament,” which means an expression of grief or sorrow. God called Jeremiah to prophesy to Judah and Jerusalem about the coming conquest by Babylon. After Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah continued to prophesy – but the people didn’t listen. So Jeremiah not only grieved because of God’s judgment on His people; he also grieved because the people wouldn’t listen.
Lamentations chapter 3 is titled “Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Misery” in the NASB text. The first part of chapter 3 expresses that misery in graphic terms. Jeremiah says that God has
- “driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light” (3:2)
- “turned His hand against me” (3:3)
- “consumed my flesh and my skin, [and] broken my bones” (3:4)
- “besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship” (3:5)
- “made me live in dark places, like those who have long been dead” (3:6)
- “even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer” (3:8)
- “made me desolate” (3:11)
Jeremiah closes this first portion of chapter 3 with the statement: “So I say, ‘My strength has failed, and so has my hope from the Lord” (3:18).
God is Faithful; Therefore I Wait for Him
That doesn’t really set the stage for any hopeful expression about God! But that’s exactly what Jeremiah gives us. This next passage is titled, “Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy.” He prays that God will remember his misery, just as Jeremiah remembers. “I recall this to my mind, therefore I wait” (verse 21). Too many people trust in their emotions; as Christians, we need to trust in God. In Jeremiah 17:9, God declares: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” When we “follow our hearts,” we are following the broad way that leads to destruction. Our hearts are stained by sin. That’s why we need God’s re-creating work that makes us new creations in Christ! So what is Jeremiah telling us? Trust in God, and wait for Him. His timing is always right, and He always fulfills His promises! And Jeremiah tells us that God’s promises include His acts of mercy.
Justice, Mercy, and Grace
I love the explanation of the difference between justice, mercy, and grace. It’s not original with me, but I don’t know who first said this:
- Justice is getting what we deserve
- Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve
- Grace is getting what we DON’T deserve
Paul summarizes all three of these concepts for us in one verse: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Justice – what we deserve – is death. Because of God’s mercy, He forgive us. And by grace God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God’s Mercy Is New Every Morning
Jeremiah says that God’s “acts of mercy do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning.” Jesus taught us about God’s new mercy every morning. After all, He taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). We know this is a “daily prayer,” because Jesus also said to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). We need God’s grace and mercy each day, just as we need food each day. (In fact, we need God’s grace and mercy more than we need food. I can go without food for quite a while, but I need God’s grace and mercy every day!)
That’s why Jeremiah says that God’s acts of mercy and compassions are new every morning. Each day is a gift from God. God forgives us and leads us in His ways each day. He gives us grace for each day, strength and wisdom for the challenges ahead. He knows what we need better than we do, and we can trust Him!
New Every Morning; Great Is Your Faithfulness
Jeremiah closes this passage with a familiar phrase: Great is Your faithfulness. Those of us who have been around the church a while recognize that this passage inspired the hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not; as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest; sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth; Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow – Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Chorus:
Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see!
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided; great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.
God is doing something new. He makes us new creations in Christ. And His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!
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