Lamentations 3:55

I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. I CALLED UPON THY NAME ... OUT OF THE LOW DUNGEON. Thus the spirit resists the flesh, and faith spurns the temptation (Calvin; ; ). Verse 56. THOU HAST HEARD MY VOICE. He means, not now, but formerly (so in ). MY BREATHING ... MY CRY - two kinds of prayer; the sigh of a prayer silently breathed forth, and the loud, earnest cry. (Contrast , "a prayer," margin, 'a secret speech,' with , "cry aloud"). Verse 57. THOU DREWEST NEAR - with thy help ...

We certainly see that the Prophet had an inward conflict, which also all the faithful experience, for the spirit fights against the flesh, as Paul teaches us. (Galatians 5:17.) Though, then, he on the one hand apprehended death, he yet ceased not to flee to God; for faith strengthened his mind so that he did not succumb, but on the contrary he firmly rejected the temptation presented to him. Though, then, he was, according to the flesh, persuaded as to his own ruin, he on the other hand, called on the name of God; for the faithful do not measure the power and grace of God by their own thoughts, but give glory to God by recumbing on him even in the greatest extremities. And this passage ought to be carefully noticed; for when Satan cannot in any other way turn us aside from prayer, he alleges our weakness; “What meanest thou, miserable being? will God hear thee? for what canst thou do? th...

55-66 Faith comes off conqueror, for in these verses the prophet concludes with some comfort. Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life. He silenced their fears, and quieted their spirits. Thou saidst, Fear not. This was the language of God's grace, by the witness of his Spirit with their spirits. And what are all our sorrows, compared with those of the Redeemer? He will deliver his people from every trouble, and revive his church from every persecution. He will save believers with everlasting salvation, while his enemies perish with everlasting destruction....

A prayer for deliverance and for vengeance upon his enemies. Lamentations 3:55 OUT OF THE LOW DUNGEON - “The lowest pit” of Psalms 88:6. Some consider that Psalms 69 was composed by Jeremiah, and is the prayer referred to here (Jeremiah 38:6 note). Lamentations 3:56 THOU HAST HEARD - In sending Ebedmelech to deliver me. The next clause signifies “Hide not thine ear to my relief to my cry,” i. e. to my cry for relief....

EXPOSITION LAMENTATIONS 3:1 MONOLOGUE SPOKEN BY AN INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER WHOSE FATE IS BOUND UP WITH THAT OF THE NATION; OR PERHAPS BY THE NATION PERSONIFIED (see Introduction). LAMENTATIONS 3:1 SEEN. "To see" in Hebrew often means "to experience;" _e.g._...

I CALLED UPON THY NAME, O LORD,.... As in times past, so in the present distress; when all hope was gone, and all help failed, still there was a God to go to, and call upon: OUT OF THE LOW DUNGEON; or "dungeon of lownesses" r; the lowest dungeon, the deepest distress, a man or people could be in; yet then and there it is not too late to call upon the Lord; and there may be hope of deliverance out of such an estate by him. r מבור תחתיות "e cisterna infimitatum", Piscator....

We are about to read a chapter which is very full of sorrow; while you are listening to it, some of you may be saying, «We are not in that condition.» Well then, be thankful that you are not, and while you hear of the sorrows of others, bless God for the joys you yourself experience. At the same time, remember that there is a way of sorrow which leads at last to rest and peace. There is truth in the words of the poet Cowper, «The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.» If you have never known the sorrows of the weeping prophet, or anything like them, I am not sure that you should congratulate yourselves, for there is a brokenness of heart that is worth more than the whole world, there is a crushed and bruised spirit in which the Lord delights, and which is a token for good to the one who possesses it. L

CHAPTER 3 THE PROPHET'S SUFFERING AND DISTRESS This chapter is intensely personal. None but Jeremiah could have written these wonderful expressions of sorrow, the sorrows of the people of God into which he entered so fully, in such a way that they become his own. He shared all their afflictions, bore them himself and then was hated by them. It was the Spirit of Christ who created these feelings in the heart of the prophet. In reading these words of deep distress and the words of faith and waiting for Him, we must look beyond Jeremiah and see a picture of our Lord, “the Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” His sorrow and His afflictions, the emotions of His holy soul, as well as the experiences and soul exercise of the believing remnant of Israel in days to come. The prophet speaks of himself as one who is smitten by the rod of God's wrath, the man that hath seen affliction. He had...

LAMENTATIONS 3. THE THIRD LAMENT. Here it is the singer that comes chiefly to the front; whereas in Lamentations 3:1 it had been Zion, and in Lamentations 3:2 it was Yahweh. EV hardly puts Lamentations 3:1 forcibly enough: it should read, It is I, even I the strong man, who know now, alas, what abasement means. The chant is artistically more clever than Lamentations 3:1 and Lamentations 3:2, but its heart is not so great. In form it has a cunning device all its own; for the first stanza has three initial Alephs, the second h

THY NAME. Thee, or Thy attributes. See note on Psalms 20:1....