Verse 1:
O Lord, I’ve sinned before your face;
In wrath, remember mercy.
I’ve spurned your law and mocked your grace;
In wrath, remember mercy.
My pain and misery are earned;
For I’ve rebelled against your Word.
But now in faith to You I turn:
In wrath, remember mercy.
Verse 2:
Behold my pain, Lord, hear my woe!
In wrath, remember mercy!
You sap my joy and crush my bones.
In wrath, remember mercy!
How long, O Lord, til you relent?
Beneath Your heavy hand I’m spent.
To cast off is not your intent;
So, God, remember mercy.
Verse 3:
O Lord, please hear my humble prayer:
In wrath, remember mercy.
Though I am tempted to despair,
My God, I plead your mercy.
My High Priest knows my weaknesses
And intercedes as my Defence
So now I pray with confidence:
“My God, remember mercy!”
Verse 4:
What justice calls for has been done;
The cross secured your mercy.
You poured your anger on Your Son
And poured on us your mercy.
So teach us to despise our sin,
Which caused such agonies for Him;
Yet, even in your discipline,
O God, remember mercy.
Repeat:
So teach us to despise our sin,
Which caused such agonies for Him;
Yet, even in your discipline,
O God, remember mercy.
Chapter 4 as the background to chapter 5
– a series of horrors (4:1-10)
– the destruction of Jerusalem (4:11-12)
– the religious leaders (4:13-16)
– scattered and caught (4:17-20)
– a glimpse of reversal and rescue (4:21-22)
• ‘What is missing in Lamentations 4 is any direct prayer to God. For that we must await the next chapter, which is an extended prayer for salvation.’ (Parry)
Prayer to God (chapter 5)
– the opening plea (5:1)
– economic poverty (5:2-10)
– social humiliation (5:11-14)
– community sorrow (5:15-18)
– an appeal for help: declaration, accusation and prayer (5:19-22)
So, what can we learn from the book of Lamentations?