Lamentations 3:18-26
[18] And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
[19] Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
[20] My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
[21] This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
[22] It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
[23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
[24] The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
[25] The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
[26] It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
Jeremiah is lamenting over the downfall of his people
- The chastening of God upon them
- The full and the captivity
No one seemed to care (Lamentations 1:12)
[12] Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
We can share jeremiahs tears:
- The moral condition of our land
- Crime, drugs, immorality rampant
- The cold condition of the churches
There is a message of triumph in this book of tears
There is a burst of delight in this book of despair:
- God is faithful even when things look dark
- God’s faithfulness revives his weeping prophet
Mercy: a word that bring hope to the troubled. To those in darkness, that despite your failures you can be forgiven
Compassion: a word of comfort, it lets me feel as you feel.
This reminds us of Christ and his compassion for the hurting multitudes.
To them that wait for him and to the soul that seeketh him: We can quietly wait for the salvation of the lord!