Lamentations 1:1-6, Lamentations 3:19-26, Psalm 137, Habakkuk 1:1-4, Habakkuk 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-9,
2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10
A). ALAS FOR THE CITY.
Lamentations 1:1-6.
LAMENTATIONS 1:1. The opening word could be rendered, “Alas!” The translation “How” introduces an exclamation, but also has an element of questioning in it. We might say, “How come?”
The verb “she sits” introduces “the city” as feminine, so perhaps we could construct a rendering: “Alas, she sits solitary, the city that was full of people.”
The city sits solitary, dwelling apart like a leper. No longer under the protection of the LORD, her people are scattered from her. She that was once “great among the nations” is now mourning like a widow. She that was a “princess” among the provinces is now reduced to a mere vassal of Babylon, her many people mostly now either killed or deported.
LAMENTATIONS 1:2. The deserted city sits alone, weeping, with no-one to console her. She had sought protection from her “lovers” - other nations and their ‘gods’- but they had all failed her. Those she might have expected to be “friends” are now become enemies. Her political alliances all at last fell through, as the surrounding nations sided with Babylon against Judah.
LAMENTATIONS 1:3. Israel had once known “affliction” and “great servitude” in Egypt. Then, after the exodus, her pursuers had been overthrown in the sea, and she had found “rest” in the promised land. But now, scattered among the heathen nations, she “finds no rest.” She is overtaken by her “persecutors.”
LAMENTATIONS 1:4. The personification of the city intensifies: here she is called “Zion,” after the mountain upon which Jerusalem is built. The amazing thing here is that even the “ways,” or roads of the city are mourning, empty of both commercial travellers and pilgrims. The “gates,” too, are “desolate” with no-one passing through, no trading; and no administration of justice (such as would traditionally take place in the gates).
The absence of the hustle and bustle of the temple rituals causes any of her remaining “priests” to “sigh.” The temple is gone. The sacrifices have probably ceased, many of the priests themselves having been killed or carried away. “Her virgins are afflicted,” with nothing to look forward to, as far as they knew, but more misery. Zion herself is “in bitterness,” battered, burned, and ruined; her temple razed to the ground.
LAMENTATIONS 1:5. How has all this happened? What caused the fall of Jerusalem? Well, her “adversaries” are now ‘the head and not the tail’ (cf. Deuteronomy 28:44); her “enemies” are now “prospering” at her expense. However, as Jeremiah warned, it is the hand of God behind the Babylonian invasion. HE is afflicting her “for the multitude of her transgressions” and THAT is why “her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.”
This is what we might call her ‘spiritual adultery’ (cf. Lamentations 1:8a; Lamentations 1:18a). Israel was supposed to be, was covenanted to be, espoused to the LORD. Yet her alliances with the nations around her, and their ‘gods,’ proved her to be disloyal to Him, her husband.
LAMENTATIONS 1:6. The city is now called “Daughter Zion.” Once a princess, now all majesty and beauty are departed from her. King Zedekiah and his men of war fled by night. The Babylonians captured King Zedekiah, and his army scattered. The king’s sons (princes) were slain before his eyes (cf. 2 Kings 25:4-7).
Where is JESUS in all this?
Jesus was alone, solitary, when He went to the Cross to die for our sins (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus wept over Jerusalem in anticipation of yet another destruction of the city, and another scattering of her people (Luke 19:41).
Jesus’ friends deserted Him in His hour of need (Mark 14:50), and His enemies mocked Him (Luke 22:63).
Thank the Lord that Jesus would one day fulfil a new ‘exodus’ through His death (Luke 9:31), to deliver us from a much greater servitude, and to lead us into our final ‘rest’ (Hebrews 4:9)!
Jesus was handed over BY GOD to be put to death at the hands of wicked men (Acts 4:27-28). There was no other way for our salvation (cf. John 3:16).
FINALLY, ‘Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by?’ READ Lamentations 1:12.
So, ‘is it nothing to you’ that Jerusalem thus suffered under the Babylonians in 587 B.C., and again in 73 A.D. under the Romans?
Is it nothing to you that the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth?
Is it nothing to you that JESUS suffered as He did, ‘sorrow’ upon ‘sorrow,’ ‘afflicted’ on our behalf by the ‘fierce anger’ of ‘the LORD?’
‘How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:3).
B). HOPE AMID HOPELESSNESS.
Lamentations 3:19-26.
It is all too easy to forget that these words of hope and encouragement have been drawn out of the midst of the Book of Lamentations. Jeremiah penned these among the ashes of Jerusalem, a city once known as ‘the joy of the whole earth’ (Psalm 48:2; cf. Lamentations 2:15). They are a kind of turning point at the very heart of the piece.
Psalm 73:15-17 is a similar turning point. Asaph encloses his Psalm in an assertion of God’s goodness to Israel (Psalm 73:1), and how good it is to draw near and trust in the LORD God (Psalm 73:28). However for Jeremiah and ‘Daughter Zion’ (Lamentations 2:1) there was no longer any earthly sanctuary to resort to (cf. Psalm 73:17).
The resolution of the whole Book of Lamentations, its dirges, and complaints, is found right here, in the middle. Jeremiah has just concluded that ‘my strength and my hope is perished from the LORD’ (Lamentations 3:18); shakes himself down at the remembrance of his affliction and misery, “the wormwood and the gall” (Lamentations 3:19; cf. Lamentations 3:5; Lamentations 3:15); and purposely recalls to mind (Hebrew: “this I cause to return to my heart”) a reason, or reasons, to hope (Lamentations 3:21; Lamentations 3:24; Lamentations 3:26). When our soul is similarly brought down to the ground (cf. Psalm 44:25) - as Jeremiah’s was (Lamentations 3:20) - we need to ask, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul?’ and encourage ourselves, ‘Hope thou in God’ (Psalm 42:5; Psalm 42:11; Psalm 43:5).
What do we do when our world is falling apart; when life is crumbling around us? We each have to face certain inevitable crises which we share in common with the whole of mankind. There are also the avoidable crises, brought on by our own selves through sin and failure. What happens when the heavens seem as brass to us, as if our prayers are reaching no higher than the ceiling? What do we do when even the Church seems set to rip herself apart with contention, anger, and personality clashes? Well, what can we do? We anchor our hope in nothing less than Christ our God, His blood, His righteousness!
“This I recall to my mind” (Lamentations 3:21) again echoes Asaph’s ‘When I thought to know this’ (Psalm 73:16). Both are examples of what the Apostle Paul calls ‘the renewing of your mind’ (Romans 12:2). The reasons for hope follow.
First, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22a). The Hebrew word translated “mercies” is “hesed,” and speaks of God’s steadfast love, His covenant mercy. The fact that “we are not consumed” is based in the unchangeability of God (cf. Malachi 3:6), “because His compassions (they) fail not” (Lamentations 3:22b). This speaks of God’s longsuffering and grace, as in the Name by which He announced Himself as He stood with Moses in Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:5-6).
God’s mercies are such that we are called to their daily recollection: “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23a). We should raise up our Ebenezer, like Samuel of old, and remind ourselves that ‘Hitherto hath the LORD helped us’ (1 Samuel 7:12), and sing with renewed vigour, “Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23b).
I was amazed to discover that this word translated “faithfulness” is actually the Hebrew word “Amen”! It speaks of trustworthiness and is used by Jesus to preface some of His sayings: ‘Verily, verily,’ or ‘truly, truly.’ What is left in no doubt in Jeremiah’s mind - despite the fall of Jerusalem, Temple, and all - is the utter dependability of God (cf. Hebrews 10:23)!
Second, we have hope in the fact that we can call the LORD “my portion” (Lamentations 3:24; cf. Psalm 73:26). This was originally the prerogative of the Levites (Deuteronomy 10:9), but such a relationship with God is now made possible to all through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity, after all, is not a religion but a relationship!
Jeremiah came to the same assertion as had Asaph: “the LORD is good” (Lamentations 3:25a; cf. Psalm 73:1). To whom is God good? To those who “wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:25b; cf. James 5:7). In Hebrew, the verb ‘to wait’ shares the same root as the seemingly perished ‘hope’ of Lamentations 3:18. To whom is God good? To “the soul (that) seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25c; cf. Isaiah 55:6).
Third, we hope for the fulness of our salvation. “It is good,” continues Jeremiah, that a man “should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26). Your confidence will have a reward (Hebrews 10:35-37), so let us ‘hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:13). Amen.
C). A STRANGE LAND.
Psalm 137.
The exile is over (at least for those who chose to return), and Babylon as a world power has fizzled out: her nobles sailed downstream to safety, and the Persian conqueror Cyrus allowed the many misplaced peoples dwelling in Babylon to return to their own lands. Cyrus had earlier been celebrated by name as God’s man in the prophecies of Isaiah (Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1).
So the returned exiles can now reflect on their past distress.
Babylon was a great sprawling city built upon a plain. Its rivers were joined by canals. It was here, by the water courses that the exiles found the ‘weeping willow’ trees upon which they, at least metaphorically, ‘hung their harps’ (Psalm 137:1-2).
The reason for this despondent laying aside of their instruments of music was because of their captors’ taunt: “sing us one of the songs of Zion.” The exiles response was, “How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land” (Psalm 137:3-4).
There is a spiritual message here, in these very words. As Christians, we are but strangers and pilgrims in this world (Hebrews 11:13). The world likes our message only if it entertains them, and demands nothing of them. So-called ‘church services’ that tickle the senses and water down the gospel are reprehensible.
The Psalmist now speaks in the singular, probably on behalf of each individual in the exile community: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning” (lose the ability to earn a living). “If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy” (Psalm 137:5-6).
These are strong words: but love is a strong emotion.
Now the community make their complaint to the LORD. They call to remembrance their betrayal by their kinsmen and allies, Edom, who turned against Jerusalem in her hour of need (Psalm 137:7).
But Psalm 137:8-9 is more declarative, or even prophetic, in speaking TO “the daughter of Babylon, WHO ART TO BE DESTROYED” (cf. Jeremiah 51:54-56). This was not fulfilled when Cyrus conquered Babylon, for that takeover was more peaceful than appears here. It rather points further to the fall of the spiritual Babylon, when ‘heaven and apostles and prophets’ are called to ‘REJOICE over her… for God hath avenged you on her’ (Revelation 18:20).
If we want a spiritual application of “dashing the little ones against the stones” (Psalm 137:9), then we must take it into our own spiritual warfare, and nip in the bud every rising of sin within ourselves (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). Otherwise we leave the verse where it belongs: in the Old Testament.
D). WATCHING IN PRAYER.
Habakkuk 1:1-4, Habakkuk 2:1-4.
This is the oracle or “burden” which Habakkuk the prophet did “see” (Habakkuk 1:1). So, right from the top, we understand that the prophet’s patient waiting of Habakkuk 2:1 paid off.
When Habakkuk speaks of his message as a burden, it is to convey something of its weightiness. No prophet should take the word of the LORD upon his lips lightly; but neither are those who are truly called to preach able to rest unless they discharge their duty faithfully (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Habakkuk not only had the Word of God laid upon him, but he proclaimed what he saw. It is as if he was enabled to see into the mind of the LORD. What Habakkuk visualised there, he translated into word pictures to convey the LORD's message to man.
The prophet was perplexed, as are we sometimes, at the LORD's apparent silence in the face of the wickedness of mankind. Iniquity surrounded the prophet then, just as violence and vice surround us today. The prophet's cry is the cry of the righteous in every generation: “How long, LORD?” (Habakkuk 1:2; cf. Psalm 13:1-2; Psalm 74:10; Psalm 94:3; Revelation 6:10).
There is such a thing as a righteous anger at wickedness and violence. This gives rise to the second question: “Why?” (Habakkuk 1:3). The prophet addressed his frustrations to the LORD (cf. 2 Peter 2:7-8). This we are permitted to do, as long as we are reverent and not disrespectful.
The idea of “violence” (Habakkuk 1:3; cf. Jeremiah 20:8) also includes violation of the law, to which the prophet points more specifically in the next verse. Justice “never goes forth;” the wicked encircle the righteous; “therefore wrong judgment proceeds” (Habakkuk 1:4). It is the law of the LORD that has been broken (cf. (Psalm 119:126; Micah 7:3).
As part of the pictorial message which the prophet intended to convey, we see him next on his prayer tower, watching for the LORD's words (Habakkuk 2:1). Prayer is a two-way transaction, and in addition to our praises and petitions, we need to learn to meditate on the things of the LORD. This includes Bible reading, certainly; but also involves reflection upon the things which the LORD is teaching us in His Word, and through the circumstances of our lives.
We know that the LORD responded in a vision because He says, “Write the vision” (Habakkuk 2:2). “Make it plain” (cf. Isaiah 30:8; Daniel 12:4; Revelation 1:19). In most translations the last clause of Habakkuk 2:2 has been inverted and should probably read something like: “so that whoever reads it will run with it as a messenger to others.” Pass it on.
The LORD exhorts the godly to patience (Habakkuk 2:3). It will come to pass (cf. 2 Peter 3:9), and then the people will know that Habakkuk has been a true prophet. ‘Wait, I say, upon the LORD’ (Psalm 27:14; cf. Isaiah 40:31; James 1:4).
Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts the “puffed up” with “the just;” the “not upright” with “the righteous.” The Hebrew word order of the final clause of Habakkuk 2:4 is significant: “the just by faith shall live.” This is the whole basis of the teaching of justification by faith in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).
The end times are upon us, and Habakkuk’s words are written down for us. If we are to be saved, it is to be ‘by grace through faith’ ‘that no man may boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9). May we have the patience to wait: ‘for yet a little while He that shall come will come and will not tarry’ (Hebrews 10:37).
E). TRUST IN THE LORD.
Psalm 37:1-9.
PSALM 37:1. Somebody is in trouble, fretting because of the unfairness of life: but the pastor’s responsibility is not to burden the poor soul with a ‘snap out of it’ sort of approach, which often only leads to further despair; but rather to present positive encouragements to counter the negative mindset. Despite David’s use of imperatives, this passage is not so much crisp commands (‘Do this, that and the other’) as a gentle pastoral exhortation; not so much a thrice repeated ‘law’ against fretting (Psalm 37:1; Psalm 37:7; Psalm 37:8) as a call to “rest in the LORD,” patiently waiting for Him (Psalm 37:7).
PSALM 37:2. Why trouble ourselves about people who are described in the Bible as ‘like the chaff, which the wind drives away’ (Psalm 1:4), whose ‘way shall perish’ (Psalm 1:6); who shall be “cut off,” here today, and tomorrow gone (Psalm 37:9-10); whose supposed good fortunes are but ‘slippery places’ which end in ‘destruction’ and ‘desolation,’ and the ultimate ‘terror’ of being ‘despised’ by God (Psalm 73:17-20)? The positive counterpunch to such desperate despair is: ‘Let not your heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the LORD all day long’ (Proverbs 23:17).
PSALM 37:3. “Trust in the LORD.” Why? Because faith cures fretting. Worried thoughts in the night are soon dispelled if we turn to unselfish prayer. “Do good,” because ‘faith without works is dead’ (James 2:26). In the Lord, our labour shall not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). “So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” We who have believed have entered into the land of rest (Hebrews 4:3), and are shepherded by the Good Shepherd. Our temporal needs are met (Matthew 6:31-33), but also, we are fed on the Word of God.
PSALM 37:4. Fretting fades into oblivion when we delight ourselves in the LORD. An example of delighting in the LORD is illustrated in Song of Solomon 2:3 - ‘I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.’ When our wills are submitted to His will, we can ask what we will, and we will receive it (John 15:7; John 15:16; 1 John 5:14-15).
PSALM 37:5. This is what it means to be ‘casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:7). Commitment casts away fretting, submits our wills to His will, and trusts His judgment. There is a gentle serenity in trusting Him, waiting patiently for the outcome.
PSALM 37:6. ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ (Romans 4:3). ‘Our’ “righteousness” is the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Romans 4:23-24). There is an eschatological hope here, expressed by Jesus: ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father’ (Matthew 13:43). And then shall every man have his commendation from God (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:5).
PSALM 37:7. We are encouraged to “Rest in the LORD,” rather than “fretting” about those who seem to prosper by “wicked devices.” Asaph momentarily found himself fretting when he ‘saw the prosperity of the wicked’ (Psalm 73:2-3). “Rest” is the posture of the Christian. This calls for patience: “wait patiently for Him.” James points us to ‘the patience of Job’ (James 5:11).
PSALM 37:8. “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.” Whoever is slow to anger is of great understanding (cf. Proverbs 14:29). For the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1:20). “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” Inward bitterness can be just as evil as outward sin.
PSALM 37:9. The dichotomy between the ‘ungodly’ and the ‘righteous’ is a theme in the book of Psalms. ‘The ungodly shall not stand’ (Psalm 1:5) and ‘the way of the ungodly shall perish’ (Psalm 1:6) appears here as “evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” Patient faith reaps an eternal reward.
F). PAUL, TIMOTHY, AND THE GOOD DEPOSIT.
2 Timothy 1:1-14.
Paul introduces himself at the beginning of this letter as “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 1:1a). This apostle was not one of the original twelve, but was a witness to the resurrection - an essential mark for an apostle (cf. Acts 1:22) – but as ‘one born out of due time’ (1 Corinthians 15:8).
On the day of his dramatic conversion, Paul was commissioned by Jesus as both a ‘minister’ and a ‘witness’ – ‘delivering thee from the people and the Gentiles, unto whom I now SEND thee’ (literally ‘I apostle you’) (Acts 26:16-17). Thus Paul could style himself ‘the apostle of the Gentiles’ (Romans 11:13).
Furthermore, Paul’s apostleship was “by the will of God,” and involved the declaration of the gospel, “according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 1:1b).
The letter is addressed to Timothy, “my dearly beloved son.” The apostle prays over his protégé, and thanks God for every remembrance of him. Paul longs to see Timothy, and is mindful of the young man’s tears when they parted company (2 Timothy 1:2-4).
The Apostle reflects upon the “unfeigned faith” which he found first in Timothy’s grandmother Lois, and in his mother Eunice, and which he is “persuaded” (certain) is in Timothy also (2 Timothy 1:5).
At the end of his previous letter, Paul encouraged Timothy to ‘KEEP’ - or guard - the ‘COMMITTED DEPOSIT’ (1 Timothy 6:20). In the second letter, Paul reiterates this instruction in much the same words: “the good DEPOSIT COMMITTED … KEEP” (2 Timothy 1:14). That good thing is none other than the Apostolic gospel (2 Timothy 1:8-11; 2 Timothy 1:13).
Yet how can Timothy - how can any of us - “guard” this “beautiful” thing? Timothy needs to recall his own ordination when he received, through the laying on of Paul’s hands, some unspecified “gift” (2 Timothy 1:6). This in itself should put to flight any tendency to timidity (2 Timothy 1:7).
The Apostle was encouraging Timothy not to be “ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,” nor indeed of Paul’s chains (2 Timothy 1:8). When it comes to the gospel, and even suffering for the gospel, our attitude should be as Paul’s: “not ashamed” (2 Timothy 1:12; cf. Romans 1:16). The task is not so formidable when we recognise that “we” (plural) have the Holy Ghost dwelling within us (2 Timothy 1:14).
Furthermore - in a verse which has become so familiar in translation that we almost forget to check the Greek language which lies behind it - we find the same verb and noun as in the first paragraph above. “I am not ashamed,” says Paul, “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to KEEP… my COMMITTED DEPOSIT until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
Here we see a two-way transaction: -
1. The Lord has deposited the gospel within us. In other words, He has entrusted it to us. I am put in mind of David’s dedication of the freewill offering for the building of the Temple: ‘All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee’ (1 Chronicles 29:14).
2. We can only fulfil our duty towards the gospel inasmuch as He empowers us to do so. It is HE who has the ability to KEEP/GUARD what He has committed to us. However, we may not abdicate from our responsibility: we are to “hold fast the precise delineation of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13; cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Paul was appointed a herald (preacher), an Apostle, and a teacher of the nations (2 Timothy 1:11). The gospel became so much a part of his life that he could speak of “my” gospel (2 Timothy 2:8; cf. Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25). It was for this that he lived, and for this that he suffered (2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:12).
The COMMITTED DEPOSIT is “mine” in that the Lord has entrusted it to me. Yet it is also “of me” in that I commit it back to the Lord (2 Timothy 1:12). We may be “partakers of the afflictions” (2 Timothy 1:8), suffering for the gospel - but the Lord will not test us beyond our ability to endure (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let us possess the gospel, but also pass it on. A gift to give away. A gift to dedicate to the Giver.
G). MUSTARD SEED FAITH.
Luke 17:5-10.
“Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).
In Luke’s Gospel, this request arises out of one of the hard sayings of Jesus. For flesh and blood to ‘keep on forgiving seven times a day’ (Luke 17:4) seemed quite impossible to the disciples!
Jesus’ answer is not to be confused with the parable of the mustard seed, which speaks of the phenomenal growth of the church from small beginnings (Matthew 13:31-32).
Luke 17:6 has more in common with Jesus’ response to the disciples when they found themselves unable to cast a demon out of a child (Matthew 17:19-21). Jesus is not speaking here in Luke 17:6 so much of the ‘size’ of the mustard seed, but of the type of faith which we need to nurture in our lives.
Like the mustard seed, true faith does not pause to doubt whether it can reach its potential to become all it is meant to be. True faith is sure of its goal, finding its beginning, continuance, and end - not in its ability to believe in itself - but in the Lord Jesus Christ. So why all this doubt?
The tree spoken of here, the sycamine, is not the same as a sycamore, but might be more readily rendered ‘mulberry-fig’ as it partakes of the leaves of the one, and the fruit of the other. The figs are bitter-sweet to taste, reminding us of the bitterness to our own souls caused by our continued unforgiving attitude towards others. Often planted near a crossroads, this tree has a large trunk, low branches (cf. Luke 19:4) - and sends out its roots in every direction, making it difficult to uproot.
In the context, uprooting the tree and casting it into the sea (Luke 17:6) speaks of the ability of faith people to accomplish seemingly impossible things – like exercising the level of forgiveness suggested by Jesus (Luke 17:4). Faith is a great force, a power to be reckoned with.
Jesus goes on from here to demonstrate that we cannot put God in our debt (Luke 17:7-10). Justification is by faith, not by works - yet because we are bound to God by faith, works will follow.
First, Jesus looks at the master/servant relationship by putting us into the shoes of the master (Luke 17:7-9).
Then He looks at the master/servant relationship by putting us into the sandals of the slave. In the context, “unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10) is what we are - and that calls for humility.
Yet it is just here, in the path of obedience, that we discover “increase” of “our faith” (Luke 17:5).
