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The Mercies of the Lord - Lamentations 3
March 17, 2025 · 13 min
A deep dive into the relentless love and mercy of God, found in the midst of Lamentations' tale of suffering.
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Hope in Affliction 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, we are looking at Lamentations chapter 3 verses 22 and 23, very 2 very well known verses. The steadfast love of the lord never0:21 ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Now we're gonna look at these, verses in a moment, but they represent really the high0:33 point in this entire book, and they are verses that, as I said, you've probably heard. But in reading reading the chapter and the entire book, you're gonna actually see these verses in the0:45 context in which they were written, which I think gives them even greater meaning and encouragement to us. Now chapter 3 is a bit different than the previous 2 chapters that we've already read. It is0:57 still an acrostic in the Hebrew like the others, with each of the, 22 verses beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in successive order. But instead of a single verse for each1:08 letter, chapter 3 has 3 verses, 3 short verses for each letter, which gives us a total of 66 verses. Now there is some debate among political or among biblical1:20 scholars as to whether Jeremiah spoke these words when he was imprisoned, or if he is recalling his time of affliction as an example of how, Jewish the Jewish people should respond in1:32 their pleasant plight. He could identify. Okay? He could identify. And, so he was speaking to them to bolster the hope of future restoration just as he was1:44 plucked from the pit of despair and put on solid ground. Now regardless of the timing, the effect, of this would would be significant for them, whether that was a a recounting or whether it1:56 was something he had stated when he was in prison. Just that that sharing that experience, would be powerful in giving them hope, which is why I believe it's here in Lamentations. Now this was a man,2:08 Jeremiah, who had wept over the nation's plight and his own mistreatment, but had repeatedly, repeatedly, even though it was difficult, but he had repeatedly experienced the help2:20 and the mercy of god. Now the 66 verses can be divided into, I think, 5 categories of focus. Number 1 versus 1 through 18 is the affliction, verses 19 through2:31 36, hope in the affliction, versus 37 through 41, duty in affliction, versus 42 through 54, source of the affliction,2:44 and then wrapping it up with verses 55 through 66, prayer in the affliction. Let's begin verse 1. I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath. He2:55 has driven and brought me into darkness without any light. Surely, against me, he turned his hand again and again the whole day long. How Jeremiah had experienced3:08 what the nation was now going through. And and that's, you know, in part how we can best minister is out of our own experience. There's nothing like walking through those3:20 challenges of life and coming through on the other side and experiencing the faithfulness of God to be able to help others go through that. And that's that was the the the path that Jeremiah was3:31 now walking. You know, Jeremiah had been afflicted by the the wrath of God in in this sense that Jeremiah was was like Jesus experiencing the affliction, not because of what he had3:43 done, but on behalf of the people so that he could identify with them. Jesus is our savior. He has been touched with the same things that we have. The the the afflictions of this3:55 world, denial, rejection, all the things that you and I experience, Jesus has been there. So we have a savior who understands. And so Jeremiah had been walking through that as well. Now just a note4:07 on the the rod of god's wrath. Okay? It's it's very important that we make this distinction. The rod, unlike the sword, is for correction. God will, as any4:19 loving parent would, correct his children. God's goal you may not wanna hear this, so go ahead and put your fingers in your ear if you don't wanna hear it. God's goal is not our comfort, but our4:30 sanctification. Alright. Verse 5, he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation. He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. He has4:42 walled me about so that I cannot escape. He has made my chains heavy. Though I cry, though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with blocks of4:54 stone. He has made my paths crooked. You know, Jeremiah here is describing the affliction as having no way of escape, a place of isolation where his5:06 prayers went unanswered. And you know what? You might be there, or maybe you've been there and you can identify with this. But from that point, he is able to minister in a greater way to those5:17 who are really walked around walking around at that point in a daze as the city is smoldering from and the ruins are laying all before them as a result of the destruction.5:29 Verse 17, my soul is bereft of peace. I have forgotten what happiness is. So I say my endurance has perished, so has my hope from the lord. The5:41 affliction that he was facing brought him to a place of desperation. But at that moment but at that very moment, he finds hope in his affliction. Verse 19, remember my affliction and my5:53 wanderings, the wormwood and the gall. My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore, I have hope. The steadfast6:05 love of the lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I6:16 will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that 1 should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Wow. That is powerful. In the midst of the destruction,6:30 he was looking to the Lord for hope. I actually read these words a couple years ago at the graveside service of my mother-in-law, because at 1 of the lowest points here in the prophet's life and in6:42 the life of the nation, as there appeared to be no way forward, he stirs up hope by remembering the faithfulness of god's love and his mercy. Verses 22 through 26 are the thing6:54 are the are the hinges upon which I think this whole book turns. These words are like the first ray of light at the morning's dawn, like the sun breaking through as the storm7:06 clouds part. It is the hope that there will be a tomorrow. There will be a tomorrow and god's love and mercy will meet us there. Verse 31, for the Lord will not cast7:18 us all forever, but though he calls his grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love, for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. Now the an important7:29 note here, god does not take pleasure in punishing the wicked or judging mankind. Say to them, as I live, declares the lord god, I have no pleasure in the7:41 death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back. Turn back from your evil way. For why will you die, oh, house of Israel?7:53 You see, god is motivated by love, and it is that love that afflicts in order to redeem. We can experience god's love because of god's justice. God is holy and his ways are8:05 unalterable. I know that this is a concept that is difficult for many to grasp in this age where we're under this deception that everyone can define his own truth. But here's the8:17 reality, god is the creator. And as the creator, he has established the rules. And from the very beginning, mankind fell short by the choice of our actions,8:29 which separated us from God, leaving our lives empty and meaningless and without purpose. However, God in his mercy and his grace made a way for us to be restored to8:40 that relationship with the 1 who made us through his son, Jesus Christ. And we see in these next verses how we are to respond in this affliction so that we might experience God's grace and8:52 mercy. Verse 37, who has spoken and it came to pass unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the most high that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain a man9:04 about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and hands to the God in heaven. Repent9:16 and turn to the God who made us. And that begins with a realization of the real source of our affliction, which Jeremiah points to. It's our sin. Look at verse 42. We have transgressed and9:27 rebelled, and you have not forgiven. And then finally, there is the prayer in the affliction. Again, we read here of Jeremiah's personal experience being an example9:39 for the nation. Verse 55, I called on your name, oh lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea. Do not close your ear to my cry for help. You came near when I called9:51 on you and you said, do not fear. Do not fear? I mean, at the end of your rope, at the bottom of the barrel of life, and god says, do not fear? Yes, he does.10:03 And here's why. When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God. Look at verse 58. You have taken up my calls, oh lord. You have redeemed my life. You have seen the wrong done to me.10:15 Oh lord, judge my calls. You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me. You have heard their taunts, oh, lord, all their plots against me. The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all day10:27 long. Behold, they're sitting and they're rising. I am the object of their taunts. You will repay them, oh lord, according to the work of their hands. You will give them the dullness of heart. Your curse will be upon10:38 them. You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, oh lord. Now this chapter, this chapter, chapter 3 of Lamentations inspired the powerful10:50 hymn written by Thomas Chisholm in 19 23, great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness, oh God, my father. There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou11:02 changes not thy compassions, they fail not. As thou has been, thou forever will be. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness.11:14 Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Father, we11:26 thank you for your faithfulness. And I pray for those this morning that might be on this journey or may even have just stumbled upon, this message this morning that they're at the the11:38 end of their rope, the bottom of the barrel of life, and and and they see no way forward. Father, may they realize that your mercies are new every morning, that your faithfulness, lord, if they'll11:50 turn to you, if we'll turn to you in repentance, And, Lord, reject our ways that we've chosen that have moved us away from you and alienated us from the 1 who created us in return to you,12:02 humbly submitting to you, accepting your grace and your mercy extended to us through your son, Jesus Christ. Lord, may we find that faithfulness and those mercies renewed in our lives.12:14 We thank you for your faithfulness and that, lord, you do not change. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and I would encourage you maybe share this with someone that, you know,12:25 that's going through some difficulty because this really is an encouraging passage of scripture. Alright. Until next time. Keep standing on the word.12:37 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you12:49 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Hope in Affliction
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