That God does not approve of them. Because of all the daughters of my city. What hope is there of either peace or prosperity? 3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. You have made us an offscouring and refuse Remember my affliction and roaming: Jeremiah did not prescribe positive thinking for this deep affliction. Lamentations 3:1-66 . The daughters of my city. Note, We all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that we are not consumed. He appeals to God's knowledge of the matter of fact, how very spiteful and malicious his enemies were (v. 59): "O Lord! 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. So unworthy we are that nothing but an abundant mercy will relieve us; and from that what may we not expect? According to the work of their hands. He and many others had seen affliction, and they knew that it came as Gods discipline (the rod of His wrath). No; he has more reason to be thankful for life than to complain of any of the burdens and calamities of life. God has access to the spirit, and can so embitter that as thereby to embitter all the enjoyments; as, when the stomach is foul, whatever is eaten sours in it: "He has made me drunk with wormwood, so intoxicated me with the sense of my afflictions that I know not what to say or do. Lamentations 3:31 Commentaries: For the Lord will not reject forever, This and other passages in this poem have been applied to Jesus Christ's passion; but, in my opinion, without any foundation. Observe how he calls prayer his breathing; for in prayer we breathe towards God, we breathe after him. c. In Your anger, pursue and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD: Jerusalem and Judah had faced the anger of God and the destruction that came from it. Keep silent: There came a young man to Demosthenes to learn oratory; he talked away at a great rate, and Demosthenes said, I must charge you double fees. Why? he asked. Note, When we draw nigh to God in a way of duty we may by faith see him drawing nigh to us in a way of mercy. Verse 31. Verse 15. The Whole Bible I am chastened every morning," Ps 73 14. The prophet had owned that a living man should not complain, as if he checked himself for his complaints in the former part of the chapter; and yet here the clouds return after the rain and the wound bleeds afresh; for great pains must be taken with a troubled spirit to bring it into temper. Lamentations 3 Commentary - John Gill's Exposition of the Bible They complain of the afflictions they are under, not without some reflections upon God, which we are not to imitate, but, under the sharpest trials, must always think and speak highly and kindly of him. All rights reserved. But these and similar expressions in the following verses may be merely metaphorical, to point out their straitened, oppressed, and distressed state. Pentateuch Before the face of the Most High, I. It is not only good to hope and wait for the salvation, but it is good to be under the trouble in the mean time (v. 27): It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. These mercies are always new because they come from God. II. ii. He silenced their fears, and quieted their spirits. God can interpret all. (Meyer). Johannine Writings One can scarcely read this description without feeling the toothache. (Clarke), iii. We are men, and not angels, and therefore cannot expect to be free from troubles as they are; we are not inhabitants of that world where there is no sorrow, but this where there is nothing but sorrow. He has mingled gravel with my bread, so that my teeth are broken with it (v. 16) and what I eat is neither pleasant nor nourishing. We are men, and not children that cry for every thing that hurts them. God had been for him, but no "Surely against me is he turned (v. 3), as far as I can discern; for his hand is turned against me all the day. The wormwood and the gall. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. That, whatever men's actions are, it is God that overrules them: Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass (that designs a thing and bring his designs to effect), if the Lord commandeth it not? 2023 Christianity.com. It hindered their prayers from coming up unto God (v. 44): "Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud," not like that bright cloud in which he took possession of the temple, which enabled the worshippers to draw near to him, but like that in which he came down upon Mount Sinai, which obliged the people to stand at a distance. We are living men. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulitThe same hand inflicted the wound and healed it. Lamentations 3 - Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible - Bible Almost in all countries, and in all languages, bitterness is a metaphor to express trouble and affliction. Our treasures, which we lay up on earth, are the stagnant pools; but the treasure which God gives us from heaven, in providence and in grace, is the crystal fount which wells up from the eternal deeps, and is always fresh and always new. (Spurgeon). 5. d. It is good that he should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD: Everything previous in Lamentations was deep in despair, and the misery was by no means over. Like the book of Job, Lamentations pictures a man of God puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world. That we may be entitled to the comforts administered to the afflicted in the foregoing verses, and may taste the sweetness of them, we have here the duties of an afflicted state prescribed to us, in the performance of which we may expect those comforts. God will take his part, and bring him safely through all hardships. But through all of his long and faithful ministry, he was (like the Lord Jesus) despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with much grief. Lamentations 4 Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible See Jeremiah 38:6, &c. Verse 56. We are men, and not gods, subjects, not lords; we are not our own masters, not our own carvers; we are bound and must obey, must submit. 2. Do not hide Your ear Thou hast seen - all their imaginations Every thing is open to the eye of God. Those who in their haste have chidden with God must, in the reflection, chide themselves for it. In the midst of the peoples. Let us search out and examine our ways, He has bent His bow: This figure shows the power of the archers arm, which transfixed the poet with arrows. (Ellison), ii. 5. Text is available under the . ( Lamentations 3:1-21) "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. Gods response to this seeking soul was, Do not fear!, i. 2. Lamentations 3:21-23 NIV - Yet this I call to mind and therefore I From under the heavens of the Lord. And pursued us; I. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. It was an affliction that was misery itself; for sin makes the cup of affliction a bitter cup. hichphishani beepher, "he hath plunged me into the dust." The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the holy God, and the results were devastating. Pauline Epistles That is, thou hast made us to all nations extremely contemptible, so as they value us no more than the sweepings of their houses, or the most vile, refuse, and contemptible things imaginable. (Poole). Let them be dealt with," (1.) Do not fear: How powerful is this word when spoken by the Spirit of the Lord to a disconsolate heart. 1. i. Here he began to write as the voice of an individual sufferer. 4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. Judge thou my cause, v. 59. Thank you for registering. "I recall it to mind; therefore have I hope, and am kept from downright despair." The sum is, If tribulation work patience, that patience will work experience, and that experience a hope that makes not ashamed. I will stay myself upon him, and encourage myself in him, when all other supports and encouragements fail me." However, while Job dealt with unexplained evil, Jeremiah lamented a tragedy entirely of Jerusalem's making. (Lamentations 3:21-23) New mercies from a faithful God. i. How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. He has caused the arrows of His quiver He had already begun to appear for them (v. 58): "O Lord! 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. Thus emphatically does he speak of his affliction, for thus did he think of it, thus heavily did it lie when he reviewed it! Lamentations 3 introduces another character: the geber, or "strongman," who is expected to defend the city from its attackers (verse 1). Through the good hand of our God upon us we are alive yet, though dying daily; and shall a living man complain? c. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him: All the misery of Gods people had come because they would not truly seek God and wait for Him. - Blayney. Bad as things are, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not worse. That he is not able to discern any way of escape or deliverance (v. 5): "He has built against me, as forts and batteries are built against a besieged city. a. It is possible to interpret this chapter as a record of the feelings of Jeremiah himself, or as a personification in an otherwise unknown individual or the nations tragic sufferings. (Harrison), ii. 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. An Introduction to the Book of Lamentations | Bible.org 37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Had we been dealt with according to our sins, we should have been consumed long ago; but we have been dealt with according to God's mercies, and we are bound to acknowledge it to his praise. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 1. God's having heard our voice when we cried to him, even out of the low dungeon, is an encouragement for us to hope that he will not at any time hide his ear. And their whispering against me all the day. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. (Clarke), ii. The prophet here laments the injuries and indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown, ver 1, 2. When our comforts fail, yet God's compassions do not. I have eaten ashes like bread," Ps 102 9. You need to be saved from sin, in this Book God has revealed the way of salvation, therefore do not shut up the Book, and fasten the clasps, and leave it neglected. Words of comfort to God's people when they are in trouble and distress, ver 21-36. Like a lawyer pleading for his client, God pleaded the case for his life. Note, Those that are cast down are commonly tempted to think themselves cast off, Ps 31 22; Jon 2 4. (2.) Here is, I. He faithfully announced His judgments and performed them, and God would prove to be just as faithful in His promised restoration. Till the LORD from heaven Let us see what these things are which he calls to mind. The former is their state, the latter their fate. But, as there, so here, faith gets the last word and comes off a conqueror; for in these verses he concludes with some comfort. If God disciplines us when we are young, it is to train us for a fruitful future. He will deliver his people from every trouble, and revive his church from every persecution. 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. Lamentations 3:21-23. But when do we bear the yoke so that it is really good for us to bear it in our youth? Shall a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? The Lord Adonai; but one of my ancient MSS. Or, it may be rendered, "let him give his cheek.". 2. David often complains of those that hated him without cause; and such are the enemies of Christ and his church, John 15 25. Verse 34. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through. i. Verse 30. Enduring Word Bible Commentary Lamentations Chapter 3 This is the consequence of their hardening their hearts from thy fear. With gravel: It could be argued that it refers to the type of bread made from the sweepings of the granary floor that Jeremiah must have received toward the end of the siege. (Ellison), iv. The Old Testament VIII. If you cannot speak, cry, sob, or groan, then be still. The streams of mercy acknowledged: We are not consumed. 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. 41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. 8. The faithful lament their calamities, and hope in God's mercies. Lamentations 3:3 "Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand [against me] all the day." The course of God's providence toward me is quite altered, his hand, that is, his power, which was accustomed to being with me, and for me, against my enemies, is now turned against me. The distemper was in continual extremity, and they had no better day. You have slain and not pitied. c. LORD, You have seen how I am wronged: Jeremiah rested in the confidence that God was a righteous judge, who would see how he was wronged and who would rightly judge his case. Darkness is put for great trouble and perplexity, the want both of comfort and of direction; this was the case of the complainant (Lamentations 3:2; Lamentations 3:2): "He has led meby his providence, and an unaccountable chain of events, into darkness and not into light,the darkness I feared and not into the light I hoped for." Jeremiahs personal lament is a reminder that suffering is always personal. Jerusalem was the tabret they played upon. The prophet addressed him personally and directly: Great is your faithfulness. These rivers of mercy run fully and constantly, but never run dry. 4. What is said of the idols is here said of their worshippers (who in this also shall be like unto them), They shall perish from under these heavens, Jer 10 11. Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ii. From which it most assuredly follows, that God never afflicts us but for our good, nor chastises but that we may be partakers of his holiness. Read full chapter Lamentations 2 Lamentations 4 New International Version (NIV) They complain of the lamentable destruction that their enemies made of them (v. 47): Fear and a snare have come upon us; the enemies have not only terrified us with those alarms, but prevailed against us by their stratagems, and surprised us with the ambushes they laid for us; and then follows nothing but desolation and destruction, the destruction of the daughter of my people (v. 48), of all the daughters of my city, v. 51. Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). The yoke in his youth: Early habits, when good, are invaluable. Here the clouds begin to disperse and the sky to clear up; the complaint was very melancholy in the former part of the chapter, and yet here the tune is altered and the mourners in Zion begin to look a little pleasant. That prayer should not pass through. That he is at a loss and altogether in the dark. Their taunting song: Mocking or taunt-songs were also frequently used to express derision or contempt for an enemy. (Harrison). That even in the depth of their affliction they still have experience of the tenderness of the divine pity and the truth of the divine promise. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22', There are options set in 'Advanced Options', The Whole Bible It is no pleasure to God to afflict men. You drew near on the day I called on You, II. My soul, having them in remembrance, is humbled in me, not only oppressed with a sense of the trouble, but in bitterness for sin. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it was less than his iniquity deserved. III. God will plead thy cause, and redeem thy soul. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. (Lamentations 3:37-39) The God who cannot be opposed. He is good to those who do so, v. 25. Whatever measure he was to receive, whatever inheritance, whatever future, it would all be found in Yahweh. And we must thus humble ourselves, if so be there may be hope, or (as it is in the original) peradventure there is hope. Pauline Epistles Lamentations 3:21 Commentaries: This I recall to my mind, Therefore I Give them a veiled heart; i. God feels breath; and happy is he that can say, In thee I hope, Lord, and after thee I breathe or pant. (Trapp), iii. Time and time again throughout the day. Yes, certainly it is; and for the reconciling of us to our own afflictions, whatever they be, this general truth must thus be particularly applied. Lamentations 3 The scope of this chapter is the same with that of the two foregoing chapters, but the composition is somewhat different; that was in long verse, this is in short, another kind of metre; that was in single alphabets, this is in a treble one. It is good because it gives you more years to serve God. It is he that causes grief, and therefore we may be assured it is ordered wisely and graciously; and it is but for a season, and when need is, that we are in heaviness, 1 Pt.
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