Lamentations 3

A PROPHETLam_3:1-66 Again in chapter three the poet has adopted the acrostic style but in a slightly different form from that of the previous chapters. In chapters 1 and 2 only the first line of each stanza of three lines began with con­secutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3 all three lines of each stanza begin with the same Hebrew letter. Chapter 3 is actually the same length as chap­ters 1 and 2 though the verse numeration makes it appear longer. In the first two chapters three lines of Hebrew verse comprise one verse of English text; in chapter 3 each line of Hebrew text has been counted as one verse of English text. Thus the verses of chapter 3 are only one third as long as those of chapters 1 and 2 and there are three times as many of them.

The major exegetical problem arising in chapter 3 is whether this is an individual lament or whether the in­dividual here is a personification of the nation. In favor of the individual interpretation of the chapter is the fact that the speaker is called a man (Lamentations 3:1; Lamentations 3:27; Lamentations 3:35; Lamentations 3:39). Furthermore, some of the verses of this chapter have an intensely personal tone (e.g., Lamentations 3:14 and Lamentations 3:53). On the other hand the shift from “I” to “we” in verses 22 and 40-47 would suggest that the first person singular is but a stylistic device which the poet has used to speak of the suffering of the entire nation. According to this view Jeremiah is here speaking as an individual member of the nation who has become identified with his people in the midst of their affliction. Their trouble, suffering and grief are his as well.

In truth the chapter seems to con­tain both the individudval “I” and the collective “I” and it is not always easy to ascertain which use of the first per­son is intended. In the comments which follow the shifts in the usage of the first person will be noted where possible. In relationship to the suffering prophet one can see in this chapter (1) his cry of desperation (Lamentations 3:1-18); (2) his confession of faith (Lamentations 3:19-39); (3) his appeal for repentance (Lamentations 3:40-47; (4) his personal suffering (Lamentations 3:48-54) ; and (5) his prayer for deliverance (Lamentations 3:55-66).

HIS CRY OF Lamentations 3:1-18

(Lamentations 3:1) I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. (Lamentations 3:2) He has led and brought me into darkness and not light. (Lamentations 3:3) Surely against me He keeps on turning His hand all day long. (Lamentations 3:4) He has made my flesh and skin to waste away; He has broken my bones. (Lamentations 3:5) He has hemmed me in, sur­rounding me with bitterness and anguish. (Lamentations 3:6) He has made me dwell in dark places like those who are forever dead. (Lamentations 3:7) He has built a wall about me and I cannot get out. He has put heavy chains upon me. (Lamentations 3:8)Even when I keep on crying and calling for help He shuts out my prayer. (Lamentations 3:9) He has walled up my ways with hewn stone and my paths He has made crooked. (Lamentations 3:10) He is to me like a bear lying in wait, a lion in hiding. (Lamentations 3:11) He turned aside my ways, tore me in pieces and made me desolate. (Lamentations 3:12) He bent His bow and set me up as a target for His arrow. (Lamentations 3:13)He sent into my inward parts the shafts of His quiver. (Lamentations 3:14) I am an object of derision to all my people, their song all the day. (Lamentations 3:15) He has filled me to the brim with bitterness, caused me to drink wormwood. (Lamentations 3:16) He has ground my teeth with gravel and covered me over with ashes. (Lamentations 3:17) You have deprived my soul of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. (Lamentations 3:18) And I said, My strength has perished and my expectation from the LORD.

The opening verse sets the theme for chapter 3. The poet identifies himself as an individual who has experienced in his own life what the nation has experienced. “I am the man who has seen affliction” is a general statement of his misery. “By the rod of His wrath” can refer only to God although God is not specifically mentioned until verse Having identified himself and set forth the basic thesis of the chapter the prophet begins to develop his theme in a series of brilliant similes and metaphors.

1. He compares his experience to a terrifying walk in Stygian darkness (Lamentations 3:2). Darkness is probably symbolic here of the inability to comprehend the judgment which God has brought upon the nation.

2. He compares his affliction to being smitten by the hand of God (Lamentations 3:3). The Old Testament refers fre quently to the “hand of God” (e.g., Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 53:4). No matter what the poet tried to do it seemed that God’s hand was against him. Surely the prophet here is speak ing as a representative of his people.

3. He compares his trouble to old age with its wrinkled skin and fragile bones (Lamentations 3:4). Broken bones are one of the curses of old age for they do not heal easily.

4. He compares his trials to the siege of a city (Lamentations 3:5). He has been surrounded and bombarded by bitterness and anguish. There is no escape. It is a struggle to merely survive.

5. He compares his situation to that of a lost dead man (Lamentations 3:6). Such a one is described as dwelling in dark places (cf. the outer darkness of Mat 25:30). “Those that have been long dead (ASV) and “the dead of old” (KJV) is better rendered “those who are forever or eternally dead.” Following physical death the wicked experience the second death and hence can be spoken of as eternally dead. This verse is a duplicate of Psa 143:3.

6. The figure changes in Lamentations 3:7-8 to that of a prison. The poet feels hedged in by an insurmountable wall and weighted down by heavy and unbreakable chains of brass. Although he cries out in his anguish, there is no answer to his cry for God shuts out his prayers.

7. In a similar figure, the poet contends that a block has been thrown up across the path of his life (Lamentations 3:9). God has placed a wall of carefully prepared and closely fitting hewn stone to blockade his way. Since the straight and easy road to his life’s goals was blocked he had to look for alternative routes. Walking the uncharted by-paths, the poet found himself in a maze of crooked paths most of which turned out to be blind alleys. He felt he was walking aimlessly without knowing his ultimate destiny.

8. In still another figure the poet depicts God as a lion or bear lying in wait for prey. Suddenly, unex pectedly the Lord has seized him and torn him to pieces. Amos (Amos 5:19) and Hosea (Hosea 13:8) use this same figure.

9. The poet feels that he has become the target for the divine archer (Lamentations 3:12-13). The arrow of tribulation and persecution has found its mark in the vital parts (lit., the kidneys) and thus the poet is doomed to suffer a slow and painful death. The arrow metaphor is not un common in the Old Testament (Psalms 38:1-2; Job 6:4; Job 16:12-14).

10. In Lamentations 3:14 the prophet briefly drops the metaphors to complain as the representative of the believing individual that he is mocked and ridiculed by his people. All day long they made him the object of their taunt songs. Pleasure-mad throngs cannot stand those who rebuke and warn of judgment.

11. He compares his sorrow and anguish to food and drink in Lamentations 3:15-16. His food was bitterness which he was forced to eat until he was filled to the brim (lit., sated, nauseated) ; his drink was wormwood, a bitter sub­stance usually associated with gall. As a sign of his dis­grace and mourning the poet has heaped ashes upon him­self and in so doing has gotten grit into his mouth.

12. The prophet was overwhelmed by the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem, In his great suffering he has lost all inner peace. He cannot even remember what it means to enjoy the blessings of life (Lamentations 3:17). He is in the depths of despair. His strength, physical and spiritual, has perished. The confidence which he had previously placed in the Lord has been shaken and, in fact, has dis­appeared (Lamentations 3:18). Yet all is not lost. The moment he announces that he has lost his confidence in the Lord he has done something very significant. He has pronounced the precious name of God. The mention of the name of the Lord in this moment of deepest misery and despair helps the poet to find solid footing for his faith. To this Lord he turns in confident prayer (Lamentations 3:19-39).

HIS OF FAITH Lamentations 3:19-39 Since the poet’s outlook was bleak he tries the uplook. He calls upon God to remember his predicament (Lamentations 3:19) because he himself is not able to forget about it (Lamentations 3:20). Mental and physical miseries are not easily forgotten especially when they continue to press in upon an in­dividual. But while the poet could not for a moment forget his sufferings he did not allow himself to be done in by them. By turning his thoughts to God (Lamentations 3:21-25) and by reflecting upon the nature of suffering (Lamentations 3:26­-39) the prophet is able to gain a great personal victory. Reflections About God Lamentations 3:19-25

(Lamentations 3:19) Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall. (Lamentations 3:20) My soul continu­ally remembers it and is bowed down within me. (Lamentations 3:21)This I will call to mind; therefore, I still have hope. (Lamentations 3:22)The lovingkindnesses of the LORD are the reason we have not been consumed; for His mercies never fail. (Lamentations 3:23) They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:24) My portion is the LORD, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him. (Lamentations 3:25) The LORD is good to the soul who waits for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.

The mention of the name of the Lord in verse 18 served to jog the memory of a grief-stricken prophet. His thoughts are turned from self to the Savior. Bert Hall sees in Lamentations 3:21-25 three pillars upon which the prophet reconstructed his faith: the nature, the person and the gifts of God. The poet first brings to mind the boundless mercy and compassion of God. If it were not for His lovingkindness all men would be instantly con­sumed (Lamentations 3:22). The Hebrew word used here is difficult to render by a single English word.

The word is akin to the New Testament word for grace. The plural form of the word indicates the magnitude and repeated mani­festations of His lovingkindness. His mercies or compas­sions— sympathetic love especially toward the helpless and suffering— never fail (Lamentations 3:22). The expressions of God’s love and mercy are new every morning. Life, breath, opportunities, food, raiment— how often they are taken for granted; how seldom is thanks offered for them. As the prophet meditates upon the ceaselessness of God’s mercy he breaks forth in a triumphant strain: Great is Your faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:23).

This verse and the one which pre­ceded it furnished the inspiration for Thomas Chisholm’s 1. Hall, op. cit, p. 355, magnificent hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” This great affirmation of faith came from the lips of a man who had recently suffered what few others before or since have suffered. It was a time when men had only the post meager provisions. Every morsel of bread, every cup of water, every tattered garment was regarded as an evidence of the mercies of God. Even though the poet had nothing of this world’s goods to make him happy and secure, still he was satisfied for the Lord was his portion. The knowledge that he possessed God and God possessed him was the foundation for the hope of the prophet (Lamentations 3:24).

To those souls who put their trust in Him God is good (Lamentations 3:25). God never forsakes His own!

Reflections About Suffering Lamentations 3:26-39(Lamentations 3:26) It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:27) It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. (Lamentations 3:28) Let him sit alone and remain silent for He has laid it on him, (Lamentations 3:29)Let him put his mouth in the dust, perhaps there is hope. (Lamentations 3:30) Let him give his cheek to the one who smites him; let him be filled with reproach. (Lamentations 3:31) For the Lord will not reject forever. (Lamentations 3:32) For though He may afflict, yet He will have compassion according to the multitude of His lovingkindness; (Lamentations 3:33)for He does not desire to grieve and afflict the children of men. (Lamentations 3:34) To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth, (Lamentations 3:35) to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High, (Lamentations 3:36) to subvert a man in his cause, the LORD does not ap­prove. (Lamentations 3:37) Who is it that speaks and it comes to pass if the Lord has not commanded it? (Lamentations 3:38) Do not pronouncements of misfortunes and prosperity pro­ceed from the mouth of the Most High? (Lamentations 3:39)For what reason does a living man complain, each man because of the punishment for his sins?

Growing out of his reflections about God the poet makes several observations, some practical and some phil­osophical, about human suffering.

1. Patience and hope open the channels of salvation and deliverance (Lamentations 3:26). Boisterous complaint against the human predicament only tends to aggravate the situation. The believer should quietly wait in faith for the deliver ance of the Lord.
2. Self-discipline during one’s youth has positive benefits. If a young person can learn to bear the yoke of suffering he will not easily despair when he is old (Lamentations 3:27). Suffering teaches one patience and hope (Romans 5:3-5) and helps one bring forth the fruit of righteousness (He brews 12:11). Such a one however must learn to suffer in solitude and silence. He should not grumble against the God who sent the tribulation nor should he yield to the temptation to appeal for the sympathy of others by dis cussing with them his aches and pains (Lamentations 3:28).

He must bite the dust in self-abasement humbly to hope that there is hope (Lamentations 3:29). He should willingly submit himself to whatever injustices life has to offer. Even though he may be filled with reproach he should not pour it forth upon hi s antagoni st (Lamentations 3:30 cf. Matthew 5:38-39). 3. Affliction sent by God is measured and purposeful. Present affliction does not mean that God has ultimately rejected His people for the Lord does not reject forever (Lamentations 3:31). Even in periods of chastisement He remains the God of mercy (Lamentations 3:32). He does not permit one trial or temptation beyond what a man can endure. God takes no delight in seeing men suffer (Lamentations 3:33). Nevertheless, He permits men to suffer and sometimes administers the stroke against them in order to accomplish His own sover­eign purposes in their lives. 4. God does not approve of punishment which is not just or purposeful. Political atrocities (Lamentations 3:34), injustice in legal proceedings (Lamentations 3:35) or, in fact, any social in­equities (Lamentations 3:36) arouse His displeasure and demand His punishment. The phrase “before the face of the Most High” points to the fact that human judges are viewed as representatives of God. 5. Nothing is done in this world without God’s per­mission. No one is able to make plans about the future and carry out those plans without the permission of the Lord (Lamentations 3:37). God has clearly set forth in His word the conditions of blessing and the consequences of dis­obedience (Lamentations 3:38). A man is not forced to choose wrong with its resultant punishment. On what basis then does a man complain when he is punished for his sin? (Lamentations 3:39). HIS APPEAL FOR Lamentations 3:40-47 (Lamentations 3:40) Let us search and examine our ways and return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:41) Let us lift up our hearts and hands unto God in heaven: (Lamentations 3:42) We have trans­gressed and rebelled; You have not forgiven. (Lamentations 3:43) You surrounded yourself with wrath and pursued us; You have slain without pity. (Lamentations 3:44) you have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. (Lamentations 3:45) You have made us as dung and refuse in the midst of the peoples. (Lamentations 3:46) All our enemies rail against us. (Lamentations 3:47) Panic and the pit have come upon us, devastation and destruction.

Rather than complain about their suffering the pro­phet urges the people to repent of the sins which have brought about the suffering. Repentance begins with self­examination and honest analysis of their situation. Every individual must “search” (lit., dig into) and “examine” (lit., test or try) his heart. The objective of this rigorous self-examination is to discover and remove any impediments which may be preventing them from returning to the Lord. The Hebrew preposition translated “to” has the idea of actually arriving at the goal. The poet is urging upon his hearers a complete and whole-hearted return to God. Self-examination should be followed by sincere prayer. The hands uplifted towards heaven seems to have been one of the popular postures for prayer in Old Testament times. But Jeremiah urges his hearers to lift up their heart as well as their hands to the Lord (Lamentations 3:41). Proper posture does not always mean proper prayer! In genuine prayer inward submission always accompanies outward acts of supplication. Perhaps they had heretofore prayed in the mechanical and formal sense. The prophet now urges them to put their heart into the exercise.

In Lamentations 3:42-47 the prophet speaks the words which the people ought to use in their prayer of repentance. The prayer begins with a confession of sin: “We have trans­gressed and rebelled!” The pronoun “we” is emphatic. There is no effort here to cover up or minimize the enormity of the sin. From this forthright confession of sin the prayer moves to description of the consequences of sin. (1) Sin cuts off the mercies of God. God had not pardoned nor could He pardon until the nation mani­fested some sign of genuine repentance (Lamentations 3:42). (2) Sin stirs up divine wrath. The punishment against sin is swift, thorough, and relentless (Lamentations 3:43). (3) Sin cuts the com­munication lines to heaven.

God wraps Himself in a cloud through which no prayer can pass (Lamentations 3:44). Only when men turn from sin can God hear their prayers (Psalms 66:18). (4) Sin ultimately brings humiliation. Judah became like dung and refuse among the nations of the world because of sin (Lamentations 3:45). Judah’s enemies railed against her with impunity (Lamentations 3:46). (5) Sin results in panic and ruin. In the day of judgment one calamity after another befalls the sinner until he is finally destroyed (Lamentations 3:47).

HIS Lamentations 3:48-54(Lamentations 3:48) With streams of water my eyes flow because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lamentations 3:49) My eyes flow without ceasing, without any pause. (Lamentations 3:50) Until the LORD sees and looks down from . (Lamentations 3:51) My eyes afflict my soul because of all the daughters of my city. (Lamentations 3:52) Those who had no reason to be my enemies have hunted me down like a bird. (Lamentations 3:53) They have cut off my life in the pit and have cast a stone on me. (Lamentations 3:54) Waters flowed over my head. I said, I am cut off.

As the weeping prophet contemplates the judgment which has befallen his people he bursts into tears anew (Lamentations 3:48). Without a moment’s pause he continues his sorrowful intercession (Lamentations 3:49). He is determined to pray until the Lord looks in tender compassion upon the afflic­tion of His people (Lamentations 3:50). The poet continues to be disturbed by the sight of the shameful defilement of the young maidens of Jerusalem (Lamentations 3:51).

A problem arises with regard to the interpretation of Lam 3:52-54. Many commentators feel that Jeremiah speaks here as a representative of the people of Judah and that he here is describing in figurative terms the experience of the nation. Others feel that Jeremiah is alluding here to his own experiences in the empty cistern before the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 38:6-13) or to some more recent similar experience. If allowance is made for poetic imagery there is no reason why Lamentations 3:52-54 could not refer to the actual experience of the prophet. Without justification the national leaders considered Jeremiah as a traitor to his nation. They hunted him down like a fowler hunts his prey (Lamentations 3:52).

They planned to get rid of the prophetic pest permanently by casting him into a dungeon and then covering the mouth of that pit with a stone (Lamentations 3:53). Jeremiah sank into the mire of that empty cistern and the waters of death, as it were, flowed over his head. In the midst of his despair he cried out unto the Lord: “I am cut off” i.e., “I am as good as dead” (Lamentations 3:54). HIS PRAYER FOR Lamentations 3:55-66

(Lamentations 3:55)I called on Your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. (Lamentations 3:56) You have heard my voice! Do not close Your ear to my sighing, to my cry for help! (Lamentations 3:57) You have drawn near in the day I called upon You. You said; Do not be afraid. (Lamentations 3:58) You have pleaded the causes of my soul, O Lord; You have redeemed my life. (Lamentations 3:59) You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done unto me. Judge my cause. (Lamentations 3:60) You have seen all of their vengeance, all of their plots against me, (Lamentations 3:62) the lips of those who rise up against me and their murmuring against me all the day. (Lamentations 3:63) Observe their sitting down and rising up. I am their song. (Lamentations 3:64) Repay them, O LORD, ac­cording to the deeds of their hands. (Lamentations 3:65) Give them blindness of heart! Let Your curse be on them! (Lamentations 3:66) Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the LORD. The closing section of chapter 3 (Lamentations 3:55-66) is a prayer for de­liverance which is filled with expressions of confidence that the prayer will be answered. As the prophet recalls the cistern experience and how God delivered him from that certain death his faith begins to grow. Just as God heard his cry from the dark dungeon of death (Lamentations 3:55) so he asks God not to ignore his present pleas for help (Lamentations 3:56). In the past God had answered his prayers by draw­ing near and whispering “Be not afraid!” (Lamentations 3:57). God had intervened on behalf of His servant, had taken up his cause, and had redeemed his very life (Lamentations 3:58). On the basis of God’s past response to his petition Jeremiah again calls upon God to hear and answer his prayer.

In Lamentations 3:59-66 the actual petition is presented before the Lord. The prophet here prays in the first person singular. But the “me” of these verses is in reality “us.” Jeremiah is praying as an intercessor. He is praying for his nation and as part of his nation. The enemies for whose destruction he prays must then be the Chaldean conquerors of Jerusalem. The petitioner realizes that God already knows the desperate plight of Judah, the wrongs which have been suffered (Lamentations 3:59), the vicious and vengeful plots (Lamentations 3:60), the taunting and ridicule of the enemy (Lamentations 3:61-62).

All day long the Jews are the subject of Chaldean taunt-songs (Lamentations 3:63), Therefore, Jeremiah calls upon the Lord to judge his cause i.e., judge those who have committed wrongs against the Jews (Lamentations 3:59). He asks God to repay these enemies in accordance with the deeds they have done (Lamentations 3:64). He prays that these op­ponents might experience blindness of heart i.e., intellectual confusion, and that God’s curse might rest upon them (Lamentations 3:65). He asks God to destroy these enemies from off the face of the earth (Lamentations 3:66). Verses in Lamentations 3:64-66 reflect that im­precatory mood which is so difficult for Christians tocomprehend. However, these verses are best regarded not as a prayer for vengeance, but as a plea for justice.

If a holy and just God rules this world then wrong must be punished and inequities must be eliminated. The pe­titioner was confident that God was just and therefore did not hesitate to call for God to act in accordance with His justice. There is no personal animosity in these words. The prophet prays as a representative of his people. In praying for the destruction of the Babylonians he prays that God will fulfill the threats already made against the conquerors of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 29:10; chaps. 50­-51). Questions For Lamentations Chapter Three1. How does the acrostic pattern in this chapter differ from that of the first two chapters of Lamentations? 2. Is the third chapter of Lamentations an individual or a collective lament? 3. What is the meaning of the expression “those forever dead”? Lamentations 3:6. 4. Does God always hear and answer prayer? Lamentations 3:8. 5. What is “the wormwood and gall”? Lamentations 3:19. 6. What thought about God became the foundation upon which the poet was able to reconstruct his hope? 7. In what sense are the mercies of God new every morning? Lamentations 3:23. 8. What is the “yoke” which a man should bear in his youth? Lamentations 3:27. 9. In what posture did people in Old Testament times often pray? Lamentations 3:41. 10. Does Jeremiah refer to his own personal experience in the cistern in Lamentations 3:53-54? 11. Is it right for a Christian to pray for the destruction of his enemies? Lamentations 3:64. THE PROPHET’S TO DIVINE (THE THIRD LAMENT) Lamentations 3 As mentioned previously, this lament is an acrostic in triplets; the same succeeding Hebrew consonant begins three verses instead of just one, as in the previous chapters. The verses are about one third as long as most of those in the first two chapters. This chapter also differs from the others in this book, in that: it contains a first-person narrative of the prophet’s reactions to the sufferings he endured as the Lord’s faithful servant. It is similar to the “confessions” sections in the Book of Jeremiah, where the prophet opens up and lets the reader into his heart and mind (cf. Jeremiah 11:18-20; Jeremiah 12:1-4; Jeremiah 15:10-18; Jeremiah 17:14-18; Jeremiah 18:18-23; Jeremiah 20:7-10; Jeremiah 20:14-18). I am assuming that Jeremiah is the speaker, but many other individuals have been suggested: Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, an anonymous sufferer, a surviving soldier, a defeated strongman, a collective voice of the people, a prominent resident of Jerusalem, everyman, and the personified voice of the exile. We know that he was a male (Heb. geber, Lamentations 3:1), in contrast to the female voice of the city in chapter 1. Jeremiah proposes his own experience under afflictions, as an example as to how the Jews should behave under theirs, so as to have hope of a restoration; hence the change from singular to plural (Lamentations 3:22; Lamentations 3:40-47). Faithful servants of the Lord of all ages can identify with many of the prophet’s sentiments expressed here. The title of Psalms 102 could serve as an appropriate prefix to this chapter—A prayer of the afflicted, when he is faint, and pours out his complaint to the Lord. Chapter 3 is the heart of Jeremiah’s short book. This chapter gives the book a positive framework around which the other chapters revolve. The black velvet of sin and suffering in chapters 1— 2 and 4— 5 serves as a fitting backdrop to display the sparkling brilliance of God’s loyal love in chapter 3. In parts of this chapter, Jeremiah spoke for the people of Jerusalem and Judah, as well as for himself (e.g., Lamentations 3:22; Lamentations 3:40-47). He speaks as a representative Israelite, facing the dark and baffling ways of Providence. In many respects this elegy crystallizes the basic themes of Lamentations, and as a fore-shadowing of the passion of Jesus Christ has definite affinities with Isaiah 53 and Psalms 22. We could divide this chapter into four sections: The first section [Lamentations 3:1-24] emphasizes what a first-person speaker has learned about suffering and about God’s faithfulness. The second section [Lamentations 3:25-39] highlights the speaker’s response to God’s sovereignty and goodness. The third section [Lamentations 3:40-47] calls for prayer in light of what Israel’s enemies have done, and the fourth section [Lamentations 3:48-66] expresses confidence in God’s positive actions on Israel’s behalf. This structure moves readers, or attempts to move readers at least, from reflective advice to confidence in God’s ultimate goodness. I have divided the chapter somewhat differently as follows: ‘S SORROWS Lamentations 3:1-18 This speaker does not address God himself but a human audience, transforming the accusation into a description of misery. Lamentations 3:1 –Jeremiah (the narrator) claimed to have seen much affliction because Yahweh had struck Jerusalem in His anger (cf. Job 9:34; Job 21:9; Psalms 89:32; Isaiah 10:5). By describing himself as “the man,” rather than a man, he may have been implying that he had suffered more than all in his community. The Good Shepherd’s “rod” had become an instrument of torture for him, rather than one of comfort (cf. Psalms 23:4). The two preceding poems ended with sorrowful complaint [and began with “How” or “Alas,” as does chapter 4].

This third poem begins with the complaint of a man over grievous personal suffering. Thus Jeremiah is that individual who suffers in many ways beyond all others; but he is also the representative sufferer for all Israel by virtue of his role as the prophet of the Lord who pled with, prayed for, and preached to his people Israel. Lamentations 3:2-3 –The Lord had driven the prophet to walk in the darkness of His judgment, rather than in the light of His blessing and presence (cf. Lamentations 3:6). The Lord had disciplined him repeatedly for a long time, in that while He was judging Jerusalem, Jeremiah was suffering along with the people. The Lord’s “hand” had been heavy upon him (cf. La, 1:14; 2:8). Lamentations 3:4 –Jeremiah’s suffering included sickness and pain, as when someone does not get enough food to eat or breaks a bone (cf. Psalms 42:10; Proverbs 5:11). Fever pains sometimes resemble the pain of a broken bone (cf. Lamentations 1:13-15; Lamentations 2:9; Lamentations 2:11; Job 30:17; Psalms 32:3-4; Psalms 51:8; Isaiah 38:13). He may have experienced these physical ailments, or he may have simply described his inner pain in terms of physical afflictions. Lamentations 3:5-6 –Bitter experiences and hardship had assailed the prophet as Yahweh had judged His people (cf. Jeremiah 8:14). Jeremiah’s existence had turned into a living death for him (cf. Psalms 143:3). Lamentations 3:7 The Lord had imprisoned His prophet in his affliction; he could not escape from it (cf. Job 19:8; Psalms 88:8; Jeremiah 38:6; Hosea 2:6). Lamentations 3:8-9 –The Lord would not ease his suffering in answer to prayer (cf. Psalms 18:42; Jeremiah 7:16). He even discouraged Jeremiah from praying (cf. Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 14:11). It was as though the Lord had opposed Jeremiah’s progress toward restoration and made it very difficult. Lamentations 3:10-11 –Jeremiah felt like the Lord was lying in wait to devour him, like a wild animal (cf. Psalms 10:9; Psalms 17:12). The Lord had desolated Jeremiah by opposing his ways and making him feel torn apart. Lamentations 3:12 –Jeremiah felt as though he was a target that the Lord was shooting at and that Yahweh had wounded him severely (cf. Job 16:13). Lamentations 3:13 –This verse completes the image of the former verse. The arrows found their target in Jeremiah’s internal organs (cf. Job 19:27; Proverbs 23:16). Lamentations 3:14-15 –The prophet’s contemporaries mocked and ridiculed him constantly. He was socially isolated in his suffering. He had become full of bitter experiences, like poison, which the Lord had given him to drink (cf. Lamentations 2:4; Job 9:18). Wormwood is the name given to certain plants used for imparting a bitter flavor to some drinks; the name has no connection with either worm or wood. Lamentations 3:16 –Jeremiah felt like his teeth were broken and that God had given him stones to eat instead of bread. . . . the teeth have become broken and ground down because God has given His people stones to eat as punishment for venerating the images of Baal. This is no self-humbling before God— God himself grinds the man’s teeth in the gravel and presses him down into the dust. Lamentations 3:17-18 –Jeremiah had forgotten what peace and happiness were like. He had also lost his strength and his hope. It is not so much that peace has left him, more that he has been banished from the realm of peace . . . He has indeed become a sort of ’everyman’; that is, us. So we will see ourselves and our own problems with suffering. Likewise, we also argue that the individual spoken about here is no one else but the prophet Jeremiah.

And because he suffered representatively as God’s delegated sufferer he mirrors perfectly, and by divine design, another prophet who would one day also suffer as did the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 52:13— 53:12. This is perhaps the lowest point of the whole poem.” Yet the naming of YHWH for the first time in the poem may, in retrospect, be seen as the first glimmer of a recovery of hope. ‘S HOPE Lamentations 3:19-40 This section [Lamentations 3:19-24] provides a transition from stating the extreme hardships of the past to confessing God’s faithfulness as a beginning for a new season of faith Efor himself and for all who will agree with his conclusions. Lamentations 3:19 –Jeremiah prayed that the Lord would remember his affliction and bitterness (cf. vv. 1, 7, 15; Job 13:15). Lamentations 3:20-21 –He himself remembered something that gave him hope. The next verse explains what that was. As long as we contemplate our troubles, the more convinced we will become of our isolation, our hopelessness, our inability to extricate ourselves from the present trouble. But when we focus on the Lord, we are able finally to rise above, rather than to suffer under, our troubles. Lamentations 3:22 –The prophet remembered that the Lord’s loyal love (Heb. hesed) never ceases and that He is ceaselessly compassionatIn essence, hesed is just an Old Testament way of saying that God is gracious and God is love [cf. Exodus 34:6]. How could the writer be stating what he does in the book and not be upset with God? How can God be good in view of human suffering? The answer is that in the middle of all that suffering, God is faithful, merciful, and the one to whom people can turn and know that he is a good and merciful God. That even a kernel of the people of God remains is because of the grace and love of God.

Lamentations 3:22 agrees with one of the most extraordinary teachings in the OT. Though Israel sinned against God through idolatry, immorality, oppression, and other forms of long-term covenant adultery to such an extent that he finally punishes severely, the Lord will still start over with penitent Israelites. In other words, God’s determination to bless and heal is as thorough and unusual as his determination to punish, if not more so. The road back to covenantal relationship may well be long and difficult, especially given the level of sin and the depth of punishment. Nonetheless, it is possible to begin. Lamentations 3:23 –There are new evidences of Yahweh’s lovingkindness and compassion every day that testify to His great faithfulness (cf. Psalms 36:5; Psalms 36:7). His daily provision of manna for the Israelites in the wilderness was only one example of this. In this verse, Jeremiah addressed God Himself. The word translated ‘compassions’ draws attention to God’s emotional response to the needs of His people [cf. Genesis 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26].

The terms rendered ’love’ [or “lovingkindness”] and ‘faithfulness’ are closely related in meaning [cf. Psalms 89:24; Psalms 92:2; Psalms 98:3; Hosea 2:19-20]. They refer to God’s devotion to His covenant people and to the promises He made to them. The startling fact about this announcement is that it is made against one of the bleakest backgrounds in the Old Testament. It would be as if someone had stood up in one of the prison camps of the Third Reich and announced loudly: ‘Great is God’s faithfulness.’ That might seem ludicrous enough to bring the scornful sneer of every destitute soul confined to those barracks. This verse was, of course, the basis for the classic Christian hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas O.

Chisholm (b. 1866). It has also inspired modern composers (e.g., “The steadfast love of the Lord never faileth; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord, great is Thy faithfulness . . .”). Lamentations 3:24 –Jeremiah’s recollection of God’s character transformed his attitude (cf. Lamentations 3:18). He reminded himself that Yahweh was his portion. Consequently he had hope (cf. Numbers 18:20). By calling the Lord his portion, the prophet was comparing Yahweh to an allotment of land that provides the necessities of life (cf. Psalms 16:5-6; Psalms 73:26; Psalms 119:57; Psalms 142:5). “To have God for our portion is the one only foundation of hope.” Lim 3:25-26–Having experienced an “attitude adjustment,” Jeremiah now proceeded to offer some wise advice on suffering and how to handle it, in Lamentations 3:25-39. It is only after one has focused on God, rather than on one’s own suffering, that he or she can provide real help for others who are suffering. Those who wait for the Lord and seek Him eventually experience His goodness. Not God’s love, but his anger is a passing phase. Waiting for the Lord’s deliverance silently is a good practice (cf. Psalms 37:9; Hosea 12:6; Zephaniah 3:8; Romans 8:25; Galatians 5:5).

But this advice seems to run contrary to the approach taken in the rest of the book where there is anything but silence. Perhaps Parry is correct that “it is not a literal silence that the man is recommending but an attitude of expectant trust. While we wait for him by faith, we must seek him by prayer. Our seeking will help to keep up our waiting. In verses 25-27, the tet stanza of this poem, each word not only begins with the same Hebrew letter, but with the same Hebrew word: tob, “good.” Lamentations 3:27 –Likewise shouldering the heavy burden of God’s revealed will in one’s youth is a good thing. Other views of the “yoke” in view are the yoke of sin, and the yoke of suffering. However, all three of these things could have been in the writer’s mind, since they are so closely related. The speaker’s point seems to be that it is (normally) easier for young people to bear a burden than it is for older people. “Early discipline begets mature dependability.” Lamentations 3:28 –Such a person should bear his burden alone, with trust and without complaining, since God has placed it on him (cf. Psalms 39:2; Psalms 94:17). Most likely, Jeremiah didn’ t mean that we should suffer in deliberate isolation from other people, but that if we have to suffer alone, it should be with an attitude of humility. Lamentations 3:29 –The sufferer should also humble himself since there is hope that God will help him. The expression [‘Let him put his mouth in the dust’] is derived from the Oriental custom of throwing oneself in the most reverential manner on the ground, and involves the idea of humble silence, because the mouth, placed in the dust, cannot speak. “Perhaps there is hope” may seem to suggest that there may be no hope forthcoming, but it is probably an acknowledgement that God is sovereign and cannot be manipulated into operating on our timetable. Lamentations 3:30 –The afflicted do well to yield to the antagonism of others and to allow others to heap reproach on them, rather than retaliating (cf. Matthew 5:39; Matthew 26:67; Luke 22:64; John 18:22; John 19:3). Many take patiently afflictions from God, but when man wrongs them, they take it impatiently. The godly bear resignedly the latter, like the former, as sent by God (Psalms 17:13). Lamentations 3:31-32 –The Lord’s rejection of His own is only temporary (cf. Jeremiah 3:5; Jeremiah 3:12). Compassion and loyal love will replace grief eventually (cf. Job 5:18; Psalms 30:5; Isaiah 54:8). This is the reason (“For”) why the sufferer should adopt the attitude just advocated in the previous verses. God gets no pleasure from inflicting pain on people— his judgments are not the way he wants to relate to humanity but are his response to human sin. Punishment is an ‘alien’ work of God given reluctantly and after numerous warnings. Lamentations 3:33 –The expression ‘he does not afflict from the heart’ is the high watermark in Lamentations’ understanding of God. . . . The angry side of his nature, turned so unflinchingly against Jerusalem, is not the determinative factor in the divine purposes. Begrudgingly, regretfully, if there is no other way toward his higher purposes, he may unleash the forces of evil, but ‘his heart’ is not in it [cf. Isaiah 28:21]. This stanza [Lamentations 3:31-33] contains perhaps the most profound theological insight of the whole book, and its location is perhaps no coincidence. Right at the literal center of the book of Lamentations is an appreciation of the being of YHWH as the ground of hope. Lamentations 3:34-36 –The Lord disapproves of injustice in its prisoners (cf. Psalms 69:33; Psalms 146:7; Isaiah 42:7; Luke 4:18). Lamentations 3:37-38 –The plans of those who anticipate a particular future only come to fruition if the sovereign Lord ordains them. The Most High is the ultimate source of all good and bad things. Lamentations 3:39 –Jeremiah wondered how anyone could complain against God, since all “living” (alive after Jerusalem’s destruction) human beings, or anyone for that matter, are sinners and therefore deserve divine punishment. Why should anyone complain if they don’t like the consequences of their actions?‘S PRAYER Lamentations 3:40-66 The following section of the lament falls into two parts, marked by Jeremiah’s use of the plural (Lamentations 3:41-47) and singular personal pronouns (Lamentations 3:48-66). In the first part, he called on the Judahites to confess their sins to God. In the second part, he recalled God’s past deliverance in answer to prayer, which motivated him to ask God to judge his enemies. In both sections, the prophet modeled proper behavior for his people. 1. A recollection of past sins . Lamentations 3:40 –Jeremiah counseled self-examination, repentance, and returning to the Lord. Was the people’s suffering due to sin? Silence (Lamentations 3:26; Lamentations 3:28) and trust (Lamentations 3:24; Lamentations 3:29) are not enough. Repentance (Lamentations 3:40) should follow recognition of sin (Lamentations 3:39). Jeremiah wrote seven principles about the nature of Israel’s affliction: (1) Affliction should be endured with hope in God’s salvation, that is, ultimate restoration (Lamentations 3:25-30). (2) Affliction is only temporary and is tempered by God’s compassion and love (Lamentations 3:31-32). (3) God does not delight in affliction (Lamentations 3:33). (4) If affliction comes because of injustice, God sees it and does not approve of it (Lamentations 3:34-36). (5) Affliction is always in relationship to God’s sovereignty (Lamentations 3:37-38; cf. Job 2:10). (6) Affliction ultimately came because of Judah’s sins (Lamentations 3:39). (7) Affliction should accomplish the greater good of turning God’s people back to Him (Lamentations 3:40).” Lamentations 3:41 –Leading his community, Jeremiah lifted up his heart, as well as his hands, to God in heaven; his praying was heartfelt, not just formal. Lamentations 3:42 –The first step in repentance in confession: Jeremiah and his people had transgressed the covenant (cf. 1:5, 15, 22) and had rebelled against the Lord (cf. 1:18, 20), and He had not pardoned their sin but allowed them to experience judgment. Lamentations 3:43 –The Lord had become angry over the sins of His people and had pursued them in judgment, slaying them without stinting. Lamentations 3:44 –The Lord had blocked Himself off from His people, as a cloud blocks the heavens, so their prayers would not affect Him (cf. Lamentations 2:1; Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 11:14; Jeremiah 14:11-12). Nowhere in Lamentations, and perhaps in the entire Bible, is God’s refusal to be present more strongly expressed. Lamentations 3:45-46 –The Lord had made the Judahites as scum (Heb. sehi), namely, rejected as unfit for use (cf. 1:7-8; 2:15-16). This Hebrew word occurs only here in the Old Testament. This is how the other nations regarded them. Judah’s enemies had also spoken against her (cf. 2:16). Lamentations 3:47 The results of God’s judgment for the Judahites had been panic. They had stumbled into pits that ensnared them. Devastation and destruction had become their allotment. A recollection of past deliverance Lamentations 3:48-66 Lamentations 3:48-51 –Jeremiah wept profusely and unremittingly because of the destruction that the Judahites had experienced (cf. Lamentations 2:11; Jeremiah 9:1; Jeremiah 14:17). He would do this until the Lord acknowledged the plight of His people by sending them some relief. “The man’s eyes see and weep. But YHWH does not see (as indicated by the fact that he has not acted to save) [cf Lamentations 3:44; Lamentations 3:50]. What Jeremiah saw of the devastation of Jerusalem pained him greatly. Here “the daughters of my city” may refer to the dependent villages surrounding Jerusalem that the foe also took. Or “the daughters” could refer to the young women of Jerusalem. Both interpretations fit the context, and it is probably impossible to tell which meaning was in Jeremiah’s mind when he wrote this statement. Lamentations 3:52 –Here Jeremiah began to tell his own story (cf. Lamentations 3:1-18), in order to encourage his fellow sufferers. The change in the man’s attitude found in Lamentations 3:19-24 has affected the way in which he perceived his situation. It is interesting that now, in this final section, he no longer speaks of YHWH as his enemy but rather as the one who can deliver him from his human enemies. The recovery of hope has not led him to deny that YHWH is the ultimate cause of his distress, but it has led to a shift in emphasis. The focus now is on the immediate cause of his sorrow (his human enemies) and on God as his savior. The prophet’s enemies had pursued him mercilessly, through no fault of his own, as hunters track a bird. Lamentations 3:53-54 –They silenced him by placing him in a pit and covering its mouth with a large stone (cf. Jeremiah 38:1-6; Genesis 37:24). He thought he would drown because of the water that engulfed him (cf. Genesis 37:20). This description could be a continuation of the metaphor of the previous verse. The “pit” is a frequent symbol of the place of death (Psalms 28:1; Psalms 30:3; Psalms 88:5; Psalms 143:7; Proverbs 1:12). Or Jeremiah may have been relating his actual experience. Lamentations 3:55-56 –Jeremiah prayed to the Lord out of his desperate condition (cf. Psalms 88:7; Psalms 88:14; Psalms 130:1; Jonah 2:1-3). He believed the Lord had heard his prayer, and he begged that the Lord would pay attention to his petition and grant him deliverance. Prayer is the breath of the new man, sucking in the air of mercy in petitions and returning it in praises; it is both the evidence and the maintenance of the spiritual life. Lamentations 3:57 –In the past, the Lord had heeded Jeremiah’s prayers and had given him hope. The Lord had come to his rescue and had redeemed (delivered) him from destruction (cf. Leviticus 25:25-28; Leviticus 25:47-54; Rth 4:1-12). This is the first and only time in Lamentations that God speaks to the sufferers and gives evidence of hearing and answering their prayers. Significantly, His words were: “Do not fear!” Lamentations 3:58 –The Lord had not only comforted Jeremiah with His words, but he also acted to rescue him from his distressing situation. No greater testimony can a sinner offer to God than to say, in thanksgiving, ‘Thou hast redeemed my life’ (Lamentations 3:58). Here is a hint of the light of the New Testament gospel in the dark pages of the Book of Lamentations. The only way that God would be able to plead the case of His people was if He Himself paid for— or redeemed them from— their sinfulness. The Jerusalemites would have been encouraged and strengthened by God’s responses to Jeremiah. The Lord had listened to him, had drawn near to him, had comforted him, and had redeemed him. Might not He do the same for them? Lamentations 3:59-61 Jeremiah knew that Yahweh had seen his affliction. He asked that He would judge him, knowing that the Lord would be fair. Though God had redeemed him, his enemies had not yet been punished. Perhaps because of their status as the Chosen People the Jews were always sensitive to abuse and injury inflicted from outside, whatever the source. Consequently they found it impossible to overlook these hostile acts, with the result that the imprecations which they hurled at their enemies, while typical of such Near Eastern utterances, seem to possess an unexpected and unusual degree of vindictiveness (cf. Psalms 137:9). Lamentations 3:62-63 The prophet’s enemies plotted against him constantly, but he called on God to witness all that his enemies were doing and how they had mocked him (cf. Lamentations 3:30). Lamentations 3:64-65 –Jeremiah believed, as he requested, that the Lord would pay his enemies back as they deserved (cf. Lamentations 1:21-22; Psalms 28:4; 2 Corinthians 3:17). He would harden their hearts and so bring judgment on them. Lamentations 3:66 –Jeremiah prayed and believed that the Lord would pursue his enemies anywhere they might go— and destroy them in His anger! The Lord did this to many of Jeremiah’s personal enemies when the city fell to the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 39:4-7; Jeremiah 52:7-11; Jeremiah 52:24-27), but here the prophet was appealing for a judgment of the Babylonians for destroying Jerusalem. These imprecations voiced Jeremiah’s longing for God to vindicate His righteousness. They express his zeal for the honor of the Lord and His kingdom, and they reflect God’s own attitude toward sin and impenitent sinners. According to Keil, “The heaven of Jahveh is the whole world, over which Jahveh’s authority extends; the meaning therefore is ‘Exterminate them wholly from the sphere of Thy dominion in the world,’ or, Thy kingdom.” Several commentators consider Lamentations 3 the theological heart of the book . . . This decision is appropriate in many ways, for this chapter sets forth the book’s clearest expression of God’s character and attitude toward the suffering nation. This chapter also provides the nation its most extensive instruction on how to relate to the Lord at this point in its history. Jeremiah stresses the nature of suffering, the character of God, the way to think through the implications of suffering in relation to God’s character, and the way to pray after the suffering has been mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally ‘digested.’

Lamentations Chapter Three Verse 1 THE LOVE OF THE LORD NEVER CEASES[1]This chapter begins with the words, “I am the man”; and this writer confidently identifies the prophet Jeremiah as “the man,” not merely the man in this chapter, but also the author of the whole book. We are aware, of course, that this is disputed. Most of the current scholars follow the notion that “the man” is, “A typical sufferer who represented many in the nation,"[2] “An individual, but not an historical figure, but anyone who has suffered greatly, … Everyman … who may feel that God is against him,"[3] “One who is playing the role of Jeremiah in the poem,"[4] “O man, (he is) the very image of thyself,"[5] “An individual whose fate is bound up with that of the nation (i.e., as kind of personification of Israel),"[6] “A representative sufferer, and eyewitness, and a type of Christ."[7] etc. However, not all current scholars agree in this. Ross Price wrote (in 1962) that, “Here Jeremiah bares his heart to the reader as he often does in his prophecy."[8] Also Hillers, while not accepting it, admitted that, “The tradition that Jeremiah is the author of Lamentations provides a ready-made answer to the questions of the chapter."[9] Also, Theophile J. Meek noted that, “The author seems to have the experiences of Jeremiah in mind."[10] Thus, even those who are unwilling to accept Jeremiah as the author, nevertheless admit that it is indeed Jeremiah whose person and experiences dominate the chapter. In fact, no other theory is acceptable.

Take the “Personification” idea, for example. How could God’s wife (Israel) be personified by a male character in a chapter where the masculine pronouns dominate it? “The claim that in this chapter the personified nation is speaking is altogether improbable; and in some passages, absolutely impossible."[11]In addition to this, many of the greatest scholars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries enthusiastically accept Jeremiah as “the man.” Jamieson wrote that, “In chapter 3, Jeremiah proposes his own experiences under sufferings as examples of how the Jews should behave under theirs."[12] “The penman is Jeremiah the prophet, who is here Jeremiah the poet."[13] “Not merely the ancient traditions of Josephus, the Targum, the Talmud and the LXX, but also the internal evidence, identify Jeremiah as the author."[14] In 1915, C. von Orelli gave this emphatic summary of why Jeremiah is most certainly the author of Lamentations: “A serious difficulty arises if we claim that Jeremiah was not the author of Lamentations in his denunciations of the prophets in Jerusalem (Lamentations 2:14; Lamentations 4:13). How could the great prophet of the Destruction be ignored if he were not the author of these sentiments? If Jeremiah was indeed the author, we can easily understand it. In his Jeremiah' he had spoken in exactly the same way (the very same words) about those evil prophets. To this it must be added that this third chapter forces us to regard Jeremiah as the author, because of his personal sufferings that are here described."[15] We have over- emphasized this point here in order to demonstrate that consensus among many current scholars in regard to a given interpretation frequently means that only one of them is thinking, or perhaps that all of them are merely repeating the allegations of other critics. There is no excuse whatever for the near-unanimous denial of many writers that "someone else ... we don't know who" wrote Lamentations. Lamentations 3:1I THE CRY OF THE [16](<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/1" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:1-21</a>) "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.Of all the men who lived through that terrible period, no one had a better right to say this than Jeremiah. "In more ways than one this brings us to the very heart of the book. It even gives us a foreglimpse of the sufferings of Christ with which it has affinities (Isaiah 3; Psalms 22)."[17]Verse 2 "He hath led me, and caused me to walk in darkness,and not in light. Surely against me he turneth his hand again, and again all day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead." The language here is loaded with metaphor; but the meaning of it as a description of terrible heartache, misery, suffering and anguish of spirit come through clearly enough. In our sin-cursed world suffering is as certain as death and taxes. "It is a raw, rugged reality. We cannot fully explain it. We cannot evade it. There is always an element of mystery about it. But we can know God in such a way as to be released from it and to rise above it, and also to recognize the disciplinary value of it."[18]<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/6" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:6</a> here is a quotation of <a href="/bible/parallel/PSA/143/3" class="green-link">Psa 143:3</a>. Verse 7 "He hath walled me about, that I cannot go forth;he hath made my chain heavy, Yea, when I cry, and call for help, he shutteth out my prayer. He hath walled up my ways with hewn stone; he hath made my paths crooked. He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, he hath pulled me in pieces; he hath made me desolate. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for his arrow." "He is unto me as a bear ... and a lion" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/10" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:10</a>). A similar use of these animals as examples of enmity are in <a href="/bible/parallel/HOS/13/8" class="green-link">Hosea 13:8</a> and in <a href="/bible/parallel/AMO/5/19" class="green-link">Amos 5:19</a>. "He hath set me as a mark for his arrow" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/12" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:12</a>). This is like Job's complaint in <a href="/bible/parallel/JOB/16/13" class="green-link">Job 16:13</a>. "This new simile arises out of the preceding one."[19] The progression is from the animals (the bear and the lion) to the hunter. Jeremiah felt himself as a sufferer from both, caught in the middle," as we might say. Verse 13 "He hath caused the shafts of his quiverto enter into my reins. I am become a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath sated me with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones; he hath covered me with ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength is perished, and mine expectation from Jehovah." "I am become a derision to all my people ... their song all the day" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/14" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:14</a>). "Here Jeremiah drops all metaphor and shows exactly what is meant by all those arrows’ he mentioned."[20] Note also that the entire nation all my people' know who this sufferer is; and they have made him the butt of public ridicule and taunting songs. It is just too bad that the critics don't know who he was! "What other person (except Jeremiah) was the cynosure of all eyes as was Jeremiah"?[21] He hath broken my teeth with gravel (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/16" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:16</a>). This is very likely more metaphor describing Jeremiah's sorrow; but Cheyne thought of it as a literal reference to what happened to the Jews in exile. They had to bake their bread in pits dug in the ground, "And they were obliged to eat bread with grit in it."[22]"My strength is perished and mine expectation from Jehovah" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/18" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:18</a>). We read this as hyperbole for the near- despair that tempted Jeremiah; however the next section of the chapter will indicate, as Cook noted, that, "He soon reaches firm ground."[23]Verse 19 II GOD IN HIS CRY FOR HELP(<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/19" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:19-39</a>) "Remember mine affliction and my misery,the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind; therefore have I hope." "Remember" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/19" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:19</a>). This should be understood as an appeal to God. Certainly, Jeremiah was not asking Israel to remember his afflictions. Israel's king had inflicted them upon the prophet. It was the remembrance of God's past mercies and blessings that he mentioned in <a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/20" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:20</a> as the basis of his hope. "Knowing that God hears the prayers of the contrite, Jeremiah begins to hope."[24]Verse 22 "It is of Jehovah's lovingkindness that we are not consumed,because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Jehovah is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah. It is good for the man that he bear the yoke in his youth." "Because his compassions fail not" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/22" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:22</a>). "Indeed, if any man escapes hell, it is because God's compassions fail not."[25]This section through <a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/39" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:39</a> (or <a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/42" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:42</a>) carries an expression of full assurance in God's unfailing mercies; and that such is found in Lamentations is indeed remarkable and carries its own rich consolations."[26] "It is interesting that the author, himself a sufferer, here becomes an advisor as well. He gives counsel from the wisdom he has learned, so that the nation could learn from it."[27] This section is not merely the heart of this chapter, it is also the heart of Lamentations. "This is the focal point of the whole book; it is a central core of hope of restoration for Israel in God's own good time; and there is a symmetry in the book that highlights this central core. There is also an inherent assurance here that the cry for mercy will be heard."[28] "These verses teach that God is good, especially to those who, being in adversity, can yet wait in confidence upon his mercy."[29]Verse 28 "Let him sit alone and keep silence,because he hath laid it upon him. Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him; let him be filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his lovingkindness. For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Jeremiah repeatedly warned Israel to accept their captivity as something the nation deserved and for them to submit to Babylonian rule; and these are exactly the sentiments which are included in these verses. "Let him keep silence ... put his mouth in the dust ... give his cheek (to the smiter) ... and be filled with reproach" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/29" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:29-30</a>). We paraphrase. Let Israel not rebel, let them humble themselves, let them turn the other cheek and accept their punishment. Why should Israel submit? "The Lord will not cast off forever" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/31" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:31</a>). Jeremiah himself had told them their captivity would end in seventy years. There was from the beginning of it, a projected end of Israel's captivity. "Though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/32" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:32</a>). God's love of Israel and his love for all men were not diminished by his drastic punishment of Israel. "He doth not afflict willingly" (<a href="/bible/parallel/LAM/3/33" class="green-link">Lamentations 3:33</a>). God was greatly grieved at the necessity of Israel's captivity. He destroyed their evil kingdom and sent the people to Babylon as a last resort, the only way possible to preserve that righteous remnant’ who, in time, would deliver the Messiah to mankind. Note that these three verses give three reasons why Israel should meekly submit to the will of God in their terrible punishment. Verse 34 “To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High, To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High cometh there not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?” “To crush under foot … the prisoners” (Lamentations 3:34). “This refers to the harsh cruelties of the Babylonians."[30] The purpose of this being mentioned here is to indicate God’s disapproval of men’s atrocities. “We have here a short catalogue of the oppressions visited upon God’s people by their conquerors."[31] The word that applies to all of these things is, “The Lord approveth not” (Lamentations 3:36). The fact of God’s strong disapproval of the cruel and sadistic actions of Israel conquerors carried with it also a pledge of the ultimate severe punishment and destruction of those oppressors. “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not” (Lamentations 3:37). “It is true that God does not desire our misfortunes; but it is equally true that they do not happen without his permission (Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6)."[32]“Wherefore doth a living man complain … for the punishment of his sins” (Lamentations 3:39)? “Nothing can happen without the permission of the Most High. Then why should a man complain when he is punished for his sins? Not suffering, but sins should be lamented. Let us not murmur against God for that which we have brought upon ourselves."[33] In America today, it would be much closer to what is right for aids sufferers to be lamenting the homosexuality that lies as the root cause of so much of their suffering, instead of their complaining and screaming to high heaven for billions of dollars to be spent in an effort to cure them. Sin should be lamented, not the consequences of it. Verse 40 III A CALL FOR [34]“Let us search and try our waysand turn again to Jehovah. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in heaven. We have transgressed and have rebelled; and thou hast not pardoned.” Jeremiah in these verses makes a plea for Israel to return to God, a tacit admission that they had indeed turned away from him. Furthermore, it is a heart-felt and sincere return that is required. “Spreading out the hands is not enough by itself (Isaiah 1:25)."[35] It is one’s heart that must be lifted up to God, not merely his hands. Verse 43 IV ISRAEL’S FROM THEIR [36]“Thou hast covered with anger and pursued us;thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied. Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through. Thou hast made us an offscouring and a refuse in the midst of the peoples. All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us. Fear and the pit are come upon us, devastation and destruction. Mine eye runneth down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.” “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us” (Lamentations 3:46). This paragraph is a repetition, largely, of previous proclamations of Israel’s sorrow. For example, this verse repeats verbatimLamentations 2:16. “Fear and the pit” (Lamentations 3:47). The metaphor in these three words is made literal in the last three words of the verse. Verse 49 “Mine eye poureth down, and ceaseth not,without any intermission. Till Jehovah look down, and behold from heaven. Mine eye affecteth my soul because of all the daughters of my city. They have chased me sore like a bird, they are mine enemies without cause. They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off.” “They are mine enemies without cause” (Lamentations 3:52). Ash and other scholars refer to these words as “a puzzle … because they do not square with previous confessions of sin."[37] The explanation is simple enough. The particular enemies here were those of Jeremiah’s own people, who were indeed his enemies `without cause.’ Jeremiah had prophesied for them that they should remain in Jerusalem; but they hated him, refused to obey, and in all probability forced him to flee with them into Egypt. (We have written a full account of those events in Vol. II (Jeremiah) of my series of commentaries on the major prophets, pp. 454-458.) Here again, we find that the acceptance of Jeremiah as the author of Lamentations answers all the questions that arise. “They have cut off my life in the dungeon” (Lamentations 3:53). These words are an accurate description of Jeremiah’s imprisonment (Jeremiah 37:17-19). Verse 55 “I called upon thy name, O Jehovah,out of the lowest dungeon. Thou heardest my voice; hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not. Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. O Jehovah, thou hast seen my wrong; judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their devices against me.” This whole paragraph is an eloquent summary of all the trials of Jeremiah under Zedekiah, and still later, after the fall of Jerusalem, when the remnant of the city rejected his counsel. Verse 61 “Thou hast heard their reproach, O Jehovah,and all their devices against me, The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold thou their sitting down and their rising up; I am their song. Thou wilt render unto them a recompense, O Jehovah, according to the work of their hands. Thou wilt give them hardness of heart, thy curse unto them. Thou wilt pursue them in anger, and wilt destroy them from under the heavens of Jehovah.” “I am their song” (Lamentations 3:63). This line forces the conclusion that the enemies of these last verses were Jeremiah’s own people, the Jews themselves, and not the Babylonians. The Babylonian conquerors were friendly to Jeremiah (See Vol. II of my commentary on the major prophets, Jeremiah, pp 437-440). The people who were singing taunt songs against the prophet were his own people. A final word about the imprecations of these last verses. Yes, Jeremiah prayed for God’s judgment against his enemies; and we reject the snide and self-righteous remarks that some writers have written against such imprecations. It never seems to enter the minds of current scholars that when Christians pray as their Saviour taught them, “Thy will be done”! that those words have exactly the same meaning as the imprecations of the prophet Jeremiah. When God’s will is truly done, the wicked will indeed be punished. The notion that, “We sophisticated religious people of the 20th century have outgrown all the silly expectations that God is ever really going to punish anybody”! - that notion is a contradiction of everything in the Bible.

Lamentations 3:1

Lamentations 3:1. It will be well for us to keep in mind both the personal experiences of Jeremiah and those of his countrymen. The prophet suffered some unpleasantness that his people did not because he “ took it to heart” more than did they. Had they been as serious over the situation as he there would have been more genuine regret on their part over the state of affairs. Another thing that will assist us is the fact that Jeremiah had to feel the sting of divine chastisement on account of being a member of the nation and not as punishment for any personal wrongs of his. Bod of his wrath means the wrath of God against the sins of the people of Judah.

Lamentations 3:2

Lamentations 3:2. Darkness and light are figurative and are used in the sense of sunshine and gloom with reference to the conditions surrounding the case.

Lamentations 3:3

Lamentations 3:3. Jeremiah feels the weight of God’s hand as it is extended against the doers of iniquity in the nation, particularly the princes or leaders among them.

Lamentations 3:4

Lamentations 3:4. No physical violence is meant here for the prophet was not suffering in that manner. Even when he was cast into the mire he was not harmed in this way. But the distress of his people bore down on him so that it gave him the feeling that is suggested in the expression “ old before his time,”

Lamentations 3:5

Lamentations 3:5. Budded against me means that God had reared up a wall of chastisement as to the nation in gen-eral. and surrounded the prophet with conditions like gall (bitterness), and travail which means weariness.

Lamentations 3:6

Lamentations 3:6, Dark places is said in the same figurative sense as darkness in verse 2, meaning the situation of gloom. This was true of Jeremiah personally and of the nation as a whole because of the official corruptions that had been practiced.

Lamentations 3:7

Lamentations 3:7. As to the prophet himself, there was no escape from the hedge of heaviness with which he was surrounded. The nation was literally taken captive and there was no way of escape. The chain was the shackle of anxiety which was so heavy and strong that resistance would be in vain.

Lamentations 3:8

Lamentations 3:8. Jeremiah had been told that his prayer on behalf of his countrymen would be In vain for they would not hear him (Jeremiah 7:16).

Lamentations 3:9

Lamentations 3:9. Here is some more figurative language. Hewn stone indicates not only a strong substance for a barricade, but also Is dressed so as to form a still firmer wail. Every way he would try to go the victim would be met with this wall of obstruction, making him turn here and there to look for escape; that would cause his ways to be crooked or uncertain.

Lamentations 3:10

Lamentations 3:10, The helplessness of one who is attacked by a wild beast that was unseen is compared to that of Jeremiah personally and of Judah as a whole.

Lamentations 3:11

Lamentations 3:11. This verse is virtually the same in meaning as verse 9.

Lamentations 3:12

Lamentations 3:12. This verse may be under-stood literally and figuratively. The Babylonian army had attacked the city with material weapons which included the how and arrow, and that would constitute the application. The arrow has long been named as a symbol of persecution and other distress (Ueut. 32: 42; Job G: 4; Psalms 38:2; Jeremiah 9:8), hence the figurative sense is true here as it pertains to the prophet.

Lamentations 3:13

Lamentations 3:13. This is a repetition of the preceding verse in the sense of its main thought, A quiver is a case for holding arrows.

Lamentations 3:14

Lamentations 3:14. Yes, even as righteous a man as Jeremiah could not escape persecution from his own people. They falsified against him and even mistreated him by thrusting him into the mire (Jeremiah 37:13-14; Jeremiah 38:6). To be a derision means l.o be treated sneet’Ingly, and that was done to the prophet by his own countrymen as may be seen in the passages cited above.

Lamentations 3:15

Lamentations 3:15. Wormwood is an herb that has a bitter juice, and it is used in symbolic language to illustrate any bitter or unpleasant experience. The prophet regards himself as having to taste it through the chastisement which the Lord had brought upon the nation of which he was a member.

Lamentations 3:16

Lamentations 3:16. If a man were to attempt grinding gravel with his teeth he would get into serious trouble. The idea is used to compare the hard lot that Jeremiah and his people had been undergoing from the enemy. There was an old custom of using ashes literally in times of anxiety and distress. From this custom was brought the word into use figuratively under the like circumstances that called for the literal use.

Lamentations 3:17

Lamentations 3:17. Soul is from nephesh which Strong defines, “ A breathing creature, i.e, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental).’ ’ From this definition we understand the passage means that Jeremiah’ s entire being was denied peace. Format means to be removed and prosperity means the good things of life generally; these had been removed from the prophet through his connection with the nation.

Lamentations 3:18

Lamentations 3:18. Perished from the Lord, recognizes the hand of God in all the distress of which the prophet is complaining. There is no criticism agaist the circumstance, for he elsewhere admits the justice of it because of the misconduct of the nation.

Lamentations 3:19

Lamentations 3:19. Wormwood is explained at verse 15; gall has the same meaning.

Lamentations 3:20

Lamentations 3:20, soul means the whole human being as in verse 17. The afflic-tions had humbled him which is used in the Bense of bearing him down with discouragement.

Lamentations 3:21

Lamentations 3:21. Recalling to his mind the purpose of these afflictions the prophet took hope in the outcome. He knew that God had brought them upon his countrymen for their own good, and that cheered him on to endure his own personal lot.

Lamentations 3:22

Lamentations 3:22. Had the nation been deatt with strictly as Its iniquities deserved it would have meant its complete destruction. But the compassion of the Lord saved the people as a whole from being consumed.

Lamentations 3:23

Lamentations 3:23. This means the evidences of God’ s compassion appears anew every morning. Thy faithfulness denotes the Lord’s constant attention to the welfare of Judah,

Lamentations 3:24

Lamentations 3:24. Soul is again used tor the whole man, and Jeremiah has hope that the Lord will supply his every need, both temporal and spiritual. Portion is from a Hebrew word that is defined “an allotment” in Strong’s lexicon.

Lamentations 3:25

Lamentations 3:25. To wait for the Lord means to rely upon him and seek to do his will. Upon all such souls God will bestow that which is good.

Lamentations 3:26

Lamentations 3:26. To hope and quietly wait are logically connected. If a man is restless and impatient regarding a desired blessing it indicates that his hope is weak. This very truth is taught by Paul in Romans 8:24-25.

Lamentations 3:27

Lamentations 3:27. Yoke is figurative and is used with reference to the burdens of adversity. If a man has that experience while he is young and strong, it will prepare him for the future when he will need the benefit of strength that experience gives.

Lamentations 3:28

Lamentations 3:28, Sitteth alone and. keepeth silence means that when adversity comes he will not be overcome by it. Having accepted the yoke in his youth be is “prepared for the worst” or has himself “armed” for it in the sense of 1 Peter 4:1,

Lamentations 3:29

Lamentations 3:29. This verse is one of the strongest kind of figures of speech. Dust refers to a condition of humility and distress, and putting the mouth in it means to “bite the dust” according to an old saying, yet stopping short of actual death. But the idea is that if a man learns the wholesome lessons the “hard way.” be may have to right to hope for better times ahead.

Lamentations 3:30

Lamentations 3:30. The spirit of resignation to an unavoidable lot is the lesson here.

Lamentations 3:31-32

Lamentations 3:31-32. This paragraph is a prediction of the return from captivity. Having said so much along the line of hope for better things to come, the prophet considers it an appropriate time to make some direct reference to those things.

Lamentations 3:33

Lamentations 3:33. Not afflict willingly de-notes that God does not chastise his people just for the sake of causing them grief. The final good that might come from the afflictions is the sole object in view.

Lamentations 3:34

Lamentations 3:34. Many of the verses have a similar meaning which is to distinguish between different kinds of affliction. For instance, it is not God’ s desire to crush all the prisoners which refers to those in the prison of the captivity.

Lamentations 3:35

Lamentations 3:35. It is not God’s purpose to deprive his people of any of their “rights,” but only to punish them sufficiently to bring them to repentance.

Lamentations 3:36

Lamentations 3:36. Cause means a contest and subvert means to win the contest merely by force whether right or wrong. The Lord would not approve such an act on the part of man. so He would not do so against his people. It is true that the divine forces are infinitely greater than the human, hut God does not use such force merely because he can, but it is be- couse it is just and for the ultimate good of mankind.

Lamentations 3:37

Lamentations 3:37. The Jewish nation had many false prophets who threw the people into confusion very often. Those men were exposed by the failure of their predictions to be fulfilled. A noted example of such a character is described in Jeremiah 28.

Lamentations 3:38

Lamentations 3:38. Evil and good. The thought will be grasped if the con-junction is given the emphasis. God does not act inconsistently, so if his children deserve euil (meaning un-pleasant experiences) for purposes of chastisement, they are not given the good or pleasant, for that would en-courage them to go on in their evil course.

Lamentations 3:39

Lamentations 3:39. This verse is an indirect rebuke of any man who would murmur at the just punishment for his sins.

Lamentations 3:40

Lamentations 3:40. Instead of resenting the punishment, the wise thing to do is to find out what is wrong with us. Of course it will be expected that when we learn what it is. we will cease doing it and turn again to serve the Lord.

Lamentations 3:41

Lamentations 3:41. The point in this verse is that our prayers should be sincere. When we lift up our hands In prayer to God our hearts should be In it.

Lamentations 3:42

Lamentations 3:42. Thou hast not pardoned applies to the nation as a whole, and means that it must suffer the captivity until its end has been accomplished. See the note at 2 Kings 22:17 in volume 2 of this Commentary.

Lamentations 3:43

Lamentations 3:43. Persecute is from a Hebrew word that means to pursue with hostile intent. The hostility might be Justified which it was in the case of the Lord pursuing his disobedient people. His anger was in the form of righteous indignation. Hast not pitied is used In the sense that God did not spare his corrupt nation when it became so bad as to need chastisement.

Lamentations 3:44

Lamentations 3:44. We are sure this is another figure of speech. The literal truth is that their prayer for escaping the captivity was not heard, and it. is represented by a cloud so dense that even sound could not penetrate it.

Lamentations 3:45

Lamentations 3:45. God has cast off his people as being unfit for His presence. They were turned over to the people which is from a word meaning nation; it. here refers to the Babylonian nation.

Lamentations 3:46

Lamentations 3:46. It has always been a matter of reproach for a nation to be subdued. The nation of Judah had been brought under by the heathen and the others opened their mouths or looked staringly at them as if in derision.

Lamentations 3:47

Lamentations 3:47. Under the circumstances of enforced exile it was natural that Judah would be affected with fear, and the nation would realize it was in a snare or trap. That left their cities and country at home suffering the results of desolating ruin.

Lamentations 3:48

Lamentations 3:48. This strong figure has been used previously by the prophet, and is an expression of the deep personal feeling he had concerning his people. (See Jeremiah 9; Jeremiah 1.)

Lamentations 3:49

Lamentations 3:49. Jeremiah wished for a fountain of tears to shed on behalf of his people. That not being granted him, his eyes trickled or constantly shed the water that was induced by his profound grief.

Lamentations 3:50

Lamentations 3:50. The prophet did not look for any relief from his grief until the Lord looked down. This evidently means to Look with pity and to remove the condition causing the tears. Such a time was to come after the nation was chastised enough.

Lamentations 3:51

Lamentations 3:51. Jeremiah was forced to weep so much that it was affecting his very heart or being. This was in sympathy for the citizens of Jerusalem.

Lamentations 3:52

Lamentations 3:52. Without cause means that the Babylonians did not have any personal reason for attacking Judah. They were only acting (unconsciously) as the agency of God for the punish-ment of Judah.

Lamentations 3:53

Lamentations 3:53. Jeremiah’s personal sufferings would justify this language, for he had been cast into the mire. And it was also true of Judah in a more indirect sense, for the nation had its national life cut off by the captivity.

Lamentations 3:54

Lamentations 3:54. Waters of affliction is the meaning of this verse.

Lamentations 3:55

Lamentations 3:55. The prophet was personally cared for by the Lord because he was a righteous man. And the nation was also promised relief after suffering for a while.

Lamentations 3:56

Lamentations 3:56. This verse shows the answer to the prayer of the preceding verse.

Lamentations 3:57

Lamentations 3:57. God is not. slack in his care for liis own. When the righteous prophet appealed to Him he was heard promptly.

Lamentations 3:58

Lamentations 3:58. We should not forget the thought suggested frequently in the comments of this book of Jeremiah, that he writes in a way that much of his complaint and pleading may have a twofold bearing. It may apply to him personally, or It may mean the nation as a whole. Beginning with verse 55 and through the end of the chapter, the verses may appropriately form a bracket and he applied to the nation in captivity. In that view of the subject I suggest that the bracket be so marked and given the reference to the 137th Psalm.

Lamentations 3:59

Lamentations 3:59. This verse will give the reader a reason for the twofold application of these passages as a whole. The present verse could not apply to Jeremiah personally and hence refers to the nation. The people in Babylon will see their wrong and call upon the Lord to help them out of trouble.

Lamentations 3:60

Lamentations 3:60. The enemy took the wrong attitude toward the captives, and God was asked to consider it. The Baby-lonians had no national grievance against Judah and had no right to exercise any vengeance.

Lamentations 3:61

Lamentations 3:61. Even the reproaches that were uttered by the Babylonians were displeasing to God and he was determined to judge them for it.

Lamentations 3:62

Lamentations 3:62. This refers to the reproaches mentioned in the preceding verse.

Lamentations 3:63

Lamentations 3:63. Sitting down and rising up signifies the Babylonians took the situation lightly, and drew amusement from the pitiable state of Judah.

Lamentations 3:64

Lamentations 3:64, The Lord was always displeased when a heathen nation rejoiced over the misfortunes of His people. The Babylonians were serving a divine purpose by holding the Jews in captivity, but they were destined to feel the sting of God’s vengeance.

Lamentations 3:65

Lamentations 3:65. This is a true picture of the attitude of the Jews with regard to the Babylonians. It is also a prediction of what God was going to do against them.

Lamentations 3:66

Lamentations 3:66. Persecute is from a Hebrew word that means to pursue with hostile intent. That is just what the Lord predicted he would do toward the Babylonians after they had served the end desired for the chastisement of the Jews.