Lamentations 3
McGeeCHAPTER 3THEME: Elegy 3Each one of the chapters in this little Book of Lamentations forms an acrostic. That is, there are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and each of the twenty-two verses in each chapter begins with the succeeding letter. However, in this chapter there are sixty-six verses, which means that there are three verses that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
Lamentations 3:1
This man Jeremiah has seen and gone through great trouble. His health is wrecked because of his concern for Jerusalem. Jeremiah was not unmoved by the destruction he had seen come to the nation. He did not run around saying, “I told you so!” Actually, he was heartbroken. His response also shows us how God feels. God is not removed; He goes with those who are His own. The Lord Jesus said, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb_13:5). Whatever you are going through, you can be sure He is there.
Lamentations 3:21
If I were to give a title to these last three chapters of Lamentations, it would be, “When Tomorrows Become Yesterdays.” Jeremiah is now looking back upon the past. He had predicted the judgment that came upon Jerusalem, and Jeremiah sits in the rubble and ruin of Jerusalem weeping as he writes this lamentation. These verses are the only bright spot in all of the five lamentations. “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” In spite of the severe judgment of Godand many thought it was too severeJeremiah can see the hand of God’s mercy. They would have been utterly consumed had it not been for the mercy of God. If they had received their just deserts, they would have been utterly destroyedthey would have disappeared from the earth. Was Judah’s deliverance from such a fate due to something in them? No, it was all due to the faithfulness of God. He had promised Abraham that He would make a nation come from himand this was the nation. He had promised Moses that He would put them into the land. He had promised Joshua that He would establish them there. He promised David that there would come One in his line to reign on the throne forever. The prophets all said that God would not utterly destroy this people but that He would judge them for their sin. God is faithful. He has judged them, but He will not utterly destroy them. A faithful remnant has always remained, and ultimately they will become a great nation again. Will God judge America? A great many people think not, but I think He will.