Let us read Lamentations 3:21–23.

“But this I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Something once happened in a small mall. From early in the morning, a man sat in a corner, diligently writing something on a piece of paper. One hour passed, then two, but he did not move from his place. Even after lunchtime, he was still sitting there. The shop owners began to worry about him.

One restaurant owner brought him some food. But the man became angry and asked why he was being treated like a beggar, so the owner had no choice but to take the food back. Yet when evening came and they saw that he still had not eaten anything and had done nothing but write, they could no longer feel at ease. This time, they quietly placed some food beside him and hurried away.

Even though the man might become angry because of his pride, they could not bear to leave him without food when they thought about the suffering he must be experiencing from hunger. This is a heart of compassion.

He Saw Him and Had Compassion

In Luke 10, we read about a man who fell among thieves and was left nearly dead. He was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and left him nearly dead. A priest and a Levite saw him but passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling saw him and had compassion on him. He went to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bound them up. Then he placed him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The wounded man could not even cry out for help. He was nearly dead and unable to make a sound. Yet the compassion shown to him saved his life.

The same thing happened when Jesus came near the city of Nain. The only son of a widow had died, and people were carrying his body out. When Jesus saw the widow, He had compassion on her and said, “Weep not.” Then He touched the bier and said, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise” (Luke 7:14). And the young man who had been dead came back to life.

The man who spent the whole day writing in the corner of the mall, the man who fell among thieves, and the widow’s dead son—how they had lived was not what mattered. What a person is cannot prevent compassion. Therefore, mercy triumphs over judgment.

Mercy That Turns Despair into Hope

The prophet Jeremiah was in despair. The city of Jerusalem and the temple had been completely destroyed by Babylon. The nation had fallen, and countless people had either been killed or taken captive. Jeremiah had witnessed the destruction with his own eyes and cried out to God.

Yet when he recalled that the LORD’s mercy and compassion are without end, his despair turned into hope. Because God’s compassion has no limit, he became convinced that he and his people would not be utterly consumed. Just as the morning sun surely rises after the darkness of night, he believed that God would surely have compassion on them.

Jeremiah confessed, “Great is thy faithfulness.” Here, “faithfulness” means unwavering fidelity. It is a confession that God’s promises and love do not change from yesterday to today. Jeremiah did not doubt that God would surely have compassion on the people whom He loved.

God Had Compassion on Us

We were people who had turned away from God, become servants of the devil, and provoked God to wrath. Even if we had been destroyed, we would have had nothing to say in our defense. Yet God saw us suffering as servants of the devil. And though we stood on the road to destruction without even realizing it, He had compassion on us.

When people crucified Jesus between two criminals, Jesus prayed:

Beneath the cross, the soldiers were casting lots to divide Jesus’ garments. The people and the rulers mocked Him, saying that He had saved others and should now save Himself. Even the soldiers mocked Him, offering Him vinegar and saying, “If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself” (Luke 23:37).

But Jesus did not curse them. Judged by their deeds, they deserved to be cursed, yet Jesus instead had compassion on them in their ignorance. It was this infinite compassion of Jesus that saved us.

We too, in our ignorance, distrusted God and opposed Him. When we consider what we, as creatures, have done before our Creator, we were people who could have suffered eternal destruction again and again and still have had nothing to say. Yet God saw our ignorance and had compassion on us.

If a puppy were barking in front of a lion, we would feel sorry for the puppy because it does not understand how dangerous the lion is. We would want to take the puppy away from the lion and place it somewhere safe. That is compassion.

We were saved from sin because God showed us compassion. Without that compassion, we would have perished forever in our ignorance.

We can do nothing but kneel before God’s compassion and give thanks. God’s compassion is greater than our sin, deeper than our ignorance, and even in the midst of the judgment we deserved, His compassion opened for us a way to live.