This middle chapter of Lamentations is different from the other 4. Sandwiched between lamenting over Jerusalem and Judah’s punishment, Jeremiah praises God for His Mercy. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 of Lamentations are acrostic poems. The Hebrew language has 22 letters and each verse starts with a different letter of the alphabet. This made it easy for the people to memorize scripture. However, chapter 3 has 66 verses and it’s a triple acrostic with every 3 verses starting with a succeeding letter of the alphabet. This chapter was the inspiration for the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm, written in a log cabin in 1866. It’s embedded at the bottom. Let’s dig in…
Lamentations 3 – Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness
I am the one who has seen the afflictions
that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He has led me into darkness,
shutting out all light.
3 He has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.4 He has made my skin and flesh grow old.
He has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged and surrounded me
with anguish and distress.
6 He has buried me in a dark place,
like those long dead.7 He has walled me in, and I cannot escape.
He has bound me in heavy chains.
8 And though I cry and shout,
he has shut out my prayers.
9 He has blocked my way with a high stone wall;
he has made my road crooked.10 He has hidden like a bear or a lion,
waiting to attack me.
11 He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces,
leaving me helpless and devastated.
12 He has drawn his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.13 He shot his arrows
deep into my heart.
14 My own people laugh at me.
All day long they sing their mocking songs.
15 He has filled me with bitterness
and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.16 He has made me chew on gravel.
He has rolled me in the dust.
17 Peace has been stripped away,
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:28 Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord’s demands.
29 Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there may be hope at last.
30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.31 For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
33 For he does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.34 If people crush underfoot
all the prisoners of the land,
35 if they deprive others of their rights
in defiance of the Most High,
36 if they twist justice in the courts—
doesn’t the Lord see all these things?37 Who can command things to happen
without the Lord’s permission?
38 Does not the Most High
send both calamity and good?
39 Then why should we, mere humans, complain
when we are punished for our sins?40 Instead, let us test and examine our ways.
Let us turn back to the Lord.
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
to God in heaven and say,
42 “We have sinned and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven us.43 “You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down,
and slaughtered us without mercy.
44 You have hidden yourself in a cloud
so our prayers cannot reach you.
45 You have discarded us as refuse and garbage
among the nations.46 “All our enemies
have spoken out against us.
47 We are filled with fear,
for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”
48 Tears stream from my eyes
because of the destruction of my people!49 My tears flow endlessly;
they will not stop
50 until the Lord looks down
from heaven and sees.
51 My heart is breaking
over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.52 My enemies, whom I have never harmed,
hunted me down like a bird.
53 They threw me into a pit
and dropped stones on me.
54 The water rose over my head,
and I cried out, “This is the end!”55 But I called on your name, Lord,
from deep within the pit.
56 You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!
Hear my cry for help!”
57 Yes, you came when I called;
you told me, “Do not fear.”58 Lord, you have come to my defense;
you have redeemed my life.
59 You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord.
Be my judge, and prove me right.
60 You have seen the vengeful plots
my enemies have laid against me.61 Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me.
You know all about the plans they have made.
62 My enemies whisper and mutter
as they plot against me all day long.
63 Look at them! Whether they sit or stand,
I am the object of their mocking songs.64 Pay them back, Lord,
Lamentations 3 NLT
for all the evil they have done.
65 Give them hard and stubborn hearts,
and then let your curse fall on them!
66 Chase them down in your anger,
destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.
Points to Ponder
- Judah and Jerusalem are feeling the “rod of God’s wrath”. In other words, they’re getting a spanking for disobeying. They were warned by the prophets over and over again. Yet, they didn’t listen. They didn’t repent of their sins and stop worshiping false idols instead of God. As previously stated, God’s judgment is just, right and fair. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s perfection. Therefore, EVERYONE will be judged.
- Jeremiah was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow.
- God even told Jeremiah not to bother praying for his country because they were too far gone. Is America too far gone?
- Jeremiah was weary in his service to the Lord. I don’t blame him. He was beat up, thrown in jail, even thrown down a cistern! Yet, he didn’t give up! He never got tired OF serving the Lord.
- Incredibly, Jeremiah could see God’s mercy amidst the trouble. He also knew that God wouldn’t totally wipe out the Jewish race like He could have. It could have been way worse.
- The Jews would get a new start after the 70 years of Babylonian exile.
- While we cannot escape persecution, trials, and suffering, God’s Mercy and Faithfulness keep us going through our tribulations. Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT) Because Jesus overcame, we become overcommers when we believe in Him!
- God’s Mercy gave us Jesus! His Mercies are new every morning! They are perpetual — always available.
- The Hebrew word for “compassions” is “racham”, which means “loving kindness” and “tender love”.
- God’s Mercy also gave us the New Covenant. Once we repent and surrender our lives to Jesus, we are saved from the Judgment Day. That is the Salvation of Jesus Christ!
Pastor Sandy Adams comments…
His Spirit can touch us in a myriad of new, wonderful ways. Let God caress you. Let Him warm your heart. Let His Spirit wrap His arms around you. Let’s stop floundering in our failure, and focus on God’s love.
Sandy Adams
God, the Loving Parent
God “spanks” us — or wacks us upside the head — to get us to change our course. If we’re headed in the wrong direction, He wants to straighten us out. He’s done that with me more times than I can count.
On our own we can NEVER be good enough or do enough rites and rituals to get us into Heaven. Through Jesus is the ONLY WAY! Therefore…
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Great is Thy Faithfulness
This is one of my favorite hymns. The line that gets me is “All I have needed Thy hands hath provided.” Whenever I’m struggling, I sing this hymn.