Growing up in church, one of the hymns we often sang was “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” We sang it so much that I memorized the lyrics. Even now, I still remember those familiar words…Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Little did I know that these weren’t just poetic words we were singing, they were Scripture. But where in the Bible did these words originate? As a younger man, I decided to find out. How surprised I was to find out that they were taken from the book of Lamentations. I don’t think I had ever read Lamentations at that point in my life. Honestly, it sounded like a pretty depressing book. Plus it was in the prophetical section of the Old Testament and I generally stayed away from those.

But there they were, right there in the middle of Lamentations 3, verses 22 and 23. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. As I began to read through Lamentations, and then eventually Jeremiah, for context, I saw how appropriate, and how powerful those words were.

You see, the two-kingdom nation of Israel has been decimated. The Assyrians had long since destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and scattered its people among their empire. The Babylonians had more recently obliterated the southern kingdom of Judah and those they hadn’t killed, they carted off to Babylon. And yet even before that happened, Jeremiah’s own people had abused and persecuted him mercilessly. For years they had harassed him as he prophesied the pending judgment of God for their rebellion and waywardness.

Jeremiah, who has been referred to as the weeping prophet, had good reason to weep. As he laments the pain, the heartache and the abandonment he experienced as a prophet at the hands of his own people, he also grieves the heavy-handedness of the Lord who did not relieve that burden when he asked. He did not answer Jeremiah’s prayers the way Jeremiah wanted him to. It seemed that He had a different purpose for that pain.

As Jeremiah wrestled with his afflictions and wanderings, as his soul was bowed low by the burdens he was carrying, He remembered what is true about the Lord and that truth gave him hope in the midst of his affliction.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God’s steadfast love, his covenant faithfulness and mercy never end. We are never cut off from them. Kroger may run out of toilet paper, Walmart may run out of hand sanitizer, but God’s steadfast love and mercy never run out. There is a never-ending supply. Each and every morning there is a new supply to sustain us by and to refresh our souls. And unlike Kroger or Walmart where you have to get there first thing in the morning to get toilet paper or hand sanitizer or you’re out of luck, God’s supply of mercy lasts throughout the day and night in plentiful supply. You won’t run out.

In times like this, it’s good to have someone like Jeremiah articulate the sense of loss and grief we are all experiencing. While it’s certainly of a different nature than Jeremiah’s, we still feel that sense of loss and oppression from the coronavirus.

And yet through it all, let us come to the same place that Jeremiah does. That place where we realize that the Lord is our portion and therefore we have hope both now and forevermore, Amen.

Heavenly father, how we thank you for your never-ending mercies that are in new supply every morning. We need them far more than we could ever realize. Remind us over and over again of this mercy when our souls wander and are afflicted. May we find hope in you as our portion. In Christ’s name, Amen.