June 1, 2023
Passage Read: Lamentations 1-4
Meditation Verses: 3:19-23
Thought
These latter two verses are very famous and recited for comfort, but the context makes them even more tragic. In the midst of his affliction and the tragedy of the overthrow of Judah and Jerusalem, Jeremiah recognizes that the reason there is a tiny remnant left is because of the Lord's great love and His compassion that is new every morning. This is not the victory that it first seems, but recognition that despite the wickedness with which they have provoked the Lord, a remnant of Israel survives because of the Lord's compassion. The tragedy is that the nation has been lost and most of its people destroyed. Yet the Lord has not completely abandoned Israel, so there remains hope in the midst of this great tragedy.
Application
These well known verses are in fact a reminder that we deserve much worse than we have received, that we should humble ourselves and repent, because our sins have brought us to the brink of destruction, and while we should be completely consumed, the Lord has held back and left a remnant and a chance still to reform our ways. There is hope because though the Lord will punish us, yet His goal is our repentance, so He does not completely destroy us. These verses are not to be sung with overwhelming joy, but with humility and brokenness and repentance.