Beginning with the reality of disaster, Lamentations ends with the thought that God may have finally rejected Israel (chapter 5:22). The poet says that this suffering is a just punishment, still God is held to have had choice over whether to act in this way and at this time. Hope arises from remembering God's past goodness. The poem says that the mercies of Yahweh (the God of Israel) never end, but are new every morning (3:22–33).