I'd invite you to join with me in prayer as we begin.
The prophet Isaiah has you, O great God, recording these words.
You're the one who declares that you form the light and you create darkness.
You're the one who brings prosperity and you're the one who creates disaster.
You, O God, do all of these things.
Your word to us, Lord, is that you are the one whom we are to flee in your wrath,
but you are also the one to whom we are to flee too.
You are both the one who brings disaster and you are the refuge.
You are the one who causes the anguish and yet you are the one who provides the mercy.
Lord, you are more complex than any God that we could possibly formulate in our own minds,
offensive even to our own hearts.
And so as we come to your word, give us hearts that are tender to you,
that lay aside idolatry, false views of you,
and that we would see you as you are in this world as it is.
Particularly, Lord, we would pray that you would help us to see our sin
and Jesus Christ in the gospel as the resolution to that sin.
And we ask that you would work in our hearts today as we open your word.
Amen.
Friends, we have just marked the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States
on September 11, 2001.
Do you remember where you were when you first heard that news?
Do you remember how many people died on that day?
Something like 3,000 people.
Most of them were in the World Trade Centers in New York City.
As a shock as that was, and it's still marked into our memories,
is sadly one of just a small event, really,
in what some people have called the conveyor belt of corpses of human history,
of depravity and atrocities.
World War II, for instance,
resulted in the death of between 70 and 85 million people,
the majority of whom were civilians.
Tens of millions of people died due to genocides,
disease, starvation in those five years.
The Holocaust in Germany alone caused the death of 11 million Jews
between 1933 and 1945.
One and a half million Armenians died at the hands of the Turks
between 1915 and 1923,
as well as a further 750,000 Assyrians
and one million Greeks at the same time.
Three million casualties
as a result of the Cambodian genocide.
Another one million dead in Rwanda in 1994.
The Soviet slaughter of 250,000 Polish people
in 1937 and 1938,
another couple of hundred thousand Poles by the Ukrainians,
less than a decade later.
Between 1824 and 1908,
white settlers and mounted police in Queensland
murdered more than 10,000 Indigenous members of this country.
Do you remember?
Do you remember any of that?
Do you remember Stalin?
Idi Amin?
Pol Pot?
Hitler?
What about the 60 million lives
that were lost in the Mongolian massacre?
Do you remember any of that?
What about the latest atrocity that appears on the TV?
How do you respond?
How quickly it is over
as we move on to the next news event?
Then there are a multitude of man-made disasters
like Chernobyl.
Natural disasters like 250,000 lives lost
in a tsunami.
Or four and a half million deaths to COVID-19.
This world is a broken world.
No amount of freedom days
and being able to stand up in pubs and drink beers
and holiday destinations
can remove that fact.
It is a broken world.
And we should feel it.
We should feel the stunning reality
that each one of those lives is no longer with us.
Every time you go to a funeral,
it should be a stunning reality
that this is a life lost.
Gone.
That merry-go-round has ended.
Death is not good.
No matter how many great stories you tell at a funeral,
how many humorous antidotes,
death cannot be made to look good.
And eternal disaster is beyond comprehension.
Over 50 million people a year
slip into a Christless eternity
where there is no comfort.
There is just increasing anguish.
Lamentations is a book
that's designed to help us
into that space,
to feel it.
It's designed as a memorial.
It helps us to remember.
It helps us to process
and it helps us to go to God.
The source of all hope
in times of despair.
Now, if you've got the St. Paul's app,
I'd be grateful if you could go there now.
You'll see I've got three points here.
The lament,
the comfort,
and what does it mean to lament
and to be comforted as a Christian.
And Lamentations 1,
it'd be great if you could open up that.
Now, Lamentations
is a collection of five poems.
Each chapter
is a poem in itself.
And four of the five chapters
is composed
as an alphabetic acrostic,
which means
that each of the poems
is divided
into 22
separate sections.
You'll notice that
for most of the
Lamentations chapters,
they're all 22 verses,
except for the middle one,
which is 66.
But they're all broken
into 22 separate sections,
one
for each letter
of the
Hebrew alphabet.
And so if you like,
each one,
each verse
starts with the first letter of the Eve,
and then the next section,
the second letter,
and all the way through
for 22 verses,
or 22 sections.
So Lamentations,
if you like,
describes
the suffering
of God's people
from A to Z.
It's the
totality
of
human suffering.
Also,
Lamentations
is not just
simply
the cry
from the heart
of someone
who's
having a tough time
in life right now.
You know,
this is not
for the person
who's struggled
with four months
of lockdown
and they're feeling frustrated
and they're
waving their fist
to God.
That's not what
Lamentations is.
Now,
I don't want to minimize
that for you
if that is you.
I just
want us
to go
to a much
bigger picture
here
and to go
to a deeper
tragedy
than four months
of
lockdown.
Lamentations
is not
an emotional
outburst.
It is a
theodicy.
It's an attempt
to explain
the ways
of God
to humanity.
The writer
here is
doing so
much more
than just
venting
their emotions
and you
can see
that
because it
is so
structured.
it is
so clear
and thought
through
in the way
it's put
together.
This is not
just a
random
bunch
of ideas.
The writer
is seeking
to gain
perspective
on
suffering
and sharing
that perspective
with others.
lamentations.
The other
thing we
should know
is that
these five
poems
are
communal
rather
than
personal
laments.
And this
is what
makes
lamentations
a little
bit different
than Job.
The other
significance
between Job
and lamentations
is that Job
is about
the suffering
of a
righteous
man.
Lamentations
is about
deserved.
suffering.
It's about
deserved,
predicted
desolation.
And so
in a world
of overwhelming
human suffering
this book
gives voice
to the
deepest
agonies
of grief
with the
hope
that there
is some
comfort
when we
cry out
to God
for mercy.
Now
lamentations
is a
response
to the
events
that are
recorded
for us
in
2 Kings
verses
chapters
24 and
25
or as
Gary just
read to us
2 Chronicles
36.
It's a much
shorter version
of the
circumstances
that lay
behind
lamentations.
things 24
25
2 Chronicles
36
are the
facts
of the
event.
Lamentations
is the
reflections
on it
by someone
who was
there
and
experienced
it.
And the
scene
is the
fall of
Jerusalem
to the
Babylonian
army
between
588
and
587
BC.
Terrible
calamities
as we will
see as we go
through
lamentations
fell upon
the citizens
of Jerusalem
over that
18 month
period.
The
Babylonians
destroyed the
temple,
the palace,
the walls,
the city,
everything
eventually,
but the
process of
the people
slowly dying
up to that
point is
just
horrendous.
The
Babylonian
army,
they
plundered,
they pillaged
the city
and its
inhabitants.
The elite
of society
were forcibly
marched
down to
Babylon
some
1500
kilometers
away from
their home
as slaves.
And so
lamentations
is written
in response
to these
calamitous
catastrophic
historical
events.
you see
for the
people of
Israel
losing
Jerusalem
meant
losing
all that
represented
them as
a people.
Everything.
The
monarchy,
the ruling
line of
David,
the priests,
the sacrifices,
the temple,
the promised
land themselves,
losing the
land meant
that they
had lost
God's
promise
and losing
God's promise
meant they
lost their
special relationship
with God
who made
and defines
all things.
God is
gone
for them.
And so
this first
lament
is from
an eyewitness
perspective
and a
description
of the
terrible
desolation.
The poet
here
presents the
city of
Jerusalem
as a
woman
in the
deepest
depths of
mourning
and pain.
Lady
Zion.
She calls
out to
God.
She calls
out in
fact even
to the
nations
around her
to look
upon her
and see
her
suffering.
Her
suffering
was great
and in
her mind
no one
was noticing.
God
was not
even looking
on her
and the
nations
ignored
her.
the very
verse
of
lamentations.
How
deserted
lies the
city
once so
full of
people.
We are
told she
who was
a queen
has become
a slave.
Verse 2
bitterly
she weeps.
All her
friends
have betrayed
her.
As you
continue
through the
chapter we
see the
suffering,
the mourning,
the abandoned
religious practices,
the desolate
city,
pilgrims no
longer flock
there for
their feasts,
merchants no
longer walk
through the
gates,
her princes
have fleed
the city
and they
have been
pursued by
their attackers,
the palace
treasures have
been looted,
the temple
has been
violated,
in her
streets,
desperate
people negotiate
for their
very lives,
they are
concerned to
go out and
buy food,
to try and
scavenge for
food,
lest they
become food
for others,
her army
is defeated,
the princes
and the
leaders have
all perished
in their
search for
food,
we are
told Lady
Zion weeps
bitterly,
you can see
it's a little
bit more
than just
four months
of lockdown,
a greater
disaster is
happening here,
my goodness
I still
get cold
delivering
food to
my door,
verses 2,
9,
16,
17 and
21,
we have
the repetition
of a
statement
that forms
the anguish
of this
whole chapter,
there is
no one
to comfort
her,
she cries
out,
she reaches
out to
those who
pass by,
she groans
looking for
a comforter,
but there is
no comfort,
no one
will help
her,
no one
will restore
her,
all of her
friends,
all of her
lovers,
all of those
who are
associated
with her
have abandoned
her,
but she
should have
seen it
coming,
she should
have seen
it coming,
the prophet
Jeremiah,
the poet
behind
Lamentations
had warned,
warned Jerusalem
for decades
and for decades
the city
laughed him
off,
God's
word had
been cleared
of the
city
again
and again
tragedy
will befall
you,
turn,
turn
back to
the living
God,
so why
has this
tragedy
befallen,
what was
the essence
of
Jeremiah's
message,
William
Westmore's
story
was a
19th
century
American
who
carved
some
great
sculptures
and one
such
sculpture
is of
a woman
sitting
amongst
some
ruins
slumped
slightly
to one
side,
her elbow
rests on
the arm
of her
throne,
she gazes
downward
with a
resolute
frown,
she's
despondent
and engraved
on the
sculpture
is Jerusalem
in her
desolation,
it's a
fairly famous
sculpture,
the most
significant
detail
of the
sculpture
is almost
unnoticeable
to the
passing eye
when you
look at it,
it's this
down,
right at the
bottom of the
sculpture
near the
feet of
Lady Zion
is this
small
snake
slithering
along,
it represents
sin,
Jerusalem's
destruction
was because
of her
sin,
have a look
at verse
5,
the
Lord
has
brought
her
grief
because
of her
many
sins,
the
word used
for sins
in verse
5 is a
word that
actually suggests
outright
rebellion,
it's because
of her
outright
rebellion
against God
that she
has been
ruined,
grief has
come upon
her,
that is
what this
lament
tells us
is that
Jerusalem
got what
she
deserved
and in
fact Lady
Zion
herself
confesses
it in
verse
18,
the
Lord is
righteous
and yet
I
rebelled
against
his
command
and again
in verse
20,
see Lord
how distressed
I am,
I am in
torment
within
and in
my heart
I am
disturbed
for I
have been
most
rebellious
so if
you
want
one
understanding
if you
like of
the book
of
lamentations
is that
it's one
long
illustration
of the
eternal
principle
that a
person
reaps
what they
sow
the
Bible
gives
us
the
Christian
faith
if you
like
gives
us
gives
the
world
the
bleakest
most
comprehensive
panoramic
picture
of the
human
condition
outside
of God
and what
we have
here in
Lamentations
1 is
a
microcosm
version of
that
of the
universal
human
condition
Jerusalem
lady
Zion
represents
our
position
outside
of God
Ephesians
chapter 2
in the
New Testament
makes it
real clear
for us
it's quite
blunt
but it
says very
clearly
we are
all
human
beings
every one
of us
are dead
in our
transgressions
and sins
as for
you
you were
dead
in your
transgressions
and sins
in which
you used
to live
when you
followed the
ways of
this world
and of the
rule of
the kingdom
of the
air
the spirit
who is
now at
work in
those who
are disobedient
all of
us
all of
us
lived
among them
at one
time
gratifying
the cravings
of our
flesh and
following its
desires and
our thoughts
and like the
rest we
were by
nature
deserving of
wrath
let's be
clear here
in Ephesians
2 death
is not a
figure of
speech
the state
of spiritual
death is
universal
Paul is
not describing
a segment
of society
a particular
group of
people
you know
who are
decadent
depraved
he's describing
all of
humanity
from
from bottom
to top
from the
so-called
unrighteousness
righteous to
the so-called
righteous
all of
us
and the
key idea
is in
verse 3
of
Ephesians 2
we are
gratifying the
cravings of
our flesh
and following
its desires
and thoughts
literally means
there
it refers
to
self-centered
human
nature
our hearts
inside
are
driving us
mastering
us
controlling
us
self-centeredness
making
ourselves
the world
according to
the bible
the reason
we are
dead in
our
transgressions
and sins
is because
every single
one of us
is profoundly
self-centered
the 16th
century
reformer
and theologian
Martin Luther
said that
the very
nature of
humanity
is so
deeply
curved
in
of itself
into
itself
he
wrote
we are
wickedly
curvedly
and
viciously
seek to
use all
things
even
God
for our
own
sake
the
framework
for every
human being
begins
with
is you
give your
life
for me
it's me
first
you
exist
for me
my
interest
first
and that
is even
how we
relate
to our
creator
our
sustainer
our
God
me
first
and if
you
do not
give me
the life
that I
want to
have
then
curse
be upon
you
and so
the
consequences
at the
end of
verse 3
of
Ephesians
2
is really
shocking
to our
modern
sensibilities
we are
not only
dead
but we
are also
condemned
it says
like the
rest we
were by
nature
deserving
of
wrath
that is
deserving
of God's
righteous
anger
see God's
anger is
not like
human
anger
it's not
bad
tempered
it's not
spiteful
it's not
malice
nor is it
animosity
nor is it
revenge
nor is it
arbitrary
it is
God's
personal
righteous
constant
hostility
towards
evil
injustice
and sin
it is
his
settled
refusal
to
compromise
with
sin
and his
resolve
to in
fact
condemn
all that
is evil
and so
we come
to
lamentations
one
and we
see this
played out
for lady
Zion
it led
to her
destruction
and it
will lead
to
ours
too
is it
any wonder
she cries
out is
there
anyone
to comfort
me
when the
sovereign
God
is
against
me
some
70
years
after the
devastation
of
Jerusalem
and after
Babylon
itself
had been
conquered
by the
Persian
empire
for its
sin
the Jews
made their
way back
to rebuild
the city
once again
lady
Zion
returns
home
they
promised
to
not make
the same
mistake
of their
forefathers
they promised
to walk
in obedience
to God
and yet
a mere
500
years
later
we see
nothing
has changed
for Jerusalem
Jesus
Christ
500
years
later
bursts
in on the
scenes
of the
Middle
East
and declares
himself
to be
God
himself
amongst
us
son of
God
dwelling
amongst
his
people
and he
backed
up
that
remarkable
claim
by living
a perfect
life
and performing
incredible
miracles
bringing hope
and healing
to thousands
thousands
and so
what
happens
when
God
himself
rocks
up
to
Jerusalem
Luke
19
we read
Jesus
approached
Jerusalem
he saw
the city
and he
wept
he wept
over it
and he
says
if you
even you
had known
only known
on this
day
what
could
bring
you
peace
or
what
could
bring
you
comfort
but
now
it is
hidden
from
your
eyes
the
days
will
come
upon
you
when
your
enemies
will
and
here's
a replay
of
history
will
build
an
embankment
against
you
they
will
encircle
you
they
will
hem
you
in
on
every
side
they
will
dash
you
to
the
ground
you
and
the
children
within
your
walls
they
will
not
leave
one
stone
on
another
because
you
did
not
recognize
the
time
of
God's
coming
to
you
Jesus
laments
for
Jerusalem
God
laments
for
Jerusalem
and
predicts
again
its
destruction
Jerusalem
will
once
be
destroyed
because
they
did
not
recognize
the
time
of
God's
coming
that
is
God
turns
up
to
his
city
Jerusalem
and
they
reject
him
they
rejected
their
coming
king
they
rejected
Jesus
and
therefore
once
again
they
reject
God
and
this
rebellion
will
once
again
reap
its
consequences
now
that
seemed
totally
improbable
to the
inhabitants
of
Jerusalem
as it
did
in
Jeremiah's
day
even
those
who
were
so
close
to
Jesus
and
were
following
Jesus
were
proud
of
their
great
city
Jerusalem
and
they
were
especially
proud
of
their
temple
they
thought
that
because
they
had
their
temple
God
was
on
their
side
they
were
indestructible
they
had
forgotten
their
history
the
temple
was the
place
where
God
met
with
the
people
met
with
God
and
God
met
with
the
people
and
their
sins
were
forgiven
they
thought
they
could
live
any way
they
like
from
Monday
to
Saturday
turn
up
to
the
temple
and
it's
all
done
God
relationship
with
God
is
all
good
one
day
Jesus
was
walking
past
that
temple
in
Jerusalem
and
those
who
with
him
were
just
admired
how
great
that
building
was
see
the
great
stones
and
the
way
it's
put
together
Jesus
said
it's
going
to be
torn
down
and
I'm
going
to
rebuild
it
in
three
days
it's
going
to
be
destroyed
and
I'll
rebuild
it
impossible
what a
joke
impossible
how
is that
going
to
happen
Jesus
was
referring
to
his
death
and
his
resurrection
let me
just
take you
back to
Lamentations
1
really
briefly
it's
interesting
that the
structural
and
theological
center
of
Lamentations
1
is the
end
of
verse
11
and
verse
12
look
Lord
and
consider
for
I
am
despised
this
is
ladies
iron
speaking
look
to
me
Lord
look
and
look
at
me
I
am
despised
is it
nothing
to you
as well
the
nations
as you
pass
by
look
on
me
look
around
and
see
is
any
suffering
like
my
suffering
that
was
inflicted
on
me
that
the
Lord
brought
on
me
in
the
day
of
his
fierce
anger
now
the
crucifixion
is a
oratorio
composed
by
John
Stainer
in
1887
in
one of
the
movements
of
this
composition
Stainer
puts
the
words
of
Lamentations
1
19
into
the
mouth
of
Jesus
on
the
cross
is
it
nothing
to
you
all
who
pass
by
you
see
no
one
on
that
day
just
outside
the
city
walls
of
Jerusalem
recognized
what
was
being
accomplished
on
the
cross
namely
the
redemption
of
sin
for
the
world
people
passed
by
members
of
Jerusalem
passed
by
the
cross
and
they
considered
Jesus
nothing
Matthew
27
verse 39
and 40
tells us
those who
passed
by
insults
at him
they shook
their heads
and they
said
you
who were
going to
destroy
the temple
and build
it again
in three
days
save
yourself
ha
come
down
the
cross
if
you
are
the
son
of
God
and
it's
because
he is
the
son
of
God
that
he
could
not
come
down
from
the
cross
like
Jerusalem
lady
Zion
before
him
Jesus
was not
only
despised
and
rejected
but
he was
also
ignored
lady
Zion
cries
out
is
any
suffering
like
my
suffering
that is
inflicted
on me
and the
answer
of the
New
Testament
is
yes
the
answer
of the
gospel
is
yes
Jesus
suffering
on the
cross
was
more
than
lady
Zion
suffered
physically
emotionally
relationally
spiritually
because
he
was
innocent
of
sin
he
did
not
sin
and yet
he
carried
the
sin
of
Jerusalem
of
our
rebellion
to
the
cross
he
bore
the
sin
of
the
world
lady
Zion
declares
her
suffering
is
because
the
Lord
brought
on me
the
day
of
his
fierce
anger
and
the
suffering
of
God
brought
on
Jesus
the
son
of
God
was
the
ultimate
day
of
his
fierce
anger
Jesus
was
devastated
he
was
demolished
for
our
sin
Jesus
turned
God's
righteous
anger
away
from
his
city
Jerusalem
away
from
the
members
the
people
there
those
who
despised
him
the
sinners
the
rebellious
away
from
you
and me
from
all
of
humanity
he
took
that
sin
and
rather
than
Jerusalem
being
destroyed
he
was
destroyed
Jesus
is
rejected
and we
are
adopted
Jesus
is
cursed
so that
we
could
be
blessed
Jesus
despaired
that we
might have
hope
Jesus
was
taken
so that
we
could
live
forever
ever
Jesus
was
cut
off
from
the
father
and he
experienced
the
agony
that we
would
experience
if we
were cut
off from
God
for all
of
eternity
sin
is
where we
put
ourselves
where only
God
deserves
to be
and that's
on the
throne
of our
lives
salvation
is
God
putting
himself
where only
we
deserve
to be
and that
is under
his
just
condemnation
for sin
the very
next words
in Ephesians
chapter 2
after telling
us in verse
3 that we
are deserving
of God's
wrath
we read
but because
of his
great love
for us
God who
is rich
in mercy
made us
alive
with
Christ
even
when we
are dead
in our
transgressions
it is by
grace that
you've been
saved
that my
friends
right there
is the
hope of
humanity
freedom
day
released
from
restrictions
the ability
to travel
internationally
on a
holiday
is not
the hope
of humanity
and it's
not your
hope
this is
your hope
come to
Christ
he is
your hope
in the
moment of
despair
he's the
only one
who can
fix your
heart
in a
very broken
and sinful
world
Jesus is
your
comforter
God the
father as we
told in the
new
testament
the God
of all
compassion
the God
of all
comfort
he is your
comforter
the destroyer
is your
comforter
Jesus
is your
comforter
now friends
where does
this fit
for the
Christian
where does
lament
and comfort
where does
it work
for the
Christian
as a
pastor
for
over a
quarter of
a century
now
I've got
to tell
you I've
had the
front row
seat to
significant
grief and
tragedy
over that
time
all of
those
moments
are
incredibly
sad
and also
instructive
I often
will leave
a funeral
yearning
for death
to be
defeated
reflected
on how
much
brokenness
there is
in this
world
how much
grief and
loss there
is in
this world
and how
grateful I
am at the
same time
for the
cross
that because
of the
cross I'm
in a right
relationship
with God
and because
of the
cross and
because of
the resurrection
of Jesus
he guarantees
my future
resurrection
my life
forever
in his
perfect
presence
where
the end
story
the end
of the
game
is there
is no
tears
no more
death
no more
crying
no more
pain
the good
news of
Jesus
Christ
and what
he has
accomplished
for me
is a
comfort
deep in
my heart
even as
I'm
leading a
funeral
in tragic
circumstances
you see
because of
that hope
there is a
certain
because of
Jesus
what he's
done
because of
the gospel
there is
a certain
hope
the hope
that life's
final chapter
has not
been written
although it
has been
revealed
it's not
written yet
but it has
been revealed
there is a
great day
on the
horizon
but not
every tear
has yet
been wiped
away
not every
pain has
been removed
on this
side of
that great
day
the Christian
must lament
and I want
to take you
theologically
higher than
complaining
about
lockdowns
friends if
you're
someone who
trusts in
the Lord
Jesus
you must
lament
sin
you must
lament
your own
sin
I believe
the apostle
Paul does
that
in Romans
oh what a
wretched man
I am
who can
rescue me
thanks be to
the Lord
Jesus Christ
lament
we must
lament
the
destructiveness
of sin
in this
world
the scale
human depravity
in this
world
is incalculable
lamentation
is for us
a memorial
that helps us
remember
and to feel
the weight
of tragedy
the smoldering
ruins
of Jerusalem
we get an
insight
we feel
it
as we
come
into
lamentations
they were
a message
to not
just the
inhabitants
of Jerusalem
who survived
but the
smoldering ruins
of Jerusalem
were a message
to Babylon
to Egypt
to the whole
world
and the
cross of
Christ
is the
same
for us
it's a
warning sign
that
is what
sin
deserves
those
who do
not take
refuge
in the
suffering
Christ
will
one day
take his
place
in suffering
for their
sin
forever
and that
is a
tragedy
my friends
which is
incalculable
it is a
holocaust
beyond
comprehension
to which
50 million
people a
year
move into
it's
lamentable
I want to
ask you
do you
lament that
as a
Christian
the lesson
of lamentations
one
is that
God is
long
suffering
he is
merciful
but
rebellion
against
his
rule
has
its
consequences
those
who
sow
the
wind
of
sin
reap
the
whirlwind
of
eternal
destruction
God
is in
control
of history
and he
will not
be mocked
four months
of lockdown
is just
God's
mercy
to us
like
the
prophecy
of
Jeremiah
was to
Jerusalem
that we're
not in
control
just a
reminder
we're
not in
control
this
world
is not
what it
should
be
lamentations
one
reminds
us
that
sin
is
in
fact
that
bad
and
that
God
is
in
fact
that
holy
the
effect
of
our
collective
treason
is the
groaning
of creation
under its
brokenness
the
Christians
should
understand
that
beneath
every
single
painful
aspect
of our
humanity
is the
reality
of sin
more
than just
providing
comfort
and help
in times
of trouble
the gift
of lament
helps us
to tune
our
heart
to the
pain
of others
and to
the
fundamental
truths
of God
and his
world
and his
eternal
reality
as
American
pastor
Mark
Deaver
has said
we watch
the news
so we
know how
to pray
in a way
what lament
does for the
Christian
is it
wakens
our souls
from apathy
and our
own sin
we live
with people
we are
surrounded by
a community
that exists
in a world
that is
on a
collision
course
with its
creator
God
the
devastation
the
desolation
the desolation
and the
loneliness
and the
anguish
on that
day
will be
eternal
not just
for 70
years
as it
was for
Jerusalem
the comfort
is now
and you
embrace that
comfort now
and you
will embrace
it for all
of eternity
you reject
it now
and on that
day there
will be no
comfort
we will cry
out
to even
the stones
to fall
on us
there will
be no
comfort
there will
be no
place to
turn
lament
is a
gift
from God
to connect
our hearts
with his
heart
for his
world
a heart
that desires
not
the death
of a sinner
but that
all should
be saved
from death
and find
life forever
in their
comforter
Jesus
Christ
Amen