Lamentations 3:39-51

Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins? Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord. We lift up our heart and hands toward God in heaven; we have transgressed and rebelled, You have not pardoned. You have covered Yourself with anger and pursued us; You have slain and have not spared. You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us mere offscouring and refuse in the midst of the peoples. All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. Panic and pitfall have befallen us, devastation and destruction; my eyes run down with streams of water because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.^[1]

Most people know the difference between right and wrong, especially people who lay claim to being part of the blood bought, blood washed body of Christ. It seems inconceivable to Jeremiah that anyone would complain when on the receiving end of God’s retribution. Yet, just as in the day when Jeremiah wrote, people today still claim ignorance when it comes to how they have sinned against God. Instead of taking responsibility for the things we have done, or even have left undone, we blame external factors, even giving the enemy of our souls’ power that he does not have and does not belong to him. The truth of the matter is that we are more often than not our own worst enemy.

It is a sad state of affairs when the people of God make excuses for their sin rather than owning up to it. The body of Christ would be much better off if she would confess her sin and be reconciled to God. That is the plain no nonsense advise of Jeremiah here, “Let us examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord.” It would seem to be unquestionably the proper thing to do and yet repentance remains elusive, which makes Jeremiah, the weeping prophet shed copious tears of pain. One has to wonder how much is finally enough for people to turn back to the Lord in humble contrition. What is it going to take before the Church of the Living God decides enough is enough and turns from its wicked ways? Let us pray that the Church will awaken from its slumber before it is too late, and like in the days of Jeremiah the country lay in ruins.

Hear our humble cry, O Lord. We have sinned and done wrong against You. We have sought after our own good. We have run after idols, worshiping our wealth, our intellect, our innovation, even our distractions. We have not honored You as we should. We have not loved You or our neighbor as we should. We have been carried away by sin’s allure. We have ignored the signs of the times and behaved as if our status gave us license to do as we pleased. Have mercy on us, O Lord and incline our hearts to keep Your Law. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), La 3:39–51.