Lamentations , Sarah Barry
GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS
Passage: Lamentations 3:1~24  
Key verse: 22,23
3 [a]I am the man who has seen affliction(A)
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.(B)
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness(C) rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me(D)
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old(E)
and has broken my bones.(F)
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness(G) and hardship.(H)
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.(I)
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;(J)
he has weighed me down with chains.(K)
8 Even when I call out or cry for help,(L)
he shuts out my prayer.(M)
9 He has barred(N) my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.(O)
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion(P) in hiding,(Q)
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled(R) me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow(S)
and made me the target(T) for his arrows.(U)
13 He pierced(V) my heart
with arrows from his quiver.(W)
14 I became the laughingstock(X) of all my people;(Y)
they mock me in song(Z) all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink.(AA)
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;(AB)
he has trampled me in the dust.(AC)
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”(AD)
Footnotes
- Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.
Cross references
- Lamentations 3:1 : Jer 15:17-18
- Lamentations 3:1 : S Job 19:21; Ps 88:7
- Lamentations 3:2 : S Job 19:8; S Ps 82:5; S Jer 4:23
- Lamentations 3:3 : Ps 38:2; Isa 5:25
- Lamentations 3:4 : S Job 30:30; La 4:8
- Lamentations 3:4 : Ps 51:8; S Isa 38:13; S Jer 50:17
- Lamentations 3:5 : ver 19
- Lamentations 3:5 : Jer 23:15
- Lamentations 3:6 : Ps 88:5-6; 143:3; Isa 59:10
- Lamentations 3:7 : S Job 3:23
- Lamentations 3:7 : Jer 40:4
- Lamentations 3:8 : Ps 5:2
- Lamentations 3:8 : ver 44; S Dt 1:45; S Job 30:20; Ps 22:2
- Lamentations 3:9 : S Job 19:8
- Lamentations 3:9 : S Job 9:24; S Isa 63:17; Hos 2:6
- Lamentations 3:10 : S Job 10:16
- Lamentations 3:10 : Hos 13:8; Am 5:18-19
- Lamentations 3:11 : Hos 6:1
- Lamentations 3:12 : S La 2:4
- Lamentations 3:12 : Job 7:20
- Lamentations 3:12 : S Job 16:12; Ps 7:12-13; 38:2
- Lamentations 3:13 : S Job 16:13
- Lamentations 3:13 : Job 6:4
- Lamentations 3:14 : S Ge 38:23; Ps 22:6-7; Jer 20:7
- Lamentations 3:14 : S Job 17:2
- Lamentations 3:14 : S Job 30:9
- Lamentations 3:15 : ver 19; Jer 9:15
- Lamentations 3:16 : S Pr 20:17
- Lamentations 3:16 : S Ps 7:5
- Lamentations 3:18 : S ver 54; S Job 17:15
- Lamentations 3:19 : ver 5
- Lamentations 3:19 : S ver 15
- Lamentations 3:20 : S Ps 42:5
- Lamentations 3:20 : Ps 42:11; 43:5
- Lamentations 3:22 : S Ps 103:11
- Lamentations 3:22 : S Job 34:15; S Hos 11:9
- Lamentations 3:22 : Ps 78:38; 130:7
- Lamentations 3:23 : S Ex 34:6; Zep 3:5
- Lamentations 3:24 : S Ps 119:57
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. I am one who has seen affliction (1-18)
Jeremiah saw the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem as the rod of God's anger. He suffered with his people. He describes his utterly hopeless feelings in graphic terms. He is like a man mangled by a lion and left without help. He had no peace and no hope.
2. I remember (19-21)
When he began to remember his affliction and wandering, his soul was downcast. But as he continued to remember, new hope was born in his heart, for he remembered the love of God.
3. The Lord is my portion (22-24)
He was still alive. The people were in exile, but they were not dead. There is hope because of God's great love; God's great faithfulness and compassion never fail. Every morning is a new day. Let us say with Jeremiah, 'The Lord is my portion; I will wait for him.'
Prayer: Lord, help me not to despair when I suffer because of my sins or those of my people. You are my portion; I will wait on you.
One Word: The Lord is my portion