lamentations 3 explained
Commentary for Lamentations 3 . And God's causing our grief ought to be no discouragement at all to those expectations. From my sighing, from my cry for help.. Though He causes grief, Afflictions do and will work very much for good: many have found it good to bear this yoke in their youth; it has made many humble and serious, and has weaned them from the world, who otherwise would have been proud and unruly. 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. He sitteth alone He has learned that necessary lesson of independence, that shows him how he is to serve himself; to give no trouble to others; and keep his troubles, as far as possible, in his own bosom. Note, God is sometimes angry with his own people; yet it is to be complained of, not as a sword to cut off, by only as a rod to correct; it is to them the rod of his wrath, a chastening which, though grievous for the present, will in the issue be advantageous. 6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. You drew near on the day I called on You: Jeremiah knew that God responded when he called upon Him. The yoke in his youth. This was the language of God's prophets preaching to them not to fear (Isa 41 10, 13, 14), of his providence preventing those things which they were afraid of, and of his grace quieting their minds, and making them easy, by the witness of his Spirit with their spirits that they were his people still, though in distress, and therefore ought not to fear. Like a lion in ambush. Let the curse be executed, v. 66. If he does not willingly grieve the children of men, much less his own children. 1. Almost in all countries, and in all languages, bitterness is a metaphor to express trouble and affliction. Salem Media Group. 1. Things are bad but they might have been worse, and therefore there is hope that they may be better. 2. a. The sum is, If tribulation work patience, that patience will work experience, and that experience a hope that makes not ashamed. If we cannot say with unwavering voice, The Lord is my portion; may we not say, I desire to have Him for my portion and salvation, and in his word do I hope? And (v. 6), He has set me in dark places, dark as the grave, like those that are dead of old, that are quite forgotten, nobody knows who or what they were. Note, Those who are truly humbled for sin will be glad to obtain a good hope, through grace, upon any terms, though they put their mouth in the dust for it; and those who would have hope must do so, and ascribe it to free grace if they have any encouragements, which may keep their hearts from sinking into the dust when they put their mouth there. Wherever God leaves life, He leaves hope. This St. Paul refers to in his account of the sufferings of the apostles. i. 2. Great and long grief exhausts the spirits, and brings not only many a gray head, but many a green head too, to the grave. These streams followed up to the fountain: It is of the Lord's mercies. Wherefore doth a living man complain He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. 2 10. The Lord is my portion Psalms 119:57. 2. i. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. II. b. Due thoughts of the evil of sin, and of our own sinfulness, will convince us that it is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. 3. Matthew Henrys Bible Commentary (concise), Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete), California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Are we suffering for our sins? 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. 3. "When I lay gasping for life, and ready to expire, and thought i was breathing my last, then thou tookest cognizance of my distressed case." Passwords should have at least 6 characters. The afflicted church is drowned in tears, and the prophet for her (v. 48, 49): My eye runs down with rivers of water, so abundant was their weeping; it trickles down and ceases not, so constant was their weeping, without any intermission, there being no relaxation of their miseries. Major Prophets 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. The title of the 102nd Psalm might very fitly be prefixed to this chapterThe prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the Lord; for it is very feelingly and fluently that the complaint is here poured out. David Guzik :: Study Guide for Lamentations 3 If God disciplines us when we are young, it is to train us for a fruitful future. I weep, ways the prophet, more than all the daughters of my city (so the margin reads it); he outdid even those of the tender sex in the expressions of grief. i. Their enemies chased them till they had quite prevailed over them (v. 53): They have cut off my life in the dungeon. (Lamentations 3:19-20) The sinking soul. He laments the direful effects of the famine to which they were reduced by the siege, ver 3-10. with bitterness and hardship. 13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. Prophets The Old Testament 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. My affliction and my transgression (so some read it), my trouble and my sin that brought it upon me; this was the wormwood and the gall in the affliction and the misery. We must lift up our hearts with our hands, as we must pour out our souls with our words. Spurgeon suggested many reasons why it is good to bear the yoke when young: b. Hunted me down like a bird. "We are the refuse, or dross, in the midst of the people, trodden upon by every body, and looked upon as the vilest of the nations, and good for nothing but to be cast out as salt which has lost its savour. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, The third poem is significantly different in structure from the others, being made up of single lines grouped in threes, and commencing with the same consonant of the Hebrew alphabet. (R.K. Harrison), In the Hebrew Bible, the first three verses all start with aleph, the second three verses with beth, and so forth. (Philipp Ryken). Lamentations 3 Commentary - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the But for hope, the heart would break. Now Jeremiah prayed that Yahweh would repay their enemies, and give them a veiled heart even as Judah was blind. Some read it, at my gasping. My soul has them still in remembrance. It seemed as a butt for all God's arrows; and each arrow of calamity entered into the soul, for God was the unerring marksman. I have become the ridicule of all my people He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. 2023 Christianity.com. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. 4. 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. Words of comfort to God's people when they are in trouble and distress, ver 21-36. According to the multitude of His mercies. He shuts out my prayer. 5. O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; (Lamentations 3:10-18) God an adversary in many ways. We are men; let us herein show ourselves men. "I recall it to mind; therefore have I hope, and am kept from downright despair." And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. Verse 22. Verse 57. Lamentations 3 New International Version 3 [ a]I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord's wrath. He has led me and made me walk in darkness: This seems to be the hardest part of our lot, that God should lead us into darkness: He hath led me, and brought me into darkness. Yet dear brethren, that is, on the other hand, the sweetest thing about our trial; because, if the darkness be in the place where God has led us, it is best for us to be in the dark. (Spurgeon). (3.) They have loaded us with curses; as they loved cursing, so let it come unto them, thy curse which will make them truly miserable. Verse 17. 2. He has also broken my teeth with gravel: What a figure to express disgust, pain, and the consequent incapacity of taking food for the support of life; a man, instead of bread, being obliged to eat small pebbles till all his teeth are broken to pieces by endeavouring to grind them. From under the heavens of the Lord. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. To this very day it is asserted by Romanists that Martin Luther was a drunkard. Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed? Verse 13. (2.) i. Are we healthful or sickly, rich or poor? And surely they are such as afford a sufficient ground for trusting in God under the severest trials. But he does not do it willingly, not from the heart; so the word is. Early discipline is equally so. For he doth not afflict willingly It is no pleasure to God to afflict men. But the weakest believer is wrong, if he thinks that his strength and hope are perished from the Lord. Verse 39. Instead of Adonai, seventeen MSS., of Kennicott's, and one ancient of my own, have Yehovah. Shall a man complain? God therefore disapproves heartily of any attempt to deprive an individual of his rights in the law (36), or to condemn him unjustly. (Harrison). Lamentations - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org Or subvert a man in his cause hichphishani beepher, "he hath plunged me into the dust." He does not himself crush under his feet the prisoners of the earth, but he regards the cry of the prisoners; nor does he approve of men's doing it; nay, he is much displeased with it. He retains his kindness for his people even when he afflicts them. (Lamentations 3:24-26) Gods goodness to the seeking soul. 2. Lamentations 3 1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD's wrath. At the south of Africa the sea was generally so stormy, when the frail barks of the Portuguese went sailing south, that they named it the Cape of Storms; but after that cape had been well rounded by bolder navigators, they named it the Cape of Good Hope. Lamentations 3 NIV - I am the man who has seen affliction by - Bible 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; 5 he has besieged . I. a. like those long dead. Approveth not, lo raah, doth not see, turns away his face from it, abhors it. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their music. i. My enemies without cause No matter how bad the past day was, Gods people can look to the new morning with faith and hope. The people of this once great city experienced the judgment of the holy God, and the results were devastating. God will plead thy cause, and redeem thy soul. (Clarke). of It is good that a man should both hope Hope is essentially necessary to faith; he that hopes not, cannot believe; if there be no expectation, there can be no confidence. I have forgotten prosperity. To turn aside the justice due a man before the face of the Most High: The MT of verse 35 lends force to the concept of natural or inherent human rights when rendered, to pervert the right which a man has in the very presence of the Most High.
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