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Book: Lamentations
 Print ( PC Only )
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.
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