It is of Jehovah's loving-kindness we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not;
Lamentations is a book of grief over a ruined city, and chapter 3 speaks for the people who lived through it. Verse 22 is where the mourner stops counting his wounds and asks why anyone is still alive.
The verses before this one are bitter. Then the speaker turns and takes God's side.
Verse 22 strikes a completely different note, and a tone of high, joyful confidence carries on down to verse 36. Instead of complaining that his sorrows were greater than he deserved, he declares God right, and thankfully admits that justice has been mixed with grace… How precious the faith that, at such a time, could so speak! And what tested believer can honestly say anything else? Only when the soul is away from God's presence does His correction seem too severe, and partly undeserved.
Older English versions read the first line as "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed," and most of the writers here quote it that way. On that reading, the verse points at the bare fact that the speaker and his people are still alive.
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He was still alive, bowed under the weight of his troubles, and that was evidence of mercy. What he had been through fits the present state of the city and the nation. The city lay in ruins and the nation was in great trouble, yet they were not consumed. Jeremiah was one of them, and he and others still alive were witnesses of this. How could they explain it? They deserved to be swept off the earth, but God in mercy had stepped in… His justice demanded the judgment they deserved. His mercy gave hope for the future, and they were living examples of it.
The second half of the verse explains the first. It tells us what God feels, not only what He does.
"His compassions fail not." No cold, indifferent heart ever directs the rod. He feels as no other can for the people of His choice, the children He loves. Every morning brings fresh evidence of His loving-kindness.
There is a note on the wording worth knowing. Older translations turned the first line around, so that it is God's mercies, rather than the people, that "are not consumed."
The Targum and the older versions, apart from the Latin one, turn it this way: "The mercies of Jehovah are not consumed, for His compassions fail not." I see no good reason for that, though Calvin thinks this sense fits better. The Latin version and our own English one read better to me. They are clearer, and they give more prominence to His people themselves… So His mercies have no end.
The next verse says these compassions are new every morning. Writers tie that rhythm to the manna, the bread God gave His people each morning in the desert.
The manna also had to be gathered in the morning. It was the evidence of God's provision for His people day by day, as we read elsewhere: "His compassions fail not. They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Daily mercy carries a person through a long wait. Joseph waited like that, forgotten by people.
The devil may tempt us day by day, and God may test us by keeping us waiting from day to day. Still, He renews His mercy every day… Man forgets Joseph, but the Lord remembers him.
The passage does not stop at the mercies themselves. It goes on to the Giver, so hope holds even when no mercy can be seen.
What held our souls up in the past, when they were almost overwhelmed? The Lord's mercies! So we have hope… The sorrows did not come alone, the mercies followed hard on their heels. Therefore we have hope! And suppose there were neither mercies nor compassions — what then? Then, "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in Him." It is good to hear hope's song break into the prophet's funeral song, and to learn that the Lord was greater than his greatest sorrow.
- Not consumed — the verse starts from survival. They deserved to be swept off the earth, and mercy stepped in instead.
- Not deserved — he stops arguing that his suffering was too heavy, and admits that justice came mixed with grace. Only a soul away from God calls the correction too severe.
- Not cold — the hand holding the rod is not indifferent. His compassions do not fail, so the blow fell only in part.
- Not exhausted — mercy comes in daily portions, like the manna gathered each morning. That is what carries a person through a long wait.
- Not dependent — even if no mercies could be counted, hope still stands, because the Lord Himself is the portion.
they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness.
These words sit in the middle of a long lament, and they turn it toward hope. How can a man in that much grief call God's mercies new and His faithfulness great?
The tone of the chapter turns at verse 22, and this line carries the turn. Notice where the speaker puts the blame.
The note changes completely at verse 22, and he keeps up a high strain of joyful confidence down to verse 36. He does not complain that his troubles were greater than he deserved. Instead, he clears God of blame and gives thanks that God has mixed justice with grace. "It is of the Lord's mercies," he owns, "that we are not consumed, because His compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is Your faithfulness." How precious is the faith that could speak like that at such a time! And what tested believer can honestly say anything else? Only when the soul is out of God's presence does it seem as if His discipline were too severe, and partly undeserved.
The word "morning" has its own history in the Bible. Manna was the bread God gave Israel in the desert. It had to be gathered at daybreak, and it came again the next day.
In Exodus there are also many references to the morning. "In the morning … you shall see the glory of the Lord." This was the answer to the murmuring of the people. The manna too had to be gathered in the morning. It was the evidence of God's provision for His people day by day, as we read elsewhere: "His compassions never fail. They are new every morning."
How much mercy does one ordinary day hold? Count it, from the first meal to lying down at night.
"His mercies are new every morning." Mercy comes in as steadily as the tide. In fact, how many tides of mercy do we see in a single day! We never eat without mercy carving every piece for us. We never drink except from the golden cup of mercy. We never go out without mercy setting a guard of angels around us. We never lie down in bed without mercy drawing the curtains of protection close around us. Shall we receive so many good things from the hand of God, and not receive evil? Our mercies far outweigh our afflictions; for one affliction we have a thousand mercies.
The second half of the verse — "great is Your faithfulness" — is also a line the Lord Jesus could speak. What did His own mornings look like?
The Lord Jesus could say, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught" (Isa. 50:4), and He could say, "Great is Your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23). I wonder about us — do we have these experiences morning by morning? Do we listen to what God has to say to us through His word? … The Lord Jesus received fresh communication every morning. Do we receive fresh communication every morning? Well, we can.
Human compassion has a limit; God's does not. What does that mean when the people who should care let you down?
In the Christian circle God would have us free of care. This can only happen as we cast all our care on Him, in the happy consciousness that He cares for us. Sadly, we may fail in our shepherd care of one another. But the compassions of God will not fail; "they are new every morning." If those who shepherd fail, and the sheep feel neglected, let each one take comfort from this word: "He cares for you."
If mercy arrives new each day, what should meet it? Look at how a day begins and ends.
His mercies are new to us every morning and our praise should be new as well. And if we begin our day with praise and thanksgiving and faith and hope, we must end it with thanks and praise. Its needs and ups and downs only bring out the trustworthiness and the resources of our God.
- Ruins first. A man in deep loss stops protesting his suffering. He clears God of blame and owns that God has mixed justice with grace.
- Morning next. Like manna gathered at daybreak, God's compassions come fresh, day by day.
- Count them. Mercy comes in like the tide: every meal, every drink, every step out, every night's sleep. For one affliction we have a thousand mercies.
- Christ's pattern. The Lord Jesus listened morning by morning and could say, "Great is Your faithfulness." The same fresh hearing is open to us in God's word.
- Then praise. New mercies each morning call for new thanks each morning. And God's compassions hold steady even where human care fails.