Lamentations of Jeremiah Chapter 1 Jerusalem in Affliction 1 How lonely sits the city That was  full of people! How  like a widow is she, Who  was  great among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! 2  She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears  are  on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort  her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. 3  Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. 4  The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she  is  in bitterness. 5  Her adversaries have become the master, Her enemies prosper; For the  Lord  has afflicted her Because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. 6  And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed. Her princes have become like deer That  find no pasture, That flee without strength Before the pursuer. 7  In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things That she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy, With no one to help her, The adversaries saw her And  mocked at her downfall. 8  Jerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away. 9  Her uncleanness  is  in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O  Lord , behold my affliction, For  the  enemy is exalted!” 10  The adversary has spread his hand Over all her pleasant things; For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, Those whom You commanded Not to enter Your assembly. 11  All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O  Lord , and consider, For I am scorned.” 12  “ Is it  nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the  Lord  has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. 13  “From above He has sent fire into my bones, And it overpowered them; He has spread a net for my feet And turned me back; He has made me desolate And  faint all the day. 14  “The yoke of my transgressions was bound; They were woven together by His hands, And  thrust upon my neck. He made my strength fail; The Lord delivered me into the hands of  those whom  I am not able to withstand. 15  “The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty  men  in my midst; He has called an assembly against me To crush my young men; The Lord trampled  as  in a winepress The virgin daughter of Judah. 16  “For these  things  I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.” 17  Zion spreads out her hands, But  no one comforts her; The  Lord  has commanded concerning Jacob That  those around him  become  his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. 18  “The  Lord  is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity. 19  “I called for my lovers, But  they deceived me; My priests and my elders Breathed their last in the city, While they sought food To restore their life. 20  “See, O  Lord , that I  am  in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, At home  it is  like death. 21  “They have heard that I sigh, But  no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are glad that You have done  it. Bring on the day You have announced, That they may become like me. 22  “Let all their wickedness come before You, And do to them as You have done to me For all my transgressions; For my sighs  are  many, And my heart  is  faint.” Introduction Author: Jeremiah the Prophet Jeremiah started his service as a youth from a priestly family God invited him to prophesy but he was worried  Israel had already been made captive to Assyria Jeremiah's prophecies were about "repent so it doesn't happen to you too!" It was revealed to Jeremiah that the Southern Kingdom of Judah would be taken captive by Babylon Many kings and the people heard his prophecies, but did not take it seriously. Babylonian Captivity Came in several waves In the time of King Zedekiah, they came and seized Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, plundered the gold and the vessels and anything of value in the Temple; and they took captives Jeremiah witnessed all of those things Weeping Prophet Prophesied for 40 years before the captivity, and lamented, so he received the nickname "Weeping Prophet" After the Captivity, some Judean leaders wanted to flee to Egypt and God forbade it by Jeremiah's voice (Jeremiah 43) So they took him and forced him to go to Egypt with them There, he preached that they will be punished Tradition tells us that Jeremiah died in Egypt Date of Authorship: After witnessing the captivity of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple Introduction to Lamentations The Church arranges for us to read this on the 12th hour of Friday in a mournful tune, because not only did they kill prophets... they killed the Messiah. Chapter 3 1  I  am  the man  who  has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. Jeremiah Even though the Jews tormented him, his family tormented him, the kings wronged him, he was beaten, he was humiliated, he was imprisoned, in the end he says "affliction came upon me with the rod of God's wrath." He doesn't blame the affliction on anyone, doesn't get upset... I am seeing what God permitted to happen to me for my sake - for my good, for my growth, for my adjustment. Christ " Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted . But He  was  wounded for our transgressions, He was  bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace  was  upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5) It is an affliction of love - an affliction of the gladness of salvation Me To accept something from God's hand, there is surrender involved - surrendering my heart that wants to hate, into the hand of the Lord with the knowledge that this is all part of His plan for me 2 He has led me and made  me  walk In  darkness and not  in light. Jeremiah Jeremiah had a dark life prophesying to Judah... Mud, prison, tears, broken stones Christ Christ - the Light of the World - entered into the darkness of Hades to plunder it of the righteous Me 3  Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. Jeremiah Usually when someone goes through something difficult, they are waiting for it to pass... but with Jeremiah, time and time again throughout the day, problem after problem; hardship after hardship; affliction after affliction; pain after pain. Christ This statement of course applies to the Lord Christ - the entire week of Holy Week and especially the last 24 hours are just suffering, pain, the Cross, etc. until the last breath. It would seem to the outsider looking in that Christ was forsaken by God 4  He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. This is symbolic because Jeremiah's bones were not broken neither was his flesh or skin peeled  This is what Christ felt on the cross and this is what Jeremiah felt 5 He has besieged me And surrounded  me  with bitterness and woe. Christ He accepted bitterness 6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago. Jeremiah Hades was known that before the Cross, anyone who died would go there - Paradise was not open yet; it is a dark place And the righteous were there doing what? Waiting for the Lord to come and save them; having the Promise of forgiveness and the promise of eternal life, they were waiting in hope. Jeremiah because of the overwhelming sadness, he feels as if he is in Hades - because he is still on earth but he is just waiting on the Promise of life; waiting in hope for the Lord. Christ His body in the tomb now - like the dead His soul is in Hades now - like the dead - except His soul is in Hades to conquer death; to free the righteous from it and take them to Paradise 7  He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. Jeremiah Christ He is in a tomb! With a large stone sealing the door of the tomb!  The chain is the binding to Hades - the devil assumes that the Lord is bound like the rest of mankind, but he could not perceive that the Lord was going there of His own will to liberate us 8 Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. Jeremiah Christ On the Cross, when He cried out in prayer to the Father, He was scoffed by the crucifiers... they said "He is calling to Elijah... let Him save Him now" Me We feel this sometimes... here is a prophet - a man of God - who feels this! 9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. Christ Again, the evil one assumes that now the path to salvation is thwarted! All the paths are without escape 10  He  has been  to me a bear lying in wait, Like  a lion in ambush. Christ Me As if God has become an enemy to me 11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. 12  He has bent His bow And set me up as a target for the arrow. 13  He has caused the arrows of His quiver To pierce my loins. 14  I have become the ridicule of all my people— Their taunting song all the day. 15  He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. 16  He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes. 17  You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. 18  And I said, “My strength and my hope Have perished from the  Lord .” 19  Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. 20  My soul still remembers And sinks within me. 21  This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22  Through  the  Lord ’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23  They are  new every morning; Great  is  Your faithfulness. 24  “The  Lord   is  my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” 25  The  Lord   is  good to those who wait for Him, To the soul  who  seeks Him. 26  It is  good that  one  should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the  Lord . 27  It is  good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28  Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because  God  has laid  it  on him; 29  Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope. 30  Let him give  his  cheek to the one who strikes him, And  be full of reproach. 31  For the Lord will not cast off forever. 32  Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. 33  For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. 34  To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, 35  To turn aside the justice  due  a man Before the face of the Most High, 36  Or subvert a man in his cause— The Lord does not approve. 37  Who  is  he  who  speaks and it comes to pass, When  the Lord has not commanded  it? 38  Is it  not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? 39  Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins? 40  Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the  Lord ; 41  Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. 42  We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. 43  You have covered  Yourself  with anger And pursued us; You have slain  and  not pitied. 44  You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through. 45  You have made us an offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. 46  All our enemies Have opened their mouths against us. 47  Fear and a snare have come upon us, Desolation and destruction. 48  My eyes overflow with rivers of water For the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49  My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, 50  Till the  Lord  from heaven Looks down and sees. 51  My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. 52  My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird. 53  They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me. 54  The waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!” 55  I called on Your name, O  Lord , From the lowest pit. 56  You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.” 57  You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, “Do not fear!” 58  O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life. 59  O  Lord , You have seen  how  I am wronged; Judge my case. 60  You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me. 61  You have heard their reproach, O  Lord , All their schemes against me, 62  The lips of my enemies And their whispering against me all the day. 63  Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I  am  their taunting song. 64  Repay them, O  Lord , According to the work of their hands. 65  Give them a veiled heart; Your curse  be  upon them! 66  In Your anger, Pursue and destroy them From under the heavens of the  Lord .