July 24, 2026 - Lamentations 3-5

As many times as I read the book of Lamentations, I find myself drawn back, each time, to the same verses.  Though the city of Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Babylonians, and the people are afflicted, and the prophet is in mourning, he is able to affirm:  “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in him” (3:21-24).  And, each time, my thoughts run to Thomas Chisholm’s great hymn:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with thee.

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness,

Great is thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed thy hand hast provided;

Great is thy faithfulness,Lord unto me.   -- Thomas O. Chisholm (1923)