Day 245

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Read: Lamentations 3-5

Jeremiah complains because of how God has treated him. Then his mood changes as he realizes that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (3:22). This new mood is expressed in words which form the basis for part of the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Then he uses words which are the basis for part of the prayer in the Funeral Service in the Liturgy of the Reformed Church in America, “He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men” (v. 33).

This renewed realization of God’s goodness, even when we cannot understand his dealing with us, inspired a call for self-examination and a return to God (3:40). As he thinks of the past, Jeremiah remembers how he was cast into the muddy pit (v. 53) but also how God rescued him. He cannot forget the terrible famine in Jerusalem in the last days of the siege (4:4, 9-10). He again sees this tragedy as the result of the sins of the spiritual leaders (v. 13). As he considers what caused the downfall, he focuses on the sins of their forefathers (5:7), but later realizes that their own sins had been the major cause (v. 16).

He concludes with a reminder that the Lord is on the throne and therefore with the pleas “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored” (5:21 ESV). May our desire also be that the Lord will once again fill the church with vitality.

PRAYER
Father, work by your Spirit in your church that it may be filled with new life in Christ. In his name. Amen.