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. 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. His 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”.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups on Holiday break
Prayer Points
1. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours 😉
2. Pray for those on holidays and travelling.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof and solar.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
5. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
6. Sunday’s message from Lam 4 - “This is kinda sad.” – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. Gina’s testimony on Sunday was a great blessing and wonderfully tailored into the sermon.
2. New cell groups.
3. Praise and worship – thanks Josh, Ben, Rin, Tim, Dan and Doug. great job.
Announcements
1. Cell groups and other ministries on break over the holidays.
2. PlayPatch starting up next term for toddlers at church. See Maddison for details.
3. Men’s brekky TBA. But will be down at Colleges Crossing within the next month or so on a Saturday morning.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
