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• • • • • • DEFENDER'S STUDY BIBLE HENRY MORRIS Study Notes on Lamentations Click the words and phrases (based on the KJV translation) below which represent links to the Defender's Study notes. Lamentations 1 • Lamentations 1:1 • • Lamentations 1:10 • • Lamentations 1:12 • • Lamentations 1:22 • • Lamentations 2 • Lamentations 2:8 • • Lamentations 2:9 • • Lamentations 2:17 •. • Lamentations 2:18 • • Lamentations 2:20 • Lamentations 3 • Lamentations 3:1 • • Lamentations 3:13 • • Lamentations 3:21 • • Lamentations 3:22 • • Lamentations 3:23 • • Lamentations 3:24 • • • Lamentations 3:26 •. • Lamentations 3:30 • • Lamentations 3:33 • • Lamentations 3:36 • • Lamentations 3:55 • • Lamentations 3:66 • Lamentations 4 • Lamentations 4:3 • • Lamentations 4:7 • • Lamentations 4:10 • • Lamentations 4:12 • • • Lamentations 4:17 • • Lamentations 4:20 • • Lamentations 4:21 • Lamentations 5 • Lamentations 5:1 • • Lamentations 5:16 • • Lamentations 5:19 • DICTIONARY OF BIBLE THEMES (TOPICAL STUDY) MARTIN H MANSER LAMENTATIONS Note: This resource is useful to help you with topics covered by the passage you are studying. Click the verse for the topics (examples listed for ). Then you can either click the arrow to advance to the next verse or you can go to the top of the page in the dropdown window and select the specific verse or chapter you would like to study.

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• • • • • CHARLES ELLICOTT The Old Testament Commentary for English Readers Lamentations 1884. • • Lamentations 1 - The Miseries of Jerusalem • Lamentations 1:1-2 Grief For a Ruined City • Lamentations 1:1-2 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:3 The Judgment of Oppression • Lamentations 1:3 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:4 Lamentation Over a Forsaken Sanctuary • Lamentations 1:4 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:5-7 The Tantalizing Indifference. • Lamentations 1:5-7 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:8-11 The Terrible Havoc of Sin • Lamentations 1:8-11 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:12-17 A Distressed Nation • Lamentations 1:12-17 Germ Notes and Illustrations • Lamentations 1:18-22 The Bitter Fruits of Rebellion • Lamentations 1:18-22 Germ Notes and Illustrations. • • • • • GENE GETZ - Short videos discussing principles in each chapter • Lamentations. 1:1-22; Sinful Humanity: To be saved, we must acknowledge our separation from God and that we are hopeless without His help. • Lamentations 2:1-22; God's Wrath: We are to be encouraged and comforted by God's promise that as believers we'll be protected from His wrath on earth and in eternity.

• Lamentations 3:1-33; God's Faithfulness: Because of our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to be confident that we have an eternal inheritance guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. • Lamentations 5:1-22; Praying for God's Help: When praying for help, we should acknowledge that God is eternal, sovereign, and awesome. GOTQUESTIONS • • • • • • • • • • Tisha B'Av is the final, climactic day of a 21-day period of increasing mourning called the Three Weeks. The Three Weeks is also called Bein HaMetzarim, or “between the straits,” because Lamentations 1:3 says, “Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits” (KJV, emphasis added).

GOSPEL COALITION • JOE GUGLIELMO - audio and text • • HOMER HEATER • A M HODGKIN - Christ in All the Scriptures - in Lamentations 'The City of the Great King.' ' ' 'How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she a widow that was great among the nations! And princess among the provinces, how is it she became tributary!' So bursts forth the elaborate dirge of which the oldest Jewish tradition tells us that 'after the captivity of Israel and the desolation of Jerusalem, Jeremiah sat down and wept, and lamented his lamentation over Jerusalem.' In the face of a rocky hill, on the western side of the city, the local belief has placed 'the grotto of Jeremiah.'

There in that fixed attitude of grief, which Michael Angelo has immortalized, the prophet may well be supposed to have mourned the fall of his country.' ' [Stanley's Jewish Church.] The desolation of the city by the Chaldean army is described by Jeremiah in his Book of Lamentations with all the vividness of an eye-witness. Six hundred years have passed, and now from the opposite, or eastern, side of the city a procession of rejoicing children with a lowly King winds up the slopes of the Mount of Olives. A sudden bend in the road brings the city of Jerusalem full upon the view.

The sight of that proud city in the morning sunlight, with the marble pinnacles and gilded roofs of the Temple, brought such a mighty rush of compassion to the soul of our Saviour, that He wept aloud. 'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace!' ' -- and there sorrow interrupted the sentence, and, when He found voice to continue, He could only add, 'but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee... And they shall not leave one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.' ' [Luke 19:41-44] [See Farrar's Life of Christ, vol.

199.] The weeping prophet was a type of the weeping Saviour. The one had foretold the destruction of the city by the Chaldeans, the other by the Romans.

Judgment for Sin. Throughout the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah points out plainly that the judgment that has come upon the city is on account of her sin.

The Key-note of the book is Destruction. It contains five Laments corresponding with the five chapters. Each Lament is arranged in acrostic form, every verse beginning with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, except that in the fifth Lament, though it contains the right number of stanzas, the acrostic form disappears. Moreover, in the third or middle Lament-- the climax of the poem-- each initial letter is repeated three times. In the first part of this Lament, the prophet speaks, and describes the city as a woman bereft of her husband and children. In the second [part], Zion speaks and bewails her misery.

She acknowledges that her punishment is from the Lord, and confesses 'The Lord is righteous; I have rebelled.' Is spoken by the prophet. A remarkable description of the ruin of Jerusalem. The prophet speaks, but makes the miseries of the people his own.

Out of the midst of the misery, he stays himself upon the Lord's faithfulness and His unfailing compassion, and asserts unhesitatingly that 'He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men' (Lam 3:33). The prophet again describes the fearful judgments which have befallen Jerusalem. The Jewish people speak and make confession, and appeal to God for forgiveness and deliverance.

' In chapter 1, we have the description of desolation. No rest; no pasture; no Comforter (v. Such is the desolation of every soul that is without Christ. Without Christ With Christ Lam 1:3. I will give you rest. No Pasture Ps 23:2.

Green pastures. No Comforter Jn 14:16. Another Comforter. Jeremiah weeping over the city reminds us of our Lord. There are several verses, moreover, which seem to be a foreshadowing of Calvary: 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow' (Lam 1:12).

'All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head' (Lam 2:15,16; Mt 27:39). 'All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee' (Lam 2:16; Psa 22:13). 'He shutteth out my prayer' (Lam 3:8; Mat 27:46).

'I was a derision to all my people, and their song every day' (Lam 3:14; Psa 69:12). 'The wormwood and the gall' (Lam 3:19; Ps 69:21).

'He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled with reproach' (Lam 3:30; Isa 50:6; Ps 69:20). In the verse 'For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her' [Lam 4:13], we are reminded, first, of our Lord's own words: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee' [Mt 23:37]; and secondly, of Peter's words of accusation to the people of Jerusalem: 'Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and killed the Prince of Life' [Acts 3:14,15]. [Even so, to those who repent and turn to Him, the Lord mercifully extends His salvation and the promise of future restoration. Lam 3:22-26; Acts 3:17-26] J HAMPTON KEATHLEY • STEVE KRELOFF • DAVID LEGGE • LOGOS • LOUISIANIA PRECEPTS • • Workbook - ELMER MARTINS - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - • Lamentations, Theology of Lamentations is a soliloquy. There is no word from God, although there are words about God. The structure of the book, apart from the final chapter, is a set of acrostics (not obvious in English translations). Its genre is lament.

Several traditions, such as the sin-punishment nexus, inform the book. The setting is the historical crisis of a destroyed city, Jerusalem. The speaker is both a spectator and victim of the tragedy. A dominant personality within the monologue is God; human agents such as Babylon (unnamed) and Edom also come into view. The language is laced with metaphor.

It is with an eye to the form, genre, traditions, situation, and characters that a theology of the book can best be laid bare. The Pathos of Suffering. The perspective in the book is initially this-wordly.

The tragedy of Jerusalem, now devastated by the Babylonians (587 b.c.), and of a people in exile, is faced head on (1:3; 2:8-9). The citizenry is humiliated and in desperate straits (1:1-21a; 5:1-18). The calamity and pathos of suffering is a central theme (3:1-20). Poetry, rather than prose, is the vehicle of pathos. The funeral dirges set the tone (chaps.

Four of the five chapters are in acrostic form utilizing the Hebrew alphabet, perhaps as a way of reaching for a total expression of grief. The vocabulary and metaphors describing the suffering are graphic and earthy. The once proud city is now like a widow, a queen become a slave (1:1). Zion theology, which stressed the indestructability of the city and the temple (Psalm 48; 132:13; Jeremiah 7:4 ), has been shown to be bankrupt. The good life of joy, feasting, treasures, and prosperity is gone (1:7; 3:17).

Once elegant and bedecked with finery, the leaders are now blacker than soot, with their skin shriveled (4:8; cf. Women have been ravished (5:11). Children cry for food (2:12). There is no one to comfort Zion (1:17). The harsh reality is described, not denied. The grief is not muted or misrepresented even though it raises large questions about God.

Grief, for therapeutic reasons, as for Job, must be brought to speech. Out of such pain God is addressed on the understanding that he attends to suffering people. A first step, then, is to face him with the grief. The devastation of property, the stress of losing virtually everything, and the deep despondency are vividly pictured—so that God will take notice! Famine is the focus (2:20; 4:10), perhaps because of the tradition of God working his purposes through famine (Genesis 12:10; Ruth;Jeremiah 14 ). Arising out of the suffering is the cry for rehabilitation and restoration (5:21-22).

An Interventionist God. The series of poems represents description but also an analysis on which past tradition is brought to bear. That tradition includes a belief about the nexus between sin and suffering. Job, likely written earlier than Lamentations, makes clear that the theory that all suffering is inevitably the result of wrongdoing is reductionistic. Still, that sin results in punitive measures is an understanding dating from the transgression in Eden. In Lamentations that connection between sin and suffering is at once made explicit: 'The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins' (1:5).

Sin is a breach in the relationship. Israel, to resort to metaphor, has been under a heavy yoke, and so her strength has been sapped (1:14). God, so says the sufferer, has dragged him 'from the path and mangled [him] and left [him] without help' (3:11). Israel explains her circumstances in light of the tradition: 'We have sinned and rebelled we have suffered ruin and destruction' (3:42,47). Each of the five poems identifies sin as the reason for the disaster (1:8; 2:14; 3:42; 4:13; 5:7). Her sin, while not to be excused, can be better understood in the light of another tradition: the ministry expected from prophets.

Leaders are to blame (4:12-13). Israel's wound, now deep as the sea, came because the prophets failed to expose her sin and so failed to ward off her captivity (2:14). Back of this charge is the conviction that one of the functions of the prophets was to identify the shape of evil in the society (cf. Jeremiah 7:1-15 ). The reference in 2:14 to prophets whose oracles were false may well be to those who announced peace to a sinning people, and with whom Jeremiah so vigorously debated (23:16-18).

Another tradition transparent in Lamentations is that of God fighting against his people. Isaiah states succinctly: 'So he [God] turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them' (63:10; cf.Numbers 14:39-45 ). That statement, echoed in 'The Lord is like an enemy' (2:5), now explains the tragedy of 587 b.c. But at another level. The devastation is ultimately attributed to God's action (3:38). 'He [God] has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting' (2:6,17; cf. 1:12; 2:1; 3:1).

God is ruler (5:19). He is also Savior, and so the hope for redemption, grounded in God's faithfulness, remains alive. The imprecations against the enemies (1:21-22; 3:59-66; 4:21-22), and a litany of repentance (3:40-41) are two facets of that hope. God: Righteous, Angry, Compassionate. The character of God is assumed to be both daunting and appealing. The righteousness of God is affirmed (1:18).

Given the evil of his people, however, more is said in Lamentations about God's anger than about his righteousness. Wrath, idiomatically described as 'hot of nose, ' is expressive of God's righteousness. Each acrostic, but especially the second, includes mention of his anger (1:12; 2:1,2, 3,4, 21,22; 3:43; 4:11). God's anger, speaking metaphorically, is poured out like fire (2:4; cf.

4:11) with the result that the strongholds of Judah have been torn down (2:2), king and priest have been spurned (2:6), and young and old have been slain (2:21). Jeremiah and other prophets before him warned Israel of the severity of God's anger should it be unleashed (30:23-24; Amos 1:3-5,6, 10,11 ). No attempt is made to reconcile God's anger and God's compassion, but compassion is no less characteristic of God than is anger. The tradition of God as resolutely compassionate and gentle, yet just in retribution, persists. The main section of the third acrostic, roughly the central section of the book, describes God's faithfulness as great and resilient (3:23). The flood of emotion, building in the two previous acrostics, is reined in by sound theology. God's compassion and love do not fail (3:22,32).

God is fundamentally unwilling to bring about grief (3:33). The belief in God as compassionate gives an intimation of hope to this suffering city, its inhabitants, and its exiles (3:21). God: Experienced as Distant. The lament genreboth individual lament (chap.

3) and communal lament (chap. 5)colors the book. Central to the lament is the complaint, which can take various shapes (cf. Psalm 6,13 ). Basic to the complaint in Lamentations is God's perceived absence, inaccessibility, and even abandonment. Again, metaphors come into play. God has barred the petitioner's way as 'with blocks of stone' (3:9).

God has covered himself with a cloud so 'no prayer can get through' (3:44). Yet prayer continues. As Moses not only stated petitions but urged reasons for God to respond (Exodus 32:11-14 ), so here the poet 'motivates' God by noting the taunt and mockery of the enemies (3:61-63). Another incentive is the sheer helplessness and distress of the victim (1:20; cf. Amos 7:2 ). Still another is God's former intervention: God was once near and reassuring (3:55-57).

The complaint builds on the understanding that God is a God who, even if experienced as absent, is a God whose concern is for victims, and whose actions are initiated, as at the exodus, by cries for help. Hence the persistent cry, 'Look, O Lord' (1:9,11; 3:63; 5:19-21). In the end God will hear. BILL MCRAE • J VERNON MCGEE • MIDDLETOWN BIBLE • JOHN MACARTHUR • Title - “Lamentations” was derived from a translation of the title as found in the Latin Vulgate (Vg.) translation of the Greek OT, the Septuagint (LXX), and conveys the idea of “loud cries.” The Hebrew exclamation (“ How,” which expresses “dismay”), used in Lam 1:1; 2:1, and Lam 4:1-2, gives the book its Hebrew title. However, the rabbis began early to call the book “ loud cries” or “ lamentations” (cf. No other entire OT book contains only laments, as does this distressful dirge, marking the funeral of the once beautiful city of Jerusalem (cf.

This book keeps alive the memory of that fall and teaches all believers how to deal with suffering. WILLIAM MOOREHEAD • G CAMPBELL MORGAN • DAVID MALICK • • • MONERGISM • WILLIAM MOOREHEAD • JAMES ORR • MYER PEARLMAN • ROY ROHU • JAMES ROSSCUP Here are some of Dr Rosscup's reviews on Lamentations from his excellent resource. • Dyer, Charles. “Lamentations,” in - This is a conservative, very able work that covers most bases quite well enough to be of real help to pastors, teachers and lay people. Dyer, in addition to good help verse by verse, has a whole page chart of “Parallels Between Lamentations and Deuteronomy,” and a knowledgeable introduction arguing the reasonableness of seeing Jeremiah as author. • Ellison, H. - Ellison provides a good, brief conservative introduction and terse commentary without an extensive bibliography (only ten sources, pp.

Still, he is quite capable and offers competent help on many of the most pertinent details so that the work is a worthy effort. • Kaiser, Walter C. - This is a very good and helpful examination of the lessons learned from the text of Lamentations.

It should be useful to a wide audience, in that Kaiser provides an introduction which analyzes the structure of the Hebrew text and finds a personal application from Jeremiah’s handling of his grief over the fate of Jerusalem. Kaiser’s chief goal in this study is the determination of a biblical guide for managing grief. He interacts with a broad array of literature and reflects a study of the Hebrew text, dealing with translation difficulties when relevant. Recommended.—Dan Phillips • Kent, Dan G..

Kent thinks someone during the time of Jeremiah wrote the book, but gives arguments for and against Jeremiah (pp. His commentary is a good, brief survey, well-informed and organized.

It ought to help pastors and lay readers who need a quick, dependable short commentary that handles some of the problems in a sketchy way and keeps to the flow as well TOM SHEPARD • • • CHUCK SMITH • • JAMES SMITH • RAY STEDMAN • • CHARLES SWINDOLL • Why is Lamentations so important? - Like the book of Job, Lamentations pictures a man of God puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world. However, while Job dealt with unexplained evil, Jeremiah lamented a tragedy entirely of Jerusalem’s making.

The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the holy God, and the results were devastating. 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 3:22–25). This statement of faith standing strong in the midst of the surrounding darkness shines as a beacon to all those suffering under the consequences of their own sin and disobedience. What's the big idea? - 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. Children begged food from their mothers (Lamentations 2:12), young men and women were cut down by swords (Lamentations 2:21), and formerly compassionate mothers used their children for food (Lamentations 4:10).

Even the city’s roads mourned over its condition (Lamentations 1:4)! Jeremiah could not help but acknowledge the abject state of this city, piled with rubble. The pain so evident in Jeremiah’s reaction to this devastation clearly communicates the significance of the terrible condition in Jerusalem. 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 (Lamentations 3:7–8, 12). Yet even in this seemingly hopeless situation, he somehow found hope in the Lord (Lamentations 3:21–24).

How do I apply this? - 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. Much of Jeremiah’s poetry concerns itself with the fallen bricks and cracking mortar of the overrun city. Do you see any of that destroyed city in your own life? Are you mourning over the sin that’s brought you to this point? Do you feel overrun by an alien power; are you in need of some hope from the Lord? Turn to Lamentations 3:17–26, where you’ll find someone aware of sin’s consequences and saddened by the results but who has placed his hope and his trust in the Lord.

WIKIPEDIA • JAMES VAN DINE • PAUL R VAN GORDER The Old Testament Presents. Reflections of Christ Book of Lamentations Following the book of Jeremiah lies Lamentations, a poetic work by the 'weeping prophet,' which is full of instruction but is seldom read or preached. It is intricately composed.

The first two chapters have 22 verses each and are an acrostic; that is, starting with aleph, the first word of each verse begins with the subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The third chapter of Lamentations has 66 verses, and each three-verse segment begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The fourth chapter is arranged like the first two.

Chapter 5 also has 22 verses, but is not in acrostic arrangement. The structure of Lamentations is so amazing that the critics have said that Jeremiah could not have been the author, for he didn't have the ability it took to write it.

Perhaps he didn't have the ability, but they ignore divine inspiration. Lamentations is an unveiling of the great loving heart of Jehovah for His people. He chastens them, yet He loves them.

God's sorrow and love are demonstrated through the heart expressions of Jeremiah. If we were to choose a biblical text that captures the theme of the book, it would be either Proverbs 13:15, '.the way of transgressors is hard,' or Romans 6:23, 'For the wages of sin is death.' ' One writer has said, 'Sin and salvation, like mighty rivers, flow right through the Bible and have come down through the ages together. With the one, or the other, every man is being borne along. The one floats on to the dead sea of eternal darkness, the other carries all who rest on its bosom into the ocean of God's infinite light and love.' ' It is the first river, sin, that is seen in all its horror in the book of Lamentations. This is the prophecy of weeping, the book of tears.

The mood is set early in the first chapter when Jeremiah says of Jerusalem, 'She weepeth bitterly in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks' (v.2). OUTLINE OF THE BOOK-- Tears for the City (Lam 1) Tears for the Daughter of Zion (Lam 2) Tears for the Man Who Has Seen Affliction (Lam 3) Tears for the Precious Sons of Zion (Lam 4) Tears for the Orphans and Fatherless (Lam 5) PRACTICAL TEACHING-- Although the lamentations of Jeremiah are directed toward the people of Jerusalem, the great principles of the Bible, expressing both God's hatred for sin and His desire to see the sinner repent are also in view. The word 'sin' literally means, 'missing the mark.' ' How graphically this is seen in the history of Israel, for no other nation has been so favored as that people! God delivered them by blood and by power from Egypt, brought them across the Red Sea on dry land, fed them for 40 years in the wilderness, and miraculously kept their clothes from wearing out and their sandals from becoming thin. With Joshua in command, they defeated the nations of Canaan. Their capital city, Jerusalem, was blessed by God.

Their temple, and particularly the Holy of holies, became the dwelling place of God. The glory of God filled the place. [However,] this is how Lamentations begins: 'How doth the city sit lonely, that was full of people; how is she become a widow! She that was great among the nations, a princess among the provinces; how is she become a vassal!' Why was this? The people had 'missed the mark.' ' God had asked them to follow Him and to keep His statutes, so that other nations might have the knowledge of the one true God.

But Israel had failed and now was suffering the fruit of her sin. Sin and its results cannot be disassociated; labor that is rendered must receive proper payment. If something is earned, it is unjust to hold back the wages. The condemned sinner can never accuse God of injustice.

In Lamentations 1:18 the principle is stated: 'The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against His commandment.' ' This law is immutable; it will never be changed. Chapter 2 of Lamentations makes no mention of Nebuchadnezzar nor the armies of Babylon [that destroyed Jerusalem and carried its people away as captives]. Because Israel realized that the law of God was at work. The New Testament states it this way: 'Whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap' (Galatians 6:7). You will find it an interesting study to count the number of times the words 'He hath' are used in chapter 2. God was executing His righteousness by paying the people of Israel the wages they had earned because of their sin.

Lamentations 3 presents another consequence of sin, the suffering of the innocent. Though the prophet delivered God's truth, he was hated, hunted and hounded. He suffered the most.

The greater the innocence, the greater the suffering. CHRIST IN LAMENTATIONS-- We can see a picture of the Lord Jesus in the suffering of Jeremiah, and the people who rejected and persecuted the prophet portray the religious leaders of Israel who rejected their Messiah. In your mind's eye, move some 600 years from Jeremiah's day into the future. If the feelings of Jeremiah, as expressed in chapter 3, are feelings common to every man, then what must have been the feelings of the Son of God! Read again Christ's words of lament for Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them who are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Mt 23:37-39) The Lord Jesus expressed the intensity of His suffering in the words spoken in Gethsemane [Mt 26:36-45].

They serve to reinforce the fact that His holy nature must have recoiled at the thought of bearing the sins of the world, and of dying at the hands of God's chosen race. As you observe the name 'Lord' used in Lamentations, remember that this is the name 'Jehovah.'

' This name designates the covenant-keeping God, the God of redemption, and therefore is a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ. THE CLOSING CHAPTER-- Chapter 5 of Lamentations is a prayer. It is a prayer of confession (Lam 5:1,7,16), and it is a prayer of hope (Lam 5:19).

Note what that hope is founded upon: the eternal, never-changing God, the Redeemer. Then too, it is a prayer for future blessing (Lam 5:21). We are reminded of that dark day pictured in John 6. Our Lord had begun to speak of His death and had indicated that the only approach to God the Father was through Him. At the mention of His impending death, the crowds that had followed Him for the loaves and the fish 'went back, and walked no more with Him' (John 6:66). To the handful of disciples that remained, the Lord Jesus posed this searching question: 'Will ye also go away?' ' (John 6:67).

The response of Simon Peter was filled with the language of faith as he replied, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.

And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God' (John 6:68,69). In Jeremiah's day, the prospects were bleak for Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, and the prophet mourned the predicted judgment upon their sin.

Even so, he knew that restoration, return, and blessing could be found only in Jehovah, the Redeemer. Likewise, the sinner, no matter how deeply he may have transgressed, how vile his past, how extensive his iniquity, can find cleansing, new life, and future hope in one person-- Jesus Christ. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus of the New. The tears of sorrow and suffering are wiped away by the One who cleanses and forgives all who come in faith to Him. Isaiah 53:4,5] LAMENTATIONS RESOURCES BY CHAPTER AND VERSE LAMENTATIONS 1 STUDYLIGHT.ORG • Instructions: - Look in the Address Bar for. Type in the Psalm number and verse you are studying. For example, if you are studying Lam 3:23, type 3-23 in the address bar in place of 1-1 so that the address reads.

Now click ENTER to retrieve multiple resources that have specific comment on verse 23 of Lamentations 3 HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE -Study Notes • - well done notes. Select 'Library' in left column, Select 'Study Bible Notes,' Open in Reader, Enter Scripture Here are representative Study Bible notes on Lamentations 1 Lamentations 1:1-7 In this section the poet uses the third person as he speaks on behalf of Jerusalem. It is her loneliness that strikes the poet as the losses mount up: loss of abundance (v. 1), loss of allies (v. 2), loss of a resting place (v.

3), loss of happiness (v. 4), loss of prestige (v. 5), loss of courage (v. 6), and loss of worship (v.

Kaiser, Grief and Pain, pp. Lamentations 1:1 The poet begins with an ejaculatory word How—a word used in biblical texts for laments and funerals.

It is much like the Jewish oiee Vaah! Three contrasts of status are listed. Jerusalem was once populous, great among the nations, the queen of the cities, but now she is solitary, a widow, and a tributary slave. Lamentations 1:2 Not a single comforter among all the city's former suitors remains; they have all turned traitors and enemy oppressors. Lamentations 1:3 The afflictions of war and famine, the heavy tribute paid to Pharaoh Neco and King Nebuchadnezzar, plus their bitter exile, meant Judah now had no place to rest. Pursuers had caught Judah in narrow places, and they had fallen as easy prey.

Lamentations 1:4 The tragedy that had overtaken the nation had now overtaken the center of their religious life— Zion. Gone were all the appointed festivals as everything was left deserted. Lamentations 1:5 Now for the first time the name of the Lord (Yahweh) is introduced as the One who had made Judah suffer because of her many transgressions. Lamentations 1:6 Like stags running away from hunters, leaving no one to defend the herd, so Judah's leaders had abandoned the nation (2Ki 24:1,12; Dan 1:2)—as did King Zedekiah when he fled for his life during the siege of Jerusalem (2Ki 25:4). Lamentations 1:7 This verse summarizes the whole section with the name of Jerusalem appearing for the first time. The worst of it all was the laughing of the adversaries. Lamentations 1:8-11 This section explores some of the sources of Judah's grief.

Notable are its shame (v. 8), its defilement (v. 9), its desecration (v. 10), and famine (v. Lamentations 1:8 It was most humiliating to be stripped of all clothing. This act was usually reserved for the punishment of prostitutes (Ezek 16:35-39; 23:29) or for exiles being marched off into captivity.

1:9 Judah never considered her end, nor did she believe that God would fulfill His threats against His people (Dt 28:15-68). Thus, her downfall was astonishing to her. Lamentations 1:10 Judah lost the most outstanding of all her glorious possessions—the temple of God. The sanctuary was off limits to Gentiles previously, but now the nations tramped through it with disregard.

Lamentations 1:11 In order to stay alive, the people bartered their precious belongings for food. Valuables such as jewels were exchanged for meager foodstuffs. Lamentations 1:12-17 The second half of this first lament intensifies as the plan and purpose of God are unveiled. Lamentations 1:12 A plea for pity goes out to the nations to see if there is any pain like Judah's. It is another Day of the Lord, this day of His burning anger. Lamentations 1:13-15 Four strong metaphors depict the sufferings that Jerusalem endured: (1) fire from heaven, (2) a hunter's net for her feet, (3) an animal yoke on her neck, and (4) being trampled and crushed like grapes in a winepress. Each figure depicted the dies irae, the 'day of wrath' belonging to the Lord.

The fire from on high was nothing less than fire from God (Gen 19:24; Ps 11:6). So was the net from God, because it came as a check on one's lifestyle (Ps 94:13; Jer 50:24; Ezek 12:13; 17:20; 32:3; Hos 7:12). The yoke recalled Jeremiah's encounter with the false prophet Hananiah (Jer 28). Likewise, the winepress was a symbol of the final judgment (Isa 63:1-4; Jer 6:9; Joel 3:13; Rev 14:18-20; 19:13-15). Lamentations 1:16 The heartbreak was wrenching to the core of Jeremiah's being, because the enemy had prevailed.

Lamentations 1:17 Once again, for the fourth time in this chapter, the mournful words fall: there is no one to comfort her. Lamentations 1:18-22 After structuring his first poem around the first 17 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, describing all the while Israel's bitter response to her suffering, with the eighteenth letter Jeremiah begins a brief interlude in which Judah confesses that the Lord is in the right and asks Him to deal with them [Judah's enemies] as You have dealt with me. Lamentations 1:18 Judah's confession begins with the Lord is just; the people of Judah had rebelled against His command. Lamentations 1:19 Judah's professed lovers ended up being her betrayers, and they themselves had perished in the city while searching for food. Lamentations 1:20-21 Two requests are issued in these verses: (1) for the Lord to witness the enormous mental and emotional distress Judah was experiencing, and (2) for the Lord to pay back the jeering nations. Lamentations 1:22 Jeremiah's request for the day of wrath to fall on the nations as it had fallen on Judah need not make us blush even though Jesus told us to 'love our enemies' (Mt 5:44). The kind of love Jesus had in mind was required even of OT believers such as Jeremiah, but it does not conflict with what Jeremiah says here.

There are two types of enemies. First, there are those who simply bear ill will toward us. These we must love, commending them to God in prayer. Second, some enemies do more than bear ill will toward us. They maliciously rage against us and our God, threatening our very lives. If they persist in this despite our sincere efforts to make peace, we are justified in turning them over to God for His sentencing and judgment (Ps 139:19). SERMONS BY VERSE • CASEY STARK • MARK WOODRUFF • ERIC RICHARDS • GEOFF BANISTER • NICK BROWN • • G CAMPBELL MORGAN Lamentations 1:1 - In this book there are five songs of sorrow.

They were doubtless composed by Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem. In them the man is wonderfully revealed. That which he had foretold had come to pass. The city of the great King lay in hopeless ruins. The people of God were scattered far and wide. The outlook on circumstances was one of complete deso­lation.

The prophet indulged in no exulta­tion. He was consumed with sorrow for the condition of the city and the sorrows of the people. These five songs constitute the outpouring of his soul. In the first two, he contemplated the situation. In the third, the central one of the collection, he identified himself completely with the people. The last two are concerned with the desolation, and the consequent appeal to Jehovah.

Three of these, the first, the second, and the fourth, that is those of contemplation, begin with the word 'How.' The word (in the Hebrew, Aichah) gives the title to the book in the Hebrew Bible. This is significant. 'How' expresses the whole fact of which the song so begun, attempts a description. It is exclamatory, and suggests the im­possibility of description. In this first song there are two movements: The first is the language of an onlooker (Lamentations 1:1-11); in the second the city personified, speaks herself of her desolation (Lamentations 1:12-22).

In each, the cause of her sorrow is con­fessed (compare verses 8 and 18). When the prophet personified the city he began with an appeal: 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?' He saw that the sorrows of the people of God had their message to all other peoples. This is the true meaning of this inquiry. When we use it of Christ, let us not forget this.

The appeal is not one for pity, but rather that men should know the issue of sin. TOM SHEPARD • • DON FORTNER. • • • • • • WILLIAM SAPHIER • HENRY COWLES • • TOM O'HAVER • KAY ARTHUR • RICH CATHERS • - Excerpt on Lam 3:23 every morning – every morning you wake up, you have a fresh batch of God’s faithfulness waiting for you. Illustration - Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

In her book, Celebrate Joy!, Velma Seawell Daniels gives a striking new meaning to this familiar phrase. She tells of interviewing a man who had made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle. “Never ask an Eskimo how old he is,” the man said. “If you do, he will say, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” And he doesn’t. One of them told me that, and I pressed him a bit further.

When I asked him the second time, he said, “Almost—that’s all.” That still wasn’t good enough for me, so I asked him “Almost what?” and he said, “Almost one day.” Mrs. Daniels asked him if he could figure out what the Eskimo meant. He answered that he did but only after talking to another man who had lived in the Arctic Circle for about twenty years. “He was a newspaperman who had written a book about the Eskimos and their customs and beliefs. The Truth About Love Fan Edition M4a To Mp3. He said the Eskimos believe that when they go to sleep at night they die—that they are dead to the world.

Then, when they wake up in the morning, they have been resurrected and are living a new life. Therefore, no Eskimo is more than one day old. So, that is what the Eskimo meant when he said he was ‘almost’ a day old. The day wasn’t over yet.” “Life above the Arctic Circle is harsh and cruel, and mere survival becomes a major accomplishment,” he explained. “But, you never see an Eskimo who seems worried or anxious.

They have learned to face one day at a time.” And every morning you get up, you have an entire day of God’s faithfulness ahead of you. Illustration - Don’t you kind of hate it when you’re watching a TV show and you are wondering how they’re going to wrap it all up in the last three minutes, only to face the words “To Be Continued”? But for us, God’s “faithfulness” has those three words written all over it – “To Be Continued ” Every morning. Faithfulness – ‘emuwnah – firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness. You can count on God to come through. Illustration - In a recent interview with Today’s Christian Woman, author Gwen Shamblin told this story: The girls at the horse barn next door are sweet, but they kept wanting our collies, Chaucer and Virginia, to come over.

I told them, “I don’t know about letting them come across the fence ‘cause they might get confused. But as long as you don’t feed them, it’s fine.” Soon I had no dogs. They were over at the barn every day, living the high life. I’d call them home, but they wouldn’t come.

Eventually I realized the problem was that our dogs no longer knew who their master was. So a silent war was declared that day. I had to lift Chaucer and carry him home from the barn. We put our dogs on leashes. Then I fussed at Chaucer and Virginia when they were over there, and loved them when they were at home. Then we’d unleash them, test them, find them back over at the barn, and have to repeat the process. But finally we got their hearts back home.

Did I want those dogs because of their work? They bark at the wrong people. They bark at cars leaving, not coming. They slobber all over me and my company.

They’re completely in the way. They steal the cat food. They’re trouble, but they’re still precious to me, and I adore them. And that’s how God feels about us.

We’re precious in his sight, and he pursues us. He’s faithful even when we’re not. -- Leadership, Vol. Why every morning? Illustration - One of Rabbi Ben Jochai’s scholars once asked him, “Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna to Israel for a year all at one time?” The teacher said, “I will answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on the fixed date.

It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day of the year when the father ever saw his son. So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day that which was sufficient for the day; and then the son visited his father every morning. How he needed his father’s unbroken love, companionship, wisdom and giving! Thus God dealt with Israel and deals with us.” EXPLORE THE BIBLE • • JAMES HASTINGS • JOHN NEWTON • GRACE GEMS • C H SPURGEON • HYMN • Lamentations i. 1 ALL ye that pass by, To Jesus draw nigh: To you is it nothing that Jesus should die? Your ransom and peace, Your surety he is: Come, see if there ever was sorrow like his.

2 For what you have done His blood must atone: The Father hath punished for you his dear Son. The Lord, in the day Of his anger, did lay Your sins on the Lamb, and he bore them away. 3 He answered for all: O come at his call, And low at his cross with astonishment fall! But lift up your eyes At Jesus's cries: Impassive, he suffers; immortal, he dies.

4 He dies to atone For sins not his own; Your debt he hath paid, and your work he hath done. Ye all may receive The peace he did leave, Who made intercession, 'My Father, forgive!' 5 For you and for me He prayed on the tree: The prayer is accepted, the sinner is free. That sinner am I, Who on Jesus rely, And come for the pardon God cannot deny.

6 My pardon I claim; For a sinner I am, A sinner believing in Jesus's name. He purchased the grace Which now I embrace: O Father, thou know'st he hath died in my place. 7 His death is my plea; My Advocate see, And hear the blood speak that hath answered for me. My ransom he was When he bled on the cross; And by losing his life he hath carried my cause.

DON ROBINSON • C H SPURGEON • JAMES SMITH • F B MEYER Lamentations 1:18 In these plaintive elegiacs, Jerusalem, by the mouth of the prophet, laments her fate. But the story of her desolation is mingled with confessions of her sin. She asks boldly if any sorrow could be compared to her sorrow, and then confesses that not one pang or stroke had been in excess of her sin. This is what sorrow does for us all. Sorrow has been fitly called the mother of all joy. She alone creates the darkness, in which we can distinguish the real meaning of God’s dealings, and understand the true nature of our wild wanderings. Her neutral tints subdue the soul’s pride, and turn it away from the glare of human ambition.

Beneath her teaching we learn to view aright the evanescence of all things human, and to see that the eternal is alone real amid a world of illusions. “Sweet sorrow, who the earth has ever trod, Dreaded and shunned, till, by thy burning kiss, The heart was fired and flamed serene to God; O kind stern friend, we leave thee on Time’s shore, The only friend of earth whom we shall see no more.” Perhaps your sorrow will be allowed to press on you more and more sorely till you have been led to self-examination, confession of sin, and acknowledgment of the rightness of God’s dealings with you.

There is an alloy of pride in your nature that must be destroyed. If the fire is not hot enough, its heat must be raised till it suffices. Accept the lesson of your present pain, and rebel no longer.

The waves of unutterable grief may be breaking in succession against the beaten promontory of your faith, and will be followed by the great tenth wave of apparent desertion: but the return-tide of exultant joy is at hand. HORATIUS BONAR • LAMENTATIONS 2 HENRY MORRIS • Defender's Study Bible - well done resource G CAMPBELL MORGAN Lamentations 2.1 - Again the song opens with this word 'How.' The prophet was still contem­plating the tragic conditions of his city and his nation; and once again was so deeply impressed with what he saw that he commenced with this exclamatory How!

What, then, were the things which he saw? First, that all the desolation upon which he looked was brought about by Jehovah; and secondly that this activity of Jehovah was made inevitable by the sins of His people. The judgment of Adonai, the Sovereign Lord, Who is also named as Jehovah in the course of the description, had fallen upon all material things, and had swept out the sacramental symbols of spiritual relationship. All this because the people had been seduced from their loyalty to Jehovah by the false prophets who had 'seen false and foolish visions.' At last the song became an appeal to the people in their affliction to come to penitence and contrition, and out of that to make their appeal to Jehovah on behalf of the next generation, that is, 'for the life of thy young children.'

These opening words of the song are poetically suggestive. Neither Jehovah nor the daughter of Zion is conceived of as departed, or destroyed. She is covered in a cloud, and so cut off from the vision of Jehovah, that is, she cannot see Him. Clouds hide God from men; they never hide men from God.

Here, then, is the thought. The loss of the vision is the judgment upon those who ceased looking to Jehovah. That condition continues even yet. The daughter of Zion is covered in the cloud.

She does not see her God. But her God, watching over her, neither slumbers nor sleeps. SERMONS BY VERSE • TOM SHEPARD • HENRY COWLES • F B MEYER Lamentations 2:14 The prophet is addressing Jerusalem — ruined, desolate, and afflicted — the city waste; her children in Babylon.

Of course the main question was as to their return from captivity, and deliverance from their yoke. The false prophets were perpetually seeing visions of deliverance that were never fulfilled. Now this kingdom would come to their rescue.

But they were empty dreams. The captivity would never be turned, until the iniquity which had led to it had been discovered and put away. But the prophets had no desire or ability to do this. Now this is true of yourself as an individual and as a Christian worker.

As an Individual: You are suffering in one way or another: in body, or relative, or circumstance. Your one thought is to obtain deliverance, and your mind is filled with vain dreams of how it is to come. It would be better far to ask God to discover to you any reason for the chastisement. If He says nothing, then believe that there is still some wise end in it for yourself or others. But He may indicate some reason for his strokes. As a Christian Worker: Your earnest endeavors have failed.

You suppose that some new method will bring success. There may be some reason in yourself which will account for all. Ask God to discover it. When you see it in his light, you will be surprised that you never saw it before; and you will cease to wonder that those over whom you have longed have never yielded to the love of God.

It is useless to have visions of a lovely and holy life, unless you are willing to have your iniquity discovered and destroyed. Oh for faithful prophet-voices to do their office for us! C H SPURGEON • LAMENTATIONS 3 G CAMPBELL MORGAN Lamentations 3.1 - This is the central song of the five; and its dominant note is that of the prophet's complete identification with the people in the experiences of their sorrow; and his complete agreement with, and understanding of the purpose of God in all His dealings with His people. In these first words he strikes the keynote, and reveals this identification with the people in the experience of affliction.

Presently he declared the goodness of God as he had seen it, and said that it was of Jeho­vah's lovingkindness that they had not been consumed. On the basis of this recognition he uttered his appeal to the people, including himself, as he said: people, us search and try our ways.'

Finally, he called to mind his own personal ex­perience of how, when be had called to God out of the lowest dungeon, He had heard, responded, delivered; and upon that experience he based his certainty that God would ultimately overthrow those who were the instruments of the suffering of His people. As we have said, that which is most impressive in this song is the identification of the prophet with the people and with God. He recognized the necessity for the suffering, but he suffered with the sufferers. The real em­phasis of these opening words would seem to be on the very first word, 'I.' This is the authentic note of the messenger of Jehovah. He it is who feels most poig­nantly the pain of those who through their own determined disobedience are punished. If that be so of the messenger of God, it is supremely so of God Himself.

In that realm of thought we ultimately and inevitably reach the Cross. SERMONS BY VERSE • STEWARDSHIP BIBLE • TOM SHEPARD • HENRY COWLES • PHIL LAYTON • JIM GUNN • TODD RILEY • JOHN ANDERSON • WILLIAM WYNE • JOHN PIPER DEVOTIONAL • DENNIS DAVIDSON • HANS OVERDUIN • BRIAN BILL - recommended sermon • - Excerpt Our Faithful God - In the country of Armenia, in 1988, Samuel and Danielle sent their young son, Armand, off to school. Samuel squatted before his son and looked him in the eye. “Have a good day at school, and remember, no matter what, I’ll always be there for you.” They hugged and the boy ran off to school. Hours later, a powerful earthquake rocked the area.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Samuel and Danielle tried to discover what happened to their son but they couldn’t get any information. The radio announced that there were thousands of casualties. Samuel then grabbed his coat and headed for the schoolyard.

When he reached the area, what he saw brought tears to his eyes. Armand’s school was a pile of debris. Other parents were standing around crying. Samuel found the place where Armand’s classroom used to be and began pulling a broken beam off the pile of rubble. He then grabbed a rock and put it to the side, and then grabbed another one.

One of the parents looking on asked, “What are you doing?” “Digging for my son,” Samuel answered. The man then said, “You’re just going to make things worse!

The building is unstable,” and tried to pull Samuel away from his work. Samuel set his jaw and kept working. As time wore on, one by one, the other parents left. Then a firefighter tried to pull Samuel away from the rubble. Samuel looked at him and said, “Won’t you help me?” The firefighter left and Samuel kept digging. All through the night and into the next day, Samuel continued digging. Parents placed flowers and pictures of their children on the ruins.

But, Samuel just kept working. He picked up a beam and pushed it out of the way when he heard a faint cry. Help!” Samuel listened but didn’t hear anything again. Then he heard a muffled voice, “Papa?” Samuel began to dig furiously. Finally he could see his son.

“Come on out, son!” he said with relief. “No,” Armand said. “Let the other kids come out first because I know you’ll get me.” Child after child emerged until, finally, little Armand appeared. Samuel took him in his arms and Armand said, “I told the other kids not to worry because you told me that you’d always be there for me!” Fourteen children were saved that day because one father was faithful. Friends, how much more faithful is our heavenly Father! Whether trapped by fallen debris or ensnared by life’s hardships and struggles, we are never cut off from God’s faithfulness.

He is true to His character. He is reliable and trustworthy and can be counted on always. Here’s a simple definition: “God’s faithfulness means that everything He says and does is certain.” He is 100% reliable, 100% of the time. He does not fail, forget, falter, change, or disappoint. He says what He means and means what He says ­ and therefore does everything He says He will do.

Key Passages on God’s Faithfulness - Let’s look at some of the key passages on God’s Faithfulness. HENRY T MAHAN • • • RANDY WAGES • KAY ARTHUR • ROBERT MORGAN • NICK BROWN • JOHN HENRY JOWETT Lamentations 3:1-9 “He hath brought me into darkness, but not into light.” MOVING TOWARDS DAYBREAK - BUT a man may be in darkness, and yet in motion toward the light. I was in the darkness of the subway, and it was close and oppressive, but I was moving toward the light and fragrance of the open country. I entered into a tunnel in the Black Country in England, but the motion was continued, and we emerged amid fields of loveliness.

And therefore the great thing to remember is that God’s darknesses are not His goals; His tunnels are means to get somewhere else. Yes, His darknesses are appointed ways to His light. In God’s keeping we are always moving, and we are moving towards Emmanuel’s land, where the sun shines, and the birds sing night and day. There is no stagnancy for the God-directed soul. He is ever guiding us, sometimes with the delicacy of a glance, sometimes with the firmer ministry of a grip, and He moves with us always, even through “the valley of the shadow of death.” Therefore, be patient, my soul!

The darkness is not thy bourn, the tunnel is not thy abiding home! He will bring thee out into a large place where thou shalt know “the liberty of the glory of the children of God.” HENRY MAHAN • JOHN BLANCHARD • GABE FLUHRER • NIV QUEST STUDY BIBLE • DEREK THOMAS • J C PHILPOT • Excerpt: The Lord's people have many hard lessons which they have to learn in the 'school of Christ'. Each one has to carry a daily cross, and are burdened and pressed down under its weight.Hab 3:17, 18, 19. DREW WILKERSON • Have A Hopeful New Year! SCRIPTURE: LAMENTATIONS 3:18–23 INTRODUCTION: For many people this has been a discouraging year. The writer of Lamentations reminds us of four wonderful truths that fill each day—and year—with hope. Truth #1—Through the Lord’s Mercies.

Also see 1 John 4:10. We cannot “out- love Him”, and we cannot do anything that will keep Him from loving us. Truth #2—We are not Consumed.

1 John 4:10 goes on to say, “... But He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” When hopelessness comes, we need not be consumed by it. God’s Son forgives and heals. Truth #3—His Compassions Fail Not. The word compassion means, “to have deep sympathy.” God is a Heavenly Father who wants our best, and every day He provides new hope and a fresh start. Truth #4—Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Regardless of our emotional state, God is consistent and faithful.

CONCLUSION: Perhaps Lamentations 3:22–23 is the tonic you need for the beginning of a New Year. J LIGON DUNCAN III • C H SPURGEON • Excerpt: In all states of dilemma or of difficulty, prayer is an available source. The ship of prayer may sail through all temptations, doubts and fears, straight up to the throne of God; and though she may be outward bound with only griefs, and groans, and sighs, she shall return freighted with a wealth of blessings!

A child had a little garden in which she planted many flowers, but they never grew. She put them in, as she thought tenderly and carefully, but they would not live. She sowed seeds and they sprang up; but very soon they withered away. So she ran to her father's gardener, and when he came to look at it, he said, 'I will make it a nice garden for you, that you may grow whatever you want.' He fetched a pick, and when the little child saw the terrible pick, she was afraid for her little garden. The gardener struck his tool into the ground and began to make the earth heave and shake for his pickaxe had caught the edge of a huge stone which underlayed almost all the little plot of ground. All the little flowers were turned out of their places and the garden spoiled for a season so that the little maid wept much.

He told her he would make it a fair garden yet, and so he did, for having removed that stone which had prevented all the plants from striking root he soon filled the ground with flowers which lived and flourished. Just so, the Lord has come, and has turned up all the soil of your present comfort to get rid of some big stone that was at the bottom of all your spiritual prosperity, and would not let your soul flourish. Do not weep with the child, but be comforted by the blessed results and thank your Father’s tender hand! JOHN PIPER • WOMEN'S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE • ALAN CARR • • WARREN WIERSBE • CHUCK SMITH. • • • • • JOHN HENRY JOWETT Lamentations 3:22-33 - THE FRESH EYE - WE have not to live on yesterday’s manna; we can gather it fresh to-day.

Compassion becomes stale when it becomes thoughtless. It is new thought that keeps our pity strong. If our perception of need can remain vivid, as vivid as though we had never seen it before, our sympathies will never fail.

The fresh eye insures the sensitive heart. And our God’s compassions are so new because He never becomes accustomed to our need. He always sees it with an eye that is never dulled by the commonplace; He never becomes blind with much seeing! We can look at a thing so often that we cease to see it. God always sees a thing as though He were seeing it for the first time. “Thou, God, seest me,” and “His compassions fail not.” And if my compassions are to be like a river that never knows drought, I must cultivate a freshness of sight. The horrible can lose its horrors.

The daily tragedy can become the daily commonplace. My neighbor’s needs can become as familiar as my furniture, and I may never see either the one or the other. And therefore must I ask the Lord for the daily gift of discerning eyes. “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” And with an always newly-awakened interest may I reveal “the compassions of the Lord!” ADRIAN ROGERS • (See also ) • DAVID COE • WOODROW KROLL • JOHN PIPER • KAY DAIGLE • WARREN WIERSBE • Excerpt: The Christian is surrounded by mercy. When he looks back, he can say, 'Surely goodness, and mercy have followed me all the days of my life' (Psalm 23:6). When he looks ahead, he remembers the words of Jude 21--'Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.' As he begins each new day, he can say; 'It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness' (Lamentations 3:22-23). RAY PRITCHARD • RAY PRITCHARD • SHAWN REYNOLDS • THOMAS BROOKS, 1662 • • • Excerpt: Well, gentlemen, remember this, there is no true happiness to be found in any earthly portions. Solomon, having made a critical inquiry after the excellency of all creature comforts, gives this in as the ultimate extraction from them all, 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' If you go to your bags, or heaps of gold and silver, they will tell you that happiness is not to be found in them.

If you go to crowns and scepters, they will tell you that happiness is too precious and too glorious a gem to be found in them. • - Here are some excerpts. Now this God, who is such a universal good, and who has all excellencies dwelling in Himself, says to the believer, 'I am yours, and all that I have is yours!' Every believer has the whole God wholly; he has all of God for his portion. God is not a believer's portion in a limited sense, nor in a comparative sense—but in an absolute sense.

God Himself is theirs. He is wholly theirs. He is only theirs. He is always theirs. Our property reaches to all that God is, and to all that God has. He has all—who has the Possessor of all.

To be able to say, 'God is mine!' Is more than if I were able to say that ten thousand worlds, yes, and as many heavens, are mine!

Oh what a spring of joy and comfort should this be to all the saints! 'This God is our God forever and ever!' 48:14 Lazarus having God for his portion, when he died he went to heaven without a rag on his back, or a penny in his purse! Whereas Dives, who did not have God for his portion when he died—went tumbling down to hell in all his riches, bravery, and glory.

It is infinitely better to go to heaven a beggar—than to go to hell an emperor! O Christians! God is an all-sufficient portion! His power is all-sufficient to protect you; His wisdom is all-sufficient to direct you; His mercy is all-sufficient to pardon you; His goodness is all-sufficient to provide for you; His word is all-sufficient to support you and strengthen you; His grace is all-sufficient to adorn you and enrich you; His Spirit is all-sufficient to lead you and comfort you!

What more can you desire? God is a sufficient portion... To secure your souls, to supply all your needs, to satisfy all your desires, to answer all your expectations, to suppress all your enemies, to bring you to glory! What more can you desire?

A Christian may be stripped of anything but his God; he may be stripped of his estate, his friends, his relations, his liberty, his life—but he can never be stripped of his God! As God is a portion that none can give to a Christian but God himself; so God is a portion that none can take from a Christian but God himself!

Therefore, as ever you would have a sure portion, an abiding portion, a lasting portion, yes, an everlasting portion, make sure of God for your portion! Nothing can make that man miserable, who has God for his portion; nor can anything make that man happy, who lacks God for his portion. The more rich—the more wretched; the more great—the more graceless; the more honorable—the more miserable that man will be, who has not God for his portion.

F B MEYER • - Lamentations 3:24 The LORD is my portion. ('I am your portion and your inheritance.' Nu 18:20) (From Our Daily Walk - May 18) IT IS a wonderful thing when we can look upon God as being our portion, when we can lay our hand upon all His nature and say there is nothing in God which will not in some way contribute to my strength and joy. It makes one think of the early days of the settlement of emigrants in the Far West of Canada or Australia. The settler and his family would slowly travel forward, with their implements and seeds, till they reached the plot of ground allocated to them by the Government. At first the family would encamp on the edge of it, then they would prospect it, and go to and fro over its acres with a sense that it all belonged to them, though it needed to be brought under cultivation. In the first year, within the fence hastily constructed, the farmer and his sons would begin to cultivate some small portion of their newly-acquired territory.

This would yield the first crops; next year they would press the fences farther out, until at the end of a term of years the whole would have been brought under cultivation. So it is with the mighty Nature of God. When first we are converted and led to know Him for ourselves, we can claim to apprehend but a small portion of the length and depth and breadth and height of His Love; but as the years go slowly on, amid the circumstances of trouble and temptation and the loss of earthly things, we are led to make more and more of God, until the immensity of our inheritance, which can never be fully explored or utilised, breaks upon our understanding.

No wonder that the Psalmist breaks forth into thanksgiving in Psalm 16:6-7, and Psalm 9l. The devout soul rejoices in God as his great Inheritance. When He is always present to our mind, when we are constantly making use of Him, when we find ourselves naturally turning to Him through the hours of the day, then such quiet peace and rest settle down upon us that we cannot be moved by any anxiety of the present or future.

Death itself will make no difference, except that the body which has obscured our vision will be left behind, and the emancipated soul will be able more fully to expatiate in its inheritance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading (1 Peter 1:4-5). PRAYER - We thank Thee, O Lord, that all things are ours in Christ, working for us, co-operating with us, and bearing us onward to that glorious destiny for which Thou art preparing us. JOHN MACDUFF • BOB HOEKSTRA • ANDREW MURRAY • MARY WILDER TILESTON • TODAY IN THE WORD • C H SPURGEON • • • F B MEYER • ANDREW MURRAY • MARY WILDER TILESTON • D L MOODY • Lamentations 3:27 - It is hard to cast off the devil’s yoke when we have worn it long upon our necks.

J C PHILPOT Lamentations 3:26 - The Lord does not bring his poor and needy children to a throne of grace, and send them away as soon as they have come. But his purpose is, to show them deeply what they are, to make them value his favors, to sink them lower and lower in self, that they may rise higher and higher in Christ, to 'teach them to profit' (as the Scripture speaks), to write his laws upon their hearts in lines of the Spirit's drawing, in deep lines, 'engraved with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever;' not characters traced out in the sand, to be washed out by the rising tide, or effaced by the wind, but in characters as permanent as the soul itself.

The work of the Spirit in the hearts of the redeemed is radical work, work that goes to the very bottom; nothing flimsy, nothing superficial, nothing which can be effaced and obliterated springs from him, but that which shall have an abiding effect--that which shall last for eternity. The Lord is fitting his people for eternity, and therefore his work in them is thorough work; it goes right through them; it leaves nothing covered up and masked over, but turns all up from the very bottom, 'discovering the foundation unto the neck' (Hab. 3:13), and doing in a man spiritually what the Lord threatened to do in Jerusalem literally, 'I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down' (2 Kings 21:13). Therefore he does not answer the prayers of his children immediately when they come to his throne of mercy and grace, but rather he deepens those convictions that he has implanted; he makes the burdens heavier that he has put upon their back; he hides himself instead of discovering himself, and draws back further instead of coming nearer. Now this is intended to make them wait with greater earnestness, with more unreserved simplicity, with more absolute dependence upon him and him alone to communicate the blessing, with greater separation of heart from all the strength of the creature, with a firmer resolution in the soul to cast away all its own righteousness, and to hang solely and wholly upon the Spirit's teachings, and Jesus' sweet revelation of himself. C H SPURGEON • RUTH BRYAN • JOHN MACDUFF • OCTAVIUS WINSLOW • • • JAMES SMITH • • BRIAN BILL • - recommended • THOMAS BROOKS Lamentations 3:33 - For He does not willingly (or as the Hebrew has it, 'from His heart') bring affliction or grief to the children of men.'

Christians conclude that God's heart was not in their afflictions, though His hand was. He takes no delight to afflict His children; it goes against His heart. A grief to Him to be grievous to them, a pain to Him to be punishing of them, a sorrow to Him to be striking them.

THOMAS BOSTON • THOMAS BROOKS Lamentations 3:39 He who has deserved a hanging has no reason to charge the judge with cruelty—if he escapes with a whipping! And we who have deserved a damning have no reason to charge God for being too severe—if we escape with a fatherly lashing! You have no reason to complain, as long as you are out of hell. Do you murmur, because you are under pain and sickness?

Nay, bless God, you are not there where the worm never dies! Do you grudge, that you are not in so good a condition in the world as some of your neighbors are? Be thankful, rather, that you are not in the condition of the damned! Is your money gone from you? Thank God that the fire of His wrath has not consumed you!

Kiss the rod, O sinner! And acknowledge mercy! (From ) JIMMY CHAPMAN • DAVID HOLWICK • J C PHILPOT Lamentations 3:39, 40 I believe in my conscience there are thousands of professors who have never known in the whole course of their religious profession what it is to have 'examined and tested their ways;' to have been put into the balances and weighed in the scales of divine justice; or to have stood cast down and condemned in their own feelings before God as the heart-searching Jehovah. From such a trying test, from such an unerring touchstone they have ever shrunk. Because they have an inward consciousness that their religion will not bear a strict and scrutinizing examination.

Like the deceitful tradesman, who allures his customers into a dark corner of his shop, in order to elude detection when he spreads his flimsy, made-up goods before them, so those who have an inward consciousness that their religion is not of heavenly origin, shun the light. As the Lord says, 'Every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved; but he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.' Now if you know nothing of having from time to time your ways searched and tested by God's word, or if you rise up with bitterness against an experimental, heart-searching ministry that would test them for you, it shows that there is some rotten spot in you--something that you dare not bring to the light. The candle of the Lord has not searched the hidden secrets of your heart; nor have you cried with David, 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' C H SPURGEON Lamentations 3:41 'Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the Heavens.' The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness—which is a very beneficial lesson for such proud beings as we are.

If God gave us favors without constraining us to pray for them—we would never know how poor we are— but a true prayer is... An inventory of needs, a catalog of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While prayer is an application to divine wealth—it is also a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian—is to be always empty in SELF and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in SELF—and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally—but mighty through God to do great exploits. And hence prayer, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be—in the very dust! Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian.

As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life, we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God's young eaglets—that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer sends God's warriors forth to combat—with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader comes out of his closet, even as the sun arises from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race.

Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses—which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into Heavenly wisdom, and gives the peace of God to troubled mortals. We have no idea what prayer can do! We thank you, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of Your marvelous loving-kindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day! () J C PHILPOT Lamentations 3:41 When the Lord lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, when he makes the living man complain on account of deserved chastisement for his sins, and thus brings him to search and try his ways, he raises up an earnest cry in his soul.

'Let us lift up our heart with our hands,' and not the hands without the heart; not the mere bended knee; not the mere grave and solemn countenance, that easiest and most frequent cover of hypocrisy; not the mere form of prayer, that increasing idol of the day--but the lifting up of the heart with the hand. This is the only true prayer, when the heart is poured out before the throne of grace, the Spirit interceding for us and within us with groanings that cannot be uttered. 'God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.' The contrite heart and broken spirit, the inward panting of the soul after his manifested presence, the heaving sigh and penitential tear will be regarded by him, when he will turn away from mere lip-service and bodily exercise. But there is much also implied in the words, 'God in the heavens.' This expression represents him as seated far above all heavens, enthroned in light, majesty, and glory unspeakable; and yet sitting on his throne of mercy and grace to bless the soul that waits upon him, full of love and compassion for the poor and needy one that lifts up his heart together with the hand, that he may receive pardon and peace out of Jesus' fullness, and pants with unutterable longings that the Lord himself would graciously smile and beam love and favor into his soul.

This lifting up of the heart--the only true and acceptable prayer--no man can create in himself. God, who works all things after the counsel of his own will, can alone work in us thus 'to will and to do of his own good pleasure.' Nature cannot, with all her efforts, and all her counterfeit imitations of vital godliness, accomplish this spiritual sacrifice.

She may cut her flesh with lancets, and cry, 'Baal, hear us,' from morning until evening, but she cannot bring down the holy fire from heaven. She can lift the hand, but she cannot lift up the heart. Depend upon it that in this spiritual communion with the living God, out of the sight and out of the reach of the most refined hypocrite and self-deceiver, much of the power of vital godliness lies. This lifting up of the heart when no eye sees and no ear hears, in the daily and often hourly transactions of life, in the lonely chamber, and on the midnight bed, surrounded perhaps by the world, and yet in spirit separate from it, is a secret known only to the living family of God.

C H SPURGEON • • • F B MEYER Lamentations 3:57 Jeremiah is referring to his own experiences of the dungeon, into which the malice of his foes had plunged him. As he reached its lowest depths, he began to call upon God, and continued to call. His reliance was on the name (i.e., the nature) of God. This is the most potent argument that any soul can employ. Not our faith, but his faithfulness: not our trust, but his trustworthiness.

“Act worthily of that great name, which Thou hast taken for Thyself, O God, we beseech Thee.” No sooner was that appeal made than it was heard. “Thou heardest my voice.” Notice that the very breathing of the persecuted soul was heard by the Most High. A mother listens for the breathing of her babe in the dark.

It will tell her so much. The soft, measured breath, or the laboring, gasping breath. God never hides his ear from our breathing; or from those inarticulate cries, which express, as words could not do, the deep anguish and yearning of the heart.

If you cannot speak, cry, sob, or groan, then be still. God can interpret all. Then He draws nigh. Of course, He is ever nigh. “Nearer than breathing.” But He gives a sweet consciousness of his presence. The dark dungeon of bereavement, or sorrow, suddenly becomes luminous with the radiance of the Shekinah; the stillness is broken by the approaching footfall of the Almighty Friend, who is never so near as when lover and friend are unable to help.

Oh, how tenderly He draws nigh! Solitude indeed hath charms, for it is our Savior’s opportunity; and the dungeon becomes desirable, for it is the ante-room to the presence-chamber of our King.

Happy they who have learned to detect the secret of the Lord, and his whispered Fear not! LAMENTATIONS 4 HENRY MORRIS • Defender's Study Bible - well done resource SERMONS BY VERSE • G CAMPBELL MORGAN Lamentations 4.1 -Again this fourth song commences with the exclamatory 'How!' The prophet had been meditating, considering, pondering. He was about to give expression to the things which had occupied his mind, and the first word of the message of interpre­tation is one which means that the facts defy expression—'How!' Yet here, in a sentence, the whole result is gathered up and uttered, before the detailed explana­tion. That one sentence tells the whole story.

Chelsea Fc Font Download more. 'The gold is become dim!' Those which follow express the same fact in slightly varying form. 'The most pure gold is changed! The stones of the sanc­tuary are poured out at the top of every street!'

Follow the prophet, and the next statement interprets the figure. 'The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold. How are they esteemed as earthen-pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!' That is the appalling spectacle, compelling the introductory 'How,' and inspiring all that follows. This was the vision of a man who saw the facts in true perspective and proportion. The tragedy of Israel's breakdown and deso­lation was created by the glory of the Divine purpose for that nation among nations of men. 'Gold,' 'the most pure gold,' 'fine gold;' these were the words and phrases fittingly expressing the glory of the Divine thought and purpose for that nation among the nations of men.

But the gold had become dim; the most pure gold was changed, the fine gold had become common earth. This is the deepest note of calamity whenever the people of God break down in loyalty, and so are broken down in necessary judgment. The failure to fulfil an appointed function in the Divine economy, is a more terrible thing than personal shortcoming, and personal suffering. TOM SHEPARD • GRACE GEMS • F B MEYER Lamentations 4:20 The people tell the sad tale of the pursuit of their foes. Swifter than the eagles, they chased them on the mountains, and laid wait for them in the wilderness.

Then they narrate how their king fell into the hands of them who sought his life. He was dear to them as the breath of their nostrils; his person was sacred as the anointed of the Lord; they had thought that even though they were carried into captivity they would find some alleviation to their hardships in dwelling under his protection; they said, “Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.” But even he was taken in their pits. What a likeness and a contrast to our blessed Lord?

There is LIKENESS. He is as the breath of our life. As we inhale the air around us, so we expand our souls to drink in of his most blessed nature. We open our mouths, and inhale Him as our vital element; his Spirit for our spirit; his blood for our souls; his resurrection strength for our bodies. He is the Anointed of the Father, who anoints us.

Because He is the Christ (Anointed), we are Christians (anointed ones). His shadow is a most grateful and wide-spreading one, beneath which we may dwell in safety. But how great the CONTRAST! Though He was once taken in the pit of Satanic malice and the shadow of death, yet now He liveth to be the shield and protector of his people wherever they are scattered among the nations. He that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger and thirst no more, neither shall the sun strike them. However far our bodies are from one another, we all dwell beneath the shadow of the Lord, which is as a great rock in a weary land.

HENRY COWLES • C H SPURGEON • LAMENTATIONS 5 HENRY MORRIS • Defender's Study Bible - well done resource G CAMPBELL MORGAN Lamentations 5.1 -Thus opens the last of the five songs, the final message of this great heroic messenger of Jehovah. The first movement of the song described anew the sorrows of the suffering people; the actual desolation in the midst of which Jeremiah lived; the afflictions of all classes of the community; the prevailing and abundant grief.

His description prepared for, and led up to prayer. In that prayer the eternity of God, and the stability of His Throne were first confessed. Then, notice very carefully, that following what seems to be a protest against the long forsaking of His people by Jehovah, the central concluding peti­tion of the prophet was not that God should turn unto His people, but rather that He would turn His people unto Him. The notes of this final song are full of value for us In days of darkness and discipline, in which many loyal souls, like Jeremiah himself, may be involved, it is ever given to them to speak of their sorrows before Jehovah; and that speaking may ever take the form of appeal to Jehovah to remember. It is not to be supposed that Jeremiah imagined that Jehovah could forget, but here was his last resort. He himself remembered all the afflictions of the people and of his own soul, in communion with God, and in this call to Jehovah to remember, he was realizing that communion, and finding reinforcement for his own soul in the process of trial.

Thus, prayers which break down in intellectual logical con­sistency are oft times those which in experience bring us nearest God; and thus find surest answers in that they make it possible for Him to act with us and for us in ways not possible unless and until we have such communion. SERMONS BY VERSE • TOM SHEPARD • F B MEYER Lamentations 5:21. Weary of chastening, and longing to have again all the blessed enjoyments and privileges of the past, the backslider desires to be right with God, as he used to be. But he is often met with great initial difficulties. He would pray, but cannot; he would feel broken and penitent, but his heart is as hard as the nether millstone; he would take the old pleasure in the service and worship of the Most High, but it evades his grasp. This perplexes and daunts him.

What should be our attitude under such circumstances? There is nothing better than to adopt the cry of the prophet, and ask God to turn the soul, and renew its blessed and holy experiences. There will be no doubt of our being turned, if He turns us. It is not difficult to recover the attitude, emotions, and work of past days, when we have yielded ourselves absolutely to God, and have cast on Him the responsibility of making us all that He has taught us to desire.

Let Him assign what standard He chooses, there will be no difficulty in our attaining it, if He fulfils in us all the good pleasure of his will, and the work of faith with power. The happy life is that which does not need to ask for the olden days to be renewed, because it is ever anticipating that it will be better further on, and that the dawn will grow into the perfect day; but where the past was better than the present is, let us ask that God would restore the years that the caterpillar and cankerworm have eaten. Just because God abides for ever, and his throne is from generation to generation, He is able to renew the soul with new pulses of energy and life. Each spring He makes the world as fair as on the morning of creation. “Renew our days as of old.” KAY ARTHUR • HENRY COWLES • JAMES FREEMAN • JOHN MACDUFF • JOHN PIPER DEVOTIONAL • J C PHILPOT Lamentations 5:21 If we do not wish to deceive ourselves, if God has made us honest, if he has planted his fear in our hearts, if he has begun and is carrying on a good work in us, there will be evidences of the existence of the life of God within. Life is the commencement of salvation as an inward reality; for whatever the eternal purposes of God are, or whatever standing the vessel of mercy has in Christ previous to effectual calling, there is no more movement in the soul Godwards until life is imparted, than there is natural life and motion in a breathless corpse that lies interred in the churchyard. But wherever divine life is implanted there will be certain fruits and feelings that spring out of this life.

One fruit will be 'complaint', and this will arise sometimes from a feeling of the burden of sin, and at others from a sense of merited chastisement from God on account of it. But wherever this complaining is spiritual, there will be accompanying it 'an accepting the punishment of our iniquity,' and 'a putting of our mouth in the dust.' Thus where there is spiritual life there will be complaint, confession, and submission; the effect being meekness, brokenness, and humility.

This breaks to pieces self-conceit and self-justification, and the result is a searching and trying our ways whether they are of God. The fruit of this search will be, for the most part, a solemn and painful conviction that the greater part have been in the flesh; or, at least, there will be many anxious suspicions which cannot be relieved except by an express testimony from the Lord himself.

This produces a going out of soul unto him, the cry now being, 'Let us turn again to the Lord;' and towards him the heart turns as to the only Source and Author of every good and perfect gift. As the quickened soul knows that he is a heart-searching God, this appeal will purge away much hypocrisy and insincerity, and deepen uprightness, sincerity, and godly integrity. And the blessed fruit and end of all this sifting work will be a coming down of gracious answers, divine testimonies, smiles of the Savior's loving countenance, soft whispers of God's eternal favor, and the blessed witness of the Spirit within.

• • OCTAVIUS WINSLOW • DOUG MCINTOSH THE WOUNDS OF GOD: STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS • - 9 pages • - 8 pages • - 6 pages • - 8 pages • - 7 pages NET BIBLE NOTES Note: This opens the Net Bible translation which in links to verses on almost every verse. The notes tend to be more technical but often give exceptional insights on a passage. This resource is definitely worth checking if you are performing an in depth study on a passage. The notes on Lamentation have as especially large number of detailed notes on the Hebrew words. Lam 1:2 - Heb “lovers.” The term “lovers” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis), comparing Jerusalem’s false gods and foreign political alliances to sexually immoral lovers. Hosea uses similar imagery (Hos 2:5, 7, 10, 13). It may also function as a double entendre, first evoking a disconcerting picture of a funeral where the widow has no loved ones present to comfort her.

God also does not appear to be present to comfort Jerusalem and will later be called her enemy. The imagery in Lamentations frequently capitalizes on changing the reader’s expectations midstream. Lam 1:3 - Heb “Judah.” The term “Judah” is a synecdoche of nation (= Judah) for the inhabitants of the nation (= people).Heb “great servitude.” The noun עֲבֹדָה (’avodah, “servitude”) refers to the enforced labor and suffering inflicted upon conquered peoples who are subjugated into slavery (Exod 1:14; 2:23; 5:9, 11; 6:9; Deut 26:6; 1 Kgs 12:4; 1 Chr 26:30; 2 Chr 10:4; 12:8; Isa 14:3; Lam 1:3). Lam 1:4 - The term אָבַּלּ (’aval, “mourn”) refers to the mourning rites for the dead or to those mourning the deceased (Gen 37:35; Job 29:25; Ps 35:14; Jer 16:7; Esth 6:12; Sir 7:34; 48:24).

The prophets often use it figuratively to personify Jerusalem as a mourner, lamenting her deceased and exiled citizens (Isa 57:18; 61:2, 3) (BDB 5 s.v.; HALOT 7 s.v.).Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh) is an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). 1 suggests that it means “sigh” but HALOT 70–71 s.v. Prefers “groan” here. Lam 1:7 - As elsewhere in chap. 1, Jerusalem is personified as remembering the catastrophic days of 587 B.C.

When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and exiled its inhabitants. Like one of its dispossessed inhabitants, Jerusalem is pictured as becoming impoverished and homeless.Heb “and there was no helper for her.” This phrase is used idiomatically in OT to describe the plight of a city whose allies refuse to help ward off a powerful attacker. The nominal participle עוֹזֵר II (’oser) refers elsewhere to military warriors (1 Chr 12:1, 18, 22; 2 Chr 20:23; 26:7; 28:23; 26:15; Ps 28:7; 46:6; Ezek 12:14; 30:8; 32:21; Dan 11:34) and the related noun refers to military allies upon whom an attacked city calls for help (Lachish Letters 19:1). Lam 1:9 - Heb “uncleanness.” The noun טֻמְאָה (tum’ah, “uncleanness”) refers in general to the state of ritual uncleanness and specifically to (1) sexual uncleanness (Num 5:19); (2) filthy mass (Ezek 24:11; 2 Chr 29:16); (3) ritual uncleanness (Lev 16:16, 19; Ezek 22:15; 24:13; 36:25, 29; 39:24; Zech 13:2); (4) menstrual uncleanness (Lev 15:25, 26, 30; 18:19; Ezek 36:17); (5) polluted meat (Judg 13:7, 14). Here, Jerusalem is personified as a woman whose menstrual uncleanness has soiled even her own clothes; this is a picture of the consequences of the sin of Jerusalem: uncleanness = her sin, and soiling her own clothes = consequences of sin. The poet may also be mixing metaphors allowing various images (of shame) to circulate in the hearer’s mind, including rape and public exposure. By not again mentioning sin directly (a topic relatively infrequent in this book), the poet lays a general acknowledgment of sin in 1:8 alongside an exceptionally vivid picture of the horrific circumstances which have come to be.

It is no simplistic explanation that sin merits such inhumane treatment. Instead 1:9 insists that no matter the legal implications of being guilty, the Lord should be motivated to aid Jerusalem (and therefore her people) because her obscene reality is so revolting. Lam 1:10 - This is a quotation from Deut 23:3, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.” Jeremiah applies this prohibition against Ammonites and Moabites to the Babylonians who ransacked and destroyed the temple in 587/586 B.C.

This hermeneutical move may be explained on the basis of synecdoche of species (= Ammonites and Moabites) for general (= unconverted Gentiles as a whole). On a different note, the prohibition forbidding Ammonites and Moabites from entering the “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal, Deut 23:2–8) did not disallow Gentile proselytes from converting to Yahwism or from living within the community (= assembled body) of Israel. For example, Ruth the Moabitess abandoned the worship of Moabite gods and embraced Yahweh, then was welcomed into the community of Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth 1:15–22) and even incorporated into the lineage leading to King David (Ruth 4:18–22). This Deuteronomic law did not disallow such genuine conversions of repentant faith toward Yahweh, nor their incorporation into the life of the Israelite community. Nor did it discourage Gentiles from offering sacrifices to the LORD (Num 15:15–16). Rather, it prohibited Gentiles from entering into the tabernacle/temple (= place of assembly) of Israel. This is clear from the reaction of the post-exilic community when it realized that Deut 23:3–5 had been violated by Tobiah the Ammonite who had been given living quarters in the temple precincts (Neh 13:1–9).

This is also reflected in the days of the Second Temple when Gentile proselytes were allowed to enter the “court of the Gentiles” in Herod’s temple, but were forbidden further access into the inner temple precincts. • Lam 2:3 - Heb “every horn of Israel.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Ps 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3, 17; Ezek 29:21) (BDB 901 s.v. 2), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” Cutting off the “horn” is a figurative expression for destroying warriors (Jer 48:25; Ps 75:10 [HT 11]).

Lam 2:6 - Heb “The LORD has caused to be forgotten in Zion both appointed festival and Sabbath.” The verb שִׁכַּח (shikkakh, “to cause someone to forget”), Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “to forget”) is used figuratively. When people forget “often the neglect of obligations is in view” (L. Allen, NIDOTTE 4:104).

When people forget the things of God, they are in disobedience and often indicted for ignoring God or neglecting their duties to him (Deut 4:23, 31; 6:12; 8:11, 19; 26:13; 31:21; 32:18; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; 2 Kgs 17:38; Is 49:14; 51:13; 65:11; Jer 18:15; Ezek 23:35; Hos 4:6). The irony is that the one to whom worship is due has made it so that people must neglect it. Most English versions render this in a metonymical sense: “the LORD has brought to an end in Zion appointed festival and sabbath” (RSV), “[he] did away with festivals and Sabbaths” (CEV), “he has put an end to holy days and Sabbaths” (TEV), “the LORD has ended festival and sabbath” (NJPS), “the LORD has abolished festivals and sabbath” (NRSV). Few English versions employ the gloss “remember”: “the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten” (KJV) and “the LORD has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and her sabbaths”(NIV). Lam 2:8 Heb “he stretched out a measuring line.” In Hebrew, this idiom is used (1) literally: to describe a workman’s preparation of measuring and marking stones before cutting them for building (Job 38:5; Jer 31:39; Zech 1:16) and (2) figuratively: to describe the LORD’s planning and preparation to destroy a walled city, that is, to mark off for destruction (2 Kgs 21:13; Isa 34:11; Lam 2:8).

It is not completely clear how a phrase from the vocabulary of building becomes a metaphor for destruction; however, it might picture a predetermined and carefully planned measure from which God will not deviate. Lam 2:9 Heb “have sunk down.” This expression, “her gates have sunk down into the ground,” is a personification, picturing the city gates descending into the earth, as if going down into the grave or the netherworld. Most English versions render it literally (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS); however, a few paraphrases have captured the equivalent sense quite well: “Zion’s gates have fallen facedown on the ground” (CEV) and “the gates are buried in rubble” (TEV). Lam 2:15 - Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15). Lam 2:20 - Integral to battered Jerusalem’s appeal, and part of the ancient Near Eastern lament genre, is the request for God to look at her pain. This should evoke pity regardless of the reason for punishment.

The request is not for God to see merely that there are misfortunes, as one might note items on a checklist. The cognitive (facts) and affective (feelings) are not divided. The plea is for God to watch, think about, and be affected by these facts while listening to the petitioner’s perspective. • Lam 3:2 - The verb נָהַג (nahag) describes the process of directing (usually a group of) something along a route, hence commonly “to drive,” when describing flocks, caravans, or prisoners and spoils of war (1 Sam 23:5; 30:2). But with people it may also have a positive connotation “to shepherd” or “to guide” (Ps 48:14; 80:1). The line plays on this through the reversal of expectations. Rather than being safely shepherded by the Lord their king, he has driven them away into captivity.

Lam 3:5 - The verb נָקַף (naqaf, “to surround”) refers to the military action of an army surrounding a besieged city by placing army encampments all around the city, to prevent anyone in the city from escaping (2 Kgs 6:14; 11:8; Ps 17:9; 88:18; Job 19:6). Lam 3:7 - The verb גָּדַר (garad) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “to build up a wall” with stones, and (2) “to block a road” with a wall of stones. The imagery depicts the LORD building a wall to seal off personified Jerusalem with no way of escape out of the city, or the LORD blocking the road of escape. Siege imagery prevails in 3:4–6, but 3:7–9 pictures an unsuccessful escape that is thwarted due to blocked roads in 3:7 and 3:9.

Lam 3:13 - Heb “my kidneys.” In Hebrew anthropology, the kidneys are often portrayed as the most sensitive and vital part of man. Poetic texts sometimes portray a person fatally wounded, being shot by the LORD’s arrows in the kidneys (Job 16:13; here in Lam 3:13). The equivalent English idiomatic counterpart is the heart, which is employed in the present translation. Lam 3:14 - Heb “all of the day.” The idiom כָּל־הַיּוֹם (kol-hayyom, “all day”) means “continually” (Gen 6:5; Deut 28:32; 33:12; Ps 25:5; 32:3; 35:28; 37:26; 38:7, 13; 42:4, 11; 44:9, 16, 23; 52:3; 56:2, 3, 6; 71:8, 15, 24; 72:15; 73:14; 74:22; 86:3; 88:18; 89:17; 102:9; 119:97; Prov 21:26; 23:17; Isa 28:24; 51:13; 52:5; 65:2, 5; Jer 20:7, 8; Lam 1:13; 3:3, 62; Hos 12:2). Lam 3:27 - Jeremiah is referring to the painful humiliation of subjugation to the Babylonians, particularly to the exile of the populace of Jerusalem. The Babylonians and Assyrians frequently used the phrase “bear the yoke” as a metaphor: their subjects were made as subservient to them as yoked oxen were to their masters.

Because the Babylonian exile would last for seventy years, only those who were in their youth when Jerusalem fell would have any hope of living until the return of the remnant. For the middle-aged and elderly, the yoke of exile would be insufferable; but those who bore this “yoke” in their youth would have hope. • • OUR DAILY BREAD Devotionals for Teaching & Sermon Illustrations Radio Bible Class CLICK FOR MULTIPLE DEVOTIONALS ON EACH CHAPTER • • • • • •. DISCLAIMER: Before you 'go to the commentaries' go to the Scriptures and study them inductively ( 3 part overview of how to do ) in dependence on your Teacher, the Holy Spirit, Who Jesus promised would us into all the truth (John 16:13). Remember that Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture. Any commentary, even those by the most conservative and orthodox teacher/preachers cannot help but have at least some bias of the expositor based upon his training and experience.

Therefore the inclusion of specific links does not indicate that we agree with every comment. We have made a sincere effort to select only the most conservative, ' bibliocentric' commentaries. Should you discover some commentary or sermon you feel may not be orthodox, please email your concern.

I have removed several links in response to concerns by discerning readers. I recommend that your priority be a steady intake of solid Biblical food so that with practice you will have your spiritual senses trained to discern good from evil (Heb 5:14-).