CHAPTER 03 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH Chronological notes relative to the Book of the Lamentations Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3416. Year of the Jewish era of the world, 3173. Year from the Deluge, 1760. First year of the forty-eighth Olympiad. Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian account, 166. Year before the birth of Christ, 584. Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 588. Year of the Julian Period, 4126. Year of the era of Nabonassar, 160. Cycle of the Sun, 10. Cycle of the Moon, 3. Second year after the fourth Sabbatic year after the seventeenth Jewish jubilee, according to Helvicus. Twenty-ninth year of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the Romans: this was the seventy-ninth year before the commencement of the consular government. Thirty-eighth year of Cyaxares or Cyaraxes, the fourth king of Media. Eighteenth year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Proclidae. Twentieth year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae. Thirty-second year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia. This was the father of the celebrated Croesus. Fifteenth year of AEropas, the seventh king of Macedon. Nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Eleventh year of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. N. B. The time when this book was written is very uncertain: the above chronology is agreeable to that contained in the present authorized version. Exposition Chapter 03 The prophet, by enumerating his own severe trials, 1-20, and showing his trust in God, 21, encourages his people to the like resignation and trust in the Divine and never-failing mercy, 22-27. He vindicates the goodness of God in all his dispensations, and the unreasonableness of murmuring under them, 28-39. He recommends self-examination and repentance; and then, from their experience of former deliverances from God, encourages them to look for pardon for their sins, and retribution to their enemies, 40-66. Verse 1. I am the man that hath seen affliction Either the prophet speaks here of himself, or he is personating his miserable countrymen. This and other passages in this poem have been applied to Jesus Christ's passion; but, in my opinion, without any foundation. Verse 2. He hath-brought me into darkness In the sacred writings, darkness is often taken for calamity; light, for prosperity. Verse 5. He hath builded against me Perhaps there is a reference here to the mounds and ramparts raised by the Chaldeans in order to take the city. Verse 7. He hath hedged me about This also may refer to the lines drawn round the city during the siege. But these and similar expressions in the following verses may be merely metaphorical, to point out their straitened, oppressed, and distressed state. Verse 9. He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone He has put insuperable obstacles in my way; and confounded all my projects of deliverance and all my expectations of prosperity. Verse 12. He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. One might conjecture that the following thought in the Toozek i Teemour was borrowed from this:- "One addressed the caliph Aaly, and said, 'If the heavens were a bow, and the earth the cord thereof; if calamities were arrows, man the butt for those arrows; and the holy blessed God the unerring marksman; where could the sons of Adam flee for succour?' The caliph replied, 'The children of Adam must flee unto the Lord.'" This was the state of poor Jerusalem. It seemed as a butt for all God's arrows; and each arrow of calamity entered into the soul, for God was the unerring marksman. Verse 13. The arrows of his quiver beney ashpatho, "The sons of his quiver." The issue or effect; the subject, adjunct, or accident, or produce of a thing, is frequently denominated its son or child. So arrows that issue from a quiver are here termed the sons of the quiver. Verse 15. He hath filled me with bitterness bimrorim, with bitternesses, bitter upon bitter. He hath made me drunken with wormwood. I have drunk the cup of misery till I am intoxicated with it. Almost in all countries, and in all languages, bitterness is a metaphor to express trouble and affliction. The reason is, there is nothing more disagreeable to the taste than the one; and nothing more distressing to the mind than the other. An Arabic poet. Amralkeis, one of the writers of the Moallakat, terms a man grievously afflicted [Arabic] a pounder of wormwood. Verse 16. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones What a figure to express disgust, pain, and the consequent incapacity of taking food for the support of life; a man, instead of bread, being obliged to eat small pebbles till all his teeth are broken to pieces by endeavouring to grind them. One can scarcely read this description without feeling the toothache. The next figure is not less expressive. He hath covered me with ashes. hichphishani beepher, "he hath plunged me into the dust." To be thrown into a mass or bed of perfect dust, where the eyes are blinded by it, the ears stopped, and the mouth and lungs filled at the very first attempt to respire after having been thrown into it-what a horrible idea of suffocation and drowning! One can scarcely read this without feeling a suppression of breath, or a stricture upon the lungs! Did ever man paint sorrow like this man? Verse 17. Thou hast removed my soul Prosperity is at such an utter distance from me, that it is impossible I should ever reach it; and as to happiness, I have forgotten whether I have ever tasted of it. Verse 18. And my hope That first, that last support of the miserable-it is gone! it is perished! The sovereign God alone can revive it. Verse 20. By soul-is humbled in me. It is evident that in the preceding verses there is a bitterness of complaint against the bitterness of adversity, that is not becoming to man when under the chastising hand of God; and, while indulging this feeling, all hope fled. Here we find a different feeling; he humbles himself under the mighty hand of God, and then his hope revives, Lamentations 3:21. Verse 22. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed Being thus humbled, and seeing himself and his sinfulness in a proper point of view, he finds that God, instead of dealing with him in judgment, has dealt with him in mercy; and that though the affliction was excessive, yet it was less than his iniquity deserved. If, indeed, any sinner be kept out of hell, it is because God's compassion faileth not. Verse 23. They are new every morning Day and night proclaim the mercy and compassion of God. Who could exist throughout the day, if there were not a continual superintending Providence? Who could be preserved in the night, if the Watchman of Israel ever slumbered or slept? Verse 24. The Lord is my portion See Clarke on Psalms 119:57. Verse 26. It is good that a man should both hope Hope is essentially necessary to faith; he that hopes not, cannot believe; if there be no expectation, there can be no confidence. When a man hopes for salvation, he should not only wait for it, but use every means that may lead to it; for hope cannot live, if there be no exercise. If hope become impatient, faith will be impossible: for who can believe for his salvation when his mind is agitated? He must therefore quietly wait. He must expect, and yet be dumb, as the words imply; ever feeling his utter unworthiness; and, without murmuring, struggle into life. Verse 27. That he bear the yoke in his youth. Early habits, when good, are invaluable. Early discipline is equally so. He who has not got under wholesome restraint in youth will never make a useful man, a good man, nor a happy man. Verse 28. He sitteth alone He has learned that necessary lesson of independence, that shows him how he is to serve himself; to give no trouble to others; and keep his troubles, as far as possible, in his own bosom. Verse 29. He putteth his mouth in the dust Lives in a state of deep humility. If so be there may be hope. Because there is room for hope. Verse 30. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth He has that love that is not provoked. He is not quarrelsome, nor apt to resent injuries; he suffers long and is kind. Or, it may be rendered, "let him give his cheek." He is filled full with reproach. Though all this take place, yet let his "trust be in God, who will not cast off for ever." God will take his part, and bring him safely through all hardships. Verse 31. The Lord Adonai; but one of my ancient MSS. has Jehovah. The above verse is quoted in reference to our Lord's passion, by Matthew 26:62. Verse 33. For he doth not afflict willingly It is no pleasure to God to afflict men. He takes no delight in our pain and misery: yet, like a tender and intelligent parent, he uses the rod; not to gratify himself, but to profit and save us. Verse 34. To crush under his feet He can neither gain credit nor pleasure in trampling upon those who are already bound, and in suffering; such he knows to be the state of man here below. From which it most assuredly follows, that God never afflicts us but for our good, nor chastises but that we may be partakers of his holiness. All the prisoners of the earth By the prisoners of the earth, or land, Dr. Blayney understands those insolvent debtors who were put in prison, and there obliged to work out the debt. Yet this is mercy in comparison with those who put them in prison, and keep them there, when they know that it is impossible, from the state of the laws, to lessen the debt by their confinement. In Lamentations 3:34-36, certain acts of tyranny, malice, and injustice are specified, which men often indulge themselves in the practice of towards one another, but which the Divine goodness is far from countenancing or approving by any similar conduct.-Blayney. Verse 35. To turn aside the right of a man To make a man lose his right, because one of the higher orders opposes him. Dr. Blayney thinks that elyon, instead of being referred to God, should be considered as pointing out one of the chief of the people. I do not see that we gain any thing by this. The evil fact is, turning aside the right of a man; and the aggravation of it is, doing it before the face of the Most High; that is, in a court of justice, where God is ever considered to be present. Verse 36. To subvert a man in his cause To prevent his having justice done him in a lawsuit, suborning false witnesses, or exerting any kind of influence in opposition to truth and right.-Blayney. The Lord approved not. Instead of Adonai, seventeen MSS., of Kennicott's, and one ancient of my own, have Yehovah. Approveth not, lo raah, doth not see, turns away his face from it, abhors it. Verse 39. Wherefore doth a living man complain He who has his life still lent to him has small cause of complaint. How great soever his affliction may be, he is still alive; therefore, he may seek and find mercy unto eternal life. Of this, death would deprive him; therefore let not a living man complain. Verse 40. Let us search How are we to get the pardon of our sins? The prophet tells us: 1. Let us examine ourselves. 2. "Let us turn again to the Lord." 3. "Let us lift up our heart;" let us make fervent prayer and supplication for mercy. 4. "Let us lift up our hand;" let us solemnly promise to be his, and bind ourselves in a covenant to be the Lord's only: so much lifting up the hand to God implies. Or, let us put our heart on our hand, and offer it to God; so some have translated this clause. 5. "We have transgressed;" let our confession of sin be fervent and sincere. 6. And to us who profess Christianity it may be added, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as having died for thee; and thou shalt not perish, but have everlasting life. Verses 46,47, 48, Lamentations 3:46-48, beginning with phe, should, as to the order of the alphabet, follow 49,50, 51, Lamentations 3:49-51, which begin with ain, which in its grammatical position precedes the former. Verse 47. Fear and a snare See Clarke on Jeremiah 48:13. Verse 48. Mine eye runneth down I weep incessantly. Verse 51. Mine eye affecteth mine heart What I see I feel. I see nothing but misery; and I feel, in consequence, nothing but pain. There have been various translations of the original: but they all amount to this. The daughters of my city. The villages about Jerusalem. Verse 52. Mine enemies chased me From this to the end of the chapter the prophet speaks of his own personal sufferings, and especially of those which he endured in the dungeon. See Jeremiah 38:6, Verse 56. Hide not thine ear at my breathing He dared not even to complain, nor to cry, nor to pray aloud: he was obliged to whisper his prayer to God. It was only a breathing. Verse 57. Fear not. How powerful is this word when spoken by the Spirit of the Lord to a disconsolate heart. To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! God will plead thy cause, and redeem thy soul. Verse 60. Thou hast seen-all their imaginations Every thing is open to the eye of God. Distressed soul! though thou knowest not what thy enemies meditate against thee; yet he who loves thee does, and will infallibly defeat all their plots, and save thee. Verse 65. Give them sorrow of heart They shall have a callous heart, covered with obstinacy, and thy execration. The former is their state, the latter their fate. This is the consequence of their hardening their hearts from thy fear. Blayney translates, "Thou wilt give with a hearty concordance thy curse unto them." That is, Thou wilt give it to them freely, and without reserve; intimating that God felt no longer any bowels of compassion for them. Formerly he inflicted punishments with reluctance, while there was any hope of amendment: but, in the instance before us, the case was so hopeless, that God acts according to the simple principle of vindictive justice. The prophet therefore considers them on the utmost verge of final reprobation: another plunge, and they are lost for ever. Verse 66. Persecute and destroy them Thou wilt pursue them with destruction. These are all declaratory, not imprecatory. From under the heavens of the Lord. This verse seems to allude to the Chaldaic prediction, in Jeremiah 10:11. By their conduct they will bring on themselves the curse denounced against their enemies. The Septuagint and Vulgate seem to have read "From under heaven, O Jehovah:" and the Syriac reads, "Thy heavens, O Jehovah!" None of these makes any material change in the meaning of the words. It has already been noticed in the introduction, that this chapter contains a triple acrostic, three lines always beginning with the same letter; so that the Hebrew alphabet is thrice repeated in this chapter, twenty-two multiplied by three being equal to sixty-six. CLARKE'S COMMENTARY - Lamentations Additional Resources Burton Coffman Geniva Bible Commentary The New John Gill Exposition Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Matthew Henry Complete Matthew Henry Concise Treasury of Scripture John Wesley's Explanatory Notes TopCom ^ Bibliography Information Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Lamentations 03". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". 1832.

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible

---

               Index to Other Books of the Bible
            Introduction To Lamentations

---

|-Genesis-| -Exodus-| -Leviticus-| -Numbers-| -Deuteronomy-| -Joshua-| -Judges-| -Ruth-| -1 Samuel-| -2 Samuel-| -1 Kings-| -2 Kings-| -1 Chronicles-| -2 Chronicles-| -Ezra-| -Nehemiah-| -Esther-| -Job-| -Psalm-| -Proverbs-| -Ecclesiastes-| -Songs Of Solomon-| -Isaiah-| -Jeremiah-| -Lamentations-| -Ezekiel-| -Daniel-| Hosea| Joel| Amos| -Obadiah-| Jonah-| Micah-| Nahum-| Habakkuk-| Zephaniah-| Haggai-| -Zechariah-| -Malachi-| -Mathew Study-| -Mathew-| -Mark-| -Luke-| -John-| -Acts-| -Romans-| -1_Corinthians-| -2_Corinthians-| -Galatians-| -Ephesians-| -Philippians-| -Colossians-| -1_Thessalonians-| -2_Thessalonians-| -1_Timothy-| -2_Timothy-| -Titus-| -Philemon-| -Hebrews-| -James-| 1 Peter_| _2 Peter-| -1_John-| -2 John-| -3 John-| -1-3 John Notes-| -Jude-| -Revelation-| Index|

---

	Craig Pages Serves Christ The GoBible Study
[Site Index] [Sermons] [Blessings] [Sermon Starters] [Short & Long] [News] [Family] [Contacts] [Our Links] Empowered by The Grace Of Jesus Christ

Clan Craig Motto
~ Living For God ~