Lamentations: The Right Cry For Help

2021-05-09

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations as a poem of grief over the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the city, the temple and the homeland Jeremiah loved. Jeremiah, known as the weeping prophet, wrote this “lament” in distress over what had happened to his great city, but also as a reminder of the faithfulness of God.

Lamentations 1:2 (CSB) She weeps bitterly during the night, with tears on her cheeks. There is no one to offer her comfort, not one from all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies

There are moments in life when everything seems to be out of control. These are times when we feel the turmoil is too much, the pain too great, the hurt overwhelming. There is no help to be found.

Lamentations 3:52-54 (CSB) For no reason, my enemies hunted me like a bird. 53 They smothered my life in a pit and threw stones on me. 54 Water flooded over my head, and I thought, “I’m going to die!”

But in those moments, it is important to remember who our God really is and what He has promised. It is, at those times, comforting to know we can cry out to Him and He always answers.

The Right Cry for Help

Lamentations 3:55-66 (CSB) I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. 57 You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.” 58 You championed my cause, Lord; you redeemed my life. 59 Lord, you saw the wrong done to me; judge my case. 60 You saw all their vengefulness, all their plots against me. 61 Lord, you heard their insults, all their plots against me. 62 The slander and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long. 63 When they sit and when they rise, look, I am mocked by their songs. 64 You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord, according to the work of their hands. 65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish. May your curse be on them! 66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them under your heavens.

1. Our first turn should be to Him

Vs 55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.

  • The key in this middle passage of the book of Jeremiah is that the Lord is our only source of hope and deliverance
  • No matter how desperate things might seem, God is always with us

 

2. His promise is absolute

Vss 56-57 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. 57 You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.”

  • This is one of the greatest reminders of help found in the Scriptures

This passage echoes the promise found in Psalm 23 – “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”

Vs 56 (NKJV) You have heard my voice: “Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help.”

  • Two types of prayer – “sighing” and “cry”
  • the sigh of a prayer silently breathed forth, and the loud, earnest cry (compare “prayer,” “secret speech,” Is 26:16, Margin; with “cry aloud,” Ps 55:17).[1]

[1] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 564.

Psalm 55:17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice

1 Peter 5:7    casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you

 

3. He will do the heavy lifting

Vss 58-61 You championed my cause, Lord; you redeemed my life. 59 Lord, you saw the wrong done to me; judge my case. 60 You saw all their vengefulness, all their plots against me. 61 Lord, you heard their insults, all their plots against me.

  • It is not our job to get back at those who have hurt us, our job is to trust

Romans 12:19 (NKJV) Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,, says the Lord

4. Nothing is too hard for Him

Lamentations 3:22-25 (CSB) Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him.

  • Each day, God promises to give us what we need in a new and refreshing way
  • There is never anything you will ever face for which God doesn’t promise to give you the strength you need to make it through

Jeremiah 29:13 (CSB) You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart

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