Turn us back to you, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
All Commentaries on Lamentations 5:21 Go To Lamentations 5
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
Thirdly, a prayer is prolonged. As stated: "Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old!" And as the prophet Jeremiah elsewhere proclaims: "bring me back that I may be restored, for thou art the Lord my God." (Jer: 31:18).
On the contrary, the prophet Zechariah 1:3 proclaims: "Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you."
Yet, it must be said that each proclamation is true, due to the fact that a preparation of one's will is demanded for deeds of merits, and for an infusion of divine grace.
Then: "Renew our days as of old!" Thus Job 29:2 exclaims: "Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me."