Day 1,011: Lamentations 5- God Remains Faithful

Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
    look, and see our disgrace!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.

3 We have become orphans, fatherless;
    our mothers are like widows.

4 We must pay for the water we drink;
    the wood we get must be bought.

5 Our pursuers are at our necks;
    we are weary; we are given no rest.

6 We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria,
    to get bread enough.

7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more;
    and we bear their iniquities.

8 Slaves rule over us;
    there is none to deliver us from their hand.

9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
    because of the sword in the wilderness.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven
    with the burning heat of famine.

11 Women are raped in Zion,
    young women in the towns of Judah.

12 Princes are hung up by their hands;
    no respect is shown to the elders.

13 Young men are compelled to grind at the mill,
    and boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 The old men have left the city gate,
    the young men their music.

15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
    our dancing has been turned to mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head;
    woe to us, for we have sinned!

17 For this our heart has become sick,
    for these things our eyes have grown dim,
18 for Mount Zion which lies desolate;
    jackals prowl over it.

19 But you, O Lord, reign forever;
    your throne endures to all generations.

20 Why do you forget us forever,
    why do you forsake us for so many days?

21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!
    Renew our days as of old--
22 unless you have utterly rejected us,
    and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
 
Meditation
The breadth of God’s sovereign grace is astounding: When we are faithless, God remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). When we sin, Jesus stands ready to forgive. When we fail, Jesus desires to fertilize the future by working all things for the good of those who love Him and the glory of His name.
 
We engage more turbulence rising to the climax of Lamentations before reaching the heights of hope. The poet’s plea for mercy (1-10) is steeped in struggle but centered on self-awareness. The people know they have sinned, them and their fathers, (7) so they are ruled over with no hope of being freed (8). The nature of the sin is horrific (11-18) and the realization of the need for punishment leads to intercession.  Sick hearts struggling with sin can only look to the faithfulness of God’s grace to begin again.
 
From the depth of despair and darkness, the poet leads in prayer, “But you, oh Lord, reign forever, your throne endures to all generations… Restore to us yourself, O Lord… renew our days of old” (19-20). In line with ancient rabbinic tradition we must double down on the hope of the lament: Over our suffering, God is sovereign. Over our sin, God gives grace. Over our destitution, God gives restoration.
 
Our ultimate hope is solidified through the cross where King Jesus was destroyed to death so believers can be restored to life by His grace. Truly, God is faithful when we are faithless.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially in the contrast between the depth of struggle and the heights of hope?
 
-Do you believe God is faithful when you are faithless? Why or why not?
 
-How does the cross prove the hope of our hearts AND fuel the focus of our faith to rest on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, restoration, and renewal?
 
Key Verse
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations…   Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!  Renew our days as of old--