Lam 3:40-54 | KingComments | STEP | These verses connect directly to and contain the call to lament about themselves before the LORD. The prophet here is going to speak in the “we” form. He is speaking on behalf of the people here, leading them down the road of confessing their sins. The first thing to do is to examine their ways, that is of their deeds, to discover where things have gone wrong ( ). Then they will see that the fault lies in leaving the LORD. Therefore, they must return to Him. Let them turn to Him in prayer, toward God in heaven ( ) and no longer to the queen of heaven and other pagan idols. It must be a genuine return to the LORD, that is with the heart, and not a meaningless outward waving of the hands. The lifting up of the hands is the usual attitude of prayer ( ; ; ; cf. ). But the point is that the heart, the whole inner man, is involved in prayer. The not pardoning has been shown by the disciplining ( ) that has come because of their unrepentant attitude and persistence in sin. Here they acknowledge the righteousness that God has not pardoned, for their confession has not been a matter of their heart ( ). In , the prophet goes on to acknowledge God’s righteous anger. The people admit that because of their sins the LORD must cover Himself with anger as if it were a garment ( ). The people see from Him only His anger. He must pursue them because they want to flee the righteous discipline. But He knows how to find them and kills them, not sparing them. Besides covering Himself with anger and killing them without sparing them, He also covers Himself with a cloud ( ). In this way He makes Himself inaccessible to them. They experience this when they cry out to Him. Their prayer does not come to Him, because it is not a prayer of repentance for their sins, but only because of the misery in which they are. That which has escaped His anger has been made by Him to be offscouring and refuse ( ). There is nothing left of their former fame and the former prestige they had among the peoples. For Paul, this is an experience because of his faithfulness to the commission he received from his Lord ( ).

‏ Lamentations 3:40-54

Prayer of the People

These verses connect directly to Lam 3:39 and contain the call to lament about themselves before the LORD. The prophet here is going to speak in the “we” form. He is speaking on behalf of the people here, leading them down the road of confessing their sins. The first thing to do is to examine their ways, that is of their deeds, to discover where things have gone wrong (Lam 3:40). Then they will see that the fault lies in leaving the LORD. Therefore, they must return to Him.

Let them turn to Him in prayer, toward God in heaven (Lam 3:41) and no longer to the queen of heaven and other pagan idols. It must be a genuine return to the LORD, that is with the heart, and not a meaningless outward waving of the hands. The lifting up of the hands is the usual attitude of prayer (Exo 9:33; 1Kgs 8:22; Ezra 9:5; cf. Psa 25:1 ; Psa 143:8). But the point is that the heart, the whole inner man, is involved in prayer.

The not pardoning has been shown by the disciplining (Lam 3:42) that has come because of their unrepentant attitude and persistence in sin. Here they acknowledge the righteousness that God has not pardoned, for their confession has not been a matter of their heart (Lam 3:44).

In Lam 3:43-45, the prophet goes on to acknowledge God’s righteous anger. The people admit that because of their sins the LORD must cover Himself with anger as if it were a garment (Lam 3:43). The people see from Him only His anger. He must pursue them because they want to flee the righteous discipline. But He knows how to find them and kills them, not sparing them.

Besides covering Himself with anger and killing them without sparing them, He also covers Himself with a cloud (Lam 3:44). In this way He makes Himself inaccessible to them. They experience this when they cry out to Him. Their prayer does not come to Him, because it is not a prayer of repentance for their sins, but only because of the misery in which they are.

That which has escaped His anger has been made by Him to be offscouring and refuse (Lam 3:45). There is nothing left of their former fame and the former prestige they had among the peoples. For Paul, this is an experience because of his faithfulness to the commission he received from his Lord (1Cor 4:13b).

Renewed Complaints

Jeremiah goes on to describe the vile treatment they are subjected to on the part of the enemy. He sees all their enemies open their mouths to devour them (Lam 3:46). This fills them with fear. He sees the pitfall, devastation and destruction before him, with no one to save (Lam 3:47). That whole sight fills him with intense sorrow, so that tears run down from his eye like streams of water (Lam 3:48). The downfall of the daughter of his people affects him deeply.

He will continue to cry, he cannot do otherwise, for he has no rest (Lam 3:49). There will only be rest, when “the LORD looks down and sees from heaven” (Lam 3:50; cf. Exo 3:7-10). That is, He will then look upon His people and come down to redeem them. What Jeremiah now sees is a torment to his soul (Lam 3:51). All the daughters of his city are in deep misery.

In Lam 3:52-54 Jeremiah compares himself

1. to a bird that is the target of a hunter (Lam 3:52),

2. to a wild beast caught in a pit (Lam 3:53), and

3. to one who is near drowning (Lam 3:54).

It shows the hopelessness of his situation and that of Judah. There is no hope of survival.

In these verses Jeremiah is again speaking of himself. What he says in Lam 3:52, the Lord Jesus also said. Without cause, He too was persecuted, hated, scorned and killed. Jeremiah also literally experienced being thrown into a pit (Lam 3:53; Jer 37:11-21 ; Jer 38:1-6).

In Lam 3:54 we again hear the cry from a depth of affliction (cf. Psa 69:1b-2; Jona 2:3). He imagines himself and them lost as he feels cut off from God’s compassions. But it is precisely because of the thought of this that he turns to the LORD out of the pit in the next verse.