Lamentations · chapter 3 of 5
Updated on
Lamentations 3 is the central poem of the book: a man who has seen affliction under the Lord's rod describes his darkness, his chains and his pain. In the middle of that lament the poet remembers that the Lord's steadfast love and mercies never end but are new every morning, and calls us to wait for him and return to him. It ends with the prayer of one who cried from the pit and was heard, and asks for justice against his enemies.
Chapter 3 is the center of Lamentations, and its structure shows it: it has sixty-six verses, three for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, so that the three verses of each group begin with the same letter. Until now the city or a narrator spoke; now a man speaks in the first person, and at the center of the poem appears one of the best-known declarations of hope in the Old Testament.
The man begins: I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath. God has driven him into darkness rather than light, wasted his flesh and skin, broken his bones and besieged him with bitterness. He made him dwell in dark places like those long dead, weighed down his chains and, even when he cries out, shut out his prayer. God is to him like a bear and a lion lying in wait, and has made him the target for his arrows. He is the laughingstock of all the people, and he says his endurance has perished, and so has his hope from the Lord.
But in verses 19-24 the poet remembers his affliction and also what gives him hope: by the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is his faithfulness. The Lord is his portion, so he waits for him. A reflection on waiting follows: it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord and to put one's mouth in the dust, perhaps there is hope. The Lord does not cast off forever; though he causes grief, he has compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love, for he does not willingly afflict.
Then he calls us to examine our ways and return to the Lord, lifting hearts and hands to God in heaven. He admits rebellion, and describes how the enemies opened their mouths against them and how his eyes flow with streams of tears until the Lord looks down from heaven.
The poet tells how his enemies hunted him like a bird and cast him alive into a pit. He called on the name of the Lord from the depths of the pit, and the Lord heard his voice, drew near and said do not fear. God took up his cause and redeemed his life. The chapter ends asking the Lord to repay his enemies according to the work of their hands.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord's mercies never come to an end nor does his steadfast love fail; they are new every morning, and great is his faithfulness. Spoken from the depths of pain, these words do not deny suffering but uncover the firmest ground of hope.
The Lord is my portion, says the soul, and therefore I will hope in him. In the Old Testament the portion is the share of land, and the poet who has lost everything affirms that he still has God himself.
Though the Lord causes grief, he also has compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love, for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. It is the key to understanding the suffering God sends: he never does it gladly.
When the poet called, the Lord drew near and told him not to fear. After so many verses of darkness, the chapter ends by showing that the prayer was heard and that God was near in the pit.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: As the man who has seen affliction under the rod of the Lord's wrath. — Lamentations 3:1
Answer: A bear and a lion lying in wait. — Lamentations 3:10
Answer: That the Lord's mercies never fail and are new every morning. — Lamentations 3:21-23
Answer: That the Lord is his portion, and so he waits for him. — Lamentations 3:24
Answer: To wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. — Lamentations 3:26
Answer: Do not fear. — Lamentations 3:55-57
Lamentations 3 shows that the believer's hope does not come from circumstances improving but from the character of God. In a small group you can read verses 22-24 slowly and think about moments of darkness when we found that his faithfulness did not fail. Every morning is a chance to remember it, even when circumstances have not changed.
The chapter also validates long and honest lament before hope; there is no need to hurry to comfort. And it teaches that suffering can lead us to examine our ways and return to the Lord. The Christian reads here the faithfulness of God shown fully in Christ, and the invitation to wait quietly for his salvation.
Lamentations 3 shows that in the midst of the greatest pain it can be said truthfully that the Lord's mercies are new every morning, and that he hears the one who cries from the pit. Chapter 4 will return to the description of the destroyed city, with the contrast between what it was and what it is.
Because it stands at the exact center of a book of grief and works as its axis of hope. It is not an isolated phrase: the poet says he recalls it in the midst of his affliction. Many Christians sing it, and the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness takes its idea from this passage.
The chapter is a triple acrostic: it has sixty-six verses, and each group of three begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from the first to the last. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 have one verse per letter, and this one has three, which underlines its central place in the book.
Yes. It combines complaint, the memory of who God is, waiting, self-examination, crying out and the plea for justice. It neither hides the pain nor turns it into a reason to stop trusting. The lament psalms follow a similar path.