1 How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.
2 Bitterly she weeps at night,
tears are on her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
there is no one to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
3 After affliction and harsh labor,
Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no resting place.
All who pursue her have overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to her appointed festivals.
All her gateways are desolate,
her priests groan,
her young women grieve,
and she is in bitter anguish.
5 Her foes have become her masters;
her enemies are at ease.
The LORD has brought her grief
because of her many sins.
Her children have gone into exile,
captive before the foe.
18 “The LORD is righteous,
yet I rebelled against his command.
Listen, all you peoples;
look on my suffering.
My young men and young women
have gone into exile.
19 “I called to my allies
but they betrayed me.
My priests and my elders
perished in the city
while they searched for food
to keep themselves alive.
20 “See, LORD, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.
21 “People have heard my groaning,
but there is no one to comfort me.
All my enemies have heard of my distress;
they rejoice at what you have done.
May you bring the day you have announced
so they may become like me.
22 “Let all their wickedness come before you;
deal with them
as you have dealt with me
because of all my sins.
My groans are many
and my heart is faint.”
The New International Version (La 1:18–22). (2011). Zondervan.
NOTE OUTLINE
Lament beckons us to the sin around us and within us and to in the God who saves us.
WHERE IS LAMENTATIONS IN GOD’S TRUE STORY?
Lamentations teaches us that has severe consequences.
THE STRUCTURE OF LAMENTATIONS
Lamentations and lament draws us in and teaches us how to pay to the suffering around us..
“Part of the horror of human suffering is to be unheard, forgotten, and nameless, thrown aside with all the long-lost detritus of aeons of human brutality. Lamentations is a summons to remember realities endured by real people like ourselves, to bear witness and pay heed to their voice.”
–Christopher J.H. Wright, The Message of Lamentations: Honest to God, p.21
Lament tells the that suffering around us and in us results from .
TAKE ACTION!
- Take some time this week to read through the book of Lamentations. What do you see? How does it make you feel?
- One of the ways in which we learn to pray and to lament is to see how the people of God have done so in the past. The Psalms are a good place to start! Try reading 5 Psalms a day to help shape your prayer.