Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?

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My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
   But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end;
   they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion, 'says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.'
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks
    Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on Him;
   let him put his mouth in the dust-  there may yet be hope;
let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not cast off for ever,
   but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the
     abundance of His steadfast love;
for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
    to turn aside the right of a man in the presence of the Most High,
to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord does not approve.
   Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come?
   Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?
Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!
        Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven...
(Lamentation 3:20-41)

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