Lamentations 1; 3 • Sorrow. The turn. His compassion.
New Every Morning Lab
Hear the sorrow in Lamentations 1, tell two kinds of sorrow apart, find the turn in Lamentations 3, and shape a private journal page.
Lamentations is honest about how bad things were. Start there, and then look for what did not fail.
Hear the sorrow
What is each line saying?
Jeremiah wrote much of Lamentations 1 as if the fallen city of Jerusalem were speaking. Read each line and choose what it is saying.
“among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2)
“the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me” (Lamentations 1:16)
“The Lord is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment” (Lamentations 1:18)
“my sighs are many, and my heart is faint” (Lamentations 1:22)
Choose what each line is saying. You can change any answer.
Two kinds of sorrow
Does this thought lead towards the Lord, or away?
Paul wrote that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation … but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:9–10). These four thoughts are examples, not anyone’s real words. Decide which kind of sorrow each one is.
“This hurts, and it makes me want to turn back to the Lord.”
“I am worthless now. There is no point in trying.”
“God must be finished with me.”
“I did wrong. I want to put this right and ask to be forgiven.”
First complete activity 1, then decide which kind of sorrow each thought is.
Find the turn
Which word finishes each line?
In the middle of the book the writer says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” Read Lamentations 3:22–26, 31–33 and find the word that finishes each line.
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions _____ not.”
“They are new every _____: great is thy faithfulness.”
“For the Lord will not cast off _____”
“For he doth not afflict _____ nor grieve the children of men.”
First complete activity 2, then find the missing word in each line.
Take it to the journal
His compassion, and what I want to remember
Lesson 136 invites you to study a story or passage that shows the Saviour’s compassion. Choose one, and choose who your page is for.
I will study:
My page is:
Complete activities 1 to 3, then choose one option from each row.
