I. The occasion of this sympathetic sorrow. 1. The afiSiction of " the daughters of the city." Whether by this expression we are to understand dependent towns or literally the maidens of Jerusalem, in any case it is the calamities of his countrymen that awaken compassion. 2. This affliction is of the extremest kind, even " destruc- tion." Some of those whose woes call forth the prophet's commiseration are homeless, some are wounded, and some are slain. A hard heart can witness the distressae ol
CH. in. 1—66.] THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. 65
fellow-creatvires unmoved; but a sensitive nature views them with poignant sor- row. Our Lord wept over the same city when, at a later period, he foresaw a fate impending over Jerusalem even worse than that which occasioned the lamentation of Jeremiah.
IL Thb OHABAOTERisncs OF THIS SYMPATHETIC 80BBOW. 1. It is cordial ; not the sympathy of words merely, but of the heart. Politeness may dissimulate ; sincere pity will feel. The sorrows of the soul because of human sin and woe are prompted by sympathy and consecrated by religion. 2. It is manifested. In the East and among simple nations grief displays itself in a more demonstrative way than amongst ourselves. There was nothing extravagant or unmanly in the pouring down of tears, in the running down of rivers of waters from the eyes, described in these verses. The manner in which sympathy is exhibited may vary, but this passage may suggest to us that the expression of compassion ought not to be withheld. 3. It is unintermltted ; it ceases not. Such sympathy is not a mere paroxysm of giief ; it is constant, enduring whilst the occasion of it endures.
III. The POBPOSB and hope ACCOMPANYDfO THIS SYMPATHETIC 80EB0W. Men
sometimes speak of the uselessness of tears, the vanity of grief, etc. The godly sorrow exhibited by the prophet was not of this order ; it had an aim, and that aim was the relief of those who were commiserated. Penitence and supplication were regarded as means to procure the regard, the interposition, the delivering mercy of Jehovah. Help, and help from above, — this is the practical design which blends with the anguish and the tears of the Christian. — ^T.
Vers. 55, 56. — The cry from the dungeon. There seems every reason for believing that, in these words, the prophet is recording his own actual experience. Under the reign of Zedekiah, when the doom of Jerusalem was near at hand, the faithful Jeremiah prophesied to the people, and by his warnings and predictions so offended the princes who were in authority in the city that they cast him into the pit of the prison. By Divine goodness he was delivered from this misery by the agency of the eunuch Ebed- Melech. Like a truly godly man, he witnesses to that Ood who is ever the Hearer of his people's prayers.
I. The cby from the depth. It was indeed de profundis that Jeremiah raised his voice and called upon the Lord. From sorrow, suffering, destitution, desertion, misery, helplessness, let men cry unto the Lord. The evil condition that impels them to such a cry is not all evil ; there is " the soul of goodness " in it. The dungeon of oppression, of persecution, thus becomes a church indeed.
IL The witness of the bescued. The prophet testifies that his cry had not been unheeded. Even when immured in a pit so deep that his voice could not reach his fellow-men, his entreaty had reached the ear and roused the pity of the eternal Lord. And be who had heard had answered too, and had sent his messenger to deliver his servant. Where is there a child of God who has not experienced the compassionate interposition of the Most High ? The Church should be as one of those temples whose walls are covered with tablets and brasses testifying to mercies received at the hand of the All-gracious.
III. The confident fbateb. All former troubles were as nothing compared to this disaster which now overtakes the city, the nation. Renewed calamity prompts to renewed entreaty, and the memory of compassionate interposition incites to faith and hope. " The Lord hath been mindful of us ; he will help us." — T.
Vers. 57, 58. — Prayer heard and answered. How natural that the mind of a {dous man should, in seasons of distress and calamity, revert to the bygone days, remember the clouds by which they were overcast, and take encouragement at the vivid recollec- tion of gracious interposition and help !
L The day of delitebance. 1. This was a day of need and of distress, of sore need and of bitter distress. 2. It was a day of prayer, a day in which Divine aid had been zealously and urgently implored.
II. The voice of the Deliverer. " Thou saidst. Fear not 1 " How often are these words represented hrr the prophets to have been spoken by Jehovah ! How often by the eTangelists to have been spoken by Christ 1 They seem to constitute a ' note"
66 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. [ch. ui. 1—66.
of Divine utterance. They are as reassuring and consolatory to man as they arc appro* priate and becoming to Ood.
III. The fact of deliverance. Comforting words are welcome ; how much more the exercise of mighty power ! This passage depicts (1) the approach of the mighty One, and (2) the redemption of the captive's life. What was literally true of Jeremiah's bodily condition is true of the spiritual state of sinful man ; and all temporal inter- positions are an emblem of the delivering, the redemptive grace of God in Jesus Christ.
TV. The acknowledouent of delivebanoe. The testimony of the prophet is an example to all who have experienced the blessedness of Divine love and grace. Such acknowledgment should be grateful, cordial, public, and everlasting. — ^T.
Vers. 59 — 63. — The Lord's knowledge of hispeopl^s sufferings and wrongs. The first thought which occurs to people when oppressed and afflicted is — The Lord takes no heed ; he has no compassion ; he will not help ; my judgment is passed over from my God. But it is afterwards felt that such language is language of impatience and injustice. And the pious soul comes to rest almost satisfied beneath the blows and contempt of men, because a conviction springs up— It is all known to the omniscient and sympathizing Lord.
I. God, in his FBOVIDENOE, permits his people to buffer and endure OALUlINIEg,
befroaoheb, and wbonqs. Their endurance of such, now and again, is an unquestion- able fact. And if there be a God, and such a God as revelation declares, it is certain that he suffers his people to pass tlirough much that is painful to flesh and bleed.
II. God does not always and at once remedy the ills which befall his PEOPLE. The thought occurs to the oppressed and wronged — Can it be that he sees and hears all that is said and dune to us, unmerited as it is on our part ? If he does, how mysterious that he withholds his hands from avenging us, firom discomfiting onr cruel foes !
III. DiTINF DELAY IB NO PROOF OF DiVINE INDIFFERENCE. Christ StOod Upon the