Lamentations 3:22-24 teaches that God’s steadfast love and faithfulness do not run out, even when life has fallen apart. The passage invites the grieving reader to remember who God is and to place their hope in him rather than in their circumstances.
These verses sit in the middle of a book written after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians around 586 BC. The city lay in ruins, the temple was burned, and many people were dead or exiled. The poet speaks from that wreckage, and yet in the middle of his grief he finds a reason to hope.
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 (WEB)
Lamentations 3:22-24 Summary
The passage moves in three steps. First, the writer names the reason he and his people have not been completely destroyed: the LORD’s loving kindnesses and compassion have not ended. Then he says these mercies are renewed each morning, and that God’s faithfulness is great. Finally, he speaks to his own soul, declaring that the LORD is his portion and that he will therefore wait on him in hope.
The argument runs from memory to conviction. The poet has just spent verses describing bitterness and misery, and now he chooses to recall God’s character as the ground of his next breath. The hope here is not a feeling that appears on its own. It is a decision made because of what is true about God.
Context of Lamentations 3:22-24
Lamentations is a collection of five poems that mourn the fall of Jerusalem. Tradition has long linked the book to the prophet Jeremiah, although the poems themselves do not name their author. The first readers were likely Judeans who had survived the siege and were living under Babylonian rule or in the scattered remnant of the land, trying to make sense of a catastrophe that seemed to contradict God’s promises.
The verses just before this passage (Lamentations 3:19-21) are raw. The writer describes affliction, wormwood, and bitterness, and admits that his soul is bowed down. Verse 21 is the hinge: he chooses to bring that memory to mind, and in doing so he finds hope. The verses that follow (25-27) widen the lens, saying that God is good to those who wait for him and that it is good to wait quietly for his salvation.
Lamentations 3:22-24 Verse by Verse
Psalm 30:5
For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
(WEB)
This verse pairs weeping with morning joy, reinforcing the pattern of Lamentations 3 that sorrow is real but does not last forever. It offers the same hope that a new day can bring something different.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(WEB)
Paul lists the powers that cannot separate believers from God’s love, which echoes the steadfast love named in Lamentations. It shows that the same faithful love is revealed more fully in Christ.
A Prayer Based on Lamentations 3:22-24
Lord, I come to you this morning carrying more than I can explain. Some days my heart feels heavy, and I wonder whether your mercy has run out. Thank you that it has not. Your compassion is new again today, and your faithfulness is greater than my fears. Help me remember that you are my portion, that you are enough even when everything else feels uncertain. Teach me to wait on you quietly, and let your steadfast love meet me in the ordinary hours ahead. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of Lamentations 3:22-24?
The main message is that God’s steadfast love and compassion have not ended, even in a time of great suffering. Because of this, the writer chooses to hope in God rather than in his circumstances. The passage moves from memory of God’s faithfulness to a personal decision to trust him.
What does “new every morning” mean in Lamentations 3:23?
It means that God’s mercies are not used up but are renewed with each new day. The image draws on the daily rhythm of night giving way to morning. Hope is therefore something received again with every sunrise.
Why does the writer say the LORD is his portion?
A portion was a person’s share of an inheritance, the part that belonged to them. To say God is one’s portion means he is the deepest source of security and satisfaction. The writer concludes that because God is his portion, he will hope in him.
