IV. How easy and how common it is to discourse in a querulous and reproachful strain, on the fact of our being made to suffer for a forefather's transgressions, and on the fact of our deriving a polluted nature from guilt in which personally we took not any share. 1. King James Version. Let such authority be ever so great, there is still a sphere to which it cannot extend, and in which there is scope for a man's own conscience to assert its command. Heavenly Father we praise and thank You that You are a faithful God. c. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men: When God does allow or send His judgments, He does not do it with a happy heart. Lamentations is the only biblical book which, for the most part, is arranged in acrostic fashion. I said, I am cut off! (1) Our text represents affliction as a punishment, not of this sin, or of that sin, but generally for the punishment of man's sins. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. All the prisoners of the earth, All rights reserved. [There is a problem in that in Jeremiah 38:5 it is . Prophets such as JeremiahProphet who condemned Judah's infidelity to God, warned of Babylonian conquest, and promised a new covenant More announced the Babylonian invasion as the judgment of God. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND A. Let us search out and examine our ways, Taking the opening of the chapter along with the text, we seem to find a good deal of inconsistency and, in fact, positive contradiction. Reference: Lamentations 3:40 . c. because their leaders led them astray (4:13). You have redeemed my life. According to the work of their hands. i. The salvation of the Lord is when all conceivable means have been employed and have failed. 2 Theme More than 200 million people in over 60 nations today are socially sidelined and denied various human rights due to their loyalty to Christ. It is good for a man to bear in his youth the yoke of difficulty and toil. Like a lawyer pleading for his client, God pleaded the case for his life. It begins, "I am the warrior who has seen the woe by means of the anger of God's rod" (Lamentations 3:1). When you remember that man is a transgressor, not only by imputation, but by every positive and personal working of evil, surely the marvel must be, not that so much of wormwood should drug the cup of human life, but that so much of sweetness should still have been left. My eyes bring suffering to my soul We owe an appeal on whatsoever concerns us to the personal providence of God, and the actual government of God. God can interpret all. (Meyer). 3:22-23: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. The nations recognition of itself as offscouring (so most evv) employs a descriptive term sehi, occurring here only in the Hebrew Bible, and in the context denotes anything rejected as unfit for use. Lamentations 4:2 . vi., p. 141.Lamentations 4:22 . The rest of the meaning of Lamentations 3:22-23 ties into this first truth. Remember Gods mercies from yesterday so that you can be encouraged that they are still true today. In the midst of the peoples. They did it by despising him (their reproach), with schemes, with whispering lies, and their taunting song against him. Now, faith isnt just about what we believe in our heads. Much of Jeremiah's poetry concerns itself with the fallen bricks and cracking mortar of the overrun city. A consensus of Jewish tradition attributes authorship of this book to the prophet Jeremiah. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love (Lamentations 3:3132). Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 90. And one day, because of Christs restorative work, the city that was destroyed 2,500 years ago will come down out of heaven, restored and remade, in glory and beauty (Revelation 21:2, 1011). The city in question was none other than Jerusalem. The first thing is to understand what is meant by "the salvation of the Lord." Each of us need to find time to get away from the noise, turn off our phones, and focus on what is most important. Give them a veiled heart; The Lord does not approve. Was It Right for Boaz to Marry Ruth the Moabite? His sense is that they should patiently receive the suffering and reproach God had appointed for them. There are two great causes which may be said to account for our forgetfulness of the mercies of God, which are new every morning. Copyright 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Now that weve looked at the meaning of Lamentations 3:22-23, lets look at how we can practically apply it to our everyday life. Do you not sometimes come from the place of prayer with the guilty consciousness that you have not prayed. I use all as my study material. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. Even in the midst of this low point in Israels history, however, hope remains. Jeremiah could not help but acknowledge the abject state of this city, piled with rubble. Yet even in this seemingly hopeless Pastor. From my sighing, from my cry for help.. ii. Background. Throughout the Scriptures the two terms, seeking and waiting, run parallel as describing prayer, earnest and effectual prayer, in all its acts and offices. a. But each line in Lamentations 3:1-3 begins with aleph; Lamentations 3:4-6 has each line begin with beth; and so forth. Notice a few of the common mercies which we are most prone to forget: (1) Take, as the first illustration, sleep. It is good for a man to bear in his youth the yoke of Christian service. Tom Ed suffered a major stroke Sunday night. c. LORD, You have seen how I am wronged: Jeremiah rested in the confidence that God was a righteous judge, who would see how he was wronged and who would rightly judge his case. For more check out: What It Means To Follow Jesus. In chapter 3, every third of the 66 verses begins with successive Greek letters. But at the heart of this book, at the center of this lament over the effects of sin in the world, sit a few verses devoted to hope in the Lord (Lamentations 3:2225). Floyd fell on Tuesday afternoon and suffered a severe concussion. His discipline is not happy nor is it unfair (to turn aside the justice due a man). How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. (2) It is good for a man to bear the yoke. Life is still left thee; and of whatsoever thou hast been stripped, there is such a counterpoise in the continuance of life that complaint must be groundless. " To give emphasis, Jeremiah asked the same question in different words. Lamentations 3:22-33 The Faithfulness of God. You have heard their reproach, O LORD, The story of the Bible and tools to study it. Chapter 3 is slightly different as . . We forget, that although we did not ourselves elect Adam to act as our representative, we should, almost beyond doubt, have elected him, had it been put to our choice. (3:19) (God) keep recalling my impoverished condition, my misery feels like bitter poison. There is a marked want about those Christians who have never suffered. Why, said the master, I have first to teach you to hold your tongue, and afterwards to instruct you how to speak. The Lord teaches true penitents how to hold their tongues. (Spurgeon), ii. ; The Babylonians - Learn about ancient Babylon and the people who . Lamentations agrees with the Psalms that prayer is the way to restore a broken relationship with God. Do not fear: How powerful is this word when spoken by the Spirit of the Lord to a disconsolate heart. The Prayer for Mercy - Chapter 3 The Siege of Jerusalem - Chapter 4 The Prayer for Restoration - Chapter 5 Six centuries later Christ would also weep over Jerusalem. When we consider how closely the reason is allied with the brain and with the whole nervous system, it is a surprising circumstance that insanity is not a more widespread evil than it is. To crush under ones feet As surely as judgment awaits the faithless, mercy awaits the faithfulthose who look to God, waiting on him, trusting in his Son, and yielding themselves to him. xxx., No. He doth not ascribe his deliverance in any measure to any man, much less to his own merit; but it is thou. (Spurgeon). Roman Empire Map - Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. Its his faithfulness to his promise that allows us to receive his mercies. From my sighing, my cry for help: He dared not even to complain, nor to cry, nor to pray aloud: he was obliged to whisper his prayer to God. Every strata of All their schemes against me, Lamentations isn't a "feel-good" book. Taking Jeremiah's experience as a whole, what do we find that sanctified sorrow had wrought in him? Jeremiah and Lamentations (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) Artist. List the thing in each of the following verses to which Jeremiah compares his despair: v. 2 v. 9 v. 3 vv. The book of Lamentations deals with suffering. The Hebrew exclamation u001fekah ("How,"which expresses "dismay"), used in 1:1; 2:1, and 4:1, gives the book its Hebrew title. His steadfast love will never fail you. If it be a life of sickness, a life of widowhood, a life of captivity, yet all this deserves no mention in opposition to the privilege of existence. 3. c. In Your anger, pursue and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD: Jerusalem and Judah had faced the anger of God and the destruction that came from it. To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! The Background of Lamentations 1 Author and Date The author of this literary masterpiece is unknown. Contact us and one of our teammembers will personally respondto you by email. Lamentations reminds us of the importance not only of mourning over our sin but of asking the Lord for His forgiveness when we fail Him. Nor grieve the children of men. Gods mercies are true even then. In self-examination each man is his own minister; and Christ, who is above, the only Priest. a. Matthew 23:37-38 Three themes appear in the Book of Lamentations: Mourning over Jerusalem's holocaust. IV. It is no pleasure to God to afflict men. The prophet calls his countrymen to a work to which they needed to be exhorted and pressed; and well he might do so, for the work of self-examination is not at all an agreeable work. c. Why should a living man complain: We may complain against God and His sovereignty, but that is profitless and ungrateful. (2) Our reason. It also makes sense to date the book as close to the invasion as possible, meaning late 586 BC or early 585 BC, due to the raw emotion Jeremiah expresses throughout its pages. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. Lamentations points to the peoples sins as a reason Jerusalem is falling (Lamentations 1:18), as well as leaders who have failed (Lamentations 4:13) and people who have refused to follow their leaders. It also shares the Psalms ' emphasis on God's sovereignty (see Ps. (3) The power of motion and action, and speech, is another mercy which is new every morning. They were before the year; they were before all years; they will outlive the year. Life protracted may be a season when the Saviour is won, and the Saviour won is the universe our own. Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, i. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. You can also change some of your preferences. My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird: Jeremiah and those like him felt under constant pressure from capture or killing. Commend me to the man who has been through deep waters, through very dark places, through treacherous, serpent-haunted roads, and who has yet come out with a cheerful heart, mellow, chastened, subdued, and who speaks tenderly of the mercy of God through it all. Gods mercies are true in the good seasons and the bad seasons. We are come, by God's grace, to a new year. This collection of songs was composed after the fall of the city of Jerusalem in 587/6 B.C. 4 Lamentations is written entirely in poetic form . But it is not a joyful and pleasant thing to consider closely our own way, and see how we have behaved ourselves towards our good and gracious Father who is on high. We read that it was the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests (Lamentations 4:13) that resulted in the Lord giving vent to his wrath and pouring out his anger on Jerusalem (Lamentations 4:11). Collectively these five little books became known the . For there was an infinitely greater probability that Adam, with the fate of millions committed to his keeping, would have watched diligently against the assaults of temptation, than that any lonely individual of his descendants, left to obey for himself and disobey for himself, should have maintained his allegiance and preserved his fidelity. In the middle of tragedy and suffering we might be tempted to think God doesnt love us. Like many of the prophets, Lamentations warns of the day of the Lord. This is the day when God judges sin. As we learn from the judges and kings of Israel earlier in the Old Testament, wicked leadership breeds corporate wickedness, while godly leadership breeds corporate godliness. Your curse be upon them: According to the terms of the covenant Israel made with God (as in Deuteronomy 27-28), Israel would be terribly cursed if they disobeyed and rejected God. Such services began as early as the months after the temples destruction in 586 BC (Jeremiah 41:45). If you cannot speak, cry, sob, or groan, then be still. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. a. Introduction from the NIV Study Bible | Go to Lamentations Title. Lamentations provides eyewitness testimony of Babylons destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC in vivid, poetic detail. I don't have to tell you, this has been a traumatic week in the life of our church family. Many find themselves in dire situations that seem hopeless. Now he prayed to God as his advocate. Time and time again throughout the day. They were under Gods severe discipline, and that because of their deep and persistent sin. He has led me and made me walk. Images are resized for social media and compatible with mobile phones (iPhone and Android), tablet devices, laptops and desktops. 5. b. Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. It seems nearly unimaginable to grasp what the world does when life's challenges happen. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. It is good for a man to bear in his youth the yoke of living godliness. Persecution, too, is as widespread and as volatile as ever it was before. The Hebrew title of the book is 'ekah ("How . So we must take the night with the morning, if we would have the complete day. Why, he was accused of every crime that even Sodom knew; and perjury stood up and swore that all was true. Their enemies had brought them into the deepest miseries. (Poole). (2) The one is needful to raise the other to its full strength. Here is the danger of forms and modes. The true tragedy in the destruction of the Temple is the distancing of an intimate relationship between God and the Jewish . The living man should be grateful he still has life, and recognize there is some justice in the punishment of his sins. . (2) We are living men. Lamentations has much to say about pain. 3 Esther, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. And not only are Gods people failing to enjoy promises made to them, but they are also now failing to be a light to the nations. 3 Historical accounts are in 2 Kings 24 --25 and 2 Chronicles 36. Explain with II. We receive mercy and compassion not because we are faithful, but because God is faithful. C. P. Eden, Oxford Lent Sermons, 1859, p. 241. It means complete, be concluded, be gone, be finished, be accomplished, or come to an end. It will help your own faith wonderfully to be engaged in some real labour for the Lord. They have been very rebellious (Lamentations 1:20). Written as a series of dirges, elegies, and laments following the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., Lamentations attempts to put into words the heartache and despair of the prophet Jeremiah,. When we think of the future we always see it in a mass; but it will not come in a mass, but in multitudes of little bits. III. There hath nothing befallen thee save the just recompense of thy misdoing. Lamentations often utilizes qinah meter, a type used in some passages that mourn the dead (e.g., Isaiah 14 . Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? These past deliverances created his assurance that Jehovah would yet act on behalf of His people and destroy their enemies from under the heavens. (Morgan), (c) 2021 TheEnduring WordBible Commentary by David Guzik ewm@enduringword.com. Background. . Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. to this point? By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. In the first place, it gave him a true view of Divine government. Our faith should have a direct impact on what we do and how we do it. Now Jeremiah prayed that Yahweh would repay their enemies, and give them a veiled heart even as Judah was blind. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him: Jeremiah said this in the context of patiently enduring suffering (Lamentations 3:27-29). We offer HD and FHD quality. Surely He has turned His hand against me. This is one of those very bright thoughts which lie across this dark book like an April ray upon a retiring cloud. When we sincerely repent and long for the ways of the Lord, we can trust in his salvation and be renewed. Thus are these two arguments of the text demonstrative of the unfairness of human complaint when the dealings of the Most High pass under review. Where Does the Bible Say that Jesus Is God. God placed him not in a "sleeping hollow" to fatten in idleness; but in a large garden, to dress it and to keep it. Jerusalem had fallen to Babylon, and it was a time of deep grief and national mourning. If there was nothing unjust in God's appointing Adam to act as our representative, then there is nothing inconsistent either with the strictest justice or the amplest benevolence in our being accounted to have sinned in Adam. And thats where the meaning of Lamentations shines through. VI. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth the yoke of home. Lamentations is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah who witnessed the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. We live not upon old mercies, but upon new ones fresh from the Divine hand, fresh from the Divine heart. ( b ) We shall find how good it is in the enhancement of every blessing for which we have to wait. God therefore disapproves heartily of any attempt to deprive an individual of his rights in the law (36), or to condemn him unjustly. (Harrison). God seems to be absent, and his promises seem to be forgotten (Lamentations 1:12; 2:1). As Abraham said of God, shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? That man I may trust with my heart's life. b. because they rejected Gods Word sent through the prophets (2:8, 14, 17); Their taunting song: Mocking or taunt-songs were also frequently used to express derision or contempt for an enemy. (Harrison). "A joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful." You will rarely see piety of a rich and mellow tone in a man who has known nothing of sorrow. You have not pardoned. And be full of reproach. ( Lamentations 3:1-9) The man afflicted by the LORD. In other words, nothing we have faced or will face can possibly remove us from Gods love. x., No. Writer. This word carries with it a finality. Like so many other Old Testament passages, Lamentations teaches that Jerusalem fell: a. because of the peoples sins (1:18); How Did Jesus Take Away the Sin of the World? Jewish tradition tells us that Lamentations was written by Jeremiah, though no author is identified in the book itself. I use Pastor Chuck Swindoll's books a lot: Moses, David, Joseph, Esther, Hand Me Another Brick. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. If therefore you cannot speak, weep tears also have a voice; [Psalms 39:12] if you cannot weep, sigh a storm of sighs may do as much as a shower of tears; if you cannot sigh, yet breathe, as here. It is good for a man to bear in his youth the yoke of personal affliction. (1) The one is needful to save the other from sinking into sin. (1) Hope: ( a ) The foundation of hope may be said to lie in desire. For the Lord will not cast off forever. IV. References: Lamentations 3:27 . These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Lamentations 3 Jeremiah prays for Judah's deliverance and expresses hope in the Lord, whose mercy is upon those who trust in Him. These are good times for reflection (sit alone) and listening rather than speaking. Crying aloud accurately describes this book, which consists of five melancholy poems of mourning over the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians. The two words may be applied to the confidence and submission of prayer as it has to do with the seeking and waiting for special blessings. We can only hope for that which is felt to be possible and reasonable. viii., No. The author of this literary masterpiece is unknown. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. (Clarke), ii. That prayer should not pass through. The five lament poems are outlined here: Lamentations 1 - Jerusalem's desolation is lamented. Lamentations 3 may fit with Jeremiah's experience of being cast into the pit (compare Lamentations 3:52-57 with Jeremiah 38:1-13). One side is very dark and full of sadness, sharply inclined towards despair; the other is brighter than the summer morning, tuneful, sunned with all the lustre of saintly hope. Opposed by the LORD. That is, thou hast made us to all nations extremely contemptible, so as they value us no more than the sweepings of their houses, or the most vile, refuse, and contemptible things imaginable. (Poole). Lamentations 3 1 - I am the man who has seen afflictionby the rod of his wrath. When confronting national tragedy, spiritual introspection is key to avoid future catastrophe. Video for Lamentations 3: Lamentations 3 - God's Mercy in the Midst of Disaster "The third poem is significantly different in structure from the others, being made up of single lines grouped in threes, and commencing with the same consonant of the Hebrew alphabet." (R.K. Harrison) With all the distractions it can be hard to hear the voice of God and receive his mercy. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes. 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. Faith requires action. Mourn, grieve, dirge, and wail are some words related to lamentation. According to the multitude of His mercies. We see a mountain, it will come in grains of sand. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Self-examination is a private work. 1) In 3:1, Jeremiah states that he has seen the affliction by the rod of God's wrath. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. J. Thain Davidson, Forewarned Forearmed, p. 19. 15-16 v. 7 v. 17 v. 8 v. 18 Lament 3 The Lamentations Of Jeremiah Lesson 3 6 To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. Its New Testament counterpart (1 Corinthians 4:13) is equally rare, depicting the suffering of the apostles. (Harrison), ii. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. They are granted in an indirect manner, and in the discipline of graces more important than the gifts themselves. It is good because it gives one many years of experience. Hope differs from faith in this, that we believe in many things in regard to which we do not hope. However, we modern believers adjudicate that ancient belief. He died in the wee hours of Saturday . Fear and a snare have come upon us, c. And turn back to the LORD: All the self-examination in the world does little good if it does not lead us back to this place. Lamentations 3 may fit with Jeremiah's experience of being cast into the pit (compare Lamentations 3:52-57 with Jeremiah 38:1-13). ( a ) It is good now in the depth of the soul in the conscious assurance that it is better to rest in the hardest of God's ways than to wander at will in our own. 2. He was so low that life seemed ebbing out, and he groaned. (Spurgeon), ii. J. Burton, Christian Life and Truth, p. 368. It will tell her so much. But in the meaning of Lamentations 3:22-23, there's a never in front of it. My enemies without cause Lamentations 4 Jeremiah compares the conditions of the Jews before and after the destruction of Jerusalem. III. In spite of all evidence to the contrary, "his compassions never fail. Again, the seeking stands here and everywhere for the pleading boldness of prayer, which requires to be qualified by its waiting humility. Pursue and destroy them When we pray we can be strengthened, encouraged, and reminded that Gods mercies are new for us each and every morning. v., p. 205; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. A. C. Price, Ibid., vol. Speaking in the first person, Jeremiah pictured himself captured in a besieged city, without anyone to hear his prayers, and as a target for the arrows of the enemy (3:78, 12). 4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. It was likely written between 586 and 516 BC, with an early date being more probable. Earlier in this chapter, Jeremiah felt God was his adversary (Lamentations 3:1-18). Item Length . I pray that I could absorb all that, live it and teach it. Because his love is steadfast and knows no end, neither will his compassion. That woe and well-being proceed? To turn the current of the young life into a right channel to make good habitual by use, and (to that end) to insist upon conformity to a good rule to require, as the condition of maintenance, as the condition of protection, as the condition of life, that this and not that shall be the conduct and the speech and the temper, and (down to very minute particulars) the mode of living, this is the duty of a home, in order that it may bring after it God's assigned and certain blessing. He hath set me in 7 dark places, as they that be dead of old. I. 10-11 v. 4 vv. We have transgressed and rebelled; Very ancient words- written against a very traumatic background for God's people. Lamentations reminds us of the importance not only of mourning over our sin but of asking the Lord for His forgiveness when we fail Him. S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 1st series, No. With the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people to Babylon, the third of thesethe promise of landappears to have failed. Church Planter. You can check these in your browser security settings. Indeed, God himself is inflicting this pain upon his own people (Lamentations 2:18; 3:32). Written in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BCE by the Babylonians, Lamentations expresses the grief and disbelief of those who lived through the horror and yet still looked to their .