Jeremiah continues his lament in this 3rd stanza by speaking about his personal ordeal. Yet even in the trial there is hope.
Lamentations 3: Great Is Your Faithfulness
1 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 willingly afflict 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."
Things to think about…
1. Look at Jeremiah’s grief. He is the one who told the people of Jerusalem to repent and seek after the Lord. They didn’t repent and judgement came. Jeremiah was not taken to Babylon, but was left with those who were told to take care of the land under a Babylonian appointee. Jeremiah is also suffering as one who gave the message and believed the message. Yet he is also suffering. He says his skin wastes away, his bones are broken, Lam 3:4 and the Lord isn’t hearing his prayer, vs 8. Sounds a bit like Job doesn’t it. Ever felt like the Lord has left you out in the cold? Many biblical writers have felt the same way. It gives the scriptures authenticity. They experienced what we experience. When a nation rejects the Lord, even the godly suffer. Christians in Syria, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and parts of Africa know this reality at present.
2. Look at verse Lam 3:18 and compare it with verse 22. How can Jeremiah write two opposite sentiments? How can they both be true? He has felt both the Lord’s hand of blessing and judgement, that’s how. He knows the Lord is still a loving and merciful God. The Lord’s character does not change simply because we are presently going through a tough time. Let’s never feel God’s concern or care for us has changed when we feel things are not going our way.
3. ‘For the Lord will not cast off forever’, Lam 3:31. Jeremiah knows it’s only for a season and then things will be restored. Jerusalem will once again flourish (as it does today) and he will personally be delivered from his affliction. God is not a God who willingly afflicts humanity, vs 33. In his sovereignty with all the suffering we see, let us not think God gains any pleasure from those who suffer. Suffering has a purpose for those who must endure it and for the Christian, the season ends.
4. Jeremiah says the only answer is to ‘examine our ways, and return to the LORD!’, Lam 3:40. Jeremiah called to the Lord, Lam 3:55 and look what the Lord does, vss 56-66 – He hears, comes near, takes up our cause, sees the wrong, sees the enemies’ taunts. As such, He will repay, He will give them dull hearts, curse them, pursue them, and destroy them. Just because we are going through a tough time because of the enemies of the cross does not mean the Lord does not see, hear or know. We need to be patient, knowing the Lord is doing a work in us as we wait and that we will see His justice perfectly in the fullness of time. The 3rd century Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, wrote “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small.” I would change the plural to the singular to define the truth “The mill of God grinds slowly, but it grinds small”.
5. Jeremiah while he remained in the land was still an object of cursing by others who were left behind, Lam 3:58-66. They would have seen him as a prophet of doom and that doom had come about and they were all suffering. Jeremiah is also suffering with them and their taunts make it worse. But it was Jeremiah’s wish to stay, Jer 40:1-6. Sometimes our choices bring more persecution in Christ, but He will be honoured either way. Jeremiah had already been tested as a young man and his resolve to serve the Lord was cemented as a young man. May we have the same resolve right to the end.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Ric that his procedure went well.
2. Pray for Phil and Anna Kennedy especially over the next few days
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for peace over the US elections
7. The ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
8. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
9. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
10. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
11. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
12. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
13. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Ric sounded his usual self after Sunday’s events. Praise God he is still with us.
2. Praise God for God’s ministry on Sunday and café afterwards.
3. Did really well with the kids at face painting considering Sunday’s events.
4. Wonderful ministry from CMI and Dr Ron Neller on Sunday night.
5. Praise God for young people stepping up in a number of ministries.
6. New people helping with Playgroup.
7. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting next Sunday morning 25th Aug after morning tea.
2. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for August...
Q. 23. What is meant by transgression? A. Doing what God forbids.
