LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

These are favorite verses for many Christians to cite or sing, so I decided to make sure that I really understood what it meant to say that God's mercies “are new every morning.”

For such a positive teaching, it is a little bit surprising to find them in the Book of Lamentations, the gloomy reflection on the destruction of Jerusalem. It is mainly in these verses located at the very center of the center chapter of the book that hope begins to shine in the midst of catastrophe. Bullock cites Naegelsback as talking about 3:19-40 as the peak of the mountain jutting out of the darkness into the sunlight. (Also see my post “Lamentations: Introduction to the Literary Structure.”)

Actually these two verses are themselves by hope:
    “But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” (v. 21) 

    “...therefore I will hope in him.” (v. 24b)

Provan notes that since there are no grounds for hope given in vv. 19-20, the “this” in v. 21 must refer to what follows in vv. 22ff. He also points out that verses 22-23 are actually missing in the ancient Septuagint translation into Greek. But that does not indicate that they were not an authentic part of Lamentations. The absence was more likely due to the translator's eyes accidentally skipping down from v. 21 to v. 24 in view of the similar wording in those verses, as shown above.

The best commentary on these verses is actually found in the previous verse, which declares “Yahweh's mercy is surely not at an end, nor is his pity exhausted.” (AB) Thus, these verses in Lamentations expand on that idea that God has not ceased pouring out his blessings on the people, despite appearances to the contrary.

    Hillyers says that God's steadfast love (hesed) “is not a passing phase with God, but an enduring part of his nature, always being renewed toward mankind, and an ancient part of Israel's faith.”

    Chisholm concurs: “The Lord spared a remnant, demonstrating that he was still committed to his people and capable of showing them compassion when they deserved none.”

    Osborne puts it this way: “God's anger is the passing phase, His mercy is always available.”

These comments above certainly convey the main idea of God's continuing faithfulness to his people. However, I was still wanting a little more information concerning the idea of the daily newness of these mercies. Schnittjer took one approach in answering my question:

    “The reality of renewing mercies reawakens with each day...the use of the daily inevitability of new mornings demonstrates the versatility of the use of cosmic realities. In support of the new covenant's dependability Jeremiah evokes the sun and moon giving light day and night in order to show the enduring permanence of Yahweh's covenantal promise...Lam 3 refers to the same basic cosmic structure but not merely to speak to the enduring qualities of Yahweh's attributes. Instead, [it] emphasizes the daily routine of Yahweh's compassions in the 'now'...confidence renews every day. As the day breaks the enduring covenantal loyalty of Yahweh renews once again.”

Thus, to Schnittjer the reference to “every morning” is a phrase in support of both the reality of the continuing covenant of God with His people and as a concrete daily reminder of that reality to us.

All of the above satisfied me somewhat, but I felt that something was still lacking. Therefore I searched an analytical concordance to see if there were any other passages in Scripture with the same basic thought. One such passage was Isaiah 33:2 where the prophet prays: “O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our strong arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.” Blenkinsopp explained these words by saying that “in the hymns the morning is the time of salvation and divine intervention.” But the reason why was given by Oswalt, who attributed the phrase to the simple fact that attacks typically began in the morning. So that verse didn't really look like a true parallel to Lamentations 3:22-23.

The next verse I came across was Zephaniah 3:5: “He gives His judgments morning by morning.” But at best that represents the converse side of God's daily mercies.

Then I looked at some additional commentaries on Lamentations and found this short note by Stephens-Hodge, who explained that the reference to God's mercies in Lamentations 3:23 means, “They are adapted to each day's requirements.” And that provided the key I had been looking for since it reminded me of passages in both the OT and NT in which it indicates that we should not just take God's abiding blessings for granted but realize that they are given on a day-by-basis. Thus, this message is another aspect found in Lamentations 3:22-23.

The first such passage is the story of the Jews wandering in the Wilderness and God provides them with manna each morning, but they are only to collect enough to last one day (except before the Sabbath, when a two-day provision is given). Some scholars state that God did this strictly as a test of their obedience to his word. But in addition, it is a powerful symbol of our daily dependence on Him to meet our needs.

This theme is clearly repeated in Jesus' words in the Lord's Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread (or 'bread for tomorrow').” Notice that it does not say, “Provide us with bread every day.” (Matthew 6:11) This idea is echoed later in that same chapter (v. 34): “So do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.” And as he often did, James in his letter (4:14-15) repeats Jesus' teachings with these words: “You do not even know what tomorrow brings...so you should say, 'If the Lord wills, we will do such or such.'”