
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not
consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are
new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIVUK
The prophet Jeremiah, in and around 600 BC, so lamented the Babylonian decimation of the once beautiful city of Jerusalem that he devoted an entire book of the Bible called Lamentations. In his writings, Jeremiah describes his anguish, except for one sequence of verses in chapter 3 (vs. 19-24), where he interjects God's "hope" into the midst of despair. The Lord's mercies bring newness into Jeremiah's world, while also proclaiming His act of salvation. This provision echoes the reconstructive realities and promises of God which, I would add, as Isaiah foretells below, are not just for "every morning," but every moment of each day, as we reach out for the salvation of the Lord who was born at Christmas to save us all forever.