Lamentations 3:1-66

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light.  Yes, he repeatedly turns his hand against me all day long. He has worn away my flesh and skin;  he has broken my bones.  He has laid siege against me,  encircling me with bitterness and hardship.  He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages.  He has walled me in so I cannot get out;  he has weighed me down with chains. Even when I cry out and plead for help, he blocks out my prayer.  He has walled in my ways with blocks of stone;  he has made my paths crooked.  He is  a bear waiting in ambush, a lion in hiding.  He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces; he left me desolate. He strung his bow  and set me as the target for his arrow. He pierced my kidneys with shafts from his quiver.  I am a laughingstock  to all my people,  mocked by their songs  all day long. He filled me with bitterness, satiated me with wormwood.  He ground my teeth with gravel  and made me cower  in the dust. I have been deprived  of peace;  I have forgotten what prosperity is. Then I thought, “My future  is lost, as well as my hope from the  LORD.” Remember  my affliction and my homelessness,  the wormwood and the poison.  I continually remember them and have become depressed.  , Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:  Because of the LORD’s faithful love  we do not perish,  for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!  I say, “The LORD is my portion,  therefore I will put my hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait  for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly  for salvation from the  LORD.  It is good for a man to bear the yoke  while he is still young. Let him sit alone and be silent,  for God has disciplined   him. Let him put his mouth in the dust   — perhaps there is still hope. Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him;  let him be filled with disgrace. For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion according to the abundance of his faithful love.  For he does not enjoy bringing affliction  or suffering on mankind. Crushing all the prisoners of the land  beneath one’s feet, denying justice to a man  in the presence of the Most High, or subverting a person in his lawsuit   — the Lord does not approve of these things. Who is there who speaks and it happens, unless the Lord has ordained it?  Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?  Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? Let’s examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the  LORD.  Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands  to God in heaven: “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.  “You have covered yourself in anger and pursued us; you have killed without compassion.  You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.  You have made us disgusting filth among the peoples.  “All our enemies open their mouths against us.  We have experienced panic and pitfall,  devastation and destruction.” My eyes flow with streams of tears because of the destruction of my dear people. My eyes overflow unceasingly, without end,  until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.  My eyes bring me grief because of the fate of all the women in my city. For no reason, my enemies  hunted me like a bird.  They smothered my life in   a pit  and threw stones on me. Water flooded over my head,  and I thought, “I’m going to die! ”  I called on your name,  LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief. You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.” You championed my cause, Lord;  you redeemed my life.  LORD, you saw the wrong done to me; judge my case. You saw all their vengefulness, all their plots against me.  LORD, you heard their insults,  all their plots against me. The slander  and murmuring of my opponents attack me all day long. When they sit and when they rise, look, I am mocked by their songs.  You will pay them back what they deserve,  LORD, according to the work of their hands.  You will give them a heart filled with anguish.  , May your curse be on them! You will pursue them in anger and destroy them under your heavens.