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Lamentations 3 (ESV)
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
REFLECTION:
In the original Hebrew text, the first four chapters of Jeremiah’s Lamentations are acrostic poems, and the first letter of each poem is arranged in the order of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. There are sixty-six verses in this chapter, which is a three-level acrostic poem: the first three sentences of the poem start with the first letter of Hebrew alphabet, then the next three sentences start with the second letter, and so on. Examples of other acrostic poems are Psalm 37, 119, 145, etc. In his distress and sorrow, Jeremiah still saw a glimmer of hope: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” (v22) When Jeremiah was in the darkest moment, he has hope because of this promise: God has always been faithful and will continue to be faithful. Jeremiah experienced God’s judgment and God’s love at the same time. At the time of judgment, Jeremiah still recognized God’s mercy, just as he would be wary of God’s judgment when things went well. God’s faithfulness has never changed. Today, as long as we look to God, God will also respond to us. God’s love and faithfulness can overcome any sin, sorrow and contrite spirit, and God will not despise it. As long as we sincerely repent, God will definitely forgive us.
PRAYER:
Come to God with a contrite heart, and ask God to illuminate the darkness and filth in your heart, so that you can see the hidden sins in your life that have been unwilling to confess for a long time; humble and confess your sins before God and ask for His forgiveness, and ask for God’s love and mercy to fill your life so that you can be comforted by Him.
