Lamentations 3

Message: A song of sorrow, from the 3rd person perspective.

Time:  Jerusalem, in mourning, after it's fall, in 586 BC at the hands of the Assyrians (Babylon).

What the Lord is Saying: From the perspective of this individual, the Lord's anger is being manifested in this person's life.

My condition
Led into darkness and shutting out light
Turned his hand against me
Made my skin and flesh age
My bones feel broken
I'm surrounded with anguish and distress
I feel like I'm in the darkness that the dead occupy
I am walled in and cannot escape
I pray, but nothing is heard
I can't leap forward, I am blocked
My path is not straight
I feel like prey, waiting to be attacked
I am in pieces, helpless, devastated
I am a target for a bow and arrow
I am laughed at
I am bitter
I have no peace
I can't remember anything well done to me
My hope is over; I am lost
I grieve over my loss

My hope
Yet I hope
God's love never ends.
His love is faithful
His mercies never cease
Great is His faithfulness
His mercies are new
My greatest inheritance is from the Lord
My hope is only in Him
He is good to me
He is there for me
I can wait
Salvation is from the Lord
His discipline is right for me

My response because of His doing
I can be silent in what the Lord demands
We can turn the other cheek when insults come from our enemies
God does not abandon us
Grief may come from Him, but He shows kindness
His unfailing love is great
God does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow
God is there for those who receive the injustice of other men
God's justice is correct
Our sins need to be punished

I will look to Him
So I will examine my ways
I will turn to the Lord
I will lift my hearts and hands to God in heaven
For I have sinned
I have rebelled
Your anger has engulfed us

Though I doubt
We don't feel Your mercy
We feel out of sight
Our prayers seem like they go nowhere
We feel discarded
Because of our enemies, we feel fear
Trapped
Devastated
Ruined
Tearful, endlessly
Until the Lord looks down
Enemies hunt me down
I am thrown in a pit
Water is over me

You are there God
But I call on the Lord
From the deep pit and hear hears my cry
He comes when I call
and tells me to not fear

You are in charge of all
You are the lawyer that pleads my case
You have redeemed my life
You see the wrong done to me
You are my judge
Prove me right
You see the vengeful plans of my enemies
You have heard the vile names at me
You know all their plans
Pay them back Lord for their evil
Give them hard and stubborn hearts
Let your curse fall on them
Chase them down
Destroy them

Promise: God is there, always. His judgment is necessary. His way is right. Ours is not always. He loves to bless us. He does not like to judge us or chastise us. But He is Holy and therefore hates sin. And when sin enters, wrath must result.