Lamentations 1:1-22
Jerusalem had fallen into hard times – ‘she who once was great among
the nations… has now become a slave’ (Lamentations 1:1). Lord, we wonder
why this happened. The explanation for this sad situation was not hard
to find – ‘Jerusalem has sinned greatly and
so has become unclean…’ (Lamentations 8-9). We wonder, “Could things be
turned around? Could there once again be blessing?” We thank You, Lord,
that there was a way back to You – the way of being honest before You.
They needed to look seriously at their way of life and think seriously
about their attitude towards You, Lord. They were not to adopt an
arrogant attitude – ‘There’s really nothing wrong with us. We’re doing
all right.’ They were to come to You with a real confession of sin: ‘The
Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against His command… O Lord,… I have
been most rebellious’ (Lamentations 1:18,20). We thank You, Lord, that
Your blessing will begin again when we confess our sin.
Lamentations 2:1-22
We think, Lord, about Jerusalem’s
fall into hard times. This was n’t ‘just one of those things that
happens.’ Your people brought it on themselves. They didn’t take You
seriously – but You continued to take them seriously. They ignored You,
Lord, but You didn’t ignore their disobedience to You. They sinned
against You – and You were angry with them: ‘How the Lord in His anger
has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!’ (Lamentations 2:1). This
was not just a case of glibly saying, ‘The good times will come again.’
They needed to recognize why the bad times had come: ‘The Lord has…
carried out His threat’ (Lamentations 2:17). Lord, You had warned Your
sinful people. Judgment was on its way – if they refused to listen to
You. Now, in the time of You judgment, You are still calling us back to
Yourself: ‘Cry aloud to the Lord!…’ (Lamentations 2:18-19). Help us,
Lor, to return to You?
Lamentations 3:1-24
Lord, there are times when it seems
nothing is going right for us: ‘I am the man who has seen affliction…’
(Lamentations 3:1-3). In such times, Help us to remember this: ‘The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an
end.’ When we find ourselves in circumstances of great distress, may we
learn to look beyond the things that are happening to us. Teach us,
Lord, to look You, and say, ‘Great is Your faithfulness.’ We don’t find
it easy to see You at work in our lives when everything seems to be
going wrong. Teach us to be patient, as we wait for Your blessing return
to our lives. May we put all our hope in You, Lord. Teach us to trust
in Your precious promise: ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for
the salvation of the Lord’ (Lamentations 3:22-26).
Lamentations 3:25-42
Teach us, Lord, In our ‘grief’, not
to forget Your ‘compassion’ (Lamentations 3:32). You understand us. You
care for us. How, Lord, do we know that You love us? ‘Christ died for
us’ (Romans 5:8). This is the greatest demonstration of Your love for
us. How can we doubt Your love for us when we think of Your Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross for us as our Saviour? When we
think of Your love for us, may we remember that You call us to love You.
Teach us not to take Your love for granted – ‘God loves me. I can do
what I like.’ Help us to appreciate Your love – ‘God loves me. I will
love Him.’ You love us. Christ died for us. How can we say, ‘I’ll do
what I like’? How can we refuse to be changed by Your love?‘ Teach us,
Lord, to examine our ways and turn back to You. Teach us to open our
hearts to You’ (Lamentations 3:40-41).
Lamentations 3:43-66
‘You came near when I called You… O
Lord… You redeemed my life’ (Lamentations 3:57-58). We wonder, Lord,
‘Will You answer our prayer for salvation?’ Yes! At the Cross of Christ,
we learn that You love us and answers our prayer. ‘You did not wait for
me to draw near to You, but You clothed yourself in frail humanity. You
did not wait for me to cry out to You, but You let me hear Your voice
calling me. And I’m forever grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for
the Cross; I’m forever grateful to You that You came to seek and save
the lost.’ ‘Thank You for the Cross, the price You paid for us, how You
gave Yourself so completely, precious Lord, precious Lord. Now our sins
are gone, all forgiven, covered by Your blood, all forgotten, thank You
Lord, thank You Lord’ (Songs of Fellowship, 631; Mission Praise, 632).
Lamentations 4:1-22
We thank You, Lord, that no human
king can even begin to compare with our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘the King of
kings’ (Revelation 19:16). The people of Jerusalem were full of
confidence. They ‘trusted their king to protect them from every
invader.’ They thought Jerusalem was invincible: ‘No one anywhere, not
even rulers of foreign nations, believed that any invader could enter
Jerusalem’s gates.’ They were wrong. They thought it would never happen –
but it did! The unthinkable happened! ‘They captured the source of our
life, the king the Lord had chosen.’ Why, Lord, did it happen? Your Word
gives us the reason: ‘It happened because of the sins of her prophets
and… priests’. The king – ‘the Lord’s anointed’ – was unable to prevent
Jerusalem’s defeat (Lamentations 4:12-13,20). We praise You, Lord – We
have a greater King: our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Lamentations 5:1-22
‘You, O Lord, reign for ever; Your
throne endures from generation to generation’. Help us to remember this
when we feel like You have ‘forgotten’ us. When we feel like You have
‘abandoned’ us, may we remember this: ‘You, O Lord, are King for ever,
and will rule to the end of time’ (Lamentations 5:19-20). Teach us not
only to pay lip-service to You, our Lord and our King. May we crown You
as King of our hearts and our lives. How, Lord, are we to do this? Teach
us to pray, ‘Bring us back to You, Lord!’ (Lamentations 5:21). Lord,
You’re looking for a real return to You and a real difference in our
lives. ‘In your hearts enthrone Him. There let Him subdue all that is
not holy, all that is not true…’; ‘So let us learn how to serve and in
our lives enthrone Him, each other’s needs to prefer, for it is Christ
we’re serving’ (Church Hymnary, 300; Mission Praise, 162).
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