- Universal Beginnings (Chuck Missler), God was like the judge, giving a cup of judgment and. Major Prophets Verse 36. 4. Give them sorrow of heart They shall have a callous heart, covered with obstinacy, and thy execration. 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly Far be it from God that he should do iniquity, or countenance those that do it. The sum is, If tribulation work patience, that patience will work experience, and that experience a hope that makes not ashamed. When Jerusalem was besieged it was said to be compassed in on every side, Luke 19 43. Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Portions on earth are perishing things, but God is a portion for ever. 2 17, 21), but here they correct themselves, and own, 1. Two ways the people of God are injured and oppressed by their enemies, and the prophet here assures us that God does not approve of either of them:1. He has broken my bones. Or, My eye melts my soul; I have quite wept away my spirits; not only my eye is consumed with grief, but my soul and my life are spent with it, Ps 31 9, 10. ii. If he be tempted to murmur, let him remember that he is yet alive, and that is more than his part cometh to, since it is the Lords mercy that he is not consumed, and sent packing hence to hell. Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness. IV. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. With God as adversary, what strength is there? again and again, all day long. We should observe what makes for us, as well as what is against us. That while they continued weeping they continued waiting, and neither did nor would expect relief and succour from any hand but his; nothing shall comfort them but his gracious returns, nor shall any thing wipe tears from their eyes till he look down. For the Lord will not cast off forever: The suffering endured was not everlasting. He sitteth alone He has learned that necessary lesson of independence, that shows him how he is to serve himself; to give no trouble to others; and keep his troubles, as far as possible, in his own bosom. He is not quarrelsome, nor apt to resent injuries; he suffers long and is kind. Instead of Adonai, seventeen MSS., of Kennicott's, and one ancient of my own, have Yehovah. In the process of remembering Gods attributes, Jeremiah was drawn back into living fellowship and intimate communion with his faithful God. (Ryken). Do not hide Your ear He has made me desolate. Here is one word of comfort. The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the holy God, and the results were devastating. Quietness is necessary to waiting, for all turbulency and impatience of spirit under sad providences is opposed to waiting. (Poole). Verse 26. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; he forms the light and creates the darkness, as he did at first. 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. I have even given up all for gone, concluding, My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord (v. 18); I can no longer stay myself upon God as my support, for I do not find that he gives me encouragement to do so; nor can I look for his appearing in my behalf, so as to put an end to my troubles, for the case seems remediless, and even my God inexorable." My seeing eye affects my heart. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. These are all declaratory, not imprecatory. Remember my affliction and roaming, We are afflicted by the rod of his wrath, but it is of the lord's mercies that we are not consumed, v. 22. Error: Passwords should have at least 6 characters, Error: Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. They had several times complained that God had not pitied (ch. Their taunting song all the day. Judge my case. He is good to those who do so, v. 25. i. 5. The deluge prevailed and quite overwhelmed them. What! The Chaldean forces broke in upon them as the breaking forth of waters, which rose so high as to flow over their heads; they could not wade, they could not swim, and therefore must unavoidably sink. They are new every morning; Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. The soft, measured breath, or the laboring, gasping breath. 6. The evil fact is, turning aside the right of a man; and the aggravation of it is, doing it before the face of the Most High; that is, in a court of justice, where God is ever considered to be present. Verse 16. Without doubt it was his infirmity to say this (Ps 77 10), for with God there is everlasting strength, and he is his people's never-failing hope, whatever they may think. But for hope, the heart would break. "We have transgressed;" let our confession of sin be fervent and sincere. When a man hopes for salvation, he should not only wait for it, but use every means that may lead to it; for hope cannot live, if there be no exercise. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. Destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord; let them have no benefit of the light and influence of the heavens. Hoping and waiting differ but as the mother and daughter, hope being the mother of patience and waiting; or as the habit and act, hoping and waiting being ranch the same, flowing from a gracious power and habit given the soul to wait. Proud member GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point See Jeremiah 38:6, &c. Verse 56. it was to no purpose; he remembers, upon all occasions, the affliction and the misery, the wormwood and the gall. Verse Lamentations 3:60. And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. When we are humble and patient under our affliction. Major Prophets It was an affliction that was misery itself; for sin makes the cup of . Lamentations 3 Commentary - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the If there be any way to acquire and secure a good hope under our afflictions, it is this way, and yet we must be very modest in our expectations of it, must look for it with an it may be, as those who own ourselves utterly unworthy of it. He shuts out my prayer. 4. He laments the direful effects of the famine to which they were reduced by the siege, ver 3-10. II. Thus emphatically does he speak of his affliction, for thus did he think of it, thus heavily did it lie when he reviewed it! We are living men. The distemper was in continual extremity, and they had no better day. When nations go through times of tragedy and tribulation, the greatest suffering always takes place at the individual level. (Ryken), iii. Time and time again throughout the day. III. 2. God will take his part, and bring him safely through all hardships. Luke-Acts Those who in their haste have chidden with God must, in the reflection, chide themselves for it. Therefore I hope in Him! This hindered God's favours from coming down upon them. Or, it may be rendered, "let him give his cheek.". Observe here, 1. When we are sedate and quiet under our afflictions, when we sit alone and keep silence, do not run to and fro into all companies with our complaints, aggravating our calamities, and quarrelling with the disposals of Providence concerning us, but retire into privacy, that we may in a day of adversity consider, sit alone, that we may converse with God and commune with our own hearts, silencing all discontented distrustful thoughts, and laying our hand upon our mouth, as Aaron, who, under a very severe trial, held his peace. Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their song, their neginath, or hand-instrument of music, their tabret (Job 17 6), that they play upon, as Nero on his harp when Rome was on fire. The prophet here laments the injuries and indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown, ver 1, 2. 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. It is before the face of the Most High (v. 35); it is in his sight, under his eye, and is very displeasing to him. We are men, and not devils, are not in that deplorable, helpless, hopeless, state that they are in, but have something to comfort ourselves with which they have not. Verse 22. He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. It was and is worse to be at the mercy of blind fate. And threw stones at me. That, whatever sorrow we are in, it is what God has allotted us, and his hand is in it. The perverting of justice, and the subverting of the just, are a great affront to God; and, though he may make use of them for the correction of his people, yet he will sooner or later severely reckon with those that do thus. "Do I well to be angry? God feels breath; and happy is he that can say, In thee I hope, Lord, and after thee I breathe or pant. (Trapp), iii. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, (Hebrew/Greek Search by English Definition), * 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order', Search verses, phrases, and topics (e.g. b. Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul: From formerly feeling forsaken, Jeremiah rested in the confidence that God was his advocate. The arrows of his quiver beney ashpatho, "The sons of his quiver." God's ear is wont to be open to the prayers of his people, and his door of mercy to those that knock at it; but now both are shut, even to one that cries and shouts. 31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. "Let us lift up our heart;" let us make fervent prayer and supplication for mercy. 2 He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light. He comes out of his place to punish, for his place is the mercy-seat. c. Why should a living man complain: We may complain against God and His sovereignty, but that is profitless and ungrateful. Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD: Even under the great sense that God was their opponent and adversary (Lamentations 3:1-18), Jeremiah recommended the proper and humble approach. I called on Your name, O LORD, III. And could God hear them out of the low dungeon, and would he? Yet these flashes of light are welcome and necessary. Against all the despair, Jeremiah proclaimed to himself and all others the goodness of hope and patient seeking of God. Yet He will show compassion i. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. One can scarcely read this description without feeling the toothache. The streams of mercy acknowledged: We are not consumed. Those that blame their lot reproach him that allotted it to them. He does not himself crush under his feet the prisoners of the earth, but he regards the cry of the prisoners; nor does he approve of men's doing it; nay, he is much displeased with it. He doth not ascribe his deliverance in any measure to any man, much less to his own merit; but it is thou. (Spurgeon). 42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. That God will graciously return to his people with seasonable comforts according to the time that he has afflicted them, v. 31, 32. Over this terrible calamity, rivers of tears must be shed, until the Lord looks down from heaven on it, Lamentations 3:48-51. And said, Do not fear! Lamentations 1:3 Commentaries: Judah has gone into exile under Bad as things are, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not worse. By this rod we must expect to see affliction, and, if we be made to see more than ordinary affliction by that rod, we must not quarrel, for we are sure that the anger is just and affliction mild and mixed with mercy. He who can bear contempt and reproach, and not render railing for railing, and bitterness for bitterness, who, when he is filled full with reproach, keeps it to himself, and does not retort it and empty it again upon those who filled him with it, but pours it out before the Lord (as those did, Ps 123 4, whose souls were exceedingly filled with the contempt of the proud), he shall find that it is good to bear the yoke, that it shall turn to his spiritual advantage. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. This is here laid down as a great truth, which will help to quiet our spirits under our afflictions and to sanctify them to us. Bible Introductions - Lamentations by John MacArthur They complain of the contempt of their neighbours and the reproach and ignominy they were under (v. 45): "Thou hast made us as the off-scouring, or scrapings, of the first floor, which are thrown to the dunghill." That though we may seem to be cast off for a time, while sensible comforts are suspended and desired salvations deferred, yet we are not really cast off, because not cast off for ever; the controversy with us shall not be perpetual. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath, He has led me and made me walk in darkness, He has been to me like a bear lying in wait, My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD, My soul still remembers and sinks within me, This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope, Through the LORDs mercies we are not consumed, The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him, It is good that he should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD, It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth, Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, according to the multitude of His mercies, For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, To turn aside the justice due a man before the face of the Most High. But, as there, so here, faith gets the last word and comes off a conqueror; for in these verses he concludes with some comfort. Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). 28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 2023 Christianity.com. And it is no diminution to any to be much in tears for the sins of sinners and the sufferings of saints; our Lord Jesus was so; for, when he came near, he beheld this same city and wept over it, which the daughters of Jerusalem did not. The sufferers in the captivity must submit to the will of God in all their sufferings. Note, It is common for base and ill-natured men to run upon, and run down, those that have fallen into the depths of distress from the height of honour. Your curse be upon them! Commentary on Lamentations 3:22-33 - Working Preacher Hab 1 13, Wherefore lookest thou upon those that deal treacherously? He delights not in the death of sinners, or the disquiet of saints, but punishes with a kind of reluctance. My eyes bring suffering to my soul If therefore you cannot speak, weep - tears also have a voice; [Psalms 39:12] if you cannot weep, sigh - a storm of sighs may do as much as a shower of tears; if you cannot sigh, yet breathe, as here. Verse 31. Our hearts must go along with our prayers. You can copy the order of your preferred Bible translations from the Bibles Tab to the Version Picker (this popup) or vice versa. Salem Media Group. This was a pathway to hope for him. And be full of reproach. (Lamentations 3:52-56) Praying for help under enemy attack. Ps 119 59, I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. Pursue and destroy them God had said once (Hos 5 14), I will be as a lion to the house of Judah, and now he has made his word good (v. 10): "He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, surprising me with his judgments, and as a lion in secret places; so that which way soever I went I was in continual fear of being set upon and could never think myself safe." Lamentations 3 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird: Jeremiah and those like him felt under constant pressure from capture or killing. To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! These complaints we had before, ch. Many times through the affliction he felt God to be his adversary, not his friend. The second ( Lamentations 3:32) rests on the fact that compassion underlies chastisement ( Psalm 30:5; Job 5:18; Isaiah 54:8 ); the third ( Lamentations 3:33) on the truth that the primary eternal will of God is on the side of love, and that punishment is, as it were, against that will. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point 4. We are men, and not children that cry for every thing that hurts them. That God has compassions and comforts in store even for those whom he has himself grieved. 1:6 . Looks down and sees. 2. We must be far from thinking that, though God cause grief, the world will relieve and help us. Many have found it good to bear this in youth; it has made those humble and serious, and has weaned them from the world, who otherwise would have been proud and unruly, and as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. In chapter 3, every third of the 66 verses begins with successive Greek letters. Destroy them in such a manner that all who see it may say, It is a destruction from the Almighty, who sits in the heavens and laughs at them (Ps 2 4), and may own that the heavens do rule," Dan 4 26. We have been with him, and it has never been well with us since we forsook him; let us therefore now turn again to him." 8. Faith comes off conqueror, for in these verses the prophet concludes with some comfort. A verification email has been sent to the address you provided. He has also (v. 9) enclosed my ways with hewn stone, not only hedged up my way with thorns (Hos 2 6), but stopped it up with a stone wall, which cannot be broken through, so that my paths are made crooked; I traverse to and fro, to the right hand, to the left, to try to get forward, but am still turned back." III. The more I look upon the desolation of the city and country the more I am grieved. Thou hast seen - all their imaginations Every thing is open to the eye of God. VI. He has besieged me Shall a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? While there is life there is hope; and instead of complaining that things are bad, we should encourage ourselves with the hope they will be better. Judge thou my cause, v. 59. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, The third poem is significantly different in structure from the others, being made up of single lines grouped in threes, and commencing with the same consonant of the Hebrew alphabet. (R.K. Harrison), In the Hebrew Bible, the first three verses all start with aleph, the second three verses with beth, and so forth. (Philipp Ryken). (3.) The poet said in effect, that he has had so little of this worlds goods and pleasures because his share has been the Lord. (Ellison). Jeremiah considers himself as part of these people but thereby repents and puts his hope in spite of all mourning in God. It is evident that in the preceding verses there is a bitterness of complaint against the bitterness of adversity, that is not becoming to man when under the chastising hand of God; and, while indulging this feeling, all hope fled. In three things the prophet and his pious friends had found God good to them:1. It is good for a man to bear 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. We must offer up ourselves to God, and our best affections and services, in the flames of devotion, v. 41. That they were satisfied that God's gracious regard to them in their miseries would be an effectual redress of all their grievances. Note, God will one day call sinners to account for all the hard speeches which they have spoken against him and his people, Jude 15. That prayer should not pass through. We dont live constantly focused on our sins and failings, but there are appropriate times to carefully, deliberately search out and examine our ways. 10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. though thou knowest not what thy enemies meditate against thee; yet he who loves thee does, and will infallibly defeat all their plots, and save thee. Yet this is mercy in comparison with those who put them in prison, and keep them there, when they know that it is impossible, from the state of the laws, to lessen the debt by their confinement. Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD, You have made us an offscouring and refuse, flow and do not cease, without interruption, Till the LORD from heaven looks down and sees, My enemies without cause hunted me down like a bird, Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul, Repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands, In Your anger, pursue and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD, David Guzik :: 1 Corintios 7 Principios Sobre el Matrimonio y la Soltera, David Guzik :: Hechos 9 La Conversin de Saulo de Tarso, David Guzik :: Apocalipsis 20 Satans, el Pecado y la Muerte son Finalmente Eliminados, David Guzik :: Gnesis 3 La tentacin y cada del hombre, David Guzik :: 2 Samuel 22 El Salmo de Alabanza de David, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus and the Holy Trinity (Walter Martin), The Meaning of the Cross Part 2 (Elisabeth Elliot), Spiritism: Prophecy and Astrology (Walter Martin), 2 Thessalonians 1-3 (1982-85 Audio) (Chuck Smith), Genesis 2-3 (1979-82 Audio) (Chuck Smith), Intro.