Lamentations 3:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 3:21-36

Here the clouds begin to disperse and the sky to clear up; the complaint was very melancholy in the former part of the chapter, and yet here the tune is altered and the mourners in Zion begin to look a little pleasant. But for hope, the heart would break. To save the heart from being quite broken, here is something called to mind, which gives ground for hope (Lam. 3:21), which refers to what comes after, not to what goes before. I make to return to my heart (so the margin words it); what we... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:22

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed ,.... It was true of the prophet, that he died not in prison, or in the dungeon; and of the people of the Jews, who though many of them perished by the sword, famine, and pestilence, yet God did not make a full end of them, according to his gracious promise, Jeremiah 30:11 ; but left them a seed, a remnant, from whence the Messiah, the mercy promised, should come, and to which it was owing they were not utterly cut off for their sins:... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:22

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed - Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it seas less than his iniquity deserved. If, indeed, any sinner be kept out of hell, it is because God's compassion faileth not. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:22

Verse 22 The first clause may be explained in two ways: The view commonly taken is, that it ought to be ascribed to God’s mercy that the faithful have not been often consumed. Hence a very useful doctrine is elicited — that God succors his own people, lest they should wholly perish. But if we attend to the context, we shall see that another sense is more suitable, even that the mercies of God were not consumed, and that his compassion’s had not failed The particle כי,ki, is inserted, but ought... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:22

It is of the Lord's mercies , etc.; literally, The Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. But the "we" is difficult, especially considering that in Lamentations 3:23 (which is clearly parallel) the subject of the sentence is, not "we," but "the Lord's mercies." Hence it is probable that the reading of the Targum and the Peshite (adopted by Thenius, Ewald, and Bickell) is correct, "The Lord's mercies, verily they cease not" ( tammū for tamnū ) . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:22

Sparing compassion. At this point the meditations of the prophet take a turn. He looks away from his own and his fellow countrymen's afflictions and directs his gaze heavenwards. The scene of his vision changes. No longer the calamities of Jerusalem, but the character and the purposes of the Most High, absorb his attention. There is a rainbow which spans even the stormiest sky. Earth may be dark, but there is brightness above. Man may be cruel or miserable, but God has not forgotten to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:22-23

The unceasing mercies of God. It would seem, according to the best authorities, that we ought to read the first of these two verses thus: "The Lord's mercies, verily they cease not, surely his compassions fail not." Thus we are assured of the enduring character of God's mercies. How striking is this assurance, coming where it does after monstrous dirges of despair! In the Lamentations we meet with one of the richest confessions of faith in the goodness of God. The black clouds are not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:22-23

The unfailing compassions of Jehovah. Here indeed is a full retractation of the reckless falsehood recorded in Lamentations 3:18 . He who had hinted that God was a Destroyer, that he delighted, as it were, in reducing his children to despair, is now found glorying in the same God as the great Preserver, the one effectual Guardian of man's existence and peace. I. NOTE THE DESTROYING POWERS THAT BESET HUMAN LIFE . God's mercies are the only guarantee against our being... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:22-36

RESIGNATION AND HOPEFULNESS . read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 3:22

Verses 22-42 are the center of the present poem, as it also holds the central place in the whole series of the Lamentations. In them the riches of God’s grace and mercy are set forth in the brightest colors, but no sooner are they ended than the prophet resumes the language of woe.That we - He is speaking as the representative of all sufferers. read more

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