New Every Morning

Stones wey don turn black. Gates wey don break. Streets wey before dey full with children wey dey play, now dem quiet. One man sit down among di ruins of im city as sun dey come up. And through im tears e talk something wey nobody expect.

Na soon after five hundred and eighty-six years before Christ. Di Babylonian army don destroy Jerusalem. Dem don burn di temple. Dem don tear di walls down. Plenty people don die, plenty more dem don carry go as captives, and di people wey remain dey hungry and dem heart don break. Di book of Lamentations na five poems of sorrow wey dem write about dese days. Lamentations mean songs of mourning. Dem no name di poet, but one old tradition talk say na di prophet Jeremiah, wey don warn for many years say dis go happen, and then e live to see am. For di third poem, di writer dey talk like one man wey don suffer well well. And for di middle of am, everything turn.

First, e talk true about how bad e dey feel. Remember my affliction and my misery, di wormwood and di gall. Wormwood and gall na bitter plants, and e talk say im life dey taste like dem. Remember my trouble, my wandering, di bitterness. I no fit stop to think about am, e talk, and my soul don sink down inside me. E no pretend. E no wear brave face. E tell God exactly how e dey feel. And then one small word come: but. Or, as di King James Bible put am: Dis one I remember for my mind, so I get hope. Something dey wey e decide to remember.

Na because of Di Lord mercies we never finish, because im compassion no dey fail. Dem dey new every morning: your faithfulness big well well. Picture am, as e sit down inside di ruins when day dey break, as di light dey spread across di broken walls. Di city don go. Di temple don go. But God love wey no dey fail never finish. Every single morning, fresh supply of God mercy dey, like di manna wey dey fall for di wilderness every day. Di Lord na my portion, na so my soul talk; so I go hope for am. Portion na di share of land wey one family get, dem inheritance. E don lose im land. But e still get God, and God reach am.

Then di poet share wetin e don learn, di way older person fit teach younger one. Di Lord good to di people wey dey wait for am, to di person wey dey look for am. E good to hope, and to wait quietly for Di Lord to save. E good for person to learn to carry hard tins when e still young. Sit down quietly, e talk. Dey humble. Hope fit still dey. And then e finish with three lines wey hold God character tight. Because Di Lord no go throw person away forever. Even though e bring sorrow, e go show compassion, because im love wey no dey fail big well well. Because e no dey happy to bring trouble or sorrow to anybody. God no dey enjoy our pain. Sorrow na real thing, but e no get di last word.

Dem build Lamentations with care. Four out of im five poems na acrostics: dem verses start with di letters of di Hebrew alphabet, one after another. Chapter three na di one wey dem arrange with di most care. E get sixty-six verses, and each letter of di alphabet, wey get twenty-two letters, start three verses one after another. Sorrow fit feel like confusion, but di poet pour am inside di most orderly shape wey e know, from di first letter reach di last. And di words of hope stand right for di middle of di book.

You go find dese words for Lamentations chapter three, verse nineteen reach thirty-three. One poet wey dey mourn inside city wey don scatter, wey remember say God mercies dey new every morning. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. For hard day, which one thing about God you fit choose to remember?