Thy Strong Word — Lamentations 3:1-24: The Lord Will Not Cast Off Forever

This chapter is a deeply personal and poignant narrative set against the backdrop of Jerusalem’s destruction. In this episode, we’ll be covering the first 24 verses. It contrasts starkly with other chapters by focusing on individual suffering and endurance. The speaker vividly describes intense personal afflictions, symbolizing the experience of God’s wrath. Yet, amidst this despair, the chapter shifts to themes of hope and faith, highlighting God’s enduring mercies and faithfulness.

Rev. Tyler Hauptmeier, Pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Doniphan, NE, joins host the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Lamentations 3:1-24.

Embark on a journey through the Book of Lamentations, a deeply moving poetic reflection on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This book is a profound expression of grief, portraying the desolation of a city and a people who have experienced immense suffering. Each chapter brings its unique perspective, from the vivid portrayal of Jerusalem as a lonely, grieving widow to the poignant pleas for mercy and reflection on the unyielding justice of God. The imagery is stark and emotive, encapsulating the pain of exile and the consequences of turning away from God. Yet, amidst the mourning, Lamentations also offers glimmers of hope and the possibility of redemption. It’s a powerful exploration of human sorrow, divine justice, and the enduring faithfulness of God, even in the darkest of times.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Lamentations 3:1-24

Great Is Your Faithfulness

3 I am the man who has seen affliction
    under the rod of his wrath;
²he has driven and brought me
    into darkness without any light;
³surely against me he turns his hand
    again and again the whole day long.

⁴He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
    he has broken my bones;
⁵he has besieged and enveloped me
    with bitterness and tribulation;
⁶he has made me dwell in darkness
    like the dead of long ago.

⁷He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
    he has made my chains heavy;
⁸though I call and cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer;
⁹he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
    he has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰He is a bear lying in wait for me,
    a lion in hiding;
¹¹he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;
    he has made me desolate;
¹²he bent his bow and set me
    as a target for his arrow.

¹³He drove into my kidneys
    the arrows of his quiver;
¹⁴I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
    the object of their taunts all day long.
¹⁵He has filled me with bitterness;
    he has sated me with wormwood.

¹⁶He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
    and made me cower in ashes;
¹⁷my soul is bereft of peace;
    I have forgotten what happiness^[a] is;
¹⁸so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the Lord.”

¹⁹Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
²¹But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

²²The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[b]
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Lamentations 3:17 Hebrew good
Lamentations 3:22 Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Because of the steadfast love of the Lord, we are not cut off

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.