When one considers all the sorrows, stresses, and fears that seem to surround us. So many masses distraught by their circumstances. Famines, wars, rumors of war, pestilence, violence, and the constant noise of evil pressing in from every side. What is one to do? I become sometimes overwhelmed by the masses living their lives in quiet desperation. If only I could tell them the truth. The good news of the gospel. Jesus is everything their heart desires. If only they could hear me. But alas, who am I to speak out and who will listen. As this world plunges forward into darkness, who will listen to this my cry of hope? As I pondered these thoughts, I remembered Jeremiah. His words inspired this poem which I have titled the Jeremiah’s song.
God called Jeremiah to leave his beloved fiancé and his family to go out and proclaim the truth of God’s word to a nation who did not want to hear truth. They preferred the lies of their own making. Much like our world today. God told Jeremiah, no one will listen; but keep on preaching anyway. His family turned against him. He was beaten, jailed, spit on and mocked; yet, Jeremiah remained faithful. Then on that day when Jerusalem was burned to the ground around him (for he sat in a jail), he was spared that day. Escaping to Egypt where he was then stoned to death by his fellow Israelites who had escaped with him. But he wrote these words in Lamentations before his death. Let them ring deep into your heart today as they did mine.
Jeremiah’s Song: Lamentations 3:1-18—the sorrows surrounding
I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged my flesh and my skin,
And broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and [a]woe.
6 He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in [b]ambush.
11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent His bow
And set me up as a target for the arrow.
13 He has caused the [c]arrows of His quiver
To pierce my [d]loins.
14 I have become the ridicule of all my people—
Their taunting song all the day.
15 He has filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drink wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel,
And [e]covered me with ashes.
17 You have moved my soul far from peace;
I have forgotten [f]prosperity.
18 And I said, “My strength and my hope
Have perished from the Lord.”
Jeremiah’s Song- Lamentations 3: 19-26 God is Faithful
19 Remember my affliction and roaming,
The wormwood and the [g]gall.
20 My soul still remembers
And [h]sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
When Jeremiah remembers all his sorrows, he also remembers the mercies of God that carried him through each day. It was God’s love and grace that carried him through the toughest of times. The love of God was more important than any other pleasures this world could offer him.
Jeremiah’s Song: Lamentations 3: 27:41 The Magnitude of God’s Grace
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And be full of reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
33 For He does not afflict [i]willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under one’s feet
All the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the justice due a man
Before the face of the Most High,
36 Or subvert a man in his cause—
The Lord does not approve.
37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass,
When the Lord has not commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That woe and well-being proceed?
39 Why should a living man [j]complain,
A man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord;
41 Let us lift our hearts and hands
To God in heaven.
When one considers the truth of their own heart they will know the magnitude of grace God has shown. I do not DESERVE His grace; yet, He gave it to me anyway. What I deserved was the cross. My heart does not love with a purity of love, nor does my life shine forth perfect righteousness as is His. Yet, He loved me, died for me and paid the price of my sin. How could I ever moan or cry unfair? Instead, as I watch this world plunging itself into Hell’s Eternal fire, how can I not cry forth Jeremiah’s Song to all around me?
Jeremiah’s Song
Hope Eternal in Darkest of Night Screeching sounds of war all around Obscuring truth letting evil abound Desperation, sorrow, and tears Darkest of night, panic, and fears How do I hold on? How do I stand? While people are hurting all over the land Famine and illness, violence, and crime Worries of money, pressures of time. Yet this I remember and recall to mind He is my hope, His mercy so kind To even have looked on me with such grace The gentleness, kindness of His smiling face Redeemed me despite of my wretched heart That I might be saved, His heart to impart Oh, how can I have moaned or have shamefully cried Against God’s Only Son who was crucified He never said no, He bore all my shame With dignity, honor He then did proclaim Forgive them, Dear Father, I’ll take their place That is His beauty, His Mercy His Grace When screeching sounds of war surround Truth is obscured letting evil abound When desperation, sorrow, and tears Fill the darkest night with panic and fears I will not run and I will not fall Jesus my Savior my all in all He is my portion, He is my strength To finish this race, whatever length He is the hope to rise high above Soaring with joy because of His love Thank you, dear Jesus, You are the one That lifts up my heart and gives me a song. So, everyone, everywhere this is my plea Come to Jesus today, then you will see He is the hope that your heart desires The water of life that quenches all fires He’s waiting, dear friends, with arms open wide That you humbly bow to sit by His side. Repentant of sin, give Him your life He will be your strength overcoming life’s strife.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Photo licensed from Goodsalt.com