the Meaning of Affliction
From the book of Lamentations, usually attributed to Jeremiah, a single selection is taken.
Lamentations 3:22-36. This book is remarkable for its variety of touching images. The prophet seems to stand amid the ruins of city and temple, burned with fire, strewn with the ashes of his people. This paragraph, however, is in marked contrast to the rest of the book, containing, as it does, a gleam of hope.
If only we would turn from our griefs to the mercies, compassions, and goodness of the Lord, there would be light in our darkest dungeons. It is good to hope and quietly wait; to take Christ's yoke and learn of Him; to keep silent in submission and faith. God cannot cast off. He does not willingly afflict; He has no sympathy or complicity with the turning of a man aside or subverting his cause. Let us be at least sure of this, that the Lord will neither cast out nor cast off. He may hide His face for a moment, but with everlasting kindness He will have mercy, according to the multitude of His compassions.
the Meaning of Affliction
From the book of Lamentations, usually attributed to Jeremiah, a single selection is taken.
Lamentations 3:22-36. This book is remarkable for its variety of touching images. The prophet seems to stand amid the ruins of city and temple, burned with fire, strewn with the ashes of his people. This paragraph, however, is in marked contrast to the rest of the book, containing, as it does, a gleam of hope.
If only we would turn from our griefs to the mercies, compassions, and goodness of the Lord, there would be light in our darkest dungeons. It is good to hope and quietly wait; to take Christ's yoke and learn of Him; to keep silent in submission and faith. God cannot cast off. He does not willingly afflict; He has no sympathy or complicity with the turning of a man aside or subverting his cause. Let us be at least sure of this, that the Lord will neither cast out nor cast off. He may hide His face for a moment, but with everlasting kindness He will have mercy, according to the multitude of His compassions.