Short answer: Lamentations 3:22–23 declares that the only reason God's people are not utterly destroyed is His steadfast love and unfailing compassion—mercies so fresh they are "new every morning." Written amid the ruins of Jerusalem, it is a stubborn statement of hope in a book of grief: God's faithfulness outlasts the worst day.
The context: hope in a book of tears
Lamentations mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by Babylon in 586 BC. It is raw, honest grief—the writer (traditionally Jeremiah) describes hunger, loss, and the felt absence of God. Chapter 3 sits at the book's center, and verses 22–23 are its turning point. After pages of anguish, the writer deliberately calls something to mind that reignites hope (3:21).
What it means, phrase by phrase
"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed" (KJV) — The word behind "mercies" is chesed, God's covenant loyal-love. The point is startling: survival itself is grace. They deserve to be consumed; that they are not is mercy.
"because his compassions fail not" — God's tender pity has no bottom and no expiration. Even in judgment, He has not abandoned His people.
"They are new every morning" — Like manna in the wilderness, God's mercy is a daily, renewable supply. Yesterday's grief does not use it up; today has its own fresh portion.
"great is thy faithfulness" — The writer turns from talking about God to talking to Him. God's reliability is not small or fragile; it is great, dependable enough to build a life on.
Cross-references
- Psalm 30:5 — "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (KJV).
- Exodus 16 — Daily manna, a picture of daily provision.
- Psalm 136 — A refrain that God's chesed "endureth for ever."
- 2 Timothy 2:13 — "He abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."
How to apply it today
This passage teaches how to hope when circumstances give no reason to. The writer does not deny the pain—he has just spent chapters describing it. Instead he chooses to remember God's character. When you wake to a hard morning, the promise is that God's mercy has already arrived fresh for that day; you are not drawing on an empty account. Grief is real, but it is not the final word. Practically, make remembering God's faithfulness a morning habit before the day's troubles crowd in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Lamentations 3:22-23? The book is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, mourning the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. The authorship is not stated in the text itself, but the tradition is ancient and widely held.
What does "new every morning" actually mean? It means God's mercy and compassion are supplied fresh each day, never used up or exhausted by yesterday's need. Like the daily manna in Exodus, there is always enough for today.
Why is this verse in such a sad book? Lamentations is a book of grief over a real catastrophe, which makes the hope here more powerful, not less. Verses 22–23 are the deliberate turning point—hope chosen in the middle of loss, not hope that ignores it.
Is this the verse behind the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"? Yes. Thomas Chisholm's 1923 hymn draws its title and central theme directly from Lamentations 3:22–23, celebrating God's mercies that are new every morning.