There is a song I grew up singing in church that takes its lyrics nearly word-for-word from the book of Lamentations: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’ says my soul. Therefore, I will hope in him. Therefore I will hope in him” (Compare Lamentations 3:22-24). These words are meaningful at face value—a declaration of God’s unending love and faithfulness and a resolve to trust in him. But the words of this song are even more impactful when understood in their context. Jeremiah did not write these words from a place of security, comfort, or ease. In fact, quite the opposite.

First, we have to remind ourselves that Lamentations is a lament (a cry of weeping and mourning) about the destruction of God’s temple and the city of Jerusalem. And we get a vivid description of that event in Jeremiah 51-52. “In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month… Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem” (Jer. 52:12-14). What a devastating sight it would have been to see the temple of the Lord desecrated, its gold and silver stripped and hauled off, and what was left torched.

How could this happen? How could the house of the Lord be trampled by the foreigners, the very enemies of God and his people? Where was God and why was he allowing the pagans to boast in their victory over Judah and the god of the Jews? This was a dark and bitter time for the Jews as they watched their capital city burn before their eyes.

Although it would have been easy for the people to blame or question God in the face of this destruction, it was the very character of God which gave Jeremiah confidence and hope in the midst of such unspeakable defeat. Near the very center of the book of Lamentations is Jeremiah’s confident expression of hope in God: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:21-23). And Jeremiah is exactly right. God is faithful to reward the obedient, and faithful to punish the disobedient. He’s always loving, and always faithful. Jeremiah’s declaration and focus on God is all the more remarkable when we recognize the defeat and destruction he was surrounded by. At a time like that, only God’s faithfulness and loyal love could bring Jeremiah hope.