Turn back to Lamentations. I have entitled this message
Joy in the Lamentations. It's almost a contradiction in
terms. Joy in the Lamentations. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. wrote the book of Lamentations. A lament is an audible expression
of extreme sorrow. And this book is one long, audible
expression of extreme sorrow. You read this book, and that
is the conclusion you're forced to come up with. And really,
if you read the book of Lamentations, it's best first to look at this
as the extreme sorrow of the Lord Jesus Christ and his words
from Calvary's tree and his words from Gethsemane's garden. I know
that's the first application. Look in chapter one, verse twelve. Is it nothing to you? All ye
that pass by. Behold, and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the
Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire
into my bones, and it prevails against them. He hath spread
a net for my feet, he hath turned me back, he hath made me desolate
and faint all the day. The yoke of my transgressions
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed, and this is
how truly the sins of the elect became his. He says, the yoke
of my transgressions is bound by his hand. They are wreathed
and come upon my neck. He hath made my strength to fall.
The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, for whom I am not
able to rise up. Now, these are first the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, is there any sorrow
like unto my sorrow? wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger. But these are also the words
of Jeremiah. Jeremiah felt this way. Look in chapter 3, verse 1. I am the man that hath seen affliction
by the rod of his wrath. Who is the one who could say
that? These are the words of the Lord Jesus. But they're also
the words of Jeremiah. He felt like he was one who had
seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. Now, let's read chapter
three down to that passage of scripture I initially read. And
keep in mind, these are the words of the Lord Jesus. And they're
also the words of Jeremiah, the man in his feeling so forsaken. Now let's read these together. Lamentations chapter 3. I am
the man that had seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He had
led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light. But surely against me is he turned. He turneth his hand against me
all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he
made old. He hath broken my bones. He hath
builded against me, encompassed me with gall, and prevailed. He hath set me in dark places,
as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that
I cannot get out. He hath made my chain heavy,
also when I cry and shout, He shutteth out my prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with
hewn stone. He hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying
in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath 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. I was a derision to all my people
and their song all the day. He had filled me with bitterness.
He hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken
my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes,
and thou hast removed my soul far off from peace. I forgot
prosperity. And I said, my strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering my affliction and
my misery, the Wormwood and the Dome, my soul hath been still
in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind. Therefore have I hope. After saying all these things,
this I call to mind. And therefore I have hope It
is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. That's just so, isn't it? It's
of the Lord's mercies. There's one reason why I'm not
consumed. Now, when he's talking about being consumed, he's talking
about being consumed by the wrath of God because of his sin. Jeremiah
knew himself to be a sinner. And he said, the only reason
I'm not consumed, only one reason, It's because of the Lord's mercies. No other reason is given. It's
of the Lord's mercies that we're not consuming. You know that
so don't you? The only reason that I am not
consumed is because of the Lord's mercies. Go on reading. Because
His compassions fail not. You know, I've heard people say, when a
man and woman get divorced, they say, well, I don't love you anymore.
And I've heard people say, well, they must have never loved him
in the beginning. No, they loved him in the beginning. Thought they did, but that love
stopped. That love failed. Something happened
that they didn't feel like they could love them anymore. That's what happens. But His
compassions, His love, His grace fails not. It can't stop. His compassion fail not, they
are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness." Now,
here's the one reason we're not consumed. His mercies fail not. Now, when he says in verse 21,
this I recall in my mind, therefore I have hope, my marginal reading
says I return. I return this. I return. And
what this is, it's a call to the starting point. That's what
it means more than anything else. It's a call to the starting point.
I have left the starting point. And you read this passage of
Scripture. He's so down. He's so depressed. He feels so
forsaken. He feels so alone. He feels so
isolated. He feels so abandoned. He feels
like God's holding him off. And then he says, and that's
what Jeremiah felt. Now, I know he's primarily the
words of the Lord from the cross. And that's exactly how he felt.
He said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? But these
are the words of Jeremiah. He was under extreme distress
over feeling just abandoned. And then he says, I've left the
starting point. Here's where my problem is. I'm
going back to the starting point. The return. Now, we should never
leave the starting point. And when we do, it's time to
get back. Now, what is the starting point?
He says, I'm returning to the starting point. Here's the starting
point of our experience of salvation. It's of the Lord's mercies that
were not consumed. That's the starting point. That's
when you learn the gospel. You learn that the only reason
you're not consumed is because of the Lord's mercy. This is
the starting point. This is where we're Turn with
me in chapter 3. While you're turning there, let
me quote a passage of scripture to you from Colossians 2. Colossians 2 says, As you receive
Christ Jesus, the Lord. Now, how did you first receive
the Lord Jesus Christ? I noticed when I first received
it. It was as an empty-handed sinner. Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. That's the only way I came. No other way. Now as you receive
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. That's a safe place
to be. The starting point. This is what
is so glorious about the gospel. We never leave the starting point.
You get the furthest if you don't go anywhere. That's where you
make the most progress is by staying right there at the starting
point. As you receive Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him. Now look here in Hebrews chapter
3. Same thing. Verse. Six. The Christ is a son over his
own house, whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence
and the rejoicing of the hope at that starting point, firm
to the end. Look in verse 14. We are made
partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence.
steadfast unto the end. Now, Jeremiah, in his experience,
had left the starting point. And when you leave the starting
point, you're going to go into darkness. You can just write
that down. If I leave the starting point,
I'm going to go into darkness. The starting point is it's of
the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions
fail not. Now, this is why all of a sudden
Jeremiah starts having some hope, because if you read this passage
of Scripture, there's a lot of more depressing passages of Scripture,
all the Word of God, as far as the way he felt. Then all of
a sudden he says, this I recall to mind. I go back to the starting
point. And I have hope, it's of the
Lord's mercies that were not consumed, His compassions fail
not." Now, what he's talking about is God's immutability. The word immutability means he
never changes. He never mutates. He's always
the same. His mercies never fail. He never ceases to be merciful. He never ceases to be gracious.
He never ceases to be kind because he's immutable. He can't change. Now, everything else is mutating. Every creature, every person,
we're constantly changing. Constantly changing, even physically. I read somewhere where you don't
have one cell that you were born with if you live long enough.
I mean, they all change. And I don't know how all that
works, but it's true. You're constantly mutating. You're
constantly changing. And you look at the way people
are constantly changing. And being around somebody, I
tell you what, I love faithful people. I love people who are
always the same. It's hard to be around somebody
that's up here all over the place, but that's the way we are. constantly
changing. But the Lord does not change. In Malachi chapter 3, verse 6,
he said, I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. One reason I'm not consumed,
because the Lord's mercies never change. His saving mercies never
change. His confessions fail not, because
he doesn't change. I'm not going to be consumed.
This is something I can rest in. This is something I can rejoice
in. His absolute immutability. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 8 says,
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. What he was
yesterday is exactly what he is now. And what he will be tomorrow
is exactly what he was yesterday. He's the same yesterday, today
and forever. Now, the Lord God is perfect.
He's perfect. He's complete. And any change
would make him lose his perfection, wouldn't it? I mean, if he's
perfect, if he'd change in any direction, he would no longer
be perfect. But he's absolutely perfect. In whom the Father of life, in
whom there's no variables. He never changes a turn for a
shadow of turnings. He's immutable in his perfection.
I love thinking about this, because only the Lord's like this. He's
immutable in His essence, whatever that means. What's God made of?
I don't know. But whatever it is He's made
of, it never changes. He's immutable. He's unchanging
in His attributes. Every attribute. He never relinquishes
His sovereignty. He's always in absolute control
of everything. He's always holy. He's always
utterly faithful. He's always all-wise. He's always
all-powerful. Oh, the Lord God never changes
in any of His attributes. He's always gracious. He's always
merciful. He's always just. He never changes. He's unchanging in His decrees
and in His purposes. Whatever He's purposed, it doesn't
change. Turn to Isaiah 46. Hold your
finger there in Lamentations 3. Turn to Isaiah 46. I love
this passage of Scripture. This is something I believe we
ought to commit to memory. Verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God, and there's none else. I am God, and there's
none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. I'm telling
what's going to happen before it happens. And from ancient
times, the things that are not yet done, saying my council shall
stand and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, a man that executes my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken it. I will bring it to pass. I purposed
it. I also will do it. Now that's
the Lord God. His purposes never change. And thank God he's unchanging
in his love for his people. He said, behold, Jeremiah 31
3. I've loved you. This is not some kind of generic,
I've loved you. He says this to every one of
his people. I've loved you with an everlasting love. A love that never had a beginning.
That blows my mind. There was never a time when God
began to love me. You know, if there was a time
He began, that would mean a change, wouldn't it? But He never changes. What He does now, He always has
done. He never, everlasting love. He can't love me any more than
he does. He can't love me any less than he does. His love never
fails. His saving mercies are eternal. Now that's why I'm not consumed.
All we have was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
and he never takes it back. 2 Timothy 1.9 says he saved us.
And he called us with a holy call. Not according to our works,
but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. So all that I have, He
gave me before time began. And He's never going to take
it away. A lady one time said to Spurgeon, I know God must
have loved me before I was ever born. Because if He would have
waited until after I was born, He could have never loved me.
And that's true, isn't it? That's true. Oh, thank God for
his compassions that fail not. His love never fails. Nothing
shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. Now, why is it that his compassions?
And that's talking about his love. The word carries with it
an embracing and a loving and a caressing. And that's what
the Lord does to his people. You know, we read, somebody read
Song of Solomon, and I thought, what a glorious thing, the Lord's
relationship with His people, a husband and wife, this love
that He has, it never fails. And this is something that I
wish we could get hold of. I wish I could get hold of it.
You know, we've been duped by religions for so long, talking
about unconditional love. God loves you unconditionally.
And people think, that sounds good, that means He can love
me the way I am. There's got to be something to
love. There's no such thing as unconditional love. There's got
to be something to love. No one ever loves anybody unconditionally,
including God. Now, in the Lord Jesus Christ,
united to Him, we are worthy of the love of God. Now, you
chew on that. The Lord looks at me. And he sees within me that which
draws out his affection. Now, do I see that in myself?
No, I don't see that in myself. But I know that I'm united to
him. And just as lovely as the Lord Jesus Christ is, that's
how lovely I am to him. And he says to me, behold, thou
art all fair, my love, altogether lovely. That is how the Lord
Views. Every one of his people, and
let me take that a little bit farther. That's how his people
really are, because united to Christ, that's that's the real
me. Now, his compassions fail not. Thank God. For that, verse 22. It's of the Lord's mercies that
were not consumed because his compassions fail not, they are
new. every morning for new. Now. I preach. The same thing. Pretty much every time I preach.
Would you agree with that? I mean, somebody could really
say if you've heard him once, you've heard all he's got to
say. That same thing. And when I say that. I also say
that with the fear of what I'm saying being stale. And being
not fresh. Because that can happen. You can take water, it's fresh,
let it stay stagnant for a day. What's it taste like? No good. You want fresh water. Now, here's
the thing about the gospel, although it's the same thing. He says
his mercies are new and fresh every morning. Same old truth. I'm just as thrilled right now
with election, the fact that God chose me with that reference
to me as I've ever been. I'm just as thrilled right now
with justification that I'm justified in Christ. I'm thrilled with
that. that He is my righteousness before I. It doesn't get old.
It's new. And here's one of the reasons
it has to stay new, because I have new sin every morning. And because
I have new sin every morning and new sin every day, I need
new mercy every day. And I need to hear the Gospel
the same way every day. His mercies are new, fresh, novel
every morning. You take any aspect of divine
truth, when blessed by God the Holy Spirit, I don't care if
you've heard it 5,000 times, it comes just as new and fresh
and powerful as ever. And only the Gospel does that.
Nothing else does it. Anything else gets old. You know,
reading the Bible, I can read the Bible over and over and over
again. And I believe I've... I know
I've read the New Testament several hundred times. You know, I've
read the... But the Bible, and it's only by the grace of God,
but it's more powerful and new to me than it ever has been.
You read any man, I don't care how good the book is. I don't
care how sound the book is. You read it over and over again.
It gets boring. It gets stale. It just doesn't
get it. But the Word of God, new every
morning. The Gospel, new and fresh every
morning. And I tell you this, I have new
sins that I need new mercy for. And the old grace of God. Now this is so glorious. His
grace is old. It's as old as God is. His purpose
is as old as He is. His love is as old as He is. But it's new every morning. Verse 23, they're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Now God is. He said, I am that
I am. And he is faithful. Faithful. Utterly reliable. Know ye therefore the Lord thy
God, he is God the faithful God. That means he can be trusted. He can be relied on. And if we
believe him the way we ought, We shouldn't have a worry or
a care at all. We should be totally care free. And somehow we think we can make
things better by worrying about it. But no, you can't. No, you
can't. He's the faithful God. Everything's
in his hands. Therefore, I don't have anything
to worry about. I don't have to try to manipulate the situation.
I don't have to plan and scheme. It's all in his hands. Don't have a care in the world.
Great is thy faithfulness. He's utterly reliable. He can
be trusted completely. Now he's faithful. See if this makes sense. He's
faithful with regard to the past, the present and the future. That
covers everything, doesn't it? He's faithful with regard to
the past, the present and the future. Now, what do I mean he's
faithful with regard to the past? Well, all that I have. He gave
me in Christ before time began. That's what the Scripture teaches.
The faith I have, He gave me in Christ before time began.
My righteousness, He gave me in Christ before time began.
His love to me. He loved me before I was ever
born, as far as my experience goes. I mean, everything He did,
He did in the past. And when He did it in the past,
it was done. So that I was saved. Completely saved. before I was
ever born. Isn't that what 2 Timothy 1 says?
He saved us and he called us. Which came first, the saving
or the calling? Which came first? He saved us and he called us.
Now, in my experience, I wasn't saved. In my experience, I haven't
always been saved. In my experience, I was not saved
until I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. And as far as I
could tell in my experience, I was a child of wrath just like
everybody else. But if I'm saved in time, it's
because I was saved in eternity. And he's faithful to what he's
decreed. The gifts and callings of God
are without repentance. He's faithful to what he has
done for me in the past, so much so that it's already done. It's
already done. If he wills it, it's past tense
before it takes place. Now he's faithful to me with
regard to the present. Here's my present experience.
If we confess our sins. And that's my present experience
right now. My sins. If we confess our sins. What's it say next? 1 John 1,
9. He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He's faithful. He's faithful
because he determined that he would forgive us of our sins.
He determined that we would confess He's determined to all that,
and we will confess our sins. We'll come before Him. What is
the confession of sin? It's taking side with God against
yourself. It's agreeing with God regarding
what He has to say about you. Now, if we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. I love that passage of Scripture.
In 2 Timothy 2.13, where it says, If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful. He can't deny himself. You see,
maybe in my present experience, I have this, boy, I can't even
come up with faith as far as the way I feel. If we believe
not, he abides faithful. You see,
he can't deny himself. And if I'm united to him, I am
himself. Do you hear that? If I'm united
to him, I'm himself. That means for him to deny me
would be for him to deny himself. So he's faithful with regard
to the past. He's faithful with regard to
the present, and he's faithful with regard to the future. Faithful,
1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 24 says, faithful is he that
calleth you. who also will do it. He will do what he's determined
to do. And in that passage of scriptures,
there's all kinds of things he tells us to do. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing and everything
give thanks. For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. He gives us all these different
things to do. And then he says, faithful is he that calleth you
who also will do it. He'll cause you to do what he
commands you to do. Isn't that wonderful? He determines
my salvation. He saves me, and everything He
commands me to do, He faithfully causes me to do. That means He
does it all, and I love it that way. I would want great, great
is thy faithfulness. Verse 24 of our text, the Lord is my portion. He's my soul portion. He's my
all-sufficient portion. He's my eternal portion. The
Lord himself is my portion. You see, the blesser is better
than the blessing. I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved's
mine. He takes this poor, vile into
his house of wine. I stand upon his merit, I know
no other stand, not even when glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's
face. I will not gaze at glory, but
on my King of grace. Not at the crown he giveth, but
at his pierced hand. The Lamb is all the glory. of Emmanuel's land. The Lord is my portion, sayeth
my soul. Therefore will I hope in him. What a blessed hope in him. You see, my hope is, and it's a scriptural
hope. It's not a, I hope it ends up
being this way. It's a, I know so hope. Because it's what God's
Word says. My hope is that all that God
requires of me, I have in the Lord Jesus Christ right now.
I don't need anything else. You are complete in Him. My hope is in Him. Verse 25,
The Lord is good unto all them that wait for Him. What does it mean to wait for
the Lord? This is a wait, I say, on the Lord. He'll comfort your
heart. I mean, that's throughout the
Scriptures. What does it mean to wait on the Lord? Because
there's so many exhortations for us to wait on the Lord. Well,
we have an example in the Scripture of somebody who didn't wait on
the Lord. Saul. Samuel was supposed to come to
Gilgal and offer up a sacrifice. And the Amalekites were getting
ready to attack Israel. And Saul was scared to death.
And he thought, well, we've got to offer a sacrifice. So instead
of waiting for the high priest to offer the sacrifice for him,
he presumed to do it on his own. He thought, well, you know, somebody's
got to do it. I might as well do it. And he lost his kingship
from that. God rejected him because of that. He failed to wait on the high
priest to offer the sacrifice for him. So when I'm waiting
on the Lord, what I'm doing is I'm waiting on him to do everything
for me. I'm waiting on him to be my beings
and my righteousness. I'm waiting on him in all. This is not a fatalism of just,
well, I can't, I'll just wait till something happens. No, here's
how, here's how much this, this thing of waiting on the Lord
means. When my name is called on judgment
day. I'm going to wait for him to
answer for me. And that's what it is to wait
on the Lord. When it's time, when you stand before, what's
that song? When it's time for you to stand
before God's judgment throne, will you stand in Christ complete
or will you stand alone? Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory,
was my substitute. He gives me perfect standing.
No one can dispute. When it's time for me in judgment,
I'll not be full of fear. Christ will stand when my name
is called and for me say, I'm here. And that's what I'm waiting
on. I'm waiting on Him to answer
for me. The Lord is good unto all of
them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. I seek
His blessings, but here's what I want Him. As a matter of fact,
if I have Him, I have all blessings. And all blessings that don't
have anything to do with Him, I don't want anyway. I want Him. I want to know Him. I want to
be found in Him. I want Him to be my husband,
my Lord, my master, my all. that soul that seeks Him. Oh,
the Lord's good unto all that seek and hope in Him. He says in verse 26, it's good. Here's a good thing. That a man
should both hope and quietly wait. Quietly wait for the salvation
of God. That salvation of which He is
the author. That salvation from sin. justification
and sanctification and glorification. It's good for a man to have hope.
I mean, a confident expectation, a hope that makes him not frantic,
not hysterical, but he quietly waits for the salvation of God. It's good for a man, verse 27,
that he bear the yoke in his youth. Now I don't know how old
you are, I don't care if you're eight or eighty. It's good for
a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Now, the yoke he's speaking
of is where our Lord said, take my yoke upon you and learn of
me. He said, my yoke is easy and
my burden is light. Let me tell you why it's easy
and light, because He bears all the weight of it. If salvation was by works in
any way, the yoke would be unbearable. But since it's all of grace,
it's a light yoke. Now, it's good for a man to bear
the yoke right now. Believe on Christ. If you're
a young person, believe. Is it too late if you're old?
No, I don't care if you're as old as Methuselah. The thing
to do is to bear the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know,
it's, has your being yoked to him? Isn't it wonderful? It's good to bear the yoke in
the youth. So, joy and lamentations. Let's pray.