Lament, but Hope

"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 will be.

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!"

Thomas Chisholm, published 1923

I couldn't help but read Lamentations after finishing Jeremiah, as he records his lament over watching all that happened to Jerusalem and Judah at the hands of Babylon.  And maybe we all are pretty familiar with this above hymn, and maybe even realize that it comes from Lamentations 3.  However, check the context in which it is written.

First, Lamentations 2:14 again sums up a major part of Judah's problems.  Their false prophets have not exposed Judah's sin.  Old and New Testament texts alike are clear that man must humble himself, see his sin as God sees it, and repent.  Judah's prophets preached just the opposite.

Lamentations 3:11-18, then, captures Jeremiah's state of mind, giving him ample excuse to give up.  He is desolate, a laughingstock, rejected, forgotten happiness.  He has proverbially been kicked in the teeth.  And so now, watching Jerusalem succumb to God's wrath, he reminds himself of what we all know, and also often forget.

GOD IS FAITHFUL!

"Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.
It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.  

Lamentations 3:20-26

Chisholm goes on to pen in verse three of his poem:

"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."
It takes a humble heart and a willing perseverance to live for the Lord.  Judah did not recognize and own up to its sin.  We can behave similarly, without much effort.  My prayer to day is to take seriously the challenge of Jeremiah in Lamentations. 3:39-40.

"Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?
Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the LORD."

Indeed.

Holding fast to the Word of our Creator