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Don’t leave me to the mercy of my enemies,
    for I have done what is just and right.
¹²² Please guarantee a blessing for me.
    Don’t let the arrogant oppress me!
¹²³ My eyes strain to see your rescue,
    to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.
¹²⁴ I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love,
    and teach me your decrees.
¹²⁵ Give discernment to me, your servant;
    then I will understand your laws.
¹²⁶ Lord, it is time for you to act,
    for these evil people have violated your instructions.
¹²⁷ Truly, I love your commands
    more than gold, even the finest gold.
¹²⁸ Each of your commandments is right.
    That is why I hate every false way. (New Living Translation).

The love this man has for God’s Word; his valuing it (127), and deep concern over its violation (126) are evident for all to read. So also, is his eager, energetic, expectant longing for God’s promises to be fulfilled (123). He has a form of holy and healthy ‘eye strain’ as he looks for what God has said to come to pass. Clearly, ‘standing on the promises of God’ is not a passive thing.

I often think about something I read many years ago in an inspiring biography of George Mueller of Bristol. It was said that he developed a way of praying that was rather like a lawyer, in a court of law, arguing a case. Reverently but boldly, he would lay claim to God’s answers on the basis of His own Word. He knew His Bible so well.

This is an inspiring quote from the George Muller,org website. Let it inspire you to pray on in faith:

In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without a single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land, on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day, I continued to pray for them, and six years passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remained unconverted.
​
Thirty-six years later he wrote that the other two, sons of one of Mueller’s friends, were still not converted. He wrote, “But I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. They are not converted yet, but they will be.” In 1897, fifty-two years after he began to pray daily, without interruption, for these two men, they were finally converted—but after he died! Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced a parable Jesus told about prayer, saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Final Remarks

¹² As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³ Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. ¹⁴ Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

¹⁵ Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

As we have seen, there is a major emphasis in this letter on Christians being called to good works. It comes up repeatedly in chapter three, as you can see from the highlighted verses. We are definitely not saved by good deeds (5a), but we are saved for them. However, what makes ‘the good life’ possible? It is the bountiful gift of the Holy Spirit (5b,6). (Note that at its heart conversion is a bath and a bestowal – a generous outpouring – of the Spirit of God.) So, the goodness of a believer flows outwards from a regenerated heart. The newness begins on the inside but is exhibited on the outside.

God never asks us to do anything that He does not also enable and empower.

F.B.Meyer points out that the word translated ‘good’ may also be rendered beautiful. He writes;

‘It is better to live a holy life than be a successful disputant. The best proof of orthodoxy is a Christlike life.’ (‘Devotional Commentary’. p.592).

³¹ For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.
³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

³⁴ To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
³⁵ to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,
³⁶ to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?

³⁷ Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
³⁸ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
³⁹ Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?

Whenever we read about God’s judgment in the Bible (and we do often; especially, though not exclusively, in the Old Testament prophetic books) we need to remember at least two things:

1. We are all guilty before God and deserve His punishment (39);
2. God does not willingly bring chastisement upon anyone (33).

The Cross supremely demonstrates God’s attitude to His own judgment. He substituted Himself – in Christ – in the place of those of us who deserve it. He willingly took our punishment so that we can go free, if only we will repent of our sins and place our full confidence in Jesus alone to save us.

As ever, John Stott has expressed this doctrine so clearly and succinctly:

‘The concept of substitution may be said to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.’ (From ‘The Cross of Christ’).

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence,
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
²⁹ Let him bury his face in the dust—
    there may yet be hope.
³⁰ Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
    and let him be filled with disgrace.

³¹ For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.
³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

³⁴ To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
³⁵ to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,
³⁶ to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?

³⁷ Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
³⁸ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
³⁹ Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?

With regard to the above passage, Warren Wiersbe says:

‘As I wrote this section of our study, I occasionally glanced at a picture on a nearby bookcase. It’s a reproduction of Rembrandt’s painting ”Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem,” which Rembrandt painted in 1630. It depicts a sad old man, seated on a rock, a copy of the Scriptures on his left and behind him on his right a scene of people fleeing a burning city. If I weren’t a Christian believer, the painting would discourage me, but I see in it the truths Jeremiah shared in verses 19-39. Like the prophet, we must live a day at a time and each morning draw upon a new supply of God’s mercy. No matter what the Enemy says to to us, we must remind ourselves that ”the Lord is good” and He is never closer to us than when He chastens us.’ (OT Commentary, p.1271)

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

The words of Jeremiah may well reflect his time in the dungeon. Even there, a change of mind changed everything. After writing yesterday’s piece, I found three highly relevant quotes in my journal from 2nd December last year, and I felt I couldn’t move on without sharing them:

‘A Christian should be joyful, if he’s not, the devil is tempting him.’ Martin Luther.

‘Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.’ Henri Nouwen.

‘Redirection: When thoughts come about how bad your life is, or hard your life is, or unfair your life is – and those thoughts come a lot! – you redirect your mind, which is best described as directed attention, to what you are grateful for.’ John Mark Comer.

I am the man who has seen affliction
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
² He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness rather than light;
³ indeed, he has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

⁴ He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
    and has broken my bones.
⁵ He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness and hardship.
⁶ He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.

⁷ He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
    he has weighed me down with chains.
⁸ Even when I call out or cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.
⁹ He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰ Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion in hiding,
¹¹ he dragged me from the path and mangled me
    and left me without help.
¹² He drew his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

¹³ He pierced my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.
¹⁴ I became the laughingstock of all my people;
    they mock me in song all day long.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.

¹⁶ He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
¹⁷ I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸ So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

For many years, in churches across our land, we have sung the beautiful worship song: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases’. But we have no doubt rarely considered the context in which these verses are found in ‘Lamentations.’ Up to verse 21ff, the mood of the chapter is one of deep gloom. Jeremiah had (prophetically) foreseen the judgment to fall on Judah; and then he had seen it at close hand – all of the death and destruction. He felt like a man whose prayers were not answered (8,9).

In verses 19,20 I note that what we focus on affects our emotions and attitudes. ”For as he thinks within himself, so he is’ (Prov.23:7).

But I also observe that in the middle of dire circumstances:

• Jeremiah chooses to remember differently (21-23). Everything in the chapter turns on the little word ”Yet.” When he thought about negative things it did not do him any good. But then he decided to remember the truth about God;
• Jeremiah decides to adopt a one day at a time perspective: ”They are new every morning” (23a);
• Jeremiah preaches to himself (24-27). He counsels himself. As the psalmist often does, he speaks to his own soul.

What are you fixating on today that is ruinous to your mental, emotional and spiritual health? What truth do you need to speak into your own soul – and believe?!!