O my soul,
What is far more significant than the new year?
The answer is new mercy.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
― Lamentations 3:22-23
As I remarked previously the context of these verses is the destruction of Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of a year-and-a-half, and the exile of Judah to Babylon⸺the grimmest of times indeed, and moreover, the judgment of the Lord on his own people for their ongoing waywardness and apostasy. Enough was enough. But we’ll come back to that.
Here we have unceasing steadfast love and mercy, chêsêd and racham, which so often go together and are surely the Lord’s most defining attributes as he revealed on Mount Sinai in response to Moses’ request.
Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.
― Exodus 33:18, 34:5-8
In the face of such power and love and mercy, Moses’ response was the only one possible.
The Lord’s description of himself was chêsêd and racham and nâsâh, the last of which means forgiving, or so beautifully, lifting up.
O my soul, take a breath right now and worship the Lord of Hosts, whose name is love and mercy and forgiveness!
We must not move past this revelation of the Lord’s character without noticing where it came in the sequence of events. Moses had previously been with the Lord on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, during which time he received instruction on how the Israelites were to live to honour the Lord, which was written on those two tablets of stone.
And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
― Exodus 31:18
But what did Moses find when he descended from the mountain of God? The Israelites had made for themselves a golden calf which they worshipped. In dismay Moses threw the tablets to the ground and broke them, and directed the faithful remnant, the Levites, to strap on swords and execute their brothers and neighbours throughout the camp, about three thousand. More subsequently died of the plague sent by the Lord in judgment on his people.
Why is this relevant? Because of what happened next. Moses was instructed to make new tablets, and the Lord revealed himself again as the God of love and mercy and forgiveness and also vengeance.
And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.”
― Exodus 34:10
And they were given instructions. Again. Including this. Again. O my soul, grieve that this was necessary.
You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
― Exodus 34:17
But also, interestingly, this:
You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning.
― Exodus 34:25
which echoes in this:
And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.
― Leviticus 7:15
The sacrifice was not to be left until the morning. But why not?
The answer is precisely where we came in.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
― Lamentations 3:22-23
The Lord’s mercy is new every morning. It is simply not appropriate that the sacrifice remain until the next morning because new mercy has flooded in and it is overwhelmingly sufficient.
And what is new about this mercy? It is precisely because of the context of these verses⸺the propensity of the Lord’s people to continue in their waywardness and apostasy, as it ever has been and still remains to this day. His mercy is new every morning and so very needed.
O my soul, do not be deceived. There are two mistakes you must avoid. The first is to think that somehow your own heart is different from those Israelites, that you are somehow better. You are not. That propensity for waywardness and unbelief and sin remains, and so you must be vigilant and disciplined and repentant.
The second mistake is to doubt the sufficiency of that new mercy. But his mercy is more, and his mercy is new every morning! And his forgiveness is a lifting up anew.
So rejoice in the very next verse.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
― Lamentations 3:24
The Lord is indeed my portion and my inheritance. He is all I need and therefore I will hope in him.
And just as with Moses, there is only one possible response to this revelation of the character of God, and it is worship.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
― Psalm 103:1-5
He crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, chêsêd and racham. He crowns you!
O my soul, worship the one who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, and put all your hope in him for this brave new year! 🙏❤️