Lamentations 3:25-26 - Prayer Tents

Lamentations 3

Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness

3I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.H1397H7200H6040H7626H56782He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.H5090H3212H2822H2163He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.H7725H2015H3027H31174He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.H1320H5785H1086H7665H61065He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.H1129H5362H7219H85136He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead.H3427H4285H4191H57697He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.H1443H3318H5178H35138And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.H2199H7768H5640H86059He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked.H1443H1870H1496H5410H575310He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.H1677H693H738H456511He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.H5493H1870H6582H7760H807412He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows.H1869H7198H5324H4307H267113He shot his arrows deep into my heart.H1121H827H935H362914My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.H7814H5971H5058H311715He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.H7646H4844H7301H393916He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust.H1638H8127H2687H3728H66517Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.H2186H5315H2186H7965H5382H289618I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”H559H5331H8431H6H306819The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words

.H2142H6040H4788H3939H721920I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.H5315H2142H2142H774321Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this.H7725H3820H317622The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.H3068H2617H8552H7356H361523Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.H2319H1242H7227H53024I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”H3068H2506H559H5315H317625The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.H3068H2896H6960H5315H187526So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.H2896H3175H2342H1748H8668H306827And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline.H2896H1397H5375H5923H527128Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands.H3427H910H1826H519029Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last.H5414H6310H6083H3426H861530Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies.H5414H3895H5221H7646H278131For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.H136H2186H576932Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.H3013H7355H7230H261733For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.H6031H3820H3013H1121H37634If people crush underfoot all the prisoners of the land,H1792H7272H615H77635if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High,H5186H4941H1397H6440H594536if they twist justice in the courts—doesn’t the Lord see all these things?H5791H120H7379H136H720037Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission?H559H136H668038Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?H6310H5945H3318H7451H289639Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?H2416H120H596H1397H239940Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.H2664H2713H1870H7725H306841Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say,H5375H3824H3709H410H806442“We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us.H5168H6586H4784H554543“You have engulfed us with your anger, chased us down, and slaughtered us without mercy.H5526H639H7291H2026H255044You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you.H5526H6051H8605H567445You have discarded us as refuse and garbage among the nations.H7760H5501H3973H7130H597146“All our enemies have spoken out against us.H341H6475H631047We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined.”H6343H6354H7612H766748Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people!H5869H3381H6388H4325H7667H1323H597149My tears flow endlessly; they will not stopH5869H5064H1820H201450until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.H3068H8259H7200H806451My heart is breaking over the fate of all the women of Jerusalem.H5869H5953H5315H1323H589252My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.H341H6679H6679H6833H260053They threw me into a pit and dropped stones on me.H6789H2416H953H3034H6854The water rose over my head, and I cried out, “This is the end!”H4325H6687H7218H559H150455But I called on your name, Lord, from deep within the pit.H7121H8034H3068H8482H95356You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!”H8085H6963H5956H241H7309H777557Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.”H7126H3117H7121H559H337258Lord, you are my lawyer! Plead my case! For you have redeemed my life.H136H7378H7379H5315H1350H241659You have seen the wrong they have done to me, Lord. Be my judge, and prove me right.H3068H7200H5792H8199H494160You have seen the vengeful plots my enemies have laid against me.H7200H5360H428461Lord, you have heard the vile names they call me. You know all about the plans they have made.H8085H2781H3068H428462My enemies whisper and mutter as they plot against me all day long.H8193H6965H1902H311763Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.H5027H3427H7012H448564Pay them back, Lord, for all the evil they have done.H7725H1576H3068H4639H302765Give them hard and stubborn hearts, and then let your curse fall on them!H5414H4044H3820H838166Chase them down in your anger, destroying them beneath the Lord’s heavens.H7291H8045H639H8064H3068