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Lamentations 3:22

in Lamentations 3

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

It is of Jehovah’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

KJV

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

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This verse in Lamentations 3

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed - Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it seas less than his iniquity deserved. If, indeed, any sinner be kept out of hell, it is because God’s compassion faileth not.

This site's exposition

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed

on Lamentations 3:22-24

What was recalled is named here: “Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail”. The next verse says the mercies “are new every morning”. “The LORD is my portion” answers verse 18, where his hope from the LORD had perished.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Lamentations · Written before 1274.

proposed

Presently the experience of divine mercy is exposed. First, to the recognition of divine mercy itself: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end." That is, not punishing, as if unmerciful. Since the Lord punished worthily, not reducing …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

That great is his faithfulness. Though the covenant seemed to be broken, they owned that it still continued in full force; and, though Jerusalem be in ruins, the truth of the Lord endures for ever. Note, Whatever hard things we suffer, we must never entertain any hard thoughts of God, but must still be ready to own that he is both kind and faithful.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

THE Book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah is very dolorous. When you look upon the dragons, owls, pelicans and bitterns of the wilderness, you have a fit picture of his mournful state. He was full of grief, like a bottle needing vent. His heart was ready to burst with wormwood and with gall. But the whole current changes when the Prophet brings to his remembrance the mercy of God!
THE Book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah is very dolorous. When you look upon the dragons, owls, pelicans and bitterns of the wilderness, you have a fit picture of his mournful state. He was full of grief, like a bottle needing vent. His heart was ready to burst with wormwood and with gall. But the whole current changes when the Prophet brings to his remembrance the mercy of God! No sooner does he think of the compassions of the Most High than at once he takes his harp from the willows and begins to sing as joyously as ever that sweet singer of Israel, David, sang before him. And, truly, if we, too, instead of harping upon our miseries, would but reflect upon our mercies, we would exchange our mournful dirges for songs ofjoy! It is true that God's people are a tried people, but it is equally true that God's Grace is equal to their trials! It is quite true that through much tribulation they enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but then they do enter—and the thought of the Kingdom that is coming sustains them in their present tribulation! They wade through the waters of woe, often breast-deep, but the billows do not, and shall not, go over them! They shall still be able to sing even in the midst of the tempest. I would suggest to any here who are in the habit of complaining—and I would remind you that it is a very bad habit—and to any of you who have become chronic murmurers, that this temper of mind is exceedingly sinful. While, on the other hand, the remembrance of God's mercy and grateful talk about it is a virtuous habit—one which is honoring to God as well as strengthening and profitable to our own souls.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Verses 22-42 are the center of the present poem, as it also holds the central place in the whole series of the Lamentations. In them the riches of God’s grace and mercy are set forth in the brightest colors, but no sooner are they ended than the prophet resumes the language of woe. That we - He is speaking as the representative of all sufferers.

Modern Voices1 voice

A commentator

GK Chesterton

Alarms and Discursions, The Glory of Grey · Written before 1936.

proposed

Lastly, there is this value about the colour that men call colourless; that it suggests in some way the mixed and troubled average of existence, especially in its quality of strife and expectation and promise. Grey is a colour that always seems on the eve …

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 86:15But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.123 worksLuke 1:50His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.72 worksNehemiah 9:31But in Your great compassion, You did not put an end to them; nor did You forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God.61 worksMicah 7:18–19Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?51 worksMalachi 3:6“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.47 worksPsalms 78:38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.42 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Psalms 106:45And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.36 worksPsalms 77:8Is His loving devotion gone forever? Has His promise failed for all time?34 worksEzra 9:8–9But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes.26 worksEzekiel 20:8–9But they rebelled against Me and refused to listen. None of them cast away the abominations before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the land of Egypt.26 worksEzra 9:13–15After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),22 worksPsalms 103:10He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.19 worksEzekiel 20:21–22But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.18 worksEzekiel 20:13–14Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they utterly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and put an end to them in the wilderness.11 worksJames 5:11See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.11 worksJob 11:6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.8 worksPsalms 129:4The LORD is righteous; He has cut me from the cords of the wicked.7 worksJoel 2:18Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.6 works

Where this verse connects

1 approved connection.

  • Written to them

    topics/grief

    His compassions fail not

    Source: MannaFest topical index

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Malachi 3:6

    “Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 23:19

      God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

    • Hebrews 13:8

      Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

    • James 1:17

      Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

    • Lamentations 3:22–23

      Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.

    • Jeremiah 32:27

      “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

  • Through

    Luke 1:50

    His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 103:17–18

      But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children—

    • Exodus 34:6–7

      Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Exodus 20:6

      but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Where this verse is studied

About Lamentations

People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
People Mourn over the Destruction of Jerusalem, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Lamentations: the study guide →Read Lamentations 3 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Lamentations; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3170: “The Novelties of Divine Mercy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); GK Chesterton, Alarms and Discursions, The Glory of Grey; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.

Read on in Lamentations 3 →