Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
A major upheaval in American politics is on the horizon as the Supreme Court will release a verdict in a few weeks re-deciding the issue of abortion across the land. For us who recognize the fundamental value of human life from conception, the decision has enormous portent and consequence, both spiritual and natural.
Pregnancy in a woman involves the intimate, meticulous development of a human life in her womb. The Hebrew word for womb is "rechem". The verb, "rachem" (with the same root letters) means to love, to love deeply, to have mercy and to be compassionate. The connection in Hebrew between "womb" and "love" or "compassion" is literally visceral. A mother's love for her baby, so natural, deep, tender and compassionate, beautifully exemplifies our Father’s love for us. He is compassionate and merciful toward his human creatures.
The Hebrew for "tender mercy" or "compassion" is "rachamim"; another (plural) word with the same root letters. The connection to a woman's womb and her intimate, visceral connection with her growing child, is obvious. A baby in the womb is lovingly protected, sheltered, and nurtured up to the moment of birth.
When discussing the Kingdom of God with Nicodemus the Lord Yeshua said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God". This rebirth, a spiritual one "from above", is a profound spiritual parallel to natural birth, and is characterized by the same, even deeper, love, compassion and mercy, of our Heavenly Father.
We are spiritually birthed by, through, and into the compassion and mercy of God. If we truly appreciate the precious relationship between a birth mother and the infant growing in her womb, how much more might we receive the deep comfort of the spiritual birth we have experienced through faith in the Messiah. By His tender mercy, it's a comfort which is not ever "aborted", but continues "new every morning"... even forever.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]These verses capture one of the most profound Messianic truths in all of Scripture. What man cast aside, God exalted. What the builders saw as flawed and unfit, God chose as the foundation of His eternal plan. Yeshua (Jesus), the rejected One, is the very cornerstone upon which salvation, identity, and destiny are built. This is more than a theological concept — it’s a divine reversal that reveals the heart of redemption. Rejection by man does not disqualify–it often qualifies you for God’s greatest purposes.
These verses are far more than ancient lyrics — they are a spiritual invitation. The psalmist doesn’t just admire the gate — he pleads for it to open. “Open to me the gates of righteousness…” This is the cry of a heart that longs for access to God, not by merit, but by mercy. In Hebrew thought, gates represent transition points — thresholds between the common and the holy, the outside and the inner court, the temporal and the eternal. These are not man-made doors — they are divine entrances into the presence and promises of the LORD.
As we continue our study in Psalm 118, I want to take a deep dive into verses 17-18, where the psalmist makes one of the boldest declarations in all of Scripture: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” This isn’t the voice of someone untouched by pain — it’s the cry of someone who has been through the fire and come out declaring God’s faithfulness. This statement is not a denial of suffering; it’s a defiance of death. It’s the resolve of a heart that’s been chastened, refined, and pressed, yet remains confident in the God who preserves life — not just for survival, but for purpose.
Over the past two devotionals, we heard the song of the redeemed and stood at the wells of salvation. We saw how strength, song, and salvation flow from Yeshua Himself — how the joy of drawing from His presence is not just a poetic promise but a lifeline for our day. Yet today, we stand at a prophetic threshold. Something has shifted. Something has broken open. We are not only being refreshed — we are being awakened and called.
Yesterday, we heard the anthem of the redeemed rise like a trumpet blast: “The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” We explored how this was more than personal — it was prophetic, Messianic, and generational. We saw Yeshua not only as our Deliverer but as the very embodiment of God’s strength, the melody of our praise, and the fulfillment of every promise. We stood in awe as tents of rejoicing rose in the midst of warfare, and households became sanctuaries of celebration. But today, we go deeper — we step to the well.
There’s a reason this verse resounds like a national anthem of the redeemed. It’s not just a personal declaration—it’s a generational cry that echoes back to Moses at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:2) and forward to the final deliverance of Israel. The Hebrew word for salvation—Yeshua—makes this verse unmistakably Messianic. It isn’t a vague deliverance. It is the revelation of Yeshua (Jesus), the Deliverer, who embodies strength, becomes our song, and stands as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan.
The cry that shattered the stillness of Golgotha—“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46)—was not a random cry of despair, but the deliberate voice of Yeshua pointing to Scripture. As He hung on the tree, bearing the sin of the world, He invoked the ancient words of David—not only identifying Himself as the righteous sufferer, but signaling that Psalm 22 was unfolding before their very eyes. In that moment, heaven and earth bore witness to a divine mystery: the Holy One, seemingly abandoned, was fulfilling a prophecy written a millennium earlier. Yeshua did not merely suffer—He fulfilled every word, every shadow, every stroke of divine prophecy.