Lamentations 1-2; Psalms 28 - Prayer Tents

Lamentations 1

Sorrow in Jerusalem

1Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave.H5892H3427H910H7227H5971H490H7227H1471H8282H4082H45222She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.H1058H1058H3915H1832H3895H157H5162H7453H898H3413Judah has been led away into captivity, oppressed with cruel slavery. She lives among foreign nations and has no place of rest. Her enemies have chased her down, and she has nowhere to turn.H3063H1540H6040H7230H5656H3427H1471H4672H4494H7291H5381H47124The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priests groan, her young women are crying—how bitter is her fate!H1870H6726H57H935H4150H8179H8074H3548H584H1330H3013H48435Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.H6862H7218H341H7951H3068H3013H7230H6588H5768H1980H7628H6440H68626All the majesty of beautiful Jerusalem has been stripped away. Her princes are like starving deer searching for pasture. They are too weak to run from the pursuing enemy.H1323H6726H1926H3318H8269H354H4672H4829H3212H3581H6440H72917In the midst of her sadness and wandering, Jerusalem remembers her ancient splendor. But now she has fallen to her enemy, and there is no one to help her. Her enemy struck her down and laughed as she fell.H3389H2142H3117H6040H4788H4262H3117H6924H5971H5307H3027H6862H5826H6862H7200H7832H48688Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated. All she can do is groan and hide her face.H3389H2399H2398H5206H3513H2107H7200H6172H584H7725H2689She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. Now she lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out. “Lord, see my misery,” she cries. “The enemy has triumphed.”H2932H7757H2142H319H3381H6382H5162H3068H7200H6040H341H143110The enemy has plundered her completely, taking every precious thing she owns. She has seen foreigners violate her sacred Temple, the place the Lord had forbidden them to enter.H6862H6566H3027H4261H7200H1471H935H4720H6680H935H695111Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. “O Lord, look,” she mourns, “and see how I am despised.H5971H584H1245H3899H5414H4261H4262H400H7725H5315H7200H3068H5027H215112“Does it mean nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see if there is any suffering like mine, which the Lord brought on me when he erupted in fierce anger.H5674H1870H5027H7200H3426H4341H4341H5953H3068H3013H3117H2740H63913“He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back. He has left me devastated, racked with sickness all day long.H4791H7971H784H6106H7287H6566H7568H7272H7725H268H5414H8074H1739H311714“He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands.H5923H6588H8244H3027H8276H5927H6677H3581H3782H136H5414H3027H3201H696515“The Lord has treated my mighty men with contempt. At his command a great army has come to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled his beloved city like grapes are trampled in a winepress.H136H5541H47H7130H7121H4150H7665H970H136H1869H1330H1323H3063H166016“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me; any who might encourage me are far away. My children have no future, for the enemy has conquered us.”H1058H5869H5869H3381H4325H5162H7725H5315H7368H1121H8074H341H139617Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people Israel, the Lord has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!”H6726H6566H3027H5162H3068H6680H3290H6862H5439H3389H507918“The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.H3068H6662H4784H6310H8085H5971H7200H4341H1330H970H1980H762819“I begged my allies for help, but they betrayed me. My priests and leaders starved to death in the city, even as they searched for food to save their lives.H7121H157H7411H3548H2205H1478H5892H1245H400H7725H531520“Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.H7200H3068H6887H4578H2560H3820H2015H7130H4784H4784H2351H2719H7921H1004H419421“Others heard my groans, but no one turned to comfort me. When my enemies heard about my troubles, they were happy to see what you had done. Oh, bring the day you promised, when they will suffer as I have suffered.H8085H584H5162H341H8085H7451H7797H6213H935H3117H7121H364422“Look at all their evil deeds, Lord. Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart.”H7451H935H6440H5953H5953H6588H585H7227H3820H1742

Lamentations 2

God’s Anger at Sin

2The Lord in his anger has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem. The fairest of Israel’s cities lies in the dust, thrown down from the heights of heaven. In his day of great anger, the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.H136H5743H1323H6726H5743H639H7993H8064H776H8597H3478H2142H1916H7272H3117H6392Without mercy the Lord has destroyed every home in Israel. In his anger he has broken down the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He has brought them to the ground, dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.H136H1104H4999H3290H2550H2040H5678H4013H1323H3063H5060H776H2490H4467H82693All the strength of Israel vanishes beneath his fierce anger. The Lord has withdrawn his protection as the enemy attacks. He consumes the whole land of Israel like a raging fire.H1438H2750H639H7161H3478H7725H268H3225H6440H341H1197H3290H3852H784H398H54394He bends his bow against his people, as though he were their enemy. His strength is used against them to kill their finest youth. His fury is poured out like fire on beautiful Jerusalem.H1869H7198H341H5324H3225H6862H2026H4261H5869H168H1323H6726H8210H2534H7845Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.H136H341H1104H3478H1104H759H7843H4013H7235H1323H3063H8386H5926He has broken down his Temple as though it were merely a garden shelter. The Lord has blotted out all memory of the holy festivals and Sabbath days. Kings and priests fall together before his fierce anger.H2554H7900H1588H7843H4150H3068H4150H7676H7911H6726H5006H2195H639H4428H35487The Lord has rejected his own altar; he despises his own sanctuary. He has given Jerusalem’s palaces to her enemies. They shout in the Lord’s Temple as though it were a day of celebration.H136H2186H4196H5010H4720H5462H3027H341H2346H759H5414H6963H1004H3068H3117H41508The Lord was determined to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem. He made careful plans for their destruction, then did what he had planned. Therefore, the ramparts and walls have fallen down before him.H3068H2803H7843H2346H1323H6726H5186H6957H7725H3027H1104H2426H2346H56H535H31629Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground. He has smashed their locks and bars. Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands; her law has ceased to exist. Her prophets receive no more visions from the Lord.H8179H2883H776H6H7665H1280H4428H8269H1471H8451H5030H4672H2377H306810The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem sit on the ground in silence. They are clothed in burlap and throw dust on their heads. The young women of Jerusalem hang their heads in shame.H2205H1323H6726H3427H776H1826H5927H6083H7218H2296H8242H1330H3389H3381H7218H77611I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as I see the desperate plight of my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.H5869H3615H1832H4578H2560H3516H8210H776H7667H1323H5971H5768H3243H5848H7339H715112They cry out to their mothers, “We need food and drink!” Their lives ebb away in the streets like the life of a warrior wounded in battle. They gasp for life as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.H559H517H1715H3196H5848H2491H7339H5892H5315H8210H517H243613What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?H5749H5749H4100H1819H1323H3389H7737H5162H1330H1323H6726H7667H1419H3220H749514Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.H5030H2372H7723H8602H1540H5771H7725H7622H7622H2372H7723H4864H406515All who pass by jeer at you. They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’ and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”H5674H5606H3709H1870H8319H5128H7218H1323H3389H5892H559H3632H3308H4885H77616All your enemies mock you. They scoff and snarl and say, “We have destroyed her at last! We have long waited for this day, and it is finally here!”H341H6475H6310H8319H2786H8127H559H1104H389H3117H6960H4672H720017But it is the Lord who did just as he planned. He has fulfilled the promises of disaster he made long ago. He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy. He has caused her enemies to gloat over her and has given them power over her.H3068H6213H2161H1214H565H6680H3117H6924H2040H2550H341H8055H7311H7161H686218Cry aloud before the Lord, O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river day and night. Give yourselves no rest; give your eyes no relief.H3820H6817H136H2346H1323H6726H1832H3381H5158H3119H3915H5414H6314H1323H5869H182619Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger.H6965H7442H3915H7218H821H8210H3820H4325H5227H6440H136H5375H3709H5315H5768H5848H7458H7218H235120“O Lord, think about this! Should you treat your own people this way? Should mothers eat their own children, those they once bounced on their knees? Should priests and prophets be killed within the Lord’s Temple?H7200H3068H5027H5953H3541H802H398H6529H5768H2949H3548H5030H2026H4720H13621“See them lying in the streets—young and old, boys and girls, killed by the swords of the enemy. You have killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without mercy.H5288H2205H7901H776H2351H1330H970H5307H2719H2026H3117H639H2873H255022“You have invited terrors from all around, as though you were calling them to a day of feasting. In the day of the Lord’s anger, no one has escaped or survived. The enemy has killed all the children whom I carried and raised.”H7121H4150H3117H4032H5439H3117H3068H639H6412H8300H2946H7235H341H3615

Psalms 28

28[A psalm of David.] I pray to you, O LORD, my rock. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you are silent, I might as well give up and die.H1732H7121H3068H6697H2814H2790H4911H3381H953 2Listen to my prayer for mercy as I cry out to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.H8085H6963H8469H7768H5375H3027H6944H1687 3Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts.H4900H7563H6466H205H1696H7965H7453H7451H3824 4Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others.H5414H6467H7455H4611H5414H4639H3027H7725H1576 5They care nothing for what the LORD has done or for what his hands have made. So he will tear them down, and they will never be rebuilt!H995H6468H3068H4639H3027H2040H1129 6Praise the LORD! For he has heard my cry for mercy.H1288H3068H8085H6963H8469 7The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.H3068H5797H4043H3820H982H5826H3820H5937H7892H3034 8The LORD gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.H3068H5797H3444H4581H4899 9Save your people! Bless Israel, your special possession. Lead them like a shepherd, and carry them in your arms forever.H3467H5971H1288H5159H7462H5375H5769