Book: Lamentations
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Lamentations 3:21-24

I. Jeremiah has just witnessed the severe judgment of God against the
   nation of Judah.
        A. "I have seen the affliction of the rod of His wrath."
                1. He saw the indiscriminate slaying of the populace.
                   Neither the young children or the old and feeble people
                   were spared.
                2. He saw the Temple of God profaned, and then destroyed.
                3. He saw the fires consume the city.
                4. He is now viewing the ruined remains.
        B. He feels as though God has become their enemy.
                1. "Surely He has turned against me."
                2. "He has led us into darkness, and shut out the light."
                3. "He has surrounded me with bitterness and travail."
                4. "He has set me in the dark place of the dead from which
                   their is no escape."
                5. He has torn us like a bear or a lion.
                6. He has bent His bow and made us the target for His 
                   arrows, His arrow pierced my heart.
                7. He has broken my teeth with gravel stones.
        C. The effect that this had on the prophet.
                1. He felt that he had drunk the cup of bitterness. That
                   he was forced to drink gall and wormwood. Wormwood was
                   known as the most bitter substance.
                2. He felt that he had lost touch with God. "When I cry 
                   and shout He does not listen to my prayers.
                3. He felt great turmoil within.

II. In the midst of this despair a thought comes to mind that changes the
    whole outlook. It turns his disappear to hope.
        A. "It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed."
                1. I really deserved worse than I received.
                2. If it were not for the mercy of God, I would be dead
                   and in hell.
        B. He began to think of God's compassion. God is a compassionate
           God.
                1. So many times in the New Testament we read of Jesus
                   having compassion on the multitudes, or on an
                   individuals needs.
                2. The phrase, "He was moved with compassion toward them."
                   was an oft used phrase concerning Jesus.
                3. He said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the
                   Father."
                4. Jeremiah said two things concerning the compassion
                   of God.
                        a. "They fail not." God never fails to be
                           compassionate. The judgment of God never comes
                           until every means of grace has been 
                           exhausted. It is like facing a judge who loves
                           you and is looking for some loophole. Any
                           excuse to free you.
                        b. "They are new every morning." It seems that God
                           is looking for some way to demonstrate His love
                           for us each new day.
        C. "Great is Thy faithfulness."
                1. Even in the judgment that he had just observed, the
                   faithfulness of God was manifested.
                2. God had been promising for years that if they would not
                   repent and turn to Him that He would surely judge them.
                3. They had ignored the warnings of God, they had mocked
                   the prophet of God, they declared that he had been
                   harping on that same tune for years, and nothing had
                   happened.
                4. There is one thing in life of which you can be sure,
                   God will keep His word. His promises are true. That
                   should bring joy and comfort to your heart, or should
                   strike you with absolute terror. The difference being
                   your relationship with Him.
        D. The three aspects of the nature of God brought comfort to the
           soul of the troubled prophet. God is merciful, He is
           compassionate He is faithful.

III. The conclusion, "It is good to be on the Lord's side."
        A. He has witnessed the righteous judgment of God upon the wicked.
           He has seen what devastation sin can bring to a nation, or to
           an individual.
        B. It is good that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for
           the salvation of the Lord.
                1. So we today find ourselves hoping for the salvation of
                   the Lord.
                        a. I feel sorry for those who are hoping in the
                           government for their salvation.
                        b. I feel even greater sorrow for those who are
                           hoping in the promises of the politicians.
                        c. I view with pity the man who is trying to save
                           himself.
                        d. Our prayer daily should be, "Lord, save our
                           nation, save our schools, and save our
                           families."
                2. Then quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
                        a. There is one commandment in the scriptures
                           that I seem to constantly be breaking. "Fret
                           not thyself because of evil doers, the men
                           that bring wicked devises to pass."
                           I plead guilty, just mention the names of
                           Jerry Brown, or Ted Kennedy, or Carl Sagen,
                           or Norman Leer, and I begin to fret when I see
                           the influence they have had on our state, and
                           our nation. But like Isaac Asminov, the day is
                           coming when they also will be cut off.
                        b. In that same Psalm we are also commanded to
                           "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."
                3. The question is, "Is God in control of His Universe or
                   not?" Has man become so powerful as to have wrested
                   things out of the hand of God?
        C. When your heart becomes overwhelmed by the circumstances of
           life, you feel that even God has deserted you. Remember, His
           mercies, His compassion and His faithfulness. Great is Thy
           faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning
           with Thee, Thou changest not, Thy compassion they fail not,
           great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.