Wedding for an older couple.
Great Is His Faithfulness to You
Lamentations 3:22-26
God is faithful. This phrase is repeated throughout Scripture, bearing the stamp of those who have experienced it. Such people include Moses, who experienced God's power as he led the enslaved people out of Egypt; and King David, who relied on God's power against enemies like Goliath or King Saul or even against his own son, Absalom; and the prophets, like Isaiah or Jeremiah, who had to speak words that were hard to bear.
It is Jeremiah, especially, who was sensitive to the painful message he delivered. The people of Jerusalem did not want to hear God's judgment against them. He was ridiculed. He was imprisoned. He mourned for the people, for he knew their immediate future would be a massacre by outside forces. His lamentations were copied by a faithful scribe, and the words were preserved in a book that bears the same name.
So why, on this joyous day of a wedding, are we reading from the book of Lamentations? Because the message is worth hearing now, even as it was in Jeremiah's time. Hear the Word of the Lord, from chapter three.
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.
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Even as Jeremiah weeps for the people of Israel, while delivering their judgment, he offers this needed word for them to hear. God is patient. God is faithful to his word. God is the one hope we have, even while our life is in disarray. A faithful God calls you to be faithful to him. The faithful God is the inheritance of all whose hope is in him.
R______ and D_____, you have waited a long time for this very day to arrive; yes, it is here, after months of planning. But it can be said that this day arrives after many, many years of waiting. Not only waiting for a particular letter to be opened or for email to be answered; not only waiting as a relationship grew and grew. This day arrives after years of waiting... on God. Waiting and wondering what your future would be; waiting and wondering if there was a special one out there for you. Every day you wondered, you did so before a God who knew the answer to that question; you were faithful to that God. With joyous hearts, we celebrate this day together.
It is our hope that your life together is marked with this same confidence, knowing that the God who brought you to this day, through any trial or misgiving along the way, will bring you through all things. Great is God's mercy and great is his faithfulness to his people.
You know how the mark of God's faithfulness is best seen in what Jesus Christ endured: Jesus, the faithful and perfect servant of God entered into the darkness of Good Friday; he died and was laid to rest in a stranger's tomb; his perfect life was a sacrifice on behalf of every sinner. God, who is faithful, caused Jesus to come out from the grave on that Easter morning, very much alive, manifesting the power and faithfulness of God for all who believe. That is the power at work in you, by God's grace, through faith.
God has redeemed our lives for the sake of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has done this because he IS merciful and just; he IS loving and kind. As he has gone to such great lengths to redeem his people, he is there to bless your lives. He will take you through every time in your life. Even should dark times arise, your path will be illumined by the light of Jesus Chris. By God's grace, any lamentation gives way to exultation. Great is his faithfulness. Blessings to you and for you, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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