(Genesis 18:25). The cause of all this pain is unmistakably clear: the people have sinned (Lamentations 1:5, 8, 14). b. Till the LORD from heaven looks down and sees: The intense weeping of Jeremiah and those like him must continue until God looks and sees, taking notice of and mercy to their misery. This word carries with it a finality. The book itself is a collect. Try Reading the Bible. The year will grow stale, but these will always sustain their vigour and elasticity. Hes done the heavy lifting and in response we place our faith in him. V. We owe this appeal to God's provision for our full reconciliation to Himself. For the superintendence of our affairs is not committed by God to some deputy. Faith is our response to the great and steadfast love he has shown us. Keep your eyes on God and not the storms and distractions around you. (1) The one is needful to save the other from sinking into sin. Repay them, O LORD, Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, The term Lamentations is from a Greek verb meaning "to cry aloud.". He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes. It is important to reflect on national tragedy as it happens and to empathize with its victims. Lamentations 4 Jeremiah compares the conditions of the Jews before and after the destruction of Jerusalem. This last part ties the whole passage together. All the suffering and destruction to . External Evidence: 1. One thinks of global poverty and mismanagement of wealth, various kinds of assault on the dignity of the human individual, and conflict at the level of the family all the way up to international conflict. a. And be full of reproach. They are new: (1) because they were forfeited yesterday by our sins; (2) because new light is thrown upon them, and our hearts have been renewed to see them better; (3) because they can be dedicated anew, used for new services and new love; (4) because of the "night of heaviness," which endureth but for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; 2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. Lamentations 4 - God's faithfulness is viewed as chastisement. How Did Jesus Take Away the Sin of the World? 3"The Lamentations of Jeremiah," in vol. b. But each line in Lamentations 3:1-3 begins with aleph; Lamentations 3:4-6 has each line begin with beth; and so forth. Lamentations provides eyewitness testimony of Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC in vivid, poetic detail. (1) This union of confidence and submission will dispose us to pray for temporal good and earthly deliverances with entire submission to the will of God; confident that we are heard, but leaving the answer to His wisdom. It was likely written between 586 and 516 BC, with an early date being more probable. Thats what David is getting at in Psalm 46:10. And its a verse that each of us should reflect on and commit to memory. The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the II. It was an affliction that was misery itself; for sin makes the cup of affliction a bitter cup. 3:4-9 4, 5 My flesh and my skin hath he made old: he hath broken my bones. He hath hedged me about, that I cann 8 get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. Tired of Empty Promises? Life, when regarded as the seedtime of eternity, must appear to be so enormous in value that its sternest and most aggravated sorrows dwindle away into comparative nothingness. Although it recounts suffering as bluntly and awfully as anywhere in the Bible, the high point of Lamentations is its spelling out of a steady trust that the Lord is good to those who wait for him (Lamentations 3:25), for the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end (Lamentations 3:22). It will tell her so much. I. I pray that I could absorb all that, live it and teach it. Jeremiah and Lamentations (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) Artist. That, whatever sorrow we are in, it is what God has allotted us, and his hand is in it. It is to this that our blessed Saviour invites us when He says, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me." It is not enough to be under the rule of others. VIII. 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. English Standard Version. With this should go the complete submission to God pictured in v.29 by the Oriental obeisance. My eyes overflow with rivers of water: Earlier in Lamentations 2:18 Jeremiah expressed a prayer in the mouth of Jerusalems enemies, a prayer that the city and her walls would weep without end. c. Why should a living man complain: We may complain against God and His sovereignty, but that is profitless and ungrateful. It is good because it gives one many years of experience. The first four chapters are composed as acrostic poems while the fifth chapter's poem - twenty-two verses, but not an acrostic seemingly points to a grief so unbearable Continue reading "Commentary on Lamentations 1:1-6" ii. II. Prayer isnt about getting something from God, but rather connecting with him. Father. b. Not only does the author of the book witness the results of the recent destruction of Jerusalem, he seems to have witnessed the invasion itself (Lamentations 1:1315). With the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people to Babylon, the third of thesethe promise of landappears to have failed. Lamentations 3 Jeremiah prays for Judah's deliverance and expresses hope in the Lord, whose mercy is upon those who trust in Him. J. Vaughan, Sermons, 11th series, p. 13. The second thing is to consider what is meant by these exercises of the soul towards God's salvation, "to hope and quietly to wait." He has aged my flesh and my skin, [There is a problem in that in Jeremiah 38:5 it is . Let us lift our hearts and hands 3 Historical accounts are in 2 Kings 24 --25 and 2 Chronicles 36. This question suggests two considerations; each of which demonstrates the injustice of the complaint Why should a living man complain? In other words, nothing we have faced or will face can possibly remove us from Gods love. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. Life in any sense is a sweet mercy, even that which to the afflicted may seem a lifeless life. (Trapp). (3:19) (God) keep recalling my impoverished condition, my misery feels like bitter poison. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. Thus, chapter 3 has 66 lines, like chapters 1 and 2. When confronting national tragedy, spiritual introspection is key to avoid future catastrophe. Essay, Pages 3 (663 words) Views. 480. Background Although never named in the book, the book of Lamentations has long been attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, although some scholars have disputed this. IV. Lamentations consists of five separate poems, four of which employ a literary form called an acrostic. (1) He tells us the goodness of waiting: it is good for a man to wait. Do you not sometimes come from the place of prayer with the guilty consciousness that you have not prayed. Readers can know that God never gives up on his people, even when they sin greatly. 15-16 v. 7 v. 17 v. 8 v. 18 Lament 3 The Lamentations Of Jeremiah Lesson 3 6 I use all as my study material. It will never fail. We owe it to ourselves to make this appeal to God. What does Peter consider to be Scripture according to 2 Peter? Lamentations 3:23 KJV Bible images with quotes are generated using nature scenery backgrounds and scenic photos. You have seen all their vengeance, Try to let the mode in which you speak to God be born of your present circumstances and of the state of your heart towards God. Lamentations was most likely written to be prayed or sung in worship services devoted to asking Gods forgiveness. II. They were against him like a fowler is against a bird. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. Keep me I pray from the sin of unbelief and help me to trust in your unfailing promises, in Jesus name I pray, AMEN. 1. Lamentations 3:22-23. Jeffery Curtis Poor | April 25, 2023September 21, 2022 | Understanding Specific Bible Stories (Biblical Interpretation), Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.His mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. You can check these in your browser security settings. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. Just as pain is a global and ever-present experience, however, so too is Gods mercy for those who trust him through Christ. Beneath all such activity, however, stands the greatest hope of all: Gods unfailing, unstoppable mercy toward his beloved people. Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, !"), the first word not only in 1:1 but also in 2:1; 4:1.Because of its subject matter, the book is also referred to in Jewish tradition as qinot,"Lamentations," a title taken over by the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT) and by the fourth . Such a disaster in the life of Gods people cannot be overestimated. Lamentations 3:25-26 . 3. God placed him not in a "sleeping hollow" to fatten in idleness; but in a large garden, to dress it and to keep it. Lamentations isn't a "feel-good" book. 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. 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. Images are resized for social media and compatible with mobile phones (iPhone and Android), tablet devices, laptops and desktops. Earlier in this chapter, Jeremiah felt God was his adversary (Lamentations 3:1-18). There are deep emotions involved in lamentation. viii., No. A. C. Price, Ibid., vol. I. Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed? 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. Judge my case. "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.". d. You have made us an offscouring and refuse: In the desire to turn back to the LORD, Jeremiah knew that it was important to honestly see their condition. O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged; It seems nearly unimaginable to grasp what the world does when life's challenges happen. Please contact us or click here to learn more about how to enable JavaScript on your browser. 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. In addition, when the early Christian church father Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, he added a note claiming Jeremiah as the author of Lamentations. Jeremiah walked through the streets and alleys of the Holy City and saw nothing but pain, suffering, and destruction in the Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. (Clarke), ii. Lamentations has much to say about pain. Jeremiah was present for both events. All their schemes against me, It affirms Gods never-ceasing mercy (3:1924; compare Deuteronomy 30:110). Believed to author the Book of Lamentations, prophet Jeremiah . Very ancient words- written against a very traumatic background for God's people. Jesus gave his cheek to the one who strikes him as He patiently received the suffering His Father had appointed (Matthew 26:67-68, Luke 22:64). Amid unthinkable tragedy Jeremiah describes his agony in the face of this suffering. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. God seems to be absent, and his promises seem to be forgotten (Lamentations 1:12; 2:1). a. Those who trust in the Lord can know, when facing adversity, that they will never be forsaken by their Father, because Jesus hung on the cross and cried out in lamentation and was forsaken by his Father. If you cannot speak, cry, sob, or groan, then be still. Hunted me down like a bird. [There is a problem in that in Jeremiah 38:5 it . With all the distractions it can be hard to hear the voice of God and receive his mercy. We thank You that Your love and mercy, Your grace and compassion, Your strength and your peace are new every morning. Lamentations 3 - God's faithfulness is acknowledged. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. But God's wrath is not neatly balanced with God's mercy in this book. If he be tempted to murmur, let him remember that he is yet alive, and that is more than his part cometh to, since it is the Lords mercy that he is not consumed, and sent packing hence to hell. He died in the wee hours of Saturday . Fear and a snare have come upon us, Do you see any of that destroyed city in your own life? The throne of God. He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. v., p. 205; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. II. In the middle of tragedy and suffering we might be tempted to think God doesnt love us. IV. It was likely written between 586 and 516 BC, with an early date being more probable. 3 - Surely he turns his hand against meagain and again all day long. And whatever the woe and bitterness of our portion, wherefore should living men complain? 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. 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. Do not hide Your ear Much of Jeremiah's poetry concerns itself with the fallen bricks and cracking mortar of the overrun city. Lamentations 3 New International Version 3 [ a]I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord's wrath. Gods compassion, his mercy, is a byproduct of his love. A consensus of Jewish tradition attributes authorship of this book to the prophet Jeremiah. 579; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 325.Lamentations 4:1 . As the verses of Lamentations accumulate, readers cannot help but wonder how many different ways Jeremiah could describe the desolation of the once proud city of Jerusalem. View Chuck Swindoll's chart of Lamentations, which divides the book into major sections and highlights themes and key verses. We dont need to worry about Gods mercy running dry. The author of this literary masterpiece is unknown. Regardless of how often you rely on Gods compassion, there will be more for you tomorrow. Church Planter. You will rarely see piety of a rich and mellow tone in a man who has known nothing of sorrow. Have opened their mouths against us. See Full Permissions Notice. i. How can a complaint against justice be itself just. There are two things which often divert men from appealing to God. 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; 5 he has besieged . 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). 15. Please note, our website requires JavaScript to be supported. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth the yoke of home. Nederlandstalige Bijbelstudies door Stan Marinussen, Copyright - Enduring Word | . God has brought Jerusalem's disaster, and the succeeding nineteen verses find the subject of their actions to be God alone. G. W. Conder, Christian World Pulpit, vol. They are granted in an indirect manner, and in the discipline of graces more important than the gifts themselves. Therefore the complaint is to be met not by any demonstration that by one particular line of conduct the complaining individual has brought down a particular judgment, but simply by the fact of general sinfulness. 3 Esther, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. But there are things newer than the year. Background Although Peter wrote to Jewish Christians driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia Minor, there is much that we can learn from his letter. . iv., p. 432. It is good for a man to become a decided Christian in early life. Watch our overview video on the book of Lamentations, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. When the Lord has not commanded it? The Lamentation (c. 1304 - 1306) by Giotto di Bondone is from the proto-Renaissance art period, which portrays more three-dimensionality and volume in its subject matter compared to how Christian art was painted, flat and two-dimensional, in the preceding Byzantine period. A. 2023 Insight for Living Ministries. The depiction of wrath far exceeds the depiction of mercy. Because his love is steadfast and knows no end, neither will his compassion. Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. We receive Gods mercies by placing our faith in him. 2. Even before the fall, man had his physical work assigned to him. 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. II. In other words, God's mercy toward you will never finish, be concluded, or come to and end. Your browser does not support JavaScript. 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 original name of the book in Hebrew, ekah, can be translated Alas! or How, giving the sense of weeping or lamenting over some sad event.1 Later readers and translators substituted in the title Lamentations because of its clearer and more evocative meaning. Much of Jeremiahs poetry concerns itself with the fallen bricks and cracking mortar of the overrun city. We should, we must, turn away from sin and self and turn back to the LORD. "Lamentations" was derived from a translation of the title as found in the Latin Vulgate (Vg.) And turn back to the LORD; Each verse begins, in alphabetical order, with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. 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. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. They were before the year; they were before all years; they will outlive the year. 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. 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. " The Lord does not approve. Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed. ; The Babylonians - Learn about ancient Babylon and the people who . The key passage in Lamentations is 3:1924, which affirms that belief in Gods mercy and faithfulness is the key to a restored relationship with God. 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. V. The combination of seeking and waiting forms in its highest perfection the devotional state of the soul in which both the seeking and the waiting go beyond their former meanings, and blend into the habit rather than the act of communion with God. wake of the Babylonian invasion of 586 BC. Chapter 3 is slightly different as . I think this passage is the perfect reminder for us today. Where Does the Bible Say that Jesus Is God. In the midst of the peoples. Jeremiah calls to mind that the the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, that His mercies never come to an end, that they are new every morning, and that His faithfulness is great . 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 . Here is the danger of forms and modes. For the destruction of the daughter of my people. In the first place, it gave him a true view of Divine government. You have made us an offscouring and refuse The book of Lamentations is one of the smallest works in the Bible and yet one of the most powerful and enigmatic. We are surrounded by noise, notifications, and things that are clamoring for our attention. A determination to go, yet a willingness to stand still that is the mystery of true waiting. The circumstances may be different but the consequences of conflict are always the same. 451; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 321. God's faithfulness ( Lamentations 3:23) and deliverance ( Lamentations 3:26) are attributes that give us great hope and comfort. I said, I am cut off! Your curse be upon them! Do not fear: How powerful is this word when spoken by the Spirit of the Lord to a disconsolate heart. This word carries with it a finality. In later years, Lamentations was read and sung as part of annual observances marking the temples destruction. Background of Lamentations Richard W. Nysse The book is traditionally read in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. Self-examination is a rehearsing of the judgment day, for it is a having the soul up before conscience, and conscience is God's voice in the heart. 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. V. Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord (5:122). If you turn to the life of Whitfield our great and mighty Whitfield in more modern times, what was his character? Opposed by the LORD. View Chuck Swindoll's chart of Lamentations. In self-examination each man is his own minister; and Christ, who is above, the only Priest. He marvels that God should have drawn near to him, for his condition was a very pitiful one. IV. Because Gods love is steadfast his mercy and compassion will continue on through eternity. And their whispering against me all the day. From the lowest pit. Copyright 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. They continued after the temple was rebuilt during Zechariahs time (c. 520 BC; see Zechariah 7:35; 8:19). The author of the Book of Lamentations had experienced real, actual events that caused bereft of hope to his soul. Lamentations 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Lamentations in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, [1] [2] part of the Ketuvim ("Writings"). i. Lamentations speaks from within that judgment. We are come, by God's grace, to a new year. b. because they rejected Gods Word sent through the prophets (2:8, 14, 17); All their schemes against me. There are, with all of us, desires and tendencies which we have sternly to resist, and the denying of which is part of the training by which we are fitted for a noble and useful life. 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. I use Pastor Chuck Swindoll's books a lot: Moses, David, Joseph, Esther, Hand Me Another Brick. II. Next: Lamentations 3:24 . We must plead for them, and yet learn in waiting the reason why they are withheld. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. We see a mountain, it will come in grains of sand. One of the key themes in the book of Lamentations is justice. Is it not from the mouth of the Most High 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). Consider the application of the text to the complaints called forth by individual affliction. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Every strata of That prayer should not pass through. Every time we wake up, Gods mercies are new. i. 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.
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