Let us turn again as I intimated
this morning to the verses we were considering earlier here
in Lamentations chapter 3 at verse 39 through 41. Turning
then to Lamentations 3 at verse 39 through 41. Wherefore doth
a living man complain the man for the punishment of
his sins. Let us search and try our ways
and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with
our hands unto God's in the heavens." We were trying to say something
then with regards to this man whom the Prophet speaks of as
the Living Man. Wherefore doth the Living Man
complying the margin says murmur a man for the punishment of his
sins so we thought a little of the living man's complaint we
considered why it is that he murmurs and complains and I said
then It's because there is spiritual life in the man's soul. That's
the principal reason. Not natural causes. Many might murmur at Providence,
but this is a man who is alive spiritually. It's a regenerated
soul. It's the experience, of course,
of the Prophet himself that is being described in the chapter.
He says at the opening verse I am the man I am the man that
hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath he is this living
man and I said that because there is spiritual life there will
therefore be a consciousness of his sinnership the fact that he is troubled
by his situation not just outwardly but the things that he feels
inwardly in the depth of his soul. He has new life, new life
from him we must receive before for sin we rightly grieve and
this man grieves over sins like the psalmist when he says I remembered
God and was troubled I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.
The psalmist speaks also of complaining, he's troubled at the very thought
of God, he knows that God is the Holy One, the Righteous One,
the Just One, thrice holy. Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy
Spirit, and this man has such a realization of what he is in
his fallen nature. He's that wretched man of whom
the Apostle speaks in Romans 7. The complaining man is the
wretched man. O wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? says the Apostle. We said then that he complains
because he has had awareness that realization of what he is is the sinner that is the sacred
sinner in the language of the hymn number 89. A sinner is a
sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so. All are dead
in trespasses and sins, but how few are aware of that. Sin is
of the creature, yes, but the sense, the realization that we're
sinners, that's the work of God in the soul, and this is that
living man. But then I said, It's not only
because of his consciousness of sinful self that he is a complaining
man, it's also because of chastenings. And that's certainly evident
from the second clause. Wherefore doth a living man complain?
A man, for the punishment of his sins, is chastened. And he doesn't like the chastening,
he doesn't like to experience the rods of God. And look at
the opening verse again, where he speaks of himself as the man
that has seen affliction by the rod, by the rod of God's wrath. The rod speaks, doesn't it, of
discipline, correction. And now the Lord does indeed
correct his people. No chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, says the Apostle. Nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them
that are exercised thereby. And here is a man who is surely
alive in his soul, he's exercised in his soul. And I said then
that we see that really in the words that follow verse 39. in a sense whilst we have him
speaking to himself a soliloquy there in verse 39 he answers
himself as well but in answering himself he exhorts us let us
search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord let us lift
up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens and so we
we considered something of this answer this threefold answer
really to the question that is put in verse 39. What is the
man to do? Well, there should be self-examination. Let us search and try ways. Examine yourselves. There is
a place for that, self-examination. Examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except you be reprobate
if Christ is in us all we want to know for sure that that is the case we
want that measure of assurance this was David's concern when
he says at the end of the 139th Psalm search me O God and know
my heart try me and know my thoughts and lead me in the way everlasting
that's what David wants he wants to be led of God he wants to
know himself and he might know the reality of God and the teachings
of God and so there is to be self-examination but then we
said there must also be that seeking of God that praying to
God let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord
there should be a turning to the Lord in the midst of those chastenings
to whom should we look? we're to turn to God yes, it's
good to examine ourselves but we don't continually pore over
self not to be those who are so introspective always looking
at self, always bemoaning what we are we need to turn away from
self and look to the Lord Jesus Christ Look to Jesus, kind and
strong, mercy joined with power. Looking on to Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. And we need to look and to look
again, and to look and to look again, and to look and to look
again, to be continually looking on to Jesus. Yes, self-examination,
but then that seeking spirit, that seeking after God, and then
we also said there must be sincerity. in all our religion or we're
not those who simply desire to have the externals, the appearance,
the form we want to know something of the reality, the power of
these things and so what does he say? in verse 41, let us lift
up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens we need
a heart religion that that is a real religion. The lifting
up of the hearts with the hands, that's the language of faith.
Isaiah says, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. With my spirit within me. It's
an inward thing. It's not bodily exercise. From
the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. says the Psalmist, lead me to
the rock that is higher than I. And these are some of the
things that we sought to set before you earlier today, but
as we come together for a little while this evening, I just want
to say something with regards to this man's confidence. We
concentrated really on his complaints, and the cause of it and the consequence
of it the consequence thankfully was a good but let's consider
more particularly what we see here of his confidence in his
God the living man's confidence in God and we we have it of course
here particularly in verses 40 and 41 turn again to the Lord Let us lift up our hearts with
our hands unto God in the heaven. And here we see the name that
he uses, the God that he turns to. He turns to the Lord, and
it's Jehovah. It's indicated, isn't it, by
the use of those capital letters. This is the great God, the I
AM, that I am the faithful God of the eternal covenant. And
as we consider this man's confidence in God, I divide what I'm going
to say into two parts. First of all, to say something
with regards to God's compassion. He's a compassionate God. What
a comfort that is. And then secondly, to say something
with regards to God's constancy. He is a constant God. He is who
I am. He is the never-changing One. But first of all is compassion
and we certainly see much of God's character in this chapter. It's a great chapter, wonderful
chapter of Holy Scripture. Some of the verses are familiar
I'm sure. Verse 22, it is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail
not thou knew every morning great is thy faithfulness here we see
something of his character do we not? his mercies his compassion
his faithfulness these are attributes of God again in verse 32 though
he cause grief yet will he have compassion according to the multitude
of his mercies. So we have this word compassion
being used in reference to God and it's an interesting word
when we study it when we look at what the word is there in
the original and the derivation of the word it's derived from
the Hebrew verb that simply means to be soft and to be gentle and
that's God That's the sort of God that we deal with, the God
of the Covenant. How He's a gentle God, how He's a God who takes account
of His people and is mindful of them in the midst of all their
trials and troubles. When we see God revealing Himself
as the Great I Am, you remember the context there, it's there
in Exodus chapter 3 of course, where he appears to Moses at
the burning bush and declares himself to be the Lord, to be
Jehovah. When Moses asks, who shall I
say has sent me, is to be the deliverer of Israel out of the
bondage that they're suffering under the Egyptians. Pharaoh is a hard taskmaster
to them. And Moses receives his commission,
his to go is to bring them out. And God's going to take them
into the wilderness and enter into covenant with these people
and make a nation of these people. But look at the context there,
because we see the context, as you know, when we ignore, as
it were, the chapter division and see what is being said at
the end of chapter 2. There in Exodus 2.23 it came
to pass in the process of time that the king of Egypt died and
the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and
they cried and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage and God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant
with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon
the children of Israel and God had respect unto them. And the margin tells us the Hebrew
word there, respect, is literally knew. God looked upon the children
of Israel and God knew them. Oh, He knew everything about
them. He knew all that they were enduring. And He remembers His
covenant, the covenant He made with those men, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. And here are their descendants,
but there they are, they're suffering greatly under the Egyptians,
but God is going to bring them out and make a great nation of
them, and enter into a covenant with them. And so God then subsequently
declares himself to Moses, doesn't he? Verse 7 of chapter 3, the
Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people,
which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, by reason of
their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Verse 14, God says to Moses,
I am that I am, and he said, Thou shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I am that sent me unto you. Here is the
covenant God, and He is clearly a covenant God. and then ultimately we know how
God reveals himself fully and finally in the person of his
only begotten son the Lord Jesus Christ he is the image of the
invisible God and what what compassion we see there in Christ when he
looks upon the multitudes look at the language in the gospel
in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and there at verse 36, when he
saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because
they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep, having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few, pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth
labourers into his harvest." All we see is the multitudes
and their scattered. In Isaiah we read that they're
peeled and scattered and they're fainting. How wearied they are and the
Lord looks upon them and what does he tell his disciples to
do? They are to pray the Lord of the harvest and then later
in chapter 12 of Matthew and we have a reference to the language of Isaiah 42 in relation
to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ verse 17 of Matthew 12 that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet
saying behold my servant whom I have chosen my beloved in whom
my soul is well pleased I will put my spirit upon him and he
shall show judgment to the Gentiles he shall not strive nor cry neither
shall any man hear his voice in the streets a bruised reed
shall he not break the smoking flax shall he not quench till
he hath sent forth judgment unto victory and in his name shall
the Gentiles truss." All this while you see he doesn't break
the bruised reed, he doesn't quench the smoking flax how tender
he is in all his ways, in all his dealings and this is the
revelation of God we see the wonder of the character of God
in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, says Paul.
He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. Now this high priest becomes
us. Such a high priest becomes us,
he says. He's suited to us. Because he's
touched. with our human infirmities. He's a real man. There are no
sinful infirmities here, but there are real human infirmities. He's an emotional man. He's a
man who can weep, and there are real tears that he weeps. He
grieves there at the grave of his friend Lazarus. Jesus wept. who can have compassion on the
ignorant and on them that are out of the way for that he himself
also is compassed with infirmity not sinful, there's nothing of
sin in this man this one who is the revealer of God all the
compassion as we see it's evidenced in the life of the Lord Jesus
Christ himself and what compassion it is, it never fails it never
fails it's interesting isn't it verse 22 it opens with three
words in italics and you know the significance have been introduced
in the translation they're not really there in the original
and we could in a sense read it a bit differently like this
for example the Lord's mercies are not consumed because his
compassions fail not all they knew every morning great
is thy faithfulness they're never failing these compassions he's
ever always whatever circumstance we find ourselves in however
great the trial might seem to be and sometimes it might tend
to be overwhelming us but here is one who feels for us the Lord
Jesus Christ all that man, that real man And he has ascended
to heaven, of course, as God-man. He never ceases to be a man. There is a man in heaven, in
God's right hand, who is the only saviour of sinners. And
that man is true Almighty God. And nothing is impossible with
him. And what compassion we see in the Lord Jesus Christ. Never
failing. He never failed His compassion.
He's ever faithful. He's ever faithful in His compassion.
Though He cause grief, we read at verse 32, yet will He have
compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. Ever faithful. Ever faithful. Though he cause grief, it says. Interesting. In many ways, his chastenings,
his corrections, are to him a strange work. In Isaiah 28, 21, we find that
expression used twice with regards to the Lord and his working.
The Prophet speaks of his strange work, his strange work. In a sense, I dare to say that
the Lord doesn't like the punishment of his child, just as the father
doesn't like to chasten his son. It's painful to the father as
well as to the son he chastens his son because he loves his
son but he doesn't want to inflict pain upon his son well how much
more so when we think of the Lord God himself and so we see
don't we that the chastenings are just for a short while when
the trial comes when the Lord brings his people into those
circumstances where he will test them and prove
them as he chastens them the language
of 1 Peter 1.6 now for a season if need be you are in heaviness
through manifold temptations or manifold testings But all
the language that's used there and how good it is sometimes
to examine the passage and to think upon all the words. We
believe that this is God's book and it's verbally inspired, isn't
it? It's not men expressing in their own words the thoughts
that God had inspired in their minds. It's God in the mystery
of inspiration, so working in the soul of a man that he writes,
and he writes in his own manner, his own style, and yet his writings
are not his own. He's writing the Word of God. And what does Peter say there?
1 Peter 1 verse 6, Now for a season. In the language now. Just now. This moment. Now, for a season,
for a little while, a little while, just a season, a short
period of time. Now for a season, and it says,
if needs be. Oh, there's an if there, there's
a needs be, it's only when it's necessary. You see, the chastening is only
for a little while. This is the faithful God that
Jeremiah was the servant of and the mouthpiece to. Verse 31,
what does he say? The Lord will not cast off forever. He doesn't cast his people off. Again, look at the language of
another of the prophets. What Isaiah says there in chapter
54. and verses 7 and 8, For a small
moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I
gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face
from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. These are the words
of God. This is a God who who is a compassionate
God, surely he is a compassionate God I know in a sense Jeremiah
seems to imagine that God has turned against him in the words
that we have at verse 43 and 44 that was covered with anger and persecuted us,
thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied thou hast covered thyself
with a cloud that our prayer should not pass through and maybe
sometimes it does feel like that for the people of God but his
reasoning is all wrong reasoning is all wrong again In the Psalm,
the language of the Psalm is there in Psalm 89. Psalm 89 and
verse 30 and the following few verses. If his children forsake
my law and walk not in my judgment, if they break my statutes and
keep not my commandments, then will I visit their transgression
with a rod. and their iniquity with stripes."
God deals with his people, you see. He'll correct them. Nevertheless. Immediate will you have a nevertheless. Thank God, thank God for the
neverthelesses. I will visit their transgression
with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my
loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my
faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn
by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Oh, he is truly a faithful God. And there are we not reminded
of his constancy. So, turning from his compassion
to say a little about his constancy before we conclude today. he
is so dependable is I am I am that I am and he is sovereign
in all his ways and in all his dealings verse 41 let us lift up our hand
our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens where is God? God is in the heavens. And what
does that remind us of? Well, the heavens rule. The heavens
rule. Our God is in the heavens. Psalm
115 and verse 3, our God is in heaven. He hath done whatsoever
He pleased. He's a sovereign God, is this
God. And so, verse 37, who is he that
saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? It only comes to pass when the
Lord commands. Oh, there are many devices in
a man's heart, nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord. That
shall stand, says the wise man in the book of Proverbs. God is sovereign. He is sovereign
over all things. The Lord has made all things
for Himself. Even the wicked for the day of
evil. Remember the language of Proverbs
16 and verse 4. What a statement is that? His
sovereignty is absolute. All the inhabitants of the earth
far as nothing and He doeth according to His will among the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay
His hand and say unto Him what doest thou? Who can challenge
this God? He is the great I am, He is sovereign
in all His ways, in all His works and He is sure in all His words
He is sure in His words. Look at verse 38, Out of the
mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. God does not
contradict Himself. He is not a man that He should
lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Hath He said
it, shall He not do it? Hath He spoken it, shall He not
make it good? He is as good as His words. Can
we not then draw some great comfort from his constancy? Just as we
find such comfort in his compassions, and we do find comfort there,
think again of the language, the language of the Prophet Micah. Remember when we come to the
end of that book, that lovely passage in chapter 7. He who
is like a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth
not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again. He will have
compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities. and they will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. They will perform the truth to
Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which they were sworn unto our
fathers from the days of old." There we see both his compassion
and his constancy. He performs the truth. That that he has spoken, the
word that he gave to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob he
is indeed that God who could never deny himself we can draw comfort then from
his constancy I am the Lord he says I change not therefore you
sons of Jacob are not consumed and how he weighs the paths of
his people There is equity in God, in all His ways, in all
His dealings. Too wise to be mistaken, and
too good to be unkind. Oh, this living man, he doesn't
just grieve over his sins, have that consciousness of what he
is in his fallen nature he doesn't just grieve over God's chastenings
and when God comes and tries and tests him he's a man who
also has confidence in God that's the mark of the living man or
think of that godly king Ezekiah what a king Ezekiah was one of
the best kings that ever Judah had And what does he say there? Remember his prayer of thanksgiving
in Isaiah, he says, The living, the living. He shall praise thee
as I do this day. Oh, the Lord appeared for that
man. The living, the living. And this is the living man here
today in the text. Wherefore doth a living man complain,
a man for the punishment of his sins? There is the question. What is the answer? Let us search
and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our
heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. And remember
again the words of that godly man Hezekiah. He says, By these
things he's speaking of all his trials, all his troubles. Read
Read Isaiah 38. By these things men live, and
in all these things is the life of my Spirit. Or that we might
be favoured, people, to have such a religion as a living religion,
because we have dealings with a living Saviour. May the Lord
be pleased to bless His Word to us. Let us conclude our worship
today as we sing the hymn 120 the tune is Newcastle 194 the
hymn speaks of the compassion of Christ
with joy we meditate the grace of our high priest above his
heart is made of tenderness his bowels melt with love touch with
us sympathy within he knows our feeble frame He knows what sore
temptations mean, for he has felt the same. Hymn 120, tune
194.