38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Though He causes grief, 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. They are new every morning Day and night proclaim the mercy and compassion of God. 3 He has turned his hand against me. i. 2. 51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city. Una eademque manus vulnus opemque tulitThe same hand inflicted the wound and healed it. He gets good by the yoke who gives his cheek to him that smites him, and rather turns the other cheek (Matt 5 39) than returns the second blow. i. He hath filled me with bitterness bimrorim, with bitternesses, bitter upon bitter. That God does not approve of them. No; he has more reason to be thankful for life than to complain of any of the burdens and calamities of life. 20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. The prophet here laments the injuries and indignities done to those to whom respect used to be shown, ver 1, 2. Having stated his distress and temptation, the prophet shows how he was raised above it. My eyes overflow with rivers of water: Earlier in Lamentations 2:18 Jeremiah expressed a prayer in the mouth of Jerusalems enemies, a prayer that the city and her walls would weep without end. You perceive there is not a word concerning himself or his own pleadings. Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. Note, It is our duty to make God the portion of our souls, and then to make use of him as our portion and to take the comfort of it in the midst of our lamentations. Note, Though we may pour out our complaints before God, we must never exhibit any complaints against God. Lamentations 3:3 "Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand [against me] all the day." The course of God's providence toward me is quite altered, his hand, that is, his power, which was accustomed to being with me, and for me, against my enemies, is now turned against me. Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? I have eaten ashes like bread," Ps 102 9. 8. In offering the cheek to the smiter the captive was conveying the idea of absolute surrender. (Harrison). For the Lord will not cast off forever: The suffering endured was not everlasting. He will save believers with everlasting salvation, while his enemies perish with everlasting destruction. They did it by despising him (their reproach), with schemes, with whispering lies, and their taunting song against him. Its New Testament counterpart (1 Corinthians 4:13) is equally rare, depicting the suffering of the apostles. (Harrison), ii. 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. He has caused the arrows of His quiver We should observe what makes for us, as well as what is against us. All rights reserved. My soul has them still in remembrance. Salem Media Group. 2. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. God will plead thy cause, and redeem thy soul. (Clarke). Darkness is put for great trouble and perplexity, the want both of comfort and of direction; this was the case of the complainant (Lamentations 3:2; Lamentations 3:2): "He has led meby his providence, and an unaccountable chain of events, into darkness and not into light,the darkness I feared and not into the light I hoped for." They were surrounded, hedged, and blocked. b. I called on your name, O LORD: Even from the pit Jeremiah knew he could call upon the LORD, and that God would hear His voice. You can copy the order of your preferred Bible translations from the Bibles Tab to the Version Picker (this popup) or vice versa. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, When they were in the low dungeon, as free among the dead, they called upon God's name (v. 55); their weeping did not hinder praying. 8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer. The vital word in this verse is ?ese? I am their song, their neginath, or hand-instrument of music, their tabret (Job 17 6), that they play upon, as Nero on his harp when Rome was on fire. c. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him: All the misery of Gods people had come because they would not truly seek God and wait for Him. 7. 4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old. The prophet relates the more gloomy and discouraging part of his experience, and how he found support and relief. Major Prophets We are men, and not children that cry for every thing that hurts them. 2. He has been to me a bear lying in wait, That God appears against him as an enemy, as a professed enemy. We are afflicted by the rod of his wrath, but it is of the lord's mercies that we are not consumed, v. 22. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; 5 he has besieged . (Lamentations 3:19-20) The sinking soul. I am the man that hath seen affliction Either the prophet speaks here of himself, or he is personating his miserable countrymen. To turn aside the justice due a man These streams followed up to the fountain: It is of the Lord's mercies. Let us try our ways, that by them we may try ourselves, for we are to judge of our state not by our faint wishes, but by our steps, not by one particular step, but by our ways, the ends we aim at, the rules we go by, and the agreeableness of the temper of our minds and the tenour of our lives to those ends and those rules. Where there was a way open it is now quite made up: He has compassed me on ever side with gall and travel; I vex, and fret, and tire myself, to find a way of escape, but can find none, v. 7. Minor Prophets Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a No matter how bad the past day was, Gods people can look to the new morning with faith and hope. Matthew Henrys Bible Commentary (concise), Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete), California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. If they had not made themselves vile, their enemies could not have made them so: but therefore men call them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them for rejecting him. Yes, certainly it is; and for the reconciling of us to our own afflictions, whatever they be, this general truth must thus be particularly applied. Silenced my life in the pit: Seemeth not to be here taken literally, for the lowest and nastiest place in prisons, which probably was the portion but of a few of the Jews; but metaphorically, for the lowest and saddest condition of misery. like those long dead. II. It leads too to the willingness to be treated like a slave (v. 30), for the yoke was a symbol of servitude (but cf. (2.) Out of the depths have I cried unto thee (Ps 130 1), as Jonah out of the whale's belly. of Scripture. "I am chained; and as some notorious malefactors are double-fettered, and loaded with irons, so he has made my chain heavy. That he is at a loss and altogether in the dark. That, whatever men's lot is, it is God that orders it: Out of the mouth of the Most High do not evil and good proceed? Or subvert a man in his cause Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. As breathing is a proof of animal life, so is prayer, though never so weak, of spiritual. And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. You have covered Yourself with anger But, if we accommodate ourselves to him, though we be chastened of the Lord we shall not be condemned with the world. It is just with God to make those who walk in the crooked paths of sin, crossing God's laws, walk in the crooked paths of affliction, crossing their designs and breaking their measures. Our enemies have opened their mouths against us (v. 46), have gaped upon us as roaring lions, to swallow us up, or made mouths at us, or have taken liberty to say what they please of us." 55 I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Fear and a snare have come upon us, Lamentations 3 NLT - Hope in the LORD's Faithfulness - BibleGateway 4 He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has mingled gravel with my bread, so that my teeth are broken with it (v. 16) and what I eat is neither pleasant nor nourishing. 5. Words of comfort to God's people when they are in trouble and distress, ver 21-36. Lamentations 3 - Clarke's Commentary - StudyLight.org 2. Against all the despair, Jeremiah proclaimed to himself and all others the goodness of hope and patient seeking of God. ii. Our seeking will help to keep up our waiting. He appeals to God's judgment upon this fact: "Lord, thou hast seen my wrong; there is no need of any evidence to prove it, nor any prosecutor to enforce and aggravate it; thou seest it in its true colours; and now I leave it with thee. Repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands: God had repaid Jerusalem and Judah for all their sin and disobedience. This was the state of poor Jerusalem. Pentateuch a. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22', There are options set in 'Advanced Options', The Whole Bible These past deliverances created his assurance that Jehovah would yet act on behalf of His people and destroy their enemies from under the heavens. (Morgan), 2021 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik ewm@enduringword.com, The Whole Bible This is the consequence of their hardening their hearts from thy fear. We must set ourselves to answer God's intention in afflicting us, which is to bring sin to our remembrance, and to bring us home to himself, v. 40. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. I am chastened every morning," Ps 73 14. Why Does God Compare Our Relationship with Him to That of a Bride and Groom? 6. The reason is, there is nothing more disagreeable to the taste than the one; and nothing more distressing to the mind than the other. Historical Books Verse 22. That which is most impressive in this song is the identification of the prophet with the people and with God. Here is one word of comfort. And surely they are such as afford a sufficient ground for trusting in God under the severest trials. Remember my affliction and roaming, The prophet here seems to check himself for the complaint he had made in the former part of the chapter, wherein he seemed to reflect upon God as unkind and severe. Persecute and destroy them Thou wilt pursue them with destruction. Yet the consideration of Gods sovereignty would also become the source of their hope. Persecute and destroy them in anger, as they persecute and destroy us in their anger. And be full of reproach. The Hebrew exclamation ekah2 ("How," which expresses "dismay"), used in 1:1; 2:1, and 4:1, gives the book its Hebrew title. It is possible to interpret this chapter as a record of the feelings of Jeremiah himself, or as a personification in an otherwise unknown individual or the nations tragic sufferings. (Harrison), ii. In a magnificent expression of faith in the unfailing mercies of God, the writer looks to the distant future with renewed hope. (Harrison), ii. Let them be dealt with as they have dealt with us; let thy hand be against them as their hand has been against us. Note, The prolonging of troubles is sometimes a temptation, even to praying people, to question whether God be what they have always believed him to be, a prayer-hearing God. The wormwood and the gall. In the sacrificial tariffs of the Pentateuch, animal kidneys were held to be one of the locations of life, this being thought true of human kidneys also. To give emphasis, Jeremiah asked the same question in different words. We must lift up our hearts with our hands, as we must pour out our souls with our words. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. That God has compassions and comforts in store even for those whom he has himself grieved. Approveth not, lo raah, doth not see, turns away his face from it, abhors it. 4. Lamentations 3 - Wikipedia A sad complaint of God's displeasure and the fruits of it, ver 1-20. He is good to those who do so, v. 25. 3. All their schemes against me, All our enemies 4. 4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. Verse Lamentations 3:1. He that knows all things knew, (1.) Verse 36. Our own wickedness corrects us, Prov 19 3. Now Jeremiah prayed that Yahweh would repay their enemies, and give them a veiled heart even as Judah was blind. 5. Their sins were repented of, and yet (v. 42), Thou hast not pardoned. They complain of the lamentable destruction that their enemies made of them (v. 47): Fear and a snare have come upon us; the enemies have not only terrified us with those alarms, but prevailed against us by their stratagems, and surprised us with the ambushes they laid for us; and then follows nothing but desolation and destruction, the destruction of the daughter of my people (v. 48), of all the daughters of my city, v. 51. Lamentations 1:3. Thou hast seen - all their imaginations Every thing is open to the eye of God. Every morning brings new provision for the day. He had already begun to appear for them (v. 58): "O Lord! We may observe throughout this chapter a struggle in the prophet's breast between sense and faith, fear and hope; he complains and then comforts himself, yet drops his comforts and returns again to his complaints, as Ps 42. All their schemes against me. What Every Christian Should Know about the Protestant Reformation. Two ways the people of God are injured and oppressed by their enemies, and the prophet here assures us that God does not approve of either of them:1. It is our wisdom then to submit, and to kiss the rod; for, if we still walk contrary to God, he will punish us yet seven times more; for when he judges he will overcome. He has set me as a mark for his arrow, which he aims at, and will be sure to hit, and then the arrows of his quiver enter into my reins, give me a mortal wound, an inward wound, v. 13. Johannine Writings Our hearts must go along with our prayers. We need a constant supply and God has promised to send them without fail. "Let them be dealt with according to the threatenings: Thy curse unto them; that is, let thy curse come upon them, all the evils that are pronounced in thy word against the enemies of thy people, v. 65. 42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. Darkness is put for great trouble and perplexity, the want both of comfort and of direction; this was the case of the complainant (v. 2): "He has led me by his providence, and an unaccountable chain of events, into darkness and not into light, the darkness I feared and not into the light I hoped for." O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged; We should complain to God, and not of him. For the destruction of the daughter of my people. He is good to all; his tender mercies are over all his works; all his creatures taste of his goodness. d. It is good that he should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD: Everything previous in Lamentations was deep in despair, and the misery was by no means over. III. I will stay myself upon him, and encourage myself in him, when all other supports and encouragements fail me." There was still a remnant, and remnant with a promise of restoration. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. "Lamentations: The Expositor's Bible Commentary" Volume 6 (Isaiah-Ezekiel) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1985), Harrison, R.K. "Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary" Volume 20 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 1973), Meyer, F.B. The prophet complains, 1. Note, However God may for a time suffer evil-doers to prosper, and serve his own purposes by them, yet he does not therefore approve of their evil doings. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation. 3. With God as adversary, what strength is there? All Rights Reserved. However it be, yet God is good to them (Ps 73 1), and they may by faith see love in his heart even when they see frowns in his face and a rod in his hand. Note, Though we are cast into ever so low a dungeon, we may thence find a way of access to God in the highest heavens. He recognized the necessity of the suffering, but suffered with the sufferers. (Morgan), iv. 58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. The Gospels The second ( Lamentations 3:32) rests on the fact that compassion underlies chastisement ( Psalm 30:5; Job 5:18; Isaiah 54:8 ); the third ( Lamentations 3:33) on the truth that the primary eternal will of God is on the side of love, and that punishment is, as it were, against that will. Thus we may get good by former corrections and prevent further. Others have been consumed round about us, and we ourselves have been in the consuming, and yet we are not consumed; we are out of the grave; we are out of hell. "In more ways than one this brings us to the very heart of the book. I have been so inured to sorrow and servitude that I know not what joy and liberty mean. Their enemies had brought them into the deepest miseries. (Poole). He has made me desolate. 7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. The above verse is quoted in reference to our Lord's passion, by Matthew 26:62. Note, The church of God is like Moses's bush, burning, yet not consumed; whatever hardships it has met with, or may meet with, it shall have a being in the world to the end of time. it was to no purpose; he remembers, upon all occasions, the affliction and the misery, the wormwood and the gall. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. (Clarke), ii. He laments the direful effects of the famine to which they were reduced by the siege, ver 3-10. From the doctrine of God's sovereign and universal providence, which he had asserted in the verses before, he draws this inference, Wherefore does a living man complain? This and other passages in this poem have been applied to Jesus Christ's passion; but, in my opinion, without any foundation. When we are in distress we should, for the encouragement of our faith and hope, observe what makes for us as well as what makes against us. The sovereign God alone can revive it. 5. Verse Lamentations 3:60. Verse 48. We must pray to him, with a believing expectation to receive mercy from him; for that is implied in our lifting up our hands to him (a gesture commonly used in prayer and sometimes put for it, as Ps 141 2, Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice); it signifies our requesting mercy from him and our readiness to receive that mercy. The Old Testament To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! He gets good by the yoke who puts his mouth in the dust, not only lays his hand upon his mouth, in token of submission to the will of God in the affliction, but puts it in the dust, in token of sorrow, and shame, and self-loathing, at the remembrance of sin, and as one perfectly reduced and reclaimed, and brought as those that are vanquished to lick the dust, Ps 72 9.