Lamentations 3:22-24 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.… I. MAN'S WHOLE LIFE, BODILY, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL, IS SUSTAINED BY THE MERCY OF THE LORD. 1. It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed bodily. Consider the waste constantly going on, etc. Set against this the powers of digestion and assimilation, and the constant supply of food. 2. It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed intellectually. Consider the wear and tear of the brain, the continual evolution of thought, the daily anxiety of mind; and against this set the all-renewing energy of the Holy Ghost, who gives strength day by day, repairing the waste of faculty and renewing the resources of power. 3. It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed morally. Consider our sins, our daily provocations, our constant obduracy of heart. Why aces lie withhold the stroke of righteous vengeance? The answer is, in His mercy! Very beautiful is the expression, "They are new every morning" — new just as we want them — standing at the very threshold of the day to help us through all work and trial, all darkness and light. II. To know what the mercy is, consider WHAT IS MEANT BY CONSUMPTION. Figure a tree that is diseased at the roots; a man who is daffy pining away; a soul wasting! From such consumption there is no protection but in God's mercy. Show the vanity of all human schemes. Call the attention of Christians to the fact that every day is provided for; if the trial comes daily, so does the mercy. Human preservation is not merely a question of science or prudence; underlying all are the "compassions" which are "new every morning." (J. Parker," D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.WEB: [It is of] Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn't fail. |
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