#1116 Lamentations 3 New Mercies I See

 

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath;

2 he has driven and brought me

into darkness without any light;

3 surely against me he turns his hand

again and again the whole day long.

4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;

he has broken my bones;

5 he has besieged and enveloped me

with bitterness and tribulation;

6 he has made me dwell in darkness

like the dead of long ago.

7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;

he has made my chains heavy;

8 though I call and cry for help,

he shuts out my prayer;

9 he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;

he has made my paths crooked.

10 He is a bear lying in wait for me,

a lion in hiding;

11 he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;

he has made me desolate;

12 he bent his bow and set me

as a target for his arrow.

13 He drove into my kidneys

the arrows of his quiver;

14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,

the object of their taunts all day long.

15 He has filled me with bitterness;

he has sated me with wormwood.

16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,

and made me cower in ashes;

17 my soul is bereft of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness is;

18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the Lord.”

19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

20 My soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

21 But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

26 It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man that he bear

the yoke in his youth.

28 Let him sit alone in silence

when it is laid on him;

29 let him put his mouth in the dust—

there may yet be hope;

30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,

and let him be filled with insults.

31 For the Lord will not

cast off forever,

32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

33 for he does not afflict from his heart

or grieve the children of men.

34 To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the earth,

35 to deny a man justice

in the presence of the Most High,

36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit,

the Lord does not approve.

37 Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has commanded it?

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that good and bad come?

39 Why should a living man complain,

a man, about the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us test and examine our ways,

and return to the Lord!

41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

42 “We have transgressed and rebelled,

and you have not forgiven.

43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,

killing without pity;

44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can pass through.

45 You have made us scum and garbage

among the peoples.

46 “All our enemies

open their mouths against us;

47 panic and pitfall have come upon us,

devastation and destruction;

48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears

because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing,

without respite,

50 until the Lord from heaven

looks down and sees;

51 my eyes cause me grief

at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

52 “I have been hunted like a bird

by those who were my enemies without cause;

53 they flung me alive into the pit

and cast stones on me;

54 water closed over my head;

I said, ‘I am lost.’

55 “I called on your name, O Lord,

from the depths of the pit;

56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close

your ear to my cry for help!’

57 You came near when I called on you;

you said, ‘Do not fear!’

58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord;

you have redeemed my life.

59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;

judge my cause.

60 You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.

61 “You have heard their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me.

62 The lips and thoughts of my assailants

are against me all the day long.

63 Behold their sitting and their rising;

I am the object of their taunts.

64 “You will repay them, O Lord,

according to the work of their hands.

65 You will give them dullness of heart;

your curse will be on them.

66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under your heavens, O Lord.” Lamentations 3 ESV

Lamentations 3 Great is Your Faithfulness

“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)

1-21. The wormwood and the gall - A bitter root, and Jeremiah gives a colorful representation of the bitterness that he and Israel are forced to drink. He has already acknowledged it to be because of their sin, but none the less it does not go down smoothly. God is described as removing His light, having His hand turned against this people. He is the bear and the lion that preys upon them, the One that bends the bow to take aim at them, and He has walled them in so there is no escaping it. It is reminiscent of the complaints of Job, except neither Job nor his companions could find the sin that brought his state about. Israel knows, they were warned, but they continued in unrighteousness, lifting their neck and refusing the yoke. Now they are held down and this burden is not so easy or light. We can say I told you so, but what good is it, the pain is real, but they must repent. Pride will cause a man to suck on the wormwood for the whole of his life, till he can no longer know the sweetness of repentance, the joy of forgiveness, that burden that is like lifting a Buick off one's back. "Oh, if I confess then they will look down on me," ah, but who cares because God already sees, He knows, and take care, because any opinion that you hold higher than His, that is an idol. "But,' you say, 'if I admit my wrong then how can I go on in my self pity, how can I claim unfair?" I tell you this, measure the longest life you know, and think of the worst suffering, now measure eternity and tell me, what is greater? What will your angst against God accomplish? Who are you?

19One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” 21Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?… Romans 9: 19-21

22-39. They are new every morning - The wrath that is owed, the flood waters that cover the whole of the earth, the fire and brimstone, all held back again as I am aloud another breath this morning. 

Great is Your faithfulness - Not mans, for he has broken every covenant, only God's still stands, that He would send His Son, a Redeemer. He, who is faithful to address the sin, is also eager to forgive. Look at the father running out to the prodigal son, the son who would now wish to be a slave in his father's house, but the father sees his return as a cause for celebration. 

The Lord is my portion - Given God's faithfulness to perform His word, good or bad, Jeremiah knows that God is His portion, like that of the Levites, not the land, but the Creator of it. His inheritance continues in God, in God's faithfulness to His own words, His ability to uphold what He has promised. Not only is Jeremiah still alive, but there is also a remnant in Babylon, and so there is reason to hope.

…56This is my practice, for I obey Your precepts. 57The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. 58I have sought Your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise.… Psalm 119: 56-58

To the soul who seeks Him - Those that truly desire to know God will be drawn to His word where the Holy Spirit will reveal great and marvelous things. You will there find the attributes of God, His plan of redemption, His holiness, His wrath, His love and His mercy. 

6Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. 7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.… Matthew 7: 6-8

The yoke in his youth - Break the leg when it is young so that it heals quickly. Give repercussions early when they are not so big. Spare not the rod while it is only a rod, and not a jail or death sentence. Oh. how I pray that my children will learn early not to take on more vice, but to follow God and treasure things eternal.

“Early habits, when good, are invaluable. Early discipline is equally so. He who has not got under wholesome restraint in youth will never make a useful man, a good man, nor a happy man.” (Clarke)

ii. “Such burdens can best be borne in youth when a man has the requisite vigour, and when his personality needs to be disciplined more than would be the case in his more mature years.” (Harrison)

iii. Spurgeon suggested many reasons why it is good to bear the yoke when young:

· It is good because obedience to God is best learned when young.

· It is good because it saves from a thousand snares.

· It is good because it keeps from bearing the devil’s yoke.

· It is good because it gives you more years to serve God.

· It is good because it gives one many years of experience.

Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes - Remember they are here because of their pride, unwillingness to submit to God's right and authority over His creation. He has told them of sin, and also warned them of the result. Yes, this is a painful time, a horrible grief, they have lost everything, but they are still alive, and what will it benefit them to stiffen their neck again. They refused the yoke in prosperity, and it brought them to this, so it would be much wiser to admit that nothing comes that God does not allow, and humble themselves in receiving this punishment. Did not Christ do this on our behalf, take what was owed to us, He who had no sin became sin for us, that we might have the righteousness of God through faith in His atoning work? 

…66What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered. 67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him 68and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”… Matthew 26: 66-68

38You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ 39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;… Matthew 5: 38-40

…10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.… Matthew 5: 10-12

To subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve - Men are made in the image of God, and if you suffer unjustly, if those that are supposed to represent the law do so in a gross manner, favoring the rich, favoring an amount of melanin, favoring where a man is from, his last name, or punishing beyond what is just or fair, or not punishing those that should receive such, then God will have the last word.

“The mt of verse 35 lends force to the concept of natural or inherent human rights when rendered, to pervert the right which a man has in the very presence of the Most High. God therefore disapproves heartily of any attempt to deprive an individual of his rights in the law (36), or to condemn him unjustly.” (Harrison)

…24What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there? 25Far be it from You to do such a thing— to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” 26So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”… Genesis 18: 24-26

Why should a living man complain - Ah, the wages of sin is death, and yet you are still alive to read this my friend, take advantage of such and repent. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

“He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain.” (Clarke)

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 Lord’s mercy that he is not consumed, and sent packing hence to hell. Life in any sense is a sweet mercy, even that which to the afflicted may seem a lifeless life.” (Trapp)

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.… James 1: 2-4

40-66. We have transgressed and rebelled - It is not that God has been unjust, no, He has been patient.

You have made us scum and garbage - Something to be thrown away, something to pinch one's nose and cover one's mouth with their hand when passing. Not the light of the world, not a holy people, a beacon of truth and godliness, but refuse.

“The nation’s recognition of itself as offscouring (so most evv) employs a descriptive term sehi, occurring here only in the Hebrew Bible, and in the context denotes anything rejected as unfit for use. Its New Testament counterpart (1 Corinthians 4:13) is equally rare, depicting the suffering of the apostles.” (Harrison)

My eyes flow with rivers of tears - Jeremiah will not stop crying till God looks upon them with His favor, a crumb of comfort from the Lord's table, anything to know that God has not forsaken them forever.

You came near when I called on you - God has answered him in the past, from the cistern, and God has delivered him, so he still has hope, reason to believe.

I am the object of their taunts - Jeremiah's enemies wanted to make the one calling for repentance, for holiness, to look filthy, Christ Himself was accused of blasphemy. This will always be the way, a popular chant now is, "racist", everyone who does not agree with the accusers is a bigot. Jeremiah is turning them over to God, for though they find no dirt, yet they throw it his way, hoping that some will stick.

“If you will turn to the lives of any of the saints of God, you will discover that they were the victims of slanders of the grossest kind. To this very day it is asserted by Romanists that Martin Luther was a drunkard. In his own day he was called the German beast, that for lust must needs marry Catharine. If you turn to the life of Whitfield – our great and mighty Whitfield – in more modern times, what was his character? Why, he was accused of every crime that even Sodom knew; and perjury stood up and swore that all was true. As for Wesley – I have heard that on one occasion he said that he had been charged with every crime in the calendar, except drunkenness; and when a woman stood up in the crowd and accused him of that, he then said, ‘Blessed God, I have now had all manner of evil spoken against me falsely, for Christ’s name sake.’” (Spurgeon)

You will repay them, O Lord - Jeremiah has unloaded a great burden from his shoulders in trusting that the God of heaven will do justice.