Lamentations 1:17-19 Part 1 of 2

                                        LAMENTATIONS

                         The faithful love of the LORD never ends! 

                                     His mercies never cease.

                                    Great is his faithfulness;

                            his mercies begin afresh each morning.

                                        Lamentations 3:22-23  

            I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely 

        with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow 

        with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

 

Jerusalem reached out for help

    but no one comforts her.

Regarding his people Israel,

    the LORD has said,

"Let their neighbors be their enemies!

    Let them be thrown away like filthy rags!"

"The LORD is right," Jerusalem says,

    "for I rebelled against him.

Listen people everywhere;

    look upon my anguish and despair,

for my sons and daughters

    have been taken captive to distant lands.

I begged my allies for help,

    but they betrayed me.

My priests and leaders

    starved to death in the city,

even as they searched for food

    to save their lives." 

 

Jerusalem reaches out for help, but no one comforts her.

Lamentations 4:16-17 

The LORD himself has scattered them,

    and no longer helps them.

People show no respect for the priests

    and no longer honor the leaders.

We looked in vain for our allies

    to come and save us,

but we were looking to nations

    that could not help us.

 

Regarding his people Israel, the LORD has said, "Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like filthy rags!" 

Leviticus 18:25  

"Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out."  (see all Leviticus 18)

2 Kings 24:2-4  

Then the LORD sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the LORD had promised through his prophets. These disasters happened to Judah because of the LORD's command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The LORD would not forgive this.  (see all 2 Kings 24)

Isaiah 1:15  

"When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.

    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,

    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims."  

    (see all Isaiah 1)

Jeremiah 2:22  

"No amount of soap or lye can make you clean.

    I still see the stain of your guilt.

    I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"  (see all Jeremiah 2)

 

"The LORD is right," Jerusalem says, "for I rebelled against him." 

Exodus 9:27  

    Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he confessed. "The LORD is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong."  (see Exodus 9:13-35)

1 Samuel 12:15  

"But if you rebel against the LORD's command and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors."  

(see all 1 Samuel 12)

Ezra 9:15  

"O LORD, God of Israel, you are just. We come before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence."  (see all Ezra 9)

Psalm 119:75  

I know, O LORD, that your regulations are fair;

    you disciplined me because I needed it.  (see Psalm 119:73-80) 

 

(parentheses are mine)

 

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Limited to 15 verses per post.