A Prayer in Pain

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

How many of you have ever heard a sermon series on the book of Lamentations?

How many of you have ever heard even one sermon from the book of Lamentations? My guess is that if you have it probably came from the middle part of chapter 3 and not from the rest of the book.

How many of you even know there is a book called Lamentations in the Bible?

There are a number of reasons that Lamentations isn’t real popular with most Pastors:

First, it’s in the Old Testament, and a lot of pastors just don’t spend a lot of time preaching from the Old Testament.

Second, the book is not an easy one to understand. It doesn’t unfold in a nice linear, logical way and it doesn’t give us any easy answers. As we’ll see, it reaches its high point in the middle of chapter 3 and then reverts back to the sorrow that runs throughout the first part of the book without really coming to any resolution.

Tension

So you’re probably wondering why we’re going to be spending the next five weeks studying this book. As we’ll see in just a moment, there are actually quite a few parallels between the life of the Jewish people as they lived in exile over 2, 600 years ago and some of the issues that Christians face in today’s culture.

The book also introduces us to one of the tools that God has given to us to deal with that culture - lament. It’s very likely that even if you’re familiar with that term, you probably don’t really understand the concept of Biblical lament. And that’s not totally your fault. I think that many of us, and I’m including myself here, haven’t taken the time to study biblical lament. And for the most part the church has been negligent in teaching more about it to at least some extent.

That’s why we deliberately chose to preach this series this year. I am excited about what we can learn together about how to utilize the process of lament in our lives. But I must warn you up front that it’s possible that once you learn more about lament, it will be an idea that makes you a bit uncomfortable. But I think that most of us probably need to get outside of our comfort zone more often. But if you’ll stick with us and work on applying this concept personally in your own life and join us as we do that corporately, I am convinced it will help all of us live more hopeful lives.

Truth

Let’s begin with a little background.

After the reign of King Solomon, the commonwealth of Israel was split in two. The northern kingdom of Israel consisted of ten of the twelve tribes. They were constantly ruled over by evil kings and as a result they were conquered by Assyria in 722 BC and dispersed among the surrounding nations.

The southern kingdom of Judah consisted of two tribes and was governed by both faithful and evil kings during their history. But after a series of evil kings ruled, Judah was taken into exile by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The book of Lamentations was likely written shortly after that. It is a book that expresses deep sorrow from a people that have been taken from their homes and forced to live in a culture that is completely foreign to them.

That is essentially the same position we find ourselves in as Christians in today’s culture. While we might not always think of it in this way, those of us who are disciples of Christ are living as exiles in this world. The apostle Paul makes that quite clear in his letter to the church in Philippi:

Philippians 3:20 ESV

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

While we physically live here on earth, our real citizenship is in heaven. So it’s not surprising that as we live out our lives in a culture that is largely antagonistic toward Jesus and His followers, we often live with the same kind of sorrow that the people of Judah experienced while living in Babylon

Although the author of the book is not identified, tradition attributes authorship to the prophet Jeremiah, which is why it is placed right after the book of Jeremiah in our Bibles.

The book consists of five poems that have an interesting structure:

Chapters 1-2 - Acrostic poem with each line/verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Chapter 3 - Also an acrostic poem, but with three lines for each successive letter = 66 lines/verses.

Chapter 4 - Same as chapters 1-2

Chapter 5 - 22 lines but not an acrostic

Before I read the first chapter that we will be studying today, I’m going to give you a definition of lament and also provide you with the four key elements of lament. I would love to take credit for this, but I’ve actually taken it from a book I read last year:

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, by Mark Vroegop

That book has been instrumental to me in learning more about biblical lament. Over the next five weeks, we can’t possibly teach everything there is to know about lament. So my prayer is that we’ll at least whet your appetite enough that you’ll want to do some further study on your own. And if you do, that book is a fantastic resource.

Here’s the definition of lament we’re going to use this morning:

A lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.

Hopefully you’ll come to understand this better as we progress that through Lamentations, but for now, let me point out a couple important aspects of this kind of lament:

Lament is not about trying to get God to change our circumstances. It is certainly true that in our prayer of lament, we may ask God to do that, but it is not the main purpose or focus of our prayer.

Lament is a tool that helps us live through suffering based on what we know to be true rather than on what we see or feel. Many prayers of lament will begin with feelings and observations. We’ll see that this morning. But the end goal of lament is to move us beyond that so that we can focus on what we know to be true, especially about the character of God.

I know we’re taking quite a bit of time to set the stage here, but I think you’ll see that it will be well worth it here shortly. One more important piece of information then I promise we’ll get to the text.

FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF LAMENT

For now I’m just going to mention each of these, but don’t worry if you don’t have time to write everything down because we’ll come back to them later.

Turn to God in prayer

Bring my complaints

Ask boldly

Choose to trust

As we’ll see in the book of Lamentations, these don’t always occur in a linear or chronological order. Like we’ve seen in the past, Hebrew poetry often is more circular than linear or logical and the process of lament is also often like that.

I wanted to give you these elements up front to help you recognize them as we make our way through the book.

In this first chapter, the lament is focused on Jerusalem, which is also called “Zion” and “the daughter of Zion”. The first half describes the downfall of Jerusalem primary in the third person. You can follow along as I read those first 11 verses:

Lamentations 1:1–11 ESV

1 How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. 2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. 3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4 The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly. 5 Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. 6 From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer. 7 Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall. 8 Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away. 9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!” 10 The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation. 11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. “Look, O Lord, and see, for I am despised.”

You’ll notice that at the end of verse 11, the lament changes to the first person as Jerusalem is personified as a grieving widow.

I’ll go ahead and read those last 11 verses:

Lamentations 1:12–22 ESV

12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger. 13 “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long. 14 “My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand. 15 “The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. 16 “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.” 17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them. 18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity. 19 “I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength. 20 “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death. 21 “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am. 22 “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”

With just a few changes, this lament could easily be the kind of lament that any of us could write about living in today’s culture right here in Tucson, Arizona, couldn’t it? We look around at the depravity and violence and injustice that surrounds us and we mourn and we get angry. But how do we harness that sorrow and anger in a way that gives us hope in the midst of the society we live in? Fortunately there is much we can learn about how to do that from this chapter.

Application

In order to help us better understand how to make a productive use of lament in our lives, we’re going to see how the four key elements of lament are present in this passage and then we’re going to take a few minutes to apply what we’ve learned.

FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF LAMENT

Turn to God in prayer

When faced with the exile of his people, the author of Lamentations, whoever that is, turns to God first. He doesn’t try to change the circumstances through politics or military might. He doesn’t argue with people on social media or organize a protest.

I’m not saying that there isn’t a place or time to take action against the injustice in our culture. But what I am saying is that we shouldn’t do that until we first go to God in prayer. One of the primary purposes of lament is to take the time to get God’s perspective on things and that doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and patience, something that a lot of us, including me, aren’t always good at. So, far too often we just act on our own and ask God to bless what we’re doing. Lament is an antidote to that kind of self-centered behavior.

Bring my complaints

This element certainly permeates the entire chapter, and, as we’ll see, the entire book.

Let’s face it, most of us are pretty good at complaining aren’t we? But I think we’re often afraid to take those complaints directly to God. But I’ve got news for you. God already knows what you’re thinking. And He is more than big enough to handle those complaints. So you might as well be honest with Him.

But there are a couple important things to note about how the complaints are brought before God:

The most notable thing to me is that the author takes responsibility for Judah’s sin that has resulted in their current condition. There is no attempt to blame God or others.

The second thing to note is that the author acknowledges the sovereignty of God. At least six times in this chapter, he describes the actions that the Lord has taken in response to the sins of Judah. This all comes together in verse 18:

Lamentations 1:18 ESV

18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word...

Not only does the author acknowledge that God is in control of this entire situation, He also confirms that God is right to do all of this.

One more thing before we leave this element. Lament can be both personal and corporate, but in either case, it is to be carried out within the community of God’s people. Today that is the church. Lament is not a license to go around complaining publicly about the things that are wrong in the world around us. I think by now, most of us have figured out that really doesn’t accomplish a lot.

Ask boldly (vv. 9, 11, 20)

Three times in this chapter the author prays directly to God. And those prayers are quite surprising. All three prayers essentially call on God to look upon His people and see their distress.

I think that what we don’t find in those prayers may very well be just as instructive as what is there.

There is no call for God to change their circumstances. There is no prayer for God to take them back home to Judah. There is no prayer for military victory over the Babylonians.

I think the Jewish people are genuinely humbled. They understand they are where there are because of their own sin and they certainly don’t deserve for God to rescue them. But by asking God to look upon their misery, they are implicitly asking God to act in accordance with His character - whatever that might be.

I’m certainly not saying it’s wrong to ask God to change our circumstances. Sometimes that is appropriate. But what I am saying is that one of the main purposes of lament is to get our thoughts and our mindset aligned with God’s. And we don’t do that by trying to impose our ideas and solutions on Him.

Choose to trust

I love how Mark Vroegop defined trust in his book:

Trust is believing what you know to be true even though the facts of suffering might call that belief into question.

We get just a glimpse of this element in this first chapter, primarily in verse 22:

Lamentations 1:22 ESV

22 “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”

In the midst of great suffering that was unlikely to come to an end anytime soon, the author is content to just let God be God. He trusts that at the appropriate time, God will deal with Judah’s oppressors in the way that He sees fit.

Trusting in God is the ultimate goal of lament. Lament rarely offers us an immediate solution to our pain and grief. But it brings hope because it leads us to trust in who God is even when, at least from an earthly perspective, the future doesn’t seem very bright.

I am so glad that we have five weeks to devote to this concept of lament, because this morning I’ve only scratched the surface. Hopefully I’ve left you wanting to learn more. So I’m going to bring this to a close and give you a few minutes to practice what we’ve learned today.

Action

Earlier we gave this definition of lament:

A lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.

We’re going to spend a few moments doing that right now. I want you to pick out one thing about our culture that you find very troubling as a disciple of Jesus - something that causes hurt and pain. Perhaps it’s the millions of unborn children who have been aborted in our country. Maybe it’s the sexual immorality that is celebrated and shoved in our faces. Maybe it’s the people starving in Gaza. Maybe it’s the senseless violence that takes innocent lives every day. It shouldn’t be hard to come up with something.

Then go ahead and apply the four elements we’ve learned today. I’ll leave the four elements on the screen in case you need a refresher:

FOUR KEY ELEMENTS OF LAMENT

Turn to God in prayer

Bring my complaints

Ask boldly

Choose to trust

Inspiration

In Mark Voegrop’s book he writes these important words:

Think of lament as the transition between pain and promise.

Perhaps the most important word here is “transition”. Lament is not a place for us to stay and wallow. Although the process can certainly take some time, it should be viewed as a temporary place we go so that we can get to the final destination - Jesus. He is the one who has promised to walk with us and sustain us in the difficulties of life. And He is the one who suffered and died and rose from the dead in order to provide us with the hope of a glorious eternal future with Him.