Restore Us, O Lord

We have spent our summer talking about Lament …

I'm sure that previously Lamentations would not have been on your top 10 books in the canon of Scripture, for some maybe even a book you’ve never read on purpose.

This series, frankly, has been surprising to me.  I approached this study with a bit of apprehension because I knew how dark and foreboding these chapters were.  Yet, somehow the Holy Spirit has helped us, taught us some important things, and given us a biblical “place” to be when life is filled with pain.

This series has been heavy, and I have been so encouraged by how you’ve listened and stuck with it. 

I don’t know when or if we’ll ever be back to Lamentations.  So let me just remind you how special it is to study the Word together every week.  You are a special people, and I’m grateful that you listen so intently.  It is a great honor to teach you the Bible week after week.

The Value of Lamentations

We began this series with some key reasons for studying this book.  Let me remind you what they were:

Pain is inevitable, and I want you to be prepared.

Pain creates strong and scary emotions, and I want you to know what to do with them.

Sometimes pain does not go away quickly, and I wanted you to see:

Lament is not just a path to worship but a path of Worship

Lamenting well provides a great opportunity for evangelism as Christians interpret pain, what lies underneath it, and the ultimate resolution.

I hope that you have discovered a new category for how to deal with the sufferings and difficulties that you will face in your life.  I hope you have new language that you can use.  I hope you have new kinds of prayers that you can pray and that you are better equipped to help someone when they walk through a season of hardship due to their own sinfulness, the sinfulness of the world, or someone else’s sinfulness.

I hope that you have learned the language of lament, and I hope that it has caused some of you to become a Christian or to know how to be a Christian in pain or where to take your sorrow over the brokenness of the world.

What have we learned together this summer?

Here are some big ideas from the sermons this summer:

1) To cry is human, but to lament in Christian

2) Lament is not linear

3) Grace is only amazing because judgment is real

4) Hope springs from truth rehearsed

5)To lament is not to be faithless

6) Waiting is not a waste

7) Brokenness leads to mercy

I really hope that the subject of lament, the book of Lamentations, and the Lament Psalms will continue to be a special place for you when difficulties or hardships comes. What’s more, these are very interesting times from a cultural standpoint, and I hope this book has given you a place to go when you are anxious, fearful, or even angry.  I hope that you have a new category in your soul.

Now you might wonder what is next. 

Next Sunday Kendall is going to creatively offer us the opportunity to Lament … share our grief, victory … sing, pray, to listen, to weep, to laugh … ultimately he will point us to the One we can bring all of us to … the parts we show to the world and the parts that feel private and quiet and personal … I hope you will join us.

And then back to school Sunday - Aug 14th - start our new series in 1 Peter called Becoming … if anyone understood the active transformation that takes place when following Jesus it was Peter … one of Jesus’ best friends, an apostle, and a guy most famous for getting it wrong, before getting it right … so we are going to spend the fall looking at his letter to the church ...

let’s take a look at lamentations - open your phone, bible … let’s read this together … if you have the ESV feel free to read along … aloud

Lamentations 5:1

1Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!

2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.

3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. 4 We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought.

5 Our pursuers are at our necks; we are weary; we are given no rest.

6 We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to get bread enough.

7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.

8 Slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand.

9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.

11 Women are raped in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah.

12 Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders.

13 Young men are compelled to grind at the mill, and boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 The old men have left the city gate, the young men their music.

15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!

17 For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim,

18 for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it.

19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.

20 Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?

21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—

22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.

The Prayers of Lamentations 5

This last chapter of the book of Lamentation is different than the other four.  It contains familiar themes about the devastation of the people of Israel, but it is unique.  For example, while there are twenty-two verses, they do not follow the pattern of using the Hebrew alphabet as an acrostic.  The verses are much shorter, and they are staccato-like in their wording.  There is a higher concentration of prayerful statements or requests in chapter five.  And it is the most request-oriented chapter in the book.

The fifth chapter is designed to be the conclusion to the book, and it offers the prayerful longing for God to bring about some level of restoration. It ends with three prayers seeking God’s help and deliverance with uncertainty as to when or how, or even if, the Lord will answer favorably.   

We see this in three places:

“Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us . . .” (5:1)

“But you, O Lord, reign forever . . . ” (5:19)“

Restore us to yourself, O Lord . . .” (5:21)

What do these three prayers have in common?

I think those three prayers are connected to the use of “O, Lord.”

You could think of these verses as saying something like “Don’t forget our pain!”, “But you still reign!”, and “We need you desperately.”  It seems to me that those three statements really serve as a great summary of this book and its message.  So let’s unpack each of them, and then connect all of this to the gospel.

“Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us . . .” (vv 1-18)

The first word of chapter five is as important thematically as the first words of chapters 1, 2, and 4. Those earlier chapters began with the word “How,” which was meant to communicate an element of shock and outrage at what has happened. 

Chapter five, as you will see in a moment, has the same level of outrage, but the context for it is different here.  In this chapter the expression of outrage has turned to a heart-felt prayer for God to remember what has happened to them.

The word “remember” is very important when it comes to God’s relationship with His people.  It captures the essence of God’s grace to His people in how He keeps His covenant with them. 

Here are a few examples:

After the judgment of God in the Flood, Genesis 8:1 says that “God remembered Noah . . .”

In Genesis 9 when God promises to never destroy mankind in a flood again, He said “I will remember my covenant that is between me and you . . . when the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant . . .” (Gen. 9:15-16).

When the Israelites sinned with the golden calf, Moses pleaded with the Lord to be merciful by remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deut. 9:27).

David cried out to the Lord for mercy in Psalm 25: 6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! (Psalm 25:6–7)

The appeal for God to remember in Lamentations 5 is for God to do more than not forget.  The request is for God to deliver His people in light of their disgrace. 

The judgment of God has made them recongize their need and long for God’s help

 Their pain has turned them to God, asking Him to remember. 

To ask God to remember is to both acknowledge the pain of what has happened and to look to God for help. 

“Remember” is a great word in lament.  It is a prayerful, faith-filled word for hurting people.

Pain can feel like “one thing after another.”  What we find in these verses is a rapid-fire summary of what the previous four chapters detailed. 

Pick one word for each verse - summarize the hurt/pain/judgment

Let’s look at them quickly.

Invaded (v 2) – their homes and their country were overrun by a foreign nation.

Abandoned (v 3) – like an orphan child or a widow after the death of her husband, the nation was alone.

Economically depressed (v 4) – the economic situation in Israel was terrible and unrelenting.

Exhausted (v 5) – the constant reality of destruction left them weary and with no rest.

Dependent (v 6) – the nation had unsuccessfully and unwisely relied on other nations.

Disciplined (v 7) – they were bearing the consequences of their nation’s rebellion.

Societal upheaval (v 8) – their society had been completely upended.

Desperate (v 9) – survival – getting bread – came with the constant threat of danger.

Sickened (v 10) – hunger and dehydration were taking their toll on the people.

Assaulted (v 11) – their women were victimized.

Dishonored (v 12) – their princes and their elders were disrespected, and their positions were not honored.

Oppressed (v 13) – the people were subjected to forced labor.

Mourning (v 14-15) – their music had ceased because they had no reason to rejoice anymore.

Ashamed (v 16) – they had fallen from their prominent position because of their sins.

Grieved (v 17) – Israel was dealing with the sorrows of their condition.

Devastated (v 18) – the nation was desolate, such that wild animals had invaded the ruins.

Do you see how the word “disgraced” fits so well here?  Everywhere the people looked, there was nothing but destruction.  Every aspect of the nation had been affected.  Everything was ruined.  The nation’s only hope was that God had not forgotten about their plight.  They were staking their claim of hope in God’s promise to “remember.”

It is a great hope and a great promise that God sees and knows our tossings and our tears.  He has not forgotten.  He has not abandoned His people.  He is not against them.  And chapter five reminds us that there is something enormously comforting about knowing that God knows.

“But you, O Lord, reign forever . . .” (5:19)

This is the second prayer connected to the words “O Lord” in chapter five, and its focus is upon the sovereign rule of God over all things, which is really important in light of the description of disaster that is found in verses 1-18. 

The circumstances of life have a narrative to them - you might be tempted to draw the conclusion that life is totally out of control, or worse, that God is not ultimately in control.

Verse 19 is short, but it is very important.  It acknowledges that there is a bigger reality than the suffering and the destruction of the city of Jerusalem.  Verse 19 is acknowledging God’s supremacy over everything, including pain.  It recognizes that the center of the universe is the throne of God.

the “But” statement is a faith statement about who is really in control of all circumstances.  In other words, what you believe about God’s sovereignty and His supremacy really, really matters when life becomes difficult.

What is a reaon that the soveriegnty of God is so important in suffering?

a) reasons that the sovereignty of God is so important to me, and one of the reasons why it should be important to you, is because without it, suffering is intolerable, pointless, and hopeless.

God’s sovereignty doesn’t answer all of our questions – just look verse 20:  “Why do you forget us forever?” (Lam. 5:20). But the presence of hard questions does not negate the reality and the hope of God’s rule over all things.

Is there anything going on in your life today for which you need to pray, “But you, O Lord, reign forever!”?

Do you find yourself abandoned, depressed, exhausted, desperate, assaulted, oppressed, ashamed, grieved, or devastated?  Has your life or some part of it been leveled recently?  Are you wondering internally or out loud, “

Why do you forsake me for so many days?”  If so, I would suggest to you that it would be good for you to join Jeremiah in saying, “But you, O Lord, reign forever.” 

Fill in this blank:  “God, I’m ______________, but you reign forever!” 

Oh, how beautiful it is to rest in God’s reign even when your city, your nation, your family, or your life has been leveled.

“Restore us to yourself, O Lord . . .” (5:21)

The final and closing prayer of Lamentations is an appeal for restoration.  The word “restore” means to turn back or to cause to return back to a better position or state.  It is the promise that God would bring His people back from their destruction.  The word is so important that it is used twice in verse 21.  The people desperately needed restoration.

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon to encourage them to keep following after the Lord.  Jeremiah 29 records the message and the hope that was offered to them:

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jeremiah 29:10–14)

The hope for the people of Israel was that God would one day bring them back to their land and that He would restore their former glory.  But this desire is much more than just a longing for the glory days of David or Solomon or Hezekiah.  The restoration of the people of God was primarily about their restoration to God.

You see, more than the loss of the temple, the city, or their identity, the greatest loss was the presence and the blessing of God.  That is why Jeremiah 29 talks about seeking the Lord and the people of God finding the Lord again. 

Their devastation and their loss was designed to awaken their hearts to the greater problem of their sin and their greater need for spiritual restoration. 

The destruction of the city and temple was orchestrated by God in order to help the people of God realize how far they had fallen and to produce repentance in them.

God delivered them over to their enemies in order to rescue them from themselves.  God had humbled them.  He had leveled them.  He had kicked out every crutch that they had trusted in so that they were desperate.  That is why I think the book ends with verse 22.

22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. (Lamentations 5:22)

As best I can tell, the book ends with this kind of tone because 1) the people have been exceedingly humbled and 2) they do not know the full story of God’s plans. 

I do not think that they are questioning God’s eventual restoration.  The book of Jeremiah promises that restoration frequently.  Instead, I think that you find this kind of tone here because the weight of discipline has brought them to a point where even their asking for restoration sounds different.

Note the value of suffering, whether it is innocent or deserved:  It changes you deeply. 

And this is what I hope that Lamentations has done in part for you.  I hope that it has changed how you see yourself, the world, the presence of sin, and the brokenness of the culture. 

In what ways does lament change how we see God?

I hope it has changed how you see the glory of God, His holiness, and His sovereignty over all things.

Reading a lament or living a lament tunes your heart such that you seek the Lord differently.  Lament causes you to look at the circumstances of your life differently – so differently, in fact, that you know it is the Lord who is doing it in you.  Lament calls you to see the world through a different lens. 

The End of Lament

This bring us to the end of this series, the end of Lamentations, and the conclusion of our study of lament.  But before we say goodbye to this book, I want to remind you that the same prophet who recorded the dark words of Lamentations also heralded that there would be day coming when God would deal once and for all with the problem under the problem of Jerusalem’s destruction.

Listen to the hopeful words of the prophet Jeremiah as he talked about the coming New Covenant through the Messiah who we know to be Jesus:

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ....... 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV)

How does the gospel relate to lament?  Through Christ, the problem underneath every problem, our sin, was dealt with such that the New Covenant has been inaugurated.  Christ’s death brought the end of condemnation, judgment, and God’s wrath.  Christ’s death and resurrection made it possible for us to be born again and for Christ’s Spirit to dwell in us.  So while we still live in a broken world, we look forward to the promise in God’s word that one day all lamenting will cease.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:3–4 (ESV)

To cry is human, but to lament is Christian -- but not forever.  Jesus bought our restoration, and one day soon, He will bring an end to our lament!  Even so come, Lord Jesus!