A Strange Place for Praise

I. Jeremiah Refused to Give in to Hopelessness (21-26)

A. His bottom-line hope (21-23) – “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

B. His bright hope (24) – “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

C. His blossoming hope (25-26) – “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

II. Jeremiah Was Experiencing a Rocky Reality (49-54)

A. When dreams are dashed (see is words in verses 1-20)

Affliction; wrath; darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand my flesh and my skin waste away; besieged; bitterness and tribulation; darkness; like the dead; I cannot escape; my chains are heavy; I call and cry for help, He shuts out my prayer; He has blocked my ways; He is a bear lying in wait for me, torn to pieces; desolate; a target; a laughingstock; object of taunts; filled with bitterness; cowering in ashes; bereft of peace;I have forgotten what happiness1 is; I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”; my soul is bowed down within me;

B. When hearts are broken (49) – “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite…”

C. When God has not yet intervened (50-51) – “Until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees; my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.”

D. When options are removed (52-54) – “I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause; they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me; water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’”

III. Jeremiah Called Out to His Faithful God (55-57)

A. An irresistible sound (55) – “I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit;”

B. An unnecessary request (56) – “You heard my plea, ‘Do not close Your ear to my cry for help!’”

C. An unavoidable outcome (57) – “You came near when I called on You; You said, ‘Do not fear!’”