A recall of God's faithfulnesss
Text: Lam 3:21-23 “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Subject: A Recall of God’s Faithfulness
Introduction: the book of Lamentations follows the prophecy of Jeremiah. In this book the prophets pours out his soul before the Lord. In the book of Jeremiah, we witness his torture but, in the book of Lamentations, we see his tears.
His prophetic ministry began under the King Josiah and ended under Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. Here, we find him weeping over the destruction of Jerusalem and the judgment of God upon his people. The Babylonian captivity was not designed by God but, God used King Nebuchadnezzar to get the people’s attention.
Jeremiah 28:14
14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
Tears are conceded as a sign of weakness, crying is effeminate, and perhaps, brawling is for babies. Not to mention that Jeremiah’s tears were mingled with his troubles. When he preached, he found himself continuously tied up and placed in the dungeon but, when he cried, his preaching had gone from his head to heart until folk cried, “What must I do to be saved?”
In chapter one: Jerusalem has fallen and God is displeased: in other words, the city has sinned and God is insulted because is righteous.
In chapter two: God takes full responsibility for what Nebuchadnezzar has done, because God used him as rod of correction and a recall of his righteousness. Perhaps, God was saying to his people through Nebuchadnezzar, that Righteousness exalteth a people but, sin is a reproach to any people. The glory has departed from the Temple, the vigins walk with their heads hung down and Jeremiah had cried so much that it was hard to see through his tears. And those that passed by the Temple clapped their hands, hissed and wagged their heads at the destruction of the place where God once showed up to blessed his people. But
In chapter Three: through his tears, Jeremiah has a testimony, “I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his God’s wrath; he has led me into darkness, his hand is against me, and when I look at myself, a see a visual disaster, my heart is heavy and my bones seem to be broken. But when I think of all I’ve been through, I still have me joy.
When I look around and think things over…
Every now and again, In the midst of your mess, you recall a miracle.
In other words, in your recall of God’s goodness and his mercy, today becomes yesterday and tomorrow brings us hope, because my soul looks back and wonders, how I got over.”
Sometimes I’ve been a fool but, God has been faithful.
When I checked with Moses in the Law, the Pentateuch, the Mishna, the Torah and the Talmud, I found God to be faithful.
Moses –
Joshua – I find that he is faithful that promised
David – I find that his mercy endureth forever
So then, Jeremiah reminds us that God will judge us, before he utterly destroys us.
He reminds us that pride comes before the fall.
And just as the bible has sixty, books, and the book of Isaiah consists of sixty chapters, so this chapter has contains sixty verses. And the text gives us the only rape of hope in the book. It is the only place where you find Jeremiah has dried his tears. Dismissed the surrounding situations, and made up mind to think on the goodness of God. I showed up this evening to say to you that God has been faithful. It hasn’t always been fun but, God has been faithful. It’s just a blessing to have a recall.
Sometimes it’s our recall that keeps us from falling into depression.
Our recall keeps us from complaining on a daily basis.
Because it is in my recall that I find hope. And in that hope, I discover God’s mercies. And because of his compassions fail not, every morning his mercies brand new and Great is thy faithfulness.
Jeremiah recalls at his point of disappointment, disappreciation, disregard, being misunderstood, misrepresented, and persecuted, he declares, “this I recall, therefore I have hope,
Perhaps, the text becomes the testimony of every believer in Christ. I believe the text is translated like this: “When I think of the goodness…”
In times of discouragement and depression, all I need is a recall, a recollection or reflection of his goodness and his mercies.
Perhaps, Jeremiah is saying, “when I get up in the morning, your glory surrounds me, your mercy embraces me and your compassion engulfs me.
Is Jeremiah reminding us, that when we start our day with moaning and groaning, God starts the day with New Mercies.
David describes God goodness as his loving kindness and his tender mercies.
David goes on to declare that he gives grace and glory.