Good evening. I am very honored
to be here. I know a lot of people say that,
but I mean it, Bob. I feel very privileged to be
here. I love our brother Todd Nybert
just as much as you do. I thank the Lord for Him. I thank
the Lord for everything He's done through Him. And I thank
the Lord for this preacher school. It's been a huge encouragement
to me. A huge blessing to me. I thank the Lord for the men
who attend it. It is inspiring to me. I just thank the Lord. Let's
turn to Lamentations, chapter three. Lamentations, chapter three.
This holy, holy portion of Scripture. The beginning of this book, the
heading of Lamentations, chapter one, says the lamentations of
Jeremiah. Meaning, Jeremiah wrote this
book. Jeremiah is the one who penned this book. But Second
Peter, chapter one, verses 20 and 21 say, knowing this first, That no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. What that means is every single
word in this book is the inspired word of God. If it is in this
book, then God said it. So I want us to look at Lamentations
chapter three, verses one through 20. And all of the references that
we're going to turn to, as though the Lord Jesus Christ himself
is saying it. Verse one says, chapter three,
verse one, I am the man. That has seen affliction. By
the rod of his wrath. I am the man. Why is that? Why would the Lord
say that? I am the man that has seen affliction. I thought about reading Isaiah
53 for our scripture reading. Because we're going to quote
it a lot. Isaiah 53, verse five, says he
was wounded for our transgressions. That's why. He was bruised because
of our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, it says in another verse, we did esteem him stricken. We did. We esteemed him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. It says he was oppressed and
he was afflicted. Yet he opened up his mouth. He
says in verse one, I am the man. That has seen affliction by the
rod of his wrath. Verse two says he hath led me
and brought me into darkness, but not in the light. John says God is light and in
him is no darkness at all. When a sinner is saved, he's
called from darkness to light. John said this is condemnation,
that light is coming to the world and men loved darkness rather
than light. In verse two says he hath led
me into darkness. brought me into darkness and
not into light." That's separation from God. God is light. Separation
from God. Verse 3 says, "...surely against
me as he turned, he turneth his hand against me all the day."
Isaiah said, he is despised and rejected of men. He said, we
hid, as it were, our faces from him. We hid as it were our faces
from him, the Lord of glory. All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned everyone to his own way. And because of that,
the Lord says in verse three, surely against me as he turned,
he turneth his hand against me all the day. Verse four says
my flesh and my skin has he made old. Turn over to Job chapter
16. He said, My flesh and my skin
have he made old. Job chapter 16. And look at verse eight. He says, Thou has filled me with
wrinkles. Which is a witness against me.
And my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.
You know why we get wrinkles? sin. That's why we get wrinkles. That's why we age, that's why
we get spots, that's why we blemish. Sin. Not only was our Lord beaten
to a bloody pulp. But I believe sin aged him. Isaiah 52 says his visage was
so marred more than any man. When he bore our sins, he bore
the effects of those sins. Back in our text, Lamentations
3. The one that has the dew of youth
on his brow says in verse four, my flesh and my skin hath he
made old. He hath broken my bones. The Scripture says not a bone
in his body shall be broken. That's referring to his people. But there's a reference in this
verse and the references to Psalm 51, verse eight, which says,
Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast
broken may rejoice. If the Lord breaks his people,
they'll rejoice. Broken bones, a broken and a
contrite heart. Verse five says he hath builded
against me, encompassed me with gall and travail. Gall is a drink
of poison. It's a cup of death. He said, if it be possible that
this cup should pass from me. He hath builded against me, encompassed
me with gall and travail. Isaiah said he shall see the
travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge, shall my righteous
servant justify many. For he shall bear their iniquities. Did this really happen to our
Lord or did it not really happen to our Lord? Verse six in our text says he
has sent me in dark places as they that be dead of old. Isaiah said he's brought as a
lamb to the slaughter. He says they sent me in dark
places as they that be dead of old. Isaiah says he was cut off out
of the land of the living. It says He made His grave with
the wicked and with the rich in His death because He had done
no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Verse 7
in our text says, He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out.
He hath made my chain heavy. Isaiah said, Surely He hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. You know the way we feel because
of our sin. The way we grieve over our sin,
the way we sorrow over our sin. That is exactly what he felt.
Times a number that no man can number. And he said he's made my chain
heavy. Verse eight says, also, when
I cry and shout, he shut out my prayer. David wrote, The Lord
will hear thee in the day of trouble. But turn over to Psalm
22. In our text, he said, when I
cry and shout, he shut out my prayer and Psalm 22, verse one,
he says, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Why are
thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring?
Oh, my God, I cry in the daytime, but now here's not. And in the
night season and I'm not silent, but thou art holy. Thou art holy,
O thou that inhabit the praise of Israel. That's the Lord speaking. He cried, my God, why has thou
forsaken me? Our text, Lamentations 3, verse
9 says, He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone. He's saying it's because of hewn
stone, stones made ready that I'm this way. Everything that
was cut off of that hewn stone has been laid on me. Our Lord is called the straight
and narrow way. He's called the straight gate. Luke three, five says the crooked
shall be made straight. Thus, the crooked shall be made
straight. How is this in verse nine, the
Lord says he hath made my paths crooked. That's how. Substitution. Verse 10 says he was unto me
as a bear lying in wait and as a lion in secret places, he had
turned aside my ways and pulled me in pieces. He had made me
desolate. He had bent his bow and set me
as a mark for the arrow. He had caused the arrows of his
quiver to enter into my reins. He did it to me. Isaiah says,
The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Lord
did this. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grace. The Lord said, I kill and I make
alive, I do all these things. Verse 14 says, I was a derision
to all my people. A derision means a mockery. A
laughingstock, a mockery. The God of heaven that created
all things became a mockery. Turn over to Job, chapter 30. Job 30, verse 8 says, They were
children of fools, yea, children of base men. They were viler
than the earth, and now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. They abhor me. They flee far
from me, and spare not to spit in my face, because he hath loosed
my cord and afflicted me. They have also let loose the
bridle before me." After everything that the Lord Jesus Christ has
done for sinners, man uses his name as nothing
more than just a byword. Our text, verse 15, says, He
hath filled me with bitterness. He hath made me drunken with
wormwood. Wormwood comes from a root word
that means cursed. And it means poisonous. He who has clean hands and a
pure heart is saying, I've been filled with poison. He's made me cursed. That's sin. He's saying I've been made sin. Verse 16 says he has also broken
my teeth with gravel stones, he have covered me with ashes,
turn over to Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs 20 verse 17 says bread
of deceit. Lies. Bread of lies is sweet to a man. Seems like the right thing to
do at the time, the right thing to say at the time. It's sweet
to a man. But afterwards, his mouth shall
be filled with gravel. It's a hard way to go. Hard way
to go. The Lord, who knew no lies. The
one who said, I am the truth. He's saying all of these lies
have been put into my mouth and I taste. This bitterness is so
bitter, it's so hard they've broken my teeth. Verse 17, And thou hast removed
my soul far off from peace. The Prince of Peace made war
for us. Verse 17 says, I forgot prosperity. That reference is good. I forgot
good. Our Savior was separated from
the goodness of God. He was separated from the glory
of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ says
in verse 18, I said, my strength and my hope is perished from
the Lord. Perished, he died. He died. Enduring all of this. All of
the punishment. For all of the sins of all of
his people. He gave up the ghost and he died. Living, he loved me. Us. Dying, he saved us. Buried, he carried our sins far
away. We sing a song that says one
day the grave could conceal him no longer. And rising, he justified
us freely forever. And now his work is finished.
Judgment has been met. The law satisfied. He is seated
on his throne at the right hand of God, the Father. And now he
says. Now that it is finished. The
Lord Jesus Christ says in verse 19. Remembering my affliction. Me remembering my affliction. I remember my affliction. I remember my misery. I remember the wormwood. And
I remember the gall. Here's the good news of the gospel.
The Lord Jesus Christ says in verse 20, my soul have them still
in remembrance. Every time one of mine elect
stands before the judgment throne, I remember my affliction. I think about my misery. Everything
I went through. My soul has been still in remembrance. And it's humbled in me. My soul is quiet in me. My wrath is not kindled. My anger is not stirred up. My soul is at peace. My soul
is appeased. My soul is at rest. This is where we come into the
story. Verse 21 says, This I recall to my mind. This is what I recall to my mind. This that we just looked at is
what we recall to our mind. And that's why we have hope. Every time we come here, We come
here to hear about one thing, one event. Every time we preach,
we preach about one thing, the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is what we recall to our
mind, and that's why we have hope. Every single time we're
reminded of this, We come to one conclusion every time. Every time we hear this and we
walk out of those doors, all of God's people who he's given
a heart to know, a heart to believe, a heart to trust, a heart, ears
to hear, walk out of here with the same conclusion every single
time. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. Verse 22. It is only because
of the Lord's mercies, only because of what he did, what he went
through that we are not consumed. Because that should have been
me. It says because his compassions,
his remembrances fail on. He said, I'll never forget that. Every night when we lay our head
down thinking, oh, wretched man that I am. I have literally used up all
his mercies. Verse 23 says every morning they're
brand spanking new. New day, new mercy. It says great
is that faithfulness. Job 7.18 says, What is man that
thou shouldest magnify him, and that thou shouldest set thine
heart upon him, and that thou shouldest visit him every morning? Who am I? And you're going to
come visit with me every morning? Verse 24 says, The Lord is my
portion. Thanks be to God. The Lord is
my portion, saith my soul. Therefore will I hope in Him.
The Lord is all we need. That's it. The Lord is all we
need. But if the Lord is our portion,
it's going to be a portion that cannot be contained. It's going
to spill over. and run out. He's all we want,
too, isn't He? Verse 25 says, The Lord is
good. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. Every time we come
here, we are seeking the Lord. Every time we come here. We're
seeking His will. We're seeking Him. Every time
we come here, we're saying to ourselves. And we're saying to each other.
And we're saying to him, I'm still waiting. Thanks be to God, by God's grace. By his keeping power, I'm still
waiting. Still looking, still trusting. Turn over to Isaiah
30. The verse in the text we just
read said the Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the
soul that seeketh him. Isaiah 30 verse 18 says, And
therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto
you. And therefore will He be exalted that He may have mercy
upon you. For the Lord is a God of judgment.
Blessed are all they that wait for Him." Wait for Him. Our text, verse 26, says, It is good that a man should
do two things. The first one is hope. It is
good for a man to hope. I'm so thankful for hope. I need
hope. In this world, I live in faith,
hope and love. The Lord says it's good for a
man to hope because it's a sure hope is guaranteed. You know, things come up in our lives
and we say, I hope it happens or I hope it doesn't happen.
And we'll think the worst just so we won't be disappointed.
The Lord says, you go ahead and hope all you want to. I hope
the Lord has mercy on me. Go ahead and hope all you want
to. I hope the Lord pays my bills. Go ahead and hope all you want
to. You have a sure hope. Verse 26, it is good that a man
should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the
Lord. Quietly wait means just be patient. Wait on the Lord. Trust in His
time for everything. Everything that happens to me
in my life, everything that happens with our children, trust in His
time. Wait on the Lord. Verse 27 says, it is good for
a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. What does it mean
to bear the yoke? In Matthew 11, our Lord said,
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. I am meek and I am lowly
in heart. What does it mean to bear the
yoke? It means bow down and kiss the sun. Bow down and kiss the feet of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Get meek and low and do it quick. It is good for a man that he
bear the yoke in his youth. The sooner the better. We are
not promised tomorrow. Today is as young as you are
ever going to be. This is your youth. Today's a day. Save us, Lord, today. Thank you, Lord, for saving our
souls. Everything you went through.
All of your misery. All of your affliction. Thank
you, Lord, for making us whole because of all your misery and
all of your affliction. Thank you, Lord, for giving to
us this great salvation that is so rich and it is so free. Thank you, Lord. May the Lord
bless this word.