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“It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, / For His compassions do not fail; / They are new every morning; / Great is Your faithfulness”—Lam. 3:22-23:
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Jehovah appeared to Jeremiah, saying, “I have drawn you with lovingkindness”—Jer. 31:3:
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Jehovah’s lovingkindness is precious, everlasting, and higher than the heavens and leads to Christ as the cornerstone for God’s building—Psa. 36:7,9-10; 108:4; 118:1-4,22-29; 136:1,26.
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Psalm 103 speaks of God’s history in His lovingkindness and compassions in His forgiving of sins, healing, redeeming, and caring for His people.
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The psalmist said to Jehovah, “In the abundance of Your lovingkindness / I will come into Your house”—5:7:
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Anyone who had the privilege of entering into the temple on Mount Zion had to be under God’s lovingkindness.
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Actually, to enter into the temple in itself was an enjoyment of the abundance of God’s lovingkindness.
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Considering Jehovah’s lovingkindness in the midst of His temple indicates that we touch His lovingkindness in the church.
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Psalm 101 unveils how Christ will reign over the earth with lovingkindness and justice.
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The people of Israel had failed, but God’s compassions preserved the remnant of Israel for the carrying out of His economy—Lam. 3:22-23:
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Compassion is deeper, finer, and richer than mercy—Rom. 9:15; Psa. 103:8.
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Compassion refers to God’s inward affection originating in His loving essence—2 Cor. 1:3; James 5:11; Luke 6:36.
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Christ came to the earth because of the merciful compassions of God—1:78.
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Jehovah’s compassions “are new every morning”—Lam. 3:23:
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Verse 23a indicates that Jeremiah contacted the Lord as the compassionate One every morning.
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It was through his contact with the Lord that he received the word regarding God’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness.
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Jeremiah said to Jehovah, “Great is Your faithfulness”—v. 23b:
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God’s compassions do not fail, because He is the faithful One—Psa. 57:10.
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God is faithful to His own word; He cannot deny Himself; He cannot deny His nature and His being—2 Tim. 2:13.
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In His faithfulness God has called us into the fellowship of His Son, and He will keep us in this participation and enjoyment in His faithfulness—1 Cor. 1:9.
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The faithful God who has called us will also sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete—1 Thes. 5:23-24.
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“Jehovah is my portion, says my soul; / Therefore I hope in Him”—Lam. 3:24:
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Jeremiah’s word concerning Jehovah being our portion and our hoping in Him bears a New Testament flavor—Col. 1:12, 27:
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Jeremiah enjoyed Jehovah as his portion, and he put his hope not in himself nor in anything else but only in Jehovah—Lam. 3:24:
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On the one hand, Jeremiah realized that God is a God of lovingkindness, that He is compassionate, and that His word is faithful.
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On the other hand, Jeremiah realized that we still need to contact the Lord every morning, put our entire hope in Him, wait on Him, and call on His name—vv. 23-25, 55.
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When the psalmist went into the sanctuary of God and had a divine view and perception of his situation, he could say that God was his portion forever—Psa. 73:17, 26:
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In God’s sanctuary the psalmist was instructed to take only God Himself as his portion, not anything other than God—v. 26.
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God’s intention with His seekers is that they may find everything in Him and not be distracted from the absolute enjoyment of Himself.
Morning Nourishment
Lam. 3:22-23 It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.Rom. 9:15 For to Moses He says, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”
First Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” This word is a continuation of 1 Corinthians 1:8, strengthening the thought with the assurance of God’s faithfulness. In His faithfulness He will confirm the believers till the end, making them unreprovable in the day of the Lord’s return. In His faithfulness He has called us into the fellowship, the participation in His Son, and He will keep us in this participation and enjoyment in His faithfulness. His faithfulness is an assurance to us for this enjoyment.
First John 1:9 also reveals God’s faithfulness: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is faithful in His word (1 John 1:10), the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:13), which tells us that He will forgive us our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43). If we confess our sins, He, according to His word, forgives us, because He must be faithful in His word. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 95)
Today’s Reading
[In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24] we see that the faithful God who has called us will also sanctify us wholly and preserve our entire being complete. This is Paul’s word of assurance to the believers concerning the faithfulness of God. Surely this divine faithfulness is a sweet attribute of God.Romans 9:15 mentions both God’s mercy and His compassion: “To Moses He says, ‘I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.’” Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions and God of all comfort.” What is the difference between mercy and compassion?…Although compassion is close to mercy, compassion is deeper, finer, and richer than mercy. Mercy is somewhat outward, but compassion is inward. Furthermore, compassion is more long lasting than mercy.
The Greek word for mercy, eleos, refers to the kind of response that is motivated by the wretched condition of the poor party. Mercy refers more to the action or manifestation in response to wretchedness. The Greek word for compassion in Romans 9:15 and 2 Corinthians 1:3 is oiktirmos. The basic root of this word refers to the inward organs of man which were believed to be the center of tender affections in man. Hence, this Greek word for compassion refers to the inward feeling that originates in the heart of the affectionate party. This feeling is not mild but deeply affectionate. Compassion, therefore, refers to the inward feeling that resides in the one who looks upon wretchedness. It is the deepest of words showing the inward affection of God for man in his pitiful condition.
With these definitions in view, we may consider Romans 9:15 again for a full contrast, translating the verse in this way: “I will display My kind act of mercy to whom I will display My kind act of mercy, and I will have the deepest feeling of compassion upon whom I will have the deepest feeling of compassion.” The former refers to God’s outward doing motivated by our wretched state; the latter refers to His inward affection originating in His loving essence. We all should appreciate such a sweeter affectionate attribute of God. Peace [that] results from the enjoyment of God as grace…is also an attribute of the God whom we enjoy in Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 96, 101, 106)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 10-11, 252; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, “The Central Line of the Divine Revelation,” ch. 1