Outline God’s Mercies Are New Every Morning based on Lamentations 3:22-33

I. Flooding in our area.

II. The suffering and loss in Jerusalem.

III. Jeremiah’s sadness in Lamentations 3:14–17 “I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long. He has filled me with bitterness;.... He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.”

IV. Amazing words of hope and faith in Lamentations 3:21-22. In the middle of his extreme suffering for the people of Jerusalem we have Jeremiah’s amazing words of hope and faith. He wrote in Lamentations 3:21-22, “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.” His hope was not based on what he could do to show how strong he was. His hope was based on the steadfast love of the Lord. His hope was based on the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases. His hope was based on the mercies of God that never come to an end.

V. Troubles and hope as Christians.

VI. Temptation then and now to try to figure out if God is pleased or angry. Jesus said about His Father in heaven in Matthew 5:45, “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

VII. Read Lamentations 3:21-26. Lamentations 3:21-26 helps us to remember God in the troubles and problems of life with the words, “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.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

VIII. Waiting quietly for the Lord is not easy.

IX. For troubles we need more mercy.

X. Read Micah 7:18-19. The prophet Micah 7:18-19 has some good words to think about: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

XI. Conclusion. As we sang not long ago: “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!” (LSB #809). I did a taping session for the TV program Main Street Living at Zon Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls yesterday morning. On the wall there was a picture with a sunrise and a Bible verse in the room where I robed up and the Bible verse was a good one taken from Lamentations 3:22-23: “His mercies are new every morning.” Amen.