Lamentations: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (EEC)

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“Waiting denotes a patient rest for future action. As opposed to hope, which proactively expects a future reality, waiting involves refraining from taking matters into one’s own hands because of one’s confidence in the future (Bergant, 90).” (Lamentations 3:21)

“To the writer, the loss of Jerusalem had global impact and involved supernatural dimensions. The author’s hurt was not merely personal, but dealt with a new era created by God’s wrath against Jerusalem: the exile. By connecting the city, exile, and grief, the genre of Lamentations serves as a major foundation for how the message and theology of Lamentations works.” (source)

“The idea is that God’s massive, positive, gracious, and powerful workings for his people did not stop at the exile. Rather, they continue in the exile, as evidenced by the people’s survival. Israel was not completely wiped out in 586 b.c., and that itself was an act of God’s faithful intervention. He preserved a remnant. Thus YHWH’s grace continues on.” (Lamentations 3:22)

“The term ‘new’ can denote something that is new in the sense that it has never existed before (Exod 1:8; Jer 31:31; Isa 62:2; 65:17), but it can also mean renewing or refreshing something in order to return it to its original pristine state or being (1 Sam 6:7). The two are not mutually exclusive in this case. God’s compassions and lovingkindnesses do not wane from day to day. Rather, they are made new every morning (חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים). God’s readiness to intervene for Israel is at its peak all the time. This demonstrates that God’s love for his people even in exile is not only constant, but is still as grand as it was in the past.” (Lamentations 3:23)