Lamentations

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 4

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2026-05-03

Synopsis: In this final part of the series, John Weaver expounds Lamentations 3:33, emphasizing that God does not afflict or grieve people from His heart, but only out of necessity for their profit and holiness. He reviews the previous points—rejection of Jeremiah's service, refusal of his supplications, and the hope found in God's mercies—and then focuses on the solace of God. Weaver argues that complaining about providence is complaining against God, that most afflictions stem from our own sin, and that chastisement is a divine cordial demonstrating God's love. He uses Scripture and personal illustrations to show that God's judgment is His 'strange work,' while mercy is His delight.

[John Weaver] So let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations chapter 3 and we're going to be looking at verse 33. This is the fourth and the final part of this brief study in Lamentations chapter 3. And so I used this verse last week but I did not expound it and I want to do so this week. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3 in verse 33 The scripture says, for he, that is God, doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. I trust that this brief series has been helpful and, of course, applicable to our lives as well. One of our problems, I think, is we get so involved in our lives, especially with our work, our sleep, our routines, even our recreation.

[John Weaver] that oftentimes we do not take the time to think, to meditate, to contemplate, or consider what is happening unto us and why it is happening. Consequently, we do not readily become broken and contrite and humbled before God, neither do we desire to repent easily and quickly. We are quite unlike the prophet Jeremiah, He was cast into a ministry and into a situation where brokenness was not only necessary, but seemingly impossible to escape as well.

[John Weaver] So let me just remind you of the three main points that we've covered so far. In the very first message on this series, The Cry of a Broken Heart, I pointed out there was the rejection of his service. His entire ministry was basically one of rejection. And certainly they did not want the truth. They did not desire the truth. They did not want repentance. They were happy and content exactly the way they were in their idolatry and in their sins.

[John Weaver] So if you remember last week, I kind of said it like this. They were saying, like we say, we don't want our status quo rocked. We may be wicked. We may be wrong, but it may be a wicked and wrong status quo, but it's our status quo and just don't mess with us. And that's the way it is. They rejected Jeremiah and rejected his ministry and would not listen to him at all. They hated him. They ridiculed him. They mocked him. They not only imprisoned him, they put him in a dungeon up to mire and mud up to his elbows and to his, I guess, armpits, you might as well say.

[John Weaver] And then they even tried to murder him. So obviously, They rejected his service. And the second reason I said that he had a broken and contrite heart was because of the refusal of his supplications. God would not hear him as he prayed for these people. And certainly, I pointed out from the scripture, it was God's will that the nation be destroyed because of their sin and because of their rebellion. They were completely rebellious against God.

[John Weaver] In fact, this is why I quoted last week again, Jeremiah chapter 5, especially verse 1, when God told Jeremiah to run to and fro through the whole city, if he could find one man that would execute judgment and do that which is right, he would pardon the entire city. But Jeremiah did not find even one man. So the entire society was completely corrupt. Now, I must point out that although God refused the supplications of Jeremiah, He did not leave Jeremiah in the dark, because he said in Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 11, and when you get to Jeremiah chapter 14 again, he said, pray not for this people, for I will not hear thee. And he also said that he's not going to hear those people when they cry.

[John Weaver] And this is known as the lex talionis. That is Latin for the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So they refuse to listen to God, and God is now refusing to listen to them. So I'm pointing out this simple truth. We don't like to hear it, but it's true. There is a time when prayer is useless. There is a time when mercy comes to an end and the only thing left is judgment.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what happened to the land of Judah and Jerusalem during the days of Jeremiah. In Micah chapter three in verse four, God said, then shall they cry to the Lord, but he will not hear them. He will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing. So God says they shall cry unto him, but he will not hear them. Why? Because they did not hear him. And then in the book of Zephaniah, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, God says, Woe to her that is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city.

[John Weaver] Let me stop right there. God is calling Jerusalem not only filthy and polluted, but he's also calling her an oppressing city. He said she obeyed not the voice. She received not correction. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God, would not listen, would not turn, would not repent. So you can see why Jeremiah was broken and cast down. Now, the third point last week, I showed you what gave Jeremiah hope. I don't know how in the world you could have hope in anything, in anything or anyone except that which Jeremiah had hope in. He certainly could not hope in himself. He certainly could not hope in the people. But if you'll just look up to Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 21, he said, This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope. What did you recall to mind?

[John Weaver] It is the Lord's mercies that were not consumed. because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. So as bad as things were in Judah and Jerusalem, things could have been worse. They were not worse, but only because of the grace and mercy and loving kindness and compassions and faithfulness of God. So God is sovereign. then he has absolutely everything under control.

[John Weaver] So today, I want us to look at our fourth and final point, and that is based upon verse 33, when he says, For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Now, if you go back to verse 31, look at this in the context right here. For the Lord will not cast off forever, but though he cause grief, yes, he will. Yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For, here's why, he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Now, here is what I want to cover on the fourth point, and that is reflecting upon the solace of God.

[John Weaver] Now, the word solace refers to that which is comforting, that which is consoling, and that which is cordial. We do not use the word cordial as frequently as they did in the old days. But the word cordial is a very good word. It refers to that which is grateful, and gracious, and delightful, heartfelt, and affectionate. So, when we greet each other, and a lot of times when we see longtime friends, we greet them cordially.

[John Weaver] That is, We not only shake their hand, we'll hug their neck. We're smiling. We're glad to see them. We're happy to have them in our presence. We invite them to dinner. We do whatever we can to make them comfortable and to make them happy. So that is what you call a very cordial greeting as well. But we have failed to understand that our Heavenly Father is also cordial and full of solace.

[John Weaver] I remember reading years ago about one of the old Puritans. He preached the message which he called the divine cordials. And of course, he was talking about the divine comforts or the divine consolations. So I want to ask you a question in light of this before we get started. Think about this. Here's my question. Have you ever entertained mean, vile, worthless and even blasphemous thoughts against our Heavenly Father. Now I want you to listen carefully. I did not ask, have you ever cursed our Heavenly Father? I did not ask, have you ever openly denied or ridiculed our Heavenly Father? The question was, have you ever entertained thoughts against God that are unbiblical, humanistic and ungodly. I can ask this another way.

[John Weaver] Have you ever complained and whined and baleate about the things in your life that you do not really understand and that you're actually perplexed about? Now, you may not have actually attacked the person of God, but you may attack God indirectly as well as directly. So many times when we are whining and grumbling and complaining, we're doing so at the providence of God. And I want you to remember this. You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God. You've heard me say this many times. There's no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that's ruled by God. The only thing that comes to pass in time in history happens to be that which God has ordained from eternity. And so therefore, God is absolutely sovereign. He's in control. And there's absolutely nothing that is outside of his control. So if you stop and postulate, well, there's something out there that God does not have control over. If you postulate that, then what you're saying is there's another God because God is not God if he is not sovereign.

[John Weaver] Whatever is outside of his control would really and truly be God as well. Now, when we talk about God's providence, we're talking about those incidents and those happenings and those things and those issues that God allows and even brings to pass in our lives for our good in his glory.

[John Weaver] Now, each one in this room could probably quote Romans 8, 28. Now think about this. The Bible said, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

[John Weaver] Now, let me emphasize this. And we know that all things, that means what you and I would consider bad, distasteful, as well as that which would be considered good, grand and glorious. God is able to make all things work out for us. Even those things that are distasteful, distressful and straining our lives, God can make them work out for our good. So let me repeat this one simple truth. There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God.

[John Weaver] Now, here's an application that I want to make right here in the middle of this message, and that is this. One does not have to attack God personally. All he has to do is despise his providence. In other words, you cannot separate God and his providence. And when we begin moaning and complaining and griping and bellyaching over that which we find disagreeable in our lives, we are indeed complaining against God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just tell you this. It is true that each of us have our own troubles, our own sorrows, our own afflictions, our own trials. But you have to understand this. Most of the troubles and most of the problems that you and I have, we bring upon ourselves. We bring it upon ourselves by our disobedience, by our lack of understanding and application of biblical truth, And all God does is allow us to reap that which we have sown. You remember that passage in Galatians chapter 6, verses 7 and 8, where it said, Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. So if we sow in the flesh, we should not be surprised if we reap in the flesh. Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion. It's just merely the fact that we're reaping that which we have sown.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask this question again. I want you to think about this. Have mean, vile, and blasphemous thoughts about God entered into your mind? For instance, When you find yourself in a very uncomfortable and disagreeable circumstance or situation, have you ever thought something like this? Why is this happening to me? I don't deserve this. I haven't done anything to bring this upon myself. Why is God allowing this to come to me?

[John Weaver] And here's an interesting thing. Whenever we get in circumstances and situations like that, we never think, wow, I deserve this and even much worse, but God's been merciful to me. We never think it like that. We just think that we're totally and completely innocent and we try to blame everything on God. Let me show you. I want you to hold limitation three. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 42. Now, you will remember in Genesis chapter 42, Jacob has sent his sons down into Egypt to get grain. And those boys do not recognize Joseph, their brother, who is now second in command in the whole country of Egypt.

[John Weaver] And so when his brothers appear before him, although he understands what they are saying, he speaks to them through an interpreter. In other words, he speaks Egyptian and someone then interprets it from Egyptian to Hebrew for those young boys to hear. And he tried to tell them that they were spies and this kind of thing. And so, no, no, we're not spies. So he lets them get all the grain they want.

[John Weaver] And he instructs his steward to put their money back in the mouth of the sack. And so they get down the road and they start to undo one of the sacks to get some grain to feed their animals. And they find this sack of money. So look, if you would, in Genesis chapter 42 and verse 28 at what the boy said. Look at this. And he said to his brethren, my money is restored. and lo, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, what is this that God hath done unto us? What?

[John Weaver] They never considered that they lied to their father, they deceived their father, they sold their brother into Egypt, sold him as a slave. I've thought about this so many times. I forget how many. Well, Joseph was 17 when they sold him. He was 30 when he appeared before Pharaoh. There were seven good years of gathering and then there were seven bad years of famine. So you go from 17 to 30 plus seven, plus maybe one or two more. And for all those years, they made their father think that Joseph was dead. I've often thought, I don't know how I could have forgiven my sons for doing something like that to me.

[John Weaver] I mean, that is really low down. That's because they hated Joseph. They hated him that much. And so now they're asking, what is this that God has done unto us? When in reality, they're just simply reaping that which they had sown. Now, here's the truth. No matter our problems, No matter our troubles, no matter our trials, no matter our sins, we always wish to blame everything that happens to us that we do not like and that we disagree with. We either want to blame it upon God or upon others.

[John Weaver] The hardest words for you and I to speak oftentimes are these. I have sinned. I have done wrong. It is my fault. I brought this upon myself. I disobeyed God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles. First of all, just right over, since we're close, to the book of Numbers and hold that book because we're coming right back there. But I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah first. So we'll go to Numbers 11 second. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. And I want you to look in chapter 8. Jeremiah is preaching now.

[John Weaver] And remember, he's warning the people, he's telling them all about their sins. And look at this in Jeremiah chapter 8. Look what is said, Jeremiah chapter 8. And notice, if you would please, verse 5. Well, let's read verse 4. God says, Moreover, thou shalt say to them, thus saith the Lord, shall they fall and not arise? shall he turn away and not return? Now look, why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to seat, they refuse to return.

[John Weaver] Here it is, I hearkened and heard, but they spake not a right. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, what have I done? Everyone turned to his course as the horse rushes into battle. In other words, I haven't done anything to deserve this. What have I done? Yes, they were idolaters. Yes, they were sinners. Yes, they were wicked. Yes, they were violating God's covenant. But here they're asking, what have I done?

[John Weaver] And that's the attitude of most people. What have I done?

[John Weaver] Now, if you go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11, and I'm just showing you now, you cannot separate the person of God and the providence of God because the providence of God happens to be the act of God so look if you would in Numbers chapter 11 verse 1 the scripture says and when the people complained note the word complained and when the people complained it displeased the Lord and the Lord heard it he heard all their griping, bellyaching, whining and his anger was kindled and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." Note, if you would, they were complaining, they were griping, and it displeased the Lord. Now, to give you a fuller understanding, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 21. Numbers chapter 21. Note, if you would, please, Numbers 21 and look, if you would, at verse 5. Numbers 21 verse 5. And the people spake against God and against Moses. Now note they spake against God and against Moses.

[John Weaver] Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water. Look at this, and our soul loatheth this light bread, manna. and the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died." Look at this, and the people spake against God and against Moses. Why were they speaking against God? Why were they speaking against Moses? Because they did not like the route that God had led them. They did not consider the fact that, first of all, God led them the long way around, the Bible tells you, lest they should see war and be discouraged because they were not trained sufficiently to fight at that particular time. And now they're in the wilderness, but they're there because of their sin and their rebellion.

[John Weaver] And so now it's God's fault. I mean, it's God's fault that we're here. We don't like his leading us in this direction. Moreover, Now they're complaining about the manna that God supplied. The word manna literally means what it is. They didn't know what it was when they saw it. And they took that manna and they would grind it and eat it. And of course, the Bible said it was white and round like the coriander seed, tastes like honey, kind of like a wafer of some type.

[John Weaver] But notice it was the perfect food. I mean, God was giving that food for them to sustain it. You know what they say? You read the book of Numbers yourself. We want those garlics and leeks that we left in Egypt. We want the stinky stuff. We don't want the stuff that God has provided for us right here. And so they're veliating, and they're whining, and they're loathing the direction of God in their lives, and they're loathing the provision of God in their lives.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is I'm afraid that all of us are guilty in this respect. Because many times we just get fed up with what's going on. We don't like what's happening to us. We don't like what we have or what we don't have. And we gripe and we complain.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you another verse. This time in the New Testament, I want you to turn to the book of Acts chapter 13 and look if you would please at verse 45. Look in Acts chapter 13 and verse 45. And of course, this is exceedingly plain as well. So Acts chapter 13, verse 45, the Bible says, but when the Jews saw the multitudes, now let's go back to verse 44. Look at this. So Paul is preaching. The Bible says, and the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. So they want to come hear the word of God. But watch verse 45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, that is, those who were coming to hear the preaching, they were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. So because of their envy, they are now contradicting the truth of Paul's preaching. They're saying the opposite. They're saying that Paul is wrong. They are right. Now, look what the Bible says.

[John Weaver] They speak against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. So they were blaspheming God. So I want you to take note of the fact that speaking against God and his word, as well as his providence, is not only contradicting God, but it is also blaspheming him. So we have to understand There are times in our lives that we are chastised, that we are chastened, that we are whipped.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to point out that the Bible says in Micah chapter 6 and verse 9, Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it. So when we refuse as God's children to hear his word, we get the rod. we get whipped we get chastised now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12 and I want you to hold this passage because I'll probably refer back to it just a little bit later Hebrews chapter 12 you mark that passage and I want you to notice what God says very plainly Hebrews chapter 12 look if you would beginning there in verse 9 We'll come back and read the rest of it earlier. We'll look in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 9. The Word of God says, Furthermore, we've had fathers of our flesh who corrected us. Watch this. We've had fathers of our flesh who corrected us.

[John Weaver] And we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits than live?

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 10. for they, that is our earthly fathers, verily for a few days chasten us after their own pleasure. But he for our prophet, that we might be partakers of his holiness. So God is telling us now that every time he chastens us, it is always for our prophet that we might be holy as he is holy. So there is a chastening when we sin.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to go back to Lamentations chapter 3. And I want this verse to sink into your hearts. In Lamentations 3 verse 33 says this, For he that is God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

[John Weaver] Now let me give you a very revealing truth. When you see the word willingly in Lamentations 3 and verse 33 The Hebrew word is Leb or Lebe and the word means heart. You remember that passage in Proverbs 4 verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence for other issues of life. It's exactly the same Hebrew word. So actually what he's saying in Lamentations 3 verse 33 is God does not afflict us from his heart.

[John Weaver] He afflicts us out of necessity. He does not do it from delight. He does not do it necessarily to cause pain or misery like any loving father, like any intelligent mother. God uses the rod of correction not to gratify himself, but to educate us and to profit us and to make us holy.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a quote from Matthew Poole. I'm going to come back to this quote before I end. I want you to remember one thing. Look what he said. In the Hebrew, it is, he does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight, not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicted. Hence, judgment is called God's strange work. Showing mercy is his proper and natural work which flows from himself without any cause in the creature. Judgment is a strange work to which he never proceeded but when provoked and as it were forced from the creature which it followeth that he cannot delight in it. So I want you to go back and look now at Lamentations 3 verse 33 and let's read through verse 36. Here's something that God does not delight in. Watch what he said.

[John Weaver] For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. God has absolutely all power. He is omnipotent. He could crush anyone and everyone or all of us at any time he pleases. But God says that's not what he delights in. No, he's not going to do that. Watch this. for he doth not affect willingly, nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High." He's not going to do that. Watch verse 36,"...to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not." God is not interested in destroying any man. Our Father is not going to be unrighteous or unjust to any man, not even to the wicked. Now there's a passage In the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verse 11, and here's what God said,"...say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked man turn from his way, and live.

[John Weaver] Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why would you die, O house of Israel?" What did God just say? I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God is not some old meanie up in heaven just waiting to afflict someone or to stonk someone in the ground. Those of us who have children understand, especially the fathers, that we've never delighted in having to chastise our children. I've never told Alice, wow, isn't this wonderful, I get to whip my children today.

[John Weaver] No, I have no delight in whipping them. I did chastise them. but only out of necessity to educate them and to teach them principles. And here's a principle. If we haven't learned it, we need to learn it. And that is this. If we sin, we're going to suffer. You're not going to escape suffering if you sin. So it's impossible to sin against God if you're a Christian and not be chastised.

[John Weaver] So let me show you. Look back in Hebrews chapter 12. I told you I'd come back there. But look beginning there with verse 5. Watch this. I'm telling you, it's impossible as a Christian to sin against God and not be chastened. Verse 5, Hebrews chapter 12. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. and scourges every son that he received. If you know that you're chastening, God deludes you as with sons. Now look at this, for what son is he whom the father chastened not? But if you be without chastisement for all our partakers, then are you bastards and not sons. Wow! So, our father only whips his children. So this is why I'm saying if you can sin against God and not be chastised, you're not his child. Not his child. I've got friends. Warren Luke has eight children. I have never whipped any of his children.

[John Weaver] And they've been at my house many times, but I've never whipped one of them. Why? They're not mine. I mean, I'm not going to whip his child. But I will go to him and say, your child deserves a whipping. He did this and this and that. But I'm not going to whip him. It's not my responsibility. That's his responsibility. So just like I'm not going to whip your children and you're going to whip my children, God is not going to whip the devil's children. I mean, he will judge them, but he's not going to chastise them. So this is why I'm saying, if you can sin and escape chastisement, then you are not his child.

[John Weaver] Now, it is the wickedness of man, it is the depravity of the heart, it is the lack of biblical wisdom and understanding that makes one think that somehow he is the exception to this. Wow! There are many Christians who believe, well maybe I can do this little sin and get by with it. No, no, you're not the exception. God scourges every son whom he receiveth. If you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then he said you're pastors and not sons. So I want you to think about this. If you begin to think that somehow you can sin against God and escape his judgment, his chastening, that you can sin against God and you're going to be the exception.

[John Weaver] You need to remember Romans chapter 8 and verse 32. You know what the Bible says there? Listen to this. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? Jesus Christ was the sinless Son of God. Jesus Christ was the perfect man and the holy God. He was the God-man. And when God imputed our sins upon him, he did not spare his only begotten son. If you believe that somehow God is going to let you escape, chastise, but when he chastened his own son, you're deceived. You're deceived. No, you cannot sin against God and get by with it.

[John Weaver] Now, notice if you would, God does not grieve and afflict the children of men from a malicious, unjust, or wicked action or desire. He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. God does chasten us as his children, but it's always for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness. That's what he said in Hebrews 12 and verse 10. Our earthly fathers chastened us after their own pleasure, he said, and we gave them reverence. I'm sure some of you can remember when your father chastened you.

[John Weaver] If I had to get a whipping at my house, I'd much rather my mother do it. Because I could just simply cry and holler and scream and she'd pretty well stop. But dad wouldn't. My father had a good principle. He went by and it was this. If you do it right, you don't have to do it often. And I can tell you he did it right. And once he did it right, I would be willing to say, yes, sir. And no, sir. And I'm ready to go to work right now. Now, I'm just simply pointing out the fact God is known for his mercy and his grace. He is not known necessarily just for his affliction and his chastisement, although he does that.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 104. I want you to see something about the nature of God and about the mercy and kindness of God. So here's what the Bible says in Psalm 104. There's many passages, but look in Psalm 104, if you would, please. And let's begin reading with verse 10. We'll read through at least verse 15 or 16. But look at this. We could read the entire psalm. Notice if you would, Psalm 104, verse 10. The Bible said, He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills. We're talking about water. Why?

[John Weaver] They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watered the hills from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and earth for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens a man's heart.

[John Weaver] The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted. Look at verse 17, where the birds make their nests, as for the stork, their fir trees are her house. The high hills are refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. He appointed the moon for seasons, the sun north is going down, and he talks about the young lions, how they roar and they seek their prey from God, how God feeds every animal and takes care of all these things. God is known for his mercies. God is known for his goodness, his compassions, his kindnesses. And God takes care of everything. Can you imagine if you just had to feed all the birds in the world for one day?

[John Weaver] What it would cost you? That's not all the other animals. I'm just going to say, God is known for his goodness. You remember that passage in Matthew chapter 5 in verse 45. He said that you may be the children of your father who is in heaven, for he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and he sendeth rain upon the just and on the unjust.

[John Weaver] You know, this boggles my mind. But once you consider this and think about this, the wicked hate God. They despise him. They curse him. They dishonor Him. They refuse to worship Him. And the only time they take His name is in vain, cursing. And yet God continues to allow them to live. He gives them life. He gives them help. He gives them food. He gives them family. He gives them finances. He gives them fellowship. Everything they have, He gave them and still gives them. And they hate Him and they despise Him. Wow.

[John Weaver] I'm just simply pointing out the fact this is actually, actually astounding. Now, if you will turn in your Bible to the book of Isaiah chapter 28, you will see this reference in Scripture. And I hope you think about the quote that I gave you from Matthew Poole. So look in Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 21. I preached on this passage many, many years back. Isaiah 28 and verse 21, the Word of God says this, So in the context he's talking about judgment and judgment is here referred to as his strange work and as his strange act. So God is so well known for his mercy, goodness and grace that when he judges and when he sends forth his holy judgment, it's called his strange work, his strange act.

[John Weaver] God's frowns are given reluctantly, but his favors are given graciously. I think his judgment is referred to as a strange work. due to the fact that his normal place is his mercy seat. It's almost as if he has to arise from the mercy seat to give forth his strange work, his strange act, which is judgment.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you something else. Since you're in the book of Isaiah, if you will turn to Isaiah chapter 63, and I want you to look at verse 9. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. I look in verse 8. We'll read verse 8 first. In fact, we can go back to verse 7. Let's go back to verse 7. Jeremiah, Isaiah says, I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all the Lord hath bestowed upon us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel. which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

[John Weaver] For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Saviour.

[John Weaver] Now look, in all their affliction he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bared them and cared them all the days of old. Look at that, in all of their affliction, he was afflicted. He suffered with his people. He suffered with his children. I remember when I was a boy and I'd done something wrong, my father getting a switch and was going to whip me.

[John Weaver] And he would always say this. This is going to hurt me worse than it does you. I thought to myself, I don't believe that at all. Until I got to be a father and I had to whip my children. It does hurt. It does hurt. I can remember right now. I was so hurt one time from my children. Because they lied to me. I did not think they would ever, ever lie to me. But they did.

[John Weaver] And I was just absolutely broken over. I disciplined them. I did not want to. But I did. I'm just simply saying, in all of our affliction, he was afflicted. I never desired or delighted in whipping my children. And God the Father does not desire or delight in whipping his children, but he does so. You know, we delight in doing good things for our children, our grandchildren. Me too. Grandmoms are very difficult to control when it comes to spending money on their grandchildren. Especially buying new little dresses for the girls and toys for the boys and things like that. Alice came home just a few weeks ago, took a little outfit that I got for Meredith. Look at the little purse I got for Chloe. Yeah, I understand that.

[John Weaver] Tammy, I hope you're listening. But anyhow, I'm just saying, you know what the scripture says? Listen to this. The scripture says in Matthew 7, verse 11, if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give good things to them? That's good. God delights in giving good things. because he's our father.

[John Weaver] Now, here's a quote from Calvin, and he's talking about controlling our thoughts and controlling our minds, and especially when we are suffering, when we're in affliction. And he says this, that such thoughts then might not tempt us to unbelief. The prophet here puts a check on us and declares that God does not afflict from his heart, that is, willingly, as though he delighted in the evils of men, as a judge, who, when he ascends his throne and condemns the guilty to death, does not do this from his heart, because he wishes

[John Weaver] all to be innocent, and thus to have a reason for acquitting them. But, yet he willingly condemns the guilty, because this is his duty. So also God, when he adopts severity toward men, He indeed does so willingly, because he is the judge of the world, but he does not do so from the heart, because he wishes all to be innocent, for far away from him is all fierceness and cruelty. And as he regards men with paternal love, so also he would have them to be saved, were they not, as it were, by force to drive him to rigor." In other words, they force him to basically punish and condemn them. So obviously God does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. It's not in the heart of God to do that maliciously, wickedly.

[John Weaver] The only time he grieves us, the only time he afflicts us, the only time he chastens us is for our profit and that we might have His holiness in our lives. He does so out of necessity.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen to these because they, I think, are very important. I don't believe I ever saw the program, but years ago, there was a black comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. And he popularized to say, does anybody remember what it was? The devil made me do it. Listen to me very carefully. The devil, Satan, does not need to tempt most of us. He does not even need to bother with us.

[John Weaver] When you read in the Bible, He only really dealt with several men. He tempted Adam and Eve, Job, our Lord, and our Lord said that he desired to have Peter that he might sift him his wheat, but that's it. Do you know why he does not mess with most of us? He doesn't need to because of our flesh. I want you to look in your Bible. to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and I want to begin reading there with verse 19. I want you to see something.

[John Weaver] So many people says the devil made them do these things. No, he did not. So look in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19. Remember our Lord said whatever you sow in the flesh you're going to reap in the flesh. So he tells you in verse 19 now the works of the flesh or manifest. Now, wait a minute. The works. This is something your flesh does. The works of the flesh are manifest. Which are these? This is all flesh.

[John Weaver] Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings in such life, of which I tell you before, as I've also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. All of that's the work of the flesh. That's us, left and right. And it doesn't matter if it's adultery all the way down to murder, to revelings, to drunkenness, to strife, fussing and fighting and feuding. That's flesh. That is flesh. So the flesh of our fallen nature, our sin nature, is sufficient to tempt us and to make us sin. Nothing else is needed. Nothing else is required. It's just our pure depravity. It's our lust for the flesh.

[John Weaver] So, in like manner, you have to say this, God does not even need to necessarily afflict us directly from his hand. All God needs to do is to leave us to ourselves. Allow us to reap that which we have sown. And we're going to reap the consequences of our sins. So let me say this again. Most of our problems, most of our heartaches. Most of our afflictions, stem from our own sins, our own disobedience, our own rebellion. Here's the second application. God never afflicts us unless we give him cause to do it. He shows us kindness when it seems good to him to do so, but he sends bitter things against us It is because we both deserve them and need them. Think about that. We both deserve them and need them. Here's a quote from Calvin. He says, Jesus Christ, who are evil, know how to give good to your children.

[John Weaver] What then are we to expect from the very fountain of goodness? as in parents are not willingly angry with their children nor handle them abruptly there is no doubt but that God never punishes men except when he is constrained that is out of necessity when he must do it so here's my next application chastisement is a divine cordial you remember I told you the word cordial that which is affectionate, that which is loving, that which is gracious and kind. Chastisement is a divine cordial. We may not like being chastened, but chastisement is a demonstration that we are indeed the child of God. If you can sin and get by with it, you are not his child.

[John Weaver] But the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 6, For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. None of us can get by without chastening in one form or another. And then he said in the book of Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19, As many as I love, I rebuke, repent therefore, be zealous and repent. As many as I love, I rebuke. God prefers to bestow his love upon us and be gracious and kind to us. So let me close with one illustration.

[John Weaver] I want you to think about this. OK. Next week. Next week. On the 15th of May. I will have been preaching and teaching for 61 years. OK. I've taught not just preaching, but I have taught in Christian schools and Christian colleges. I've taught from the fourth grade all the way through college level. I've taught many college students, but the one that really tried me was fourth grade. In my fourth grade class, I had one young man who was much bigger than the other fourth grade students. And this young man did something every day that caused me to have to spank him every day like clockwork. The young man was from a broken home.

[John Weaver] We had a form that the parents had to sign that gave us permission to use corporal punishment. And I usually ended up doing the corporal punishment. We had one other man that did so occasionally as well, but I usually ended up doing it. And before I would ever whip a child, I would usually call the parents, and I would prefer to speak to the father. And I would tell him, your son has done such and such, and I'm going to chastise him. I'm going to give him three licks with this paddle.

[John Weaver] If you would like to come down and observe, you're more than welcome. Just come on down. Usually the father would say this, Preacher, just do what you need to do, and I'll take care of it when he gets home. That's the way it was when I was a child. If I got a whip in somewhere else, when I got home, I got another one. Okay. So what I would do is this. I would have the child sitting in front of my desk and I would ask, what did you do?

[John Weaver] I wanted to hear him verbalize his sin or his disobedience. And when he told me what he had done, I would say, now I'm going to chastise you. I'm going to whip you. I'm going to give you three licks. I said, now let me ask you a question. Am I angry with you? No, sir. Do I hate you? No, sir. Do I love you? Yes, sir. Well, if I love you, son, why am I going to chastise you? And the answer would come, because you love me. And I would say, yes, that is correct. Now bend over and I want to give you these three licks. And then when I'd whip the child, I would put my arm around him, tell him that I loved him, and we would have prayer and ask the Lord to bless that chastisement and to teach him.

[John Weaver] I had to do this to this kid just about every day for I don't know how long. And then one day it dawned on me. And so I waited for him to come in the door. at the school. And when he came in the door, I put my arm around him and I said, Ronnie, I said, I just want to tell you, I love you today. And I want to ask the Lord to give you a good day and bless you in your studies.

[John Weaver] Would that be all right? Yes, Pastor, yes. And I pray with him. Guess what? I never had to whip that child again because every day I just put my arm around him. and tell him I loved him. Think about this. Here's a fourth grade student from a broken home that probably got away with I don't know what all. But he realized that chastisement was an act of love. And he would do whatever is necessary to get chastised just so I could put my arm around him and tell him I love him. And he realized When God chastens us, it's because he loves us. And he's just putting his arm around us saying, son, I love you. Don't do this anymore. Don't make me pick up that paddle again. Huh? Chastisement is a divine portion because it demonstrates that we are his children. All right, before we pray, any questions or comments on the lesson? I just want you to remember this. God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of man.

[John Weaver] Father, again, we thank you for your love, grace and mercy, goodness and kindness. We thank you, Father, even for your chastisement. We thank you for the afflictions We may not like them, Lord, but they are good for us because we are to profit from them and to become more holy, more godly, more obedient. Lord, we do pray for these on the prayer list and ask, Lord, that you would undertake for them. We pray for Steve this week as he faces tests or whatever, Lord, just give him grace and mercy and each of these others. And Lord, we pray for the Sephis again, Lord, that you would help them and bless them. Give us, Lord, your grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 4

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	57262358144158
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-05-03
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	84

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces Lamentations 3:33 and reviews the three previous points: rejection of Jeremiah's service, refusal of his supplications, and the hope Jeremiah found in God's mercies.

So let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations chapter 3, and we're going to be looking at verse 33. This is the fourth and the final part of this brief study in Lamentations chapter 3. And so I used this verse last week, but I did not expound it, and I want to do so this week. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 33, the Scripture says, "For he," that is God,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:33

"doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."

I trust that this brief series has been helpful and, of course, applicable to our lives as well. One of our problems, I think, is we get so involved in our lives, especially with our work, our sleep, our routines, even our recreation. that oftentimes we do not take the time to think, to meditate, to contemplate, or consider what is happening unto us and why it is happening. Consequently, we do not readily become broken and contrite and humbled before God, neither do we desire to repent easily and quickly. We are quite unlike the prophet Jeremiah. He was cast into a ministry and into a situation where brokenness was not only necessary, but seemingly impossible to escape as well.

So let me just remind you of the three main points that we've covered so far. In the very first message on this series, "The Cry of a Broken Heart," I pointed out there was the rejection of his service. His entire ministry was basically one of rejection. And certainly they did not want the truth. They did not desire the truth. They did not want repentance. They were happy and content exactly the way they were in their idolatry and in their sins.

So if you remember last week, I kind of said it like this. They were saying, like we say, we don't want our status quo rocked. We may be wicked. We may be wrong, but it may be a wicked and wrong status quo, but it's our status quo and just don't mess with us. And that's the way it is. They rejected Jeremiah and rejected his ministry and would not listen to him at all. They hated him. They ridiculed him. They mocked him. They not only imprisoned him, they put him in a dungeon up to mire and mud up to his elbows and to his, I guess, armpits, you might as well say.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1

And then they even tried to murder him. So obviously, they rejected his service. And the second reason I said that he had a broken and contrite heart was because of the refusal of his supplications. God would not hear him as he prayed for these people. And certainly, I pointed out from the Scripture, it was God's will that the nation be destroyed because of their sin and because of their rebellion. They were completely rebellious against God. In fact, this is why I quoted last week again, Jeremiah chapter 5, especially verse 1, when God told Jeremiah to run to and fro through the whole city, if he could find one man that would execute judgment and do that which is right, he would pardon the entire city. But Jeremiah did not find even one man. So the entire society was completely corrupt. Now, I must point out that although God refused the supplications of Jeremiah, He did not leave Jeremiah in the dark, because he said in Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 11, and when you get to Jeremiah chapter 14 again, he said, "Pray not for this people, for I will not hear thee." And he also said that he's not going to hear those people when they cry.

And this is known as the lex talionis. That is Latin for the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So they refuse to listen to God, and God is now refusing to listen to them. So I'm pointing out this simple truth. We don't like to hear it, but it's true. There is a time when prayer is useless. There is a time when mercy comes to an end and the only thing left is judgment.

And that's exactly what happened to the land of Judah and Jerusalem during the days of Jeremiah. In Micah chapter 3 and verse 4, God said, "Then shall they cry to the Lord, but he will not hear them. He will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing." So God says they shall cry unto him, but he will not hear them. Why? Because they did not hear him. And then in the book of Zephaniah, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, God says,

Scripture Reading — Zephaniah 3:1-2

"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city."

Let me stop right there. God is calling Jerusalem not only filthy and polluted, but he's also calling her an oppressing city. He said she obeyed not the voice. She received not correction. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God, would not listen, would not turn, would not repent. So you can see why Jeremiah was broken and cast down. Now, the third point last week, I showed you what gave Jeremiah hope. I don't know how in the world you could have hope in anything, in anything or anyone except that which Jeremiah had hope in. He certainly could not hope in himself. He certainly could not hope in the people. But if you'll just look up to Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 21, he said, "This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope." What did you recall to mind?

It is the Lord's mercies that were not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. So as bad as things were in Judah and Jerusalem, things could have been worse. They were not worse, but only because of the grace and mercy and lovingkindness and compassions and faithfulness of God. So God is sovereign. Then he has absolutely everything under control.

The Solace of God

Weaver introduces the fourth point: reflecting upon the solace (comfort, consolation) of God, explaining that God is cordial and full of comfort, not malicious.

Now, the word solace refers to that which is comforting, that which is consoling, and that which is cordial. We do not use the word cordial as frequently as they did in the old days. But the word cordial is a very good word. It refers to that which is grateful, and gracious, and delightful, heartfelt, and affectionate. So, when we greet each other, and a lot of times when we see longtime friends, we greet them cordially. That is, we not only shake their hand, we'll hug their neck. We're smiling. We're glad to see them. We're happy to have them in our presence. We invite them to dinner. We do whatever we can to make them comfortable and to make them happy. So that is what you call a very cordial greeting as well. But we have failed to understand that our Heavenly Father is also cordial and full of solace.

I remember reading years ago about one of the old Puritans. He preached the message which he called "The Divine Cordials." And of course, he was talking about the divine comforts or the divine consolations. So I want to ask you a question in light of this before we get started. Think about this. Here's my question. Have you ever entertained mean, vile, worthless and even blasphemous thoughts against our Heavenly Father? Now I want you to listen carefully. I did not ask, have you ever cursed our Heavenly Father? I did not ask, have you ever openly denied or ridiculed our Heavenly Father? The question was, have you ever entertained thoughts against God that are unbiblical, humanistic and ungodly? I can ask this another way.

Complaining Against Providence

Weaver argues that complaining about circumstances is complaining against God's providence, and that we cannot separate God from His providence. He gives examples from Genesis 42 and Numbers 11, 21.

Have you ever complained and whined and bellyached about the things in your life that you do not really understand and that you're actually perplexed about? Now, you may not have actually attacked the person of God, but you may attack God indirectly as well as directly. So many times when we are whining and grumbling and complaining, we're doing so at the providence of God. And I want you to remember this. You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God. You've heard me say this many times. There's no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that's ruled by God. The only thing that comes to pass in time in history happens to be that which God has ordained from eternity. And so therefore, God is absolutely sovereign. He's in control. And there's absolutely nothing that is outside of his control. So if you stop and postulate, well, there's something out there that God does not have control over. If you postulate that, then what you're saying is there's another God because God is not God if he is not sovereign.

Whatever is outside of his control would really and truly be God as well. Now, when we talk about God's providence, we're talking about those incidents and those happenings and those things and those issues that God allows and even brings to pass in our lives for our good in his glory. Now, each one in this room could probably quote Romans 8:28. Now think about this. The Bible said, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

Now, let me emphasize this. "And we know that all things," that means what you and I would consider bad, distasteful, as well as that which would be considered good, grand and glorious. God is able to make all things work out for us. Even those things that are distasteful, distressful and straining our lives, God can make them work out for our good. So let me repeat this one simple truth. There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God.

Now, here's an application that I want to make right here in the middle of this message, and that is this. One does not have to attack God personally. All he has to do is despise his providence. In other words, you cannot separate God and his providence. And when we begin moaning and complaining and griping and bellyaching over that which we find disagreeable in our lives, we are indeed complaining against God.

Now, let me just tell you this. It is true that each of us have our own troubles, our own sorrows, our own afflictions, our own trials. But you have to understand this. Most of the troubles and most of the problems that you and I have, we bring upon ourselves. We bring it upon ourselves by our disobedience, by our lack of understanding and application of biblical truth. And all God does is allow us to reap that which we have sown. You remember that passage in Galatians chapter 6, verses 7 and 8, where it said, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting." So if we sow in the flesh, we should not be surprised if we reap in the flesh. Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion. It's just merely the fact that we're reaping that which we have sown.

Now, let me ask this question again. I want you to think about this. Have mean, vile, and blasphemous thoughts about God entered into your mind? For instance, when you find yourself in a very uncomfortable and disagreeable circumstance or situation, have you ever thought something like this? "Why is this happening to me? I don't deserve this. I haven't done anything to bring this upon myself. Why is God allowing this to come to me?"

And here's an interesting thing. Whenever we get in circumstances and situations like that, we never think, "Wow, I deserve this and even much worse, but God's been merciful to me." We never think it like that. We just think that we're totally and completely innocent and we try to blame everything on God. Let me show you. I want you to hold Lamentations 3. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 42. Now, you will remember in Genesis chapter 42, Jacob has sent his sons down into Egypt to get grain. And those boys do not recognize Joseph, their brother, who is now second in command in the whole country of Egypt.

And so when his brothers appear before him, although he understands what they are saying, he speaks to them through an interpreter. In other words, he speaks Egyptian and someone then interprets it from Egyptian to Hebrew for those young boys to hear. And he tried to tell them that they were spies and this kind of thing. And so, "No, no, we're not spies." So he lets them get all the grain they want. And he instructs his steward to put their money back in the mouth of the sack. And so they get down the road and they start to undo one of the sacks to get some grain to feed their animals. And they find this sack of money. So look, if you would, in Genesis chapter 42 and verse 28 at what the boy said. Look at this.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 42:28

"And he said to his brethren, 'My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack.' And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, 'What is this that God hath done unto us?'"

What?

They never considered that they lied to their father, they deceived their father, they sold their brother into Egypt, sold him as a slave. I've thought about this so many times. I forget how many. Well, Joseph was 17 when they sold him. He was 30 when he appeared before Pharaoh. There were seven good years of gathering and then there were seven bad years of famine. So you go from 17 to 30 plus seven, plus maybe one or two more. And for all those years, they made their father think that Joseph was dead. I've often thought, I don't know how I could have forgiven my sons for doing something like that to me.

I mean, that is really low down. That's because they hated Joseph. They hated him that much. And so now they're asking, "What is this that God has done unto us?" When in reality, they're just simply reaping that which they had sown. Now, here's the truth. No matter our problems, no matter our troubles, no matter our trials, no matter our sins, we always wish to blame everything that happens to us that we do not like and that we disagree with. We either want to blame it upon God or upon others.

The hardest words for you and I to speak oftentimes are these. "I have sinned. I have done wrong. It is my fault. I brought this upon myself. I disobeyed God."

Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles. First of all, just right over, since we're close, to the book of Numbers and hold that book because we're coming right back there. But I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah first. So we'll go to Numbers 11 second. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. And I want you to look in chapter 8. Jeremiah is preaching now.

And remember, he's warning the people, he's telling them all about their sins. And look at this in Jeremiah chapter 8. Look what is said, Jeremiah chapter 8. And notice, if you would please, verse 5. Well, let's read verse 4. God says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:4-6

"Moreover, thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, Shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? Now look, why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return."

Here it is, "I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his course as the horse rushes into battle." In other words, "I haven't done anything to deserve this. What have I done?" Yes, they were idolaters. Yes, they were sinners. Yes, they were wicked. Yes, they were violating God's covenant. But here they're asking, "What have I done?"

And that's the attitude of most people. "What have I done?" Now, if you go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11, and I'm just showing you now, you cannot separate the person of God and the providence of God because the providence of God happens to be the act of God. So look if you would in Numbers chapter 11 verse 1. The Scripture says, "And when the people complained," note the word complained, "and when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it." He heard all their griping, bellyaching, whining, "and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:1

" Note, if you would, they were complaining, they were griping, and it displeased the Lord. Now, to give you a fuller understanding, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 21. Numbers chapter 21. Note, if you would, please, Numbers 21 and look, if you would, at verse 5. Numbers 21 verse 5. "

And the people spake against God and against Moses." Now note they spake against God and against Moses.

"Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water." Look at this, "and our soul loatheth this light bread," manna. "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died." Look at this, "and the people spake against God and against Moses." Why were they speaking against God? Why were they speaking against Moses? Because they did not like the route that God had led them. They did not consider the fact that, first of all, God led them the long way around, the Bible tells you, lest they should see war and be discouraged because they were not trained sufficiently to fight at that particular time. And now they're in the wilderness, but they're there because of their sin and their rebellion.

And so now it's God's fault. I mean, it's God's fault that we're here. We don't like his leading us in this direction. Moreover, now they're complaining about the manna that God supplied. The word manna literally means "what is it?" They didn't know what it was when they saw it. And they took that manna and they would grind it and eat it. And of course, the Bible said it was white and round like the coriander seed, tastes like honey, kind of like a wafer of some type.

But notice it was the perfect food. I mean, God was giving that food for them to sustain it. You know what they say? You read the book of Numbers yourself. "We want those garlics and leeks that we left in Egypt." We want the stinky stuff. We don't want the stuff that God has provided for us right here. And so they're bellyaching, and they're whining, and they're loathing the direction of God in their lives, and they're loathing the provision of God in their lives.

And the truth of the matter is I'm afraid that all of us are guilty in this respect. Because many times we just get fed up with what's going on. We don't like what's happening to us. We don't like what we have or what we don't have. And we gripe and we complain.

Blaspheming God Through Contradiction

Using Acts 13:45, Weaver shows that speaking against God's word and providence is contradicting and blaspheming God.

They speak against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. So they were blaspheming God. So I want you to take note of the fact that speaking against God and his word, as well as his providence, is not only contradicting God, but it is also blaspheming him. So we have to understand there are times in our lives that we are chastised, that we are chastened, that we are whipped.

Chastisement as a Necessity, Not Delight

Weaver explains from Lamentations 3:33 that 'willingly' means 'from the heart,' and that God afflicts out of necessity, not delight. He quotes Matthew Poole and references Hebrews 12 to show chastisement is for our profit and holiness.

Now let me give you a very revealing truth. When you see the word "willingly" in Lamentations 3 and verse 33, the Hebrew word is "leb" or "lev" and the word means "heart." You remember that passage in Proverbs 4 verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life." It's exactly the same Hebrew word. So actually what he's saying in Lamentations 3 verse 33 is God does not afflict us from his heart. He afflicts us out of necessity. He does not do it from delight. He does not do it necessarily to cause pain or misery. Like any loving father, like any intelligent mother, God uses the rod of correction not to gratify himself, but to educate us and to profit us and to make us holy.

Now, here's a quote from Matthew Poole. I'm going to come back to this quote before I end. I want you to remember one thing. Look what he said. "In the Hebrew, it is, he does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight, not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicted. Hence, judgment is called God's strange work. Showing mercy is his proper and natural work which flows from himself without any cause in the creature. Judgment is a strange work to which he never proceeded but when provoked and as it were forced from the creature, which it followeth that he cannot delight in it." So I want you to go back and look now at Lamentations 3 verse 33 and let's read through verse 36. Here's something that God does not delight in. Watch what he said.

"For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth." God has absolutely all power. He is omnipotent. He could crush anyone and everyone or all of us at any time he pleases. But God says that's not what he delights in. No, he's not going to do that. Watch this. "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High." He's not going to do that. Watch verse 36, "...to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not." God is not interested in destroying any man. Our Father is not going to be unrighteous or unjust to any man, not even to the wicked. Now there's a passage in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verse 11, and here's what God said, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked man turn from his way, and live.

Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why would you die, O house of Israel?" What did God just say? "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." God is not some old meanie up in heaven just waiting to afflict someone or to stomp someone in the ground. Those of us who have children understand, especially the fathers, that we've never delighted in having to chastise our children. I've never told Alice, "Wow, isn't this wonderful, I get to whip my children today." No, I have no delight in whipping them. I did chastise them, but only out of necessity to educate them and to teach them principles. And here's a principle. If we haven't learned it, we need to learn it. And that is this. If we sin, we're going to suffer. You're not going to escape suffering if you sin. So it's impossible to sin against God if you're a Christian and not be chastised.

So let me show you. Look back in Hebrews chapter 12. I told you I'd come back there. But look beginning there with verse 5. Watch this. I'm telling you, it's impossible as a Christian to sin against God and not be chastened. Verse 5, Hebrews chapter 12. "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons." Now look at this, "for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons." Wow! So, our Father only whips his children. So this is why I'm saying if you can sin against God and not be chastised, you're not his child. Not his child. I've got friends. Warren Luke has eight children. I have never whipped any of his children.

God's Strange Work of Judgment

Weaver cites Isaiah 28:21 to show that judgment is God's 'strange work,' while mercy is His normal disposition. He also references Isaiah 63:9 to show God is afflicted in our afflictions.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 28:21

God's frowns are given reluctantly, but his favors are given graciously. I think his judgment is referred to as a strange work due to the fact that his normal place is his mercy seat. It's almost as if he has to arise from the mercy seat to give forth his strange work, his strange act, which is judgment. Now let me show you something else. Since you're in the book of Isaiah, if you will turn to Isaiah chapter 63, and I want you to look at verse 9. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. I look in verse 8. We'll read verse 8 first. In fact, we can go back to verse 7. Let's go back to verse 7. Jeremiah, Isaiah says, "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath bestowed upon us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses."

"For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Saviour." Now look, "In all their affliction he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them and carried them all the days of old." Look at that, in all of their affliction, he was afflicted. He suffered with his people. He suffered with his children. I remember when I was a boy and I'd done something wrong, my father getting a switch and was going to whip me.

Applications and Illustrations

Weaver applies the message: most problems stem from our own sin; God never afflicts without cause; chastisement is a divine cordial proving we are His children. He shares a personal story of a fourth-grade student to illustrate that chastisement is an act of love.

Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen to these because they, I think, are very important. I don't believe I ever saw the program, but years ago, there was a black comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. And he popularized the saying, does anybody remember what it was? "The devil made me do it." Listen to me very carefully. The devil, Satan, does not need to tempt most of us. He does not even need to bother with us.

When you read in the Bible, He only really dealt with several men. He tempted Adam and Eve, Job, our Lord, and our Lord said that he desired to have Peter that he might sift him as wheat, but that's it. Do you know why he does not mess with most of us? He doesn't need to because of our flesh. I want you to look in your Bible to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and I want to begin reading there with verse 19. I want you to see something.

So many people says the devil made them do these things. No, he did not. So look in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19. Remember our Lord said whatever you sow in the flesh you're going to reap in the flesh. So he tells you in verse 19, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest." Now, wait a minute. The works. This is something your flesh does. "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?" This is all flesh.

"Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." All of that's the work of the flesh. That's us, left and right. And it doesn't matter if it's adultery all the way down to murder, to revellings, to drunkenness, to strife, fussing and fighting and feuding. That's flesh. That is flesh. So the flesh of our fallen nature, our sin nature, is sufficient to tempt us and to make us sin. Nothing else is needed. Nothing else is required. It's just our pure depravity. It's our lust for the flesh.

So, in like manner, you have to say this, God does not even need to necessarily afflict us directly from his hand. All God needs to do is to leave us to ourselves. Allow us to reap that which we have sown. And we're going to reap the consequences of our sins. So let me say this again. Most of our problems, most of our heartaches, most of our afflictions, stem from our own sins, our own disobedience, our own rebellion. Here's the second application. God never afflicts us unless we give him cause to do it. He shows us kindness when it seems good to him to do so, but he sends bitter things against us. It is because we both deserve them and need them. Think about that. We both deserve them and need them. Here's a quote from Calvin. He says, "Jesus Christ, who are evil, know how to give good to your children."

"What then are we to expect from the very fountain of goodness? As parents are not willingly angry with their children nor handle them abruptly, there is no doubt but that God never punishes men except when he is constrained," that is out of necessity, when he must do it. So here's my next application. Chastisement is a divine cordial. You remember I told you the word cordial, that which is affectionate, that which is loving, that which is gracious and kind. Chastisement is a divine cordial. We may not like being chastened, but chastisement is a demonstration that we are indeed the child of God. If you can sin and get by with it, you are not his child.

But the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 6, "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." None of us can get by without chastening in one form or another. And then he said in the book of Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." As many as I love, I rebuke. God prefers to bestow his love upon us and be gracious and kind to us. So let me close with one illustration. I want you to think about this. OK. Next week. Next week. On the 15th of May. I will have been preaching and teaching for 61 years. OK. I've taught not just preaching, but I have taught in Christian schools and Christian colleges. I've taught from the fourth grade all the way through college level. I've taught many college students, but the one that really tried me was fourth grade. In my fourth grade class, I had one young man who was much bigger than the other fourth grade students. And this young man did something every day that caused me to have to spank him every day like clockwork. The young man was from a broken home.

We had a form that the parents had to sign that gave us permission to use corporal punishment. And I usually ended up doing the corporal punishment. We had one other man that did so occasionally as well, but I usually ended up doing it. And before I would ever whip a child, I would usually call the parents, and I would prefer to speak to the father. And I would tell him, "Your son has done such and such, and I'm going to chastise him. I'm going to give him three licks with this paddle." "If you would like to come down and observe, you're more than welcome. Just come on down." Usually the father would say this, "Preacher, just do what you need to do, and I'll take care of it when he gets home." That's the way it was when I was a child. If I got a whipping somewhere else, when I got home, I got another one. Okay. So what I would do is this. I would have the child sitting in front of my desk and I would ask, "What did you do?"

I wanted to hear him verbalize his sin or his disobedience. And when he told me what he had done, I would say, "Now I'm going to chastise you. I'm going to whip you. I'm going to give you three licks." I said, "Now let me ask you a question. Am I angry with you?" "No, sir." "Do I hate you?" "No, sir." "Do I love you?" "Yes, sir." "Well, if I love you, son, why am I going to chastise you?" And the answer would come, "Because you love me." And I would say, "Yes, that is correct. Now bend over and I want to give you these three licks." And then when I'd whip the child, I would put my arm around him, tell him that I loved him, and we would have prayer and ask the Lord to bless that chastisement and to teach him.

I had to do this to this kid just about every day for I don't know how long. And then one day it dawned on me. And so I waited for him to come in the door at the school. And when he came in the door, I put my arm around him and I said, "Ronnie, I said, I just want to tell you, I love you today. And I want to ask the Lord to give you a good day and bless you in your studies." "Would that be all right?" "Yes, Pastor, yes." And I pray with him. Guess what? I never had to whip that child again because every day I just put my arm around him and tell him I loved him. Think about this. Here's a fourth grade student from a broken home that probably got away with I don't know what all. But he realized that chastisement was an act of love. And he would do whatever is necessary to get chastised just so I could put my arm around him and tell him I love him. And he realized when God chastens us, it's because he loves us. And he's just putting his arm around us saying, "Son, I love you. Don't do this anymore. Don't make me pick up that paddle again." Huh? Chastisement is a divine cordial because it demonstrates that we are his children. All right, before we pray, any questions or comments on the lesson? I just want you to remember this. God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.

Closing Prayer

Weaver closes with a prayer thanking God for His love, grace, and even chastisement, and prays for those on the prayer list.

Father, again, we thank you for your love, grace and mercy, goodness and kindness. We thank you, Father, even for your chastisement. We thank you for the afflictions. We may not like them, Lord, but they are good for us because we are to profit from them and to become more holy, more godly, more obedient. Lord, we do pray for these on the prayer list and ask, Lord, that you would undertake for them. We pray for Steve this week as he faces tests or whatever, Lord, just give him grace and mercy and each of these others. And Lord, we pray for the Safis again, Lord, that you would help them and bless them. Give us, Lord, your grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Affliction Is Not from His Heart

Summary: God does not afflict or grieve people willingly or from His heart; He does so only out of necessity for their good.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Lamentations 3:33, explaining that 'willingly' means 'from the heart' (Hebrew 'leb'), and that God's judgment is His 'strange work' (Isaiah 28:21).

Complaining Against Providence Is Complaining Against God

Summary: Since God is sovereign over all events, complaining about circumstances is indirectly complaining against God Himself.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God... when we begin moaning and complaining... we are indeed complaining against God.'

Chastisement as a Sign of Sonship

Summary: God chastens every son He receives; if one can sin without chastisement, they are not a true child of God.

Evidence: Weaver cites Hebrews 12:6-8, emphasizing that 'if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.'

Most Afflictions Stem from Our Own Sin

Summary: Many troubles are the result of reaping what we have sown through disobedience and rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver references Galatians 6:7-8 and says, 'Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion.'

God's Mercy Is His Delight, Judgment Is Strange

Summary: God is known for His mercies and goodness; judgment is called His 'strange work' because it is not His primary desire.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Isaiah 28:21 and Matthew Poole, and references Psalm 104 to show God's provision for all creation.

Chastisement as a Divine Cordial

Summary: Chastisement, though painful, is a comforting demonstration of God's love and a means to holiness.

Evidence: Weaver calls chastisement 'a divine cordial' and shares a personal story of a student who understood that discipline was an act of love.

Key Arguments

God does not afflict from His heart

Summary: The Hebrew word for 'willingly' in Lamentations 3:33 is 'leb' (heart), meaning God does not afflict with pleasure or delight, but only when provoked.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Hebrew and quotes Matthew Poole: 'he does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight... judgment is called God's strange work.'

Complaint against providence is complaint against God

Summary: Because God is sovereign, despising His providence is equivalent to attacking God personally.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'One does not have to attack God personally. All he has to do is despise his providence... you cannot separate God and his providence.'

Chastisement proves sonship

Summary: Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God chastens every son He receives; lack of chastisement indicates illegitimacy.

Evidence: Weaver reads Hebrews 12:6-8 and concludes, 'if you can sin against God and not be chastised, you're not his child.'

Most suffering is self-inflicted

Summary: Galatians 6:7-8 shows that we reap what we sow; many afflictions are consequences of our own sin.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Most of our problems, most of our heartaches, most of our afflictions, stem from our own sins, our own disobedience, our own rebellion.'

God's judgment is His strange work

Summary: Isaiah 28:21 calls judgment God's 'strange work' because mercy is His natural disposition.

Evidence: Weaver reads Isaiah 28:21 and explains, 'God is so well known for his mercy, goodness and grace that when he judges... it's called his strange work.'

Chastisement is an act of love

Summary: God chastens out of love, for our profit and holiness, just as a loving father disciplines his children.

Evidence: Weaver shares a personal story of a student who misbehaved to receive discipline because it was accompanied by love, illustrating that chastisement is a divine cordial.

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:33

Context: The key verse of the sermon: 'For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.'

Jeremiah 5:1

Context: God told Jeremiah to find one righteous man in Jerusalem to pardon the city, but none was found.

Micah 3:4

Context: God will not hear the cries of those who have behaved ill, as a form of retribution.

Zephaniah 3:1-2

Context: Jerusalem is called filthy, polluted, and oppressing; she obeyed not, received not correction.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Context: Jeremiah's hope: the Lord's mercies are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:31-33

Context: The Lord will not cast off forever; though He cause grief, He will have compassion; He does not afflict willingly.

Romans 8:28

Context: All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.

Galatians 6:7-8

Context: Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; sowing to the flesh reaps corruption.

Genesis 42:28

Context: Joseph's brothers, upon finding their money returned, ask, 'What is this that God hath done unto us?' ignoring their own sin.

Jeremiah 8:4-6

Context: The people of Jerusalem hold fast to deceit, refuse to return, and no man repents, saying 'What have I done?'

Numbers 11:1

Context: When the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and His fire consumed some in the camp.

Numbers 21:5-6

Context: The people spoke against God and Moses, loathing the manna; God sent fiery serpents.

Acts 13:45

Context: The Jews, filled with envy, contradicted and blasphemed Paul's preaching.

Micah 6:9

Context: Hear ye the rod and Him who hath appointed it.

Hebrews 12:5-10

Context: God chastens every son He receives; chastening is for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Ezekiel 33:11

Context: God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Romans 8:32

Context: He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things?

Psalm 104:10-17

Context: God's provision for all creation: springs, grass, trees, birds, showing His goodness and mercy.

Matthew 5:45

Context: God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust.

Isaiah 28:21

Context: The Lord will do His work, His strange work, and bring to pass His act, His strange act (judgment).

Historical References

Matthew Poole (17th-century Puritan commentator)

Context: Weaver quotes Poole's commentary on Lamentations 3:33, explaining that God does not afflict from the heart, and judgment is His strange work.

John Calvin (16th-century Reformer)

Context: Weaver quotes Calvin on controlling thoughts during affliction, stating God does not afflict from His heart but as a judge who wishes all to be innocent.

Flip Wilson (20th-century comedian)

Context: Weaver references Flip Wilson's catchphrase 'The devil made me do it' to contrast with the biblical teaching that the flesh is sufficient to tempt us.

Important Quotes

For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

Significance: The central verse of the sermon, establishing that God's affliction is not from His heart or delight.

You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God.

Significance: Key argument that complaining about circumstances is complaining against God Himself.

There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God.

Significance: Emphasizes God's absolute sovereignty over all events.

Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion.

Significance: Highlights that many afflictions are self-inflicted through sin.

He does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight, not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicted.

Significance: Matthew Poole's explanation of Lamentations 3:33, clarifying God's motive in affliction.

Chastisement is a divine cordial.

Significance: Weaver's summary that discipline is a comforting demonstration of God's love.

If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.

Significance: Scripture quote (Hebrews 12:8) used to prove that chastisement is a mark of true sonship.

God does not afflict from his heart, that is, willingly, as though he delighted in the evils of men.

Significance: Calvin's quote reinforcing that God's affliction is not malicious but judicial.

Discussion Questions

Have you ever entertained mean, vile, or blasphemous thoughts against God when facing difficult circumstances?

Context: Weaver challenges the congregation to examine their hearts for unbiblical thoughts about God during trials.

Why is complaining about our circumstances equivalent to complaining against God?

Context: Weaver argues that God's providence cannot be separated from His person, so despising providence is despising God.

How does the concept of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8) explain many of our afflictions?

Context: Weaver states that most problems stem from our own disobedience and rebellion.

What does it mean that God's judgment is His 'strange work' (Isaiah 28:21)?

Context: Weaver explains that mercy is God's natural disposition, while judgment is foreign to His heart.

How can chastisement be a 'divine cordial' or comfort to believers?

Context: Weaver uses the term 'cordial' to describe chastisement as a loving, affectionate act that proves we are God's children.

Why is it impossible for a true Christian to sin without being chastised?

Context: Weaver cites Hebrews 12:6-8 to show that God scourges every son He receives; lack of chastisement indicates illegitimacy.

How does the story of Joseph's brothers in Genesis 42 illustrate the human tendency to blame God for self-inflicted troubles?

Context: Weaver points out that the brothers asked 'What is this that God hath done unto us?' while ignoring their own sin of selling Joseph.

What can we learn from Weaver's story about the fourth-grade student who misbehaved to receive discipline?

Context: The story illustrates that chastisement, when accompanied by love, can be a powerful demonstration of care and a means to change behavior.

Applications

Examine your thoughts about God in trials

Summary: Believers should guard against entertaining mean, vile, or blasphemous thoughts about God when facing difficult circumstances.

Evidence: Weaver asks, 'Have you ever entertained mean, vile, worthless and even blasphemous thoughts against our Heavenly Father?' and warns against complaining about providence.

Accept responsibility for your own sin

Summary: Instead of blaming God or others, we should acknowledge that most afflictions are the result of our own disobedience and rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion' and emphasizes the difficulty of saying 'I have sinned.'

View chastisement as a sign of God's love

Summary: Recognize that God's discipline is a divine cordial, proving we are His children and intended for our profit and holiness.

Evidence: Weaver calls chastisement 'a divine cordial' and cites Hebrews 12:6-10 and Revelation 3:19 to show it is an act of love.

Do not despise God's providence

Summary: Since God is sovereign, complaining about circumstances is indirectly complaining against God; we should trust His control.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God... when we begin moaning and complaining... we are indeed complaining against God.'

Remember that God does not delight in affliction

Summary: God afflicts only out of necessity, not from His heart; His desire is for our repentance and holiness.

Evidence: Weaver expounds Lamentations 3:33 and quotes Matthew Poole and Calvin to show God's reluctance in judgment.

Use chastisement as an opportunity for growth

Summary: Chastisement is for our profit, that we might be partakers of God's holiness; we should respond with repentance and zeal.

Evidence: Weaver cites Hebrews 12:10 and Revelation 3:19, urging believers to be zealous and repent when rebuked.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:40:00Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:05:57Z

Clean Transcript

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 4

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

So let's open our Bibles today to the book of Lamentations chapter 3, and we're going to be looking at verse 33. This is the fourth and the final part of this brief study in Lamentations chapter 3. And so I used this verse last week, but I did not expound it, and I want to do so this week. So if you look in Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 33, the Scripture says, "For he," that is God, "doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." I trust that this brief series has been helpful and, of course, applicable to our lives as well. One of our problems, I think, is we get so involved in our lives, especially with our work, our sleep, our routines, even our recreation.
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that oftentimes we do not take the time to think, to meditate, to contemplate, or consider what is happening unto us and why it is happening. Consequently, we do not readily become broken and contrite and humbled before God, neither do we desire to repent easily and quickly. We are quite unlike the prophet Jeremiah. He was cast into a ministry and into a situation where brokenness was not only necessary, but seemingly impossible to escape as well.
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So let me just remind you of the three main points that we've covered so far. In the very first message on this series, "The Cry of a Broken Heart," I pointed out there was the rejection of his service. His entire ministry was basically one of rejection. And certainly they did not want the truth. They did not desire the truth. They did not want repentance. They were happy and content exactly the way they were in their idolatry and in their sins.
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So if you remember last week, I kind of said it like this. They were saying, like we say, we don't want our status quo rocked. We may be wicked. We may be wrong, but it may be a wicked and wrong status quo, but it's our status quo and just don't mess with us. And that's the way it is. They rejected Jeremiah and rejected his ministry and would not listen to him at all. They hated him. They ridiculed him. They mocked him. They not only imprisoned him, they put him in a dungeon up to mire and mud up to his elbows and to his, I guess, armpits, you might as well say.
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And then they even tried to murder him. So obviously, they rejected his service. And the second reason I said that he had a broken and contrite heart was because of the refusal of his supplications. God would not hear him as he prayed for these people. And certainly, I pointed out from the Scripture, it was God's will that the nation be destroyed because of their sin and because of their rebellion. They were completely rebellious against God.
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In fact, this is why I quoted last week again, Jeremiah chapter 5, especially verse 1, when God told Jeremiah to run to and fro through the whole city, if he could find one man that would execute judgment and do that which is right, he would pardon the entire city. But Jeremiah did not find even one man. So the entire society was completely corrupt. Now, I must point out that although God refused the supplications of Jeremiah, He did not leave Jeremiah in the dark, because he said in Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 11, and when you get to Jeremiah chapter 14 again, he said, "Pray not for this people, for I will not hear thee." And he also said that he's not going to hear those people when they cry.
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And this is known as the lex talionis. That is Latin for the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. So they refuse to listen to God, and God is now refusing to listen to them. So I'm pointing out this simple truth. We don't like to hear it, but it's true. There is a time when prayer is useless. There is a time when mercy comes to an end and the only thing left is judgment.
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And that's exactly what happened to the land of Judah and Jerusalem during the days of Jeremiah. In Micah chapter 3 and verse 4, God said, "Then shall they cry to the Lord, but he will not hear them. He will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doing." So God says they shall cry unto him, but he will not hear them. Why? Because they did not hear him. And then in the book of Zephaniah, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, God says, "Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city."
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Let me stop right there. God is calling Jerusalem not only filthy and polluted, but he's also calling her an oppressing city. He said she obeyed not the voice. She received not correction. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God, would not listen, would not turn, would not repent. So you can see why Jeremiah was broken and cast down. Now, the third point last week, I showed you what gave Jeremiah hope. I don't know how in the world you could have hope in anything, in anything or anyone except that which Jeremiah had hope in. He certainly could not hope in himself. He certainly could not hope in the people. But if you'll just look up to Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 21, he said, "This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope." What did you recall to mind?
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It is the Lord's mercies that were not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. So as bad as things were in Judah and Jerusalem, things could have been worse. They were not worse, but only because of the grace and mercy and lovingkindness and compassions and faithfulness of God. So God is sovereign. Then he has absolutely everything under control.
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So today, I want us to look at our fourth and final point, and that is based upon verse 33, when he says, "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Now, if you go back to verse 31, look at this in the context right here. "For the Lord will not cast off forever, but though he cause grief, yes, he will. Yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For," here's why, "he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." Now, here is what I want to cover on the fourth point, and that is reflecting upon the solace of God.
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Now, the word solace refers to that which is comforting, that which is consoling, and that which is cordial. We do not use the word cordial as frequently as they did in the old days. But the word cordial is a very good word. It refers to that which is grateful, and gracious, and delightful, heartfelt, and affectionate. So, when we greet each other, and a lot of times when we see longtime friends, we greet them cordially.
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That is, we not only shake their hand, we'll hug their neck. We're smiling. We're glad to see them. We're happy to have them in our presence. We invite them to dinner. We do whatever we can to make them comfortable and to make them happy. So that is what you call a very cordial greeting as well. But we have failed to understand that our Heavenly Father is also cordial and full of solace.
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I remember reading years ago about one of the old Puritans. He preached the message which he called "The Divine Cordials." And of course, he was talking about the divine comforts or the divine consolations. So I want to ask you a question in light of this before we get started. Think about this. Here's my question. Have you ever entertained mean, vile, worthless and even blasphemous thoughts against our Heavenly Father? Now I want you to listen carefully. I did not ask, have you ever cursed our Heavenly Father? I did not ask, have you ever openly denied or ridiculed our Heavenly Father? The question was, have you ever entertained thoughts against God that are unbiblical, humanistic and ungodly? I can ask this another way.
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Have you ever complained and whined and bellyached about the things in your life that you do not really understand and that you're actually perplexed about? Now, you may not have actually attacked the person of God, but you may attack God indirectly as well as directly. So many times when we are whining and grumbling and complaining, we're doing so at the providence of God. And I want you to remember this. You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God. You've heard me say this many times. There's no such thing as luck, chance, fate, or fortune in a world that's ruled by God. The only thing that comes to pass in time in history happens to be that which God has ordained from eternity. And so therefore, God is absolutely sovereign. He's in control. And there's absolutely nothing that is outside of his control. So if you stop and postulate, well, there's something out there that God does not have control over. If you postulate that, then what you're saying is there's another God because God is not God if he is not sovereign.
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Whatever is outside of his control would really and truly be God as well. Now, when we talk about God's providence, we're talking about those incidents and those happenings and those things and those issues that God allows and even brings to pass in our lives for our good in his glory.
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Now, each one in this room could probably quote Romans 8:28. Now think about this. The Bible said, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
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Now, let me emphasize this. "And we know that all things," that means what you and I would consider bad, distasteful, as well as that which would be considered good, grand and glorious. God is able to make all things work out for us. Even those things that are distasteful, distressful and straining our lives, God can make them work out for our good. So let me repeat this one simple truth. There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God.
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Now, here's an application that I want to make right here in the middle of this message, and that is this. One does not have to attack God personally. All he has to do is despise his providence. In other words, you cannot separate God and his providence. And when we begin moaning and complaining and griping and bellyaching over that which we find disagreeable in our lives, we are indeed complaining against God.
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Now, let me just tell you this. It is true that each of us have our own troubles, our own sorrows, our own afflictions, our own trials. But you have to understand this. Most of the troubles and most of the problems that you and I have, we bring upon ourselves. We bring it upon ourselves by our disobedience, by our lack of understanding and application of biblical truth. And all God does is allow us to reap that which we have sown. You remember that passage in Galatians chapter 6, verses 7 and 8, where it said, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting." So if we sow in the flesh, we should not be surprised if we reap in the flesh. Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion. It's just merely the fact that we're reaping that which we have sown.
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Now, let me ask this question again. I want you to think about this. Have mean, vile, and blasphemous thoughts about God entered into your mind? For instance, when you find yourself in a very uncomfortable and disagreeable circumstance or situation, have you ever thought something like this? "Why is this happening to me? I don't deserve this. I haven't done anything to bring this upon myself. Why is God allowing this to come to me?"
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And here's an interesting thing. Whenever we get in circumstances and situations like that, we never think, "Wow, I deserve this and even much worse, but God's been merciful to me." We never think it like that. We just think that we're totally and completely innocent and we try to blame everything on God. Let me show you. I want you to hold Lamentations 3. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 42. Now, you will remember in Genesis chapter 42, Jacob has sent his sons down into Egypt to get grain. And those boys do not recognize Joseph, their brother, who is now second in command in the whole country of Egypt.
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And so when his brothers appear before him, although he understands what they are saying, he speaks to them through an interpreter. In other words, he speaks Egyptian and someone then interprets it from Egyptian to Hebrew for those young boys to hear. And he tried to tell them that they were spies and this kind of thing. And so, "No, no, we're not spies." So he lets them get all the grain they want.
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And he instructs his steward to put their money back in the mouth of the sack. And so they get down the road and they start to undo one of the sacks to get some grain to feed their animals. And they find this sack of money. So look, if you would, in Genesis chapter 42 and verse 28 at what the boy said. Look at this. "And he said to his brethren, 'My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack.' And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, 'What is this that God hath done unto us?'" What?
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They never considered that they lied to their father, they deceived their father, they sold their brother into Egypt, sold him as a slave. I've thought about this so many times. I forget how many. Well, Joseph was 17 when they sold him. He was 30 when he appeared before Pharaoh. There were seven good years of gathering and then there were seven bad years of famine. So you go from 17 to 30 plus seven, plus maybe one or two more. And for all those years, they made their father think that Joseph was dead. I've often thought, I don't know how I could have forgiven my sons for doing something like that to me.
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I mean, that is really low down. That's because they hated Joseph. They hated him that much. And so now they're asking, "What is this that God has done unto us?" When in reality, they're just simply reaping that which they had sown. Now, here's the truth. No matter our problems, no matter our troubles, no matter our trials, no matter our sins, we always wish to blame everything that happens to us that we do not like and that we disagree with. We either want to blame it upon God or upon others.
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The hardest words for you and I to speak oftentimes are these. "I have sinned. I have done wrong. It is my fault. I brought this upon myself. I disobeyed God."
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Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles. First of all, just right over, since we're close, to the book of Numbers and hold that book because we're coming right back there. But I want you to turn to the book of Jeremiah first. So we'll go to Numbers 11 second. But look back in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah. And I want you to look in chapter 8. Jeremiah is preaching now.
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And remember, he's warning the people, he's telling them all about their sins. And look at this in Jeremiah chapter 8. Look what is said, Jeremiah chapter 8. And notice, if you would please, verse 5. Well, let's read verse 4. God says, "Moreover, thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, Shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? Now look, why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return."
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Here it is, "I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright. No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his course as the horse rushes into battle." In other words, "I haven't done anything to deserve this. What have I done?" Yes, they were idolaters. Yes, they were sinners. Yes, they were wicked. Yes, they were violating God's covenant. But here they're asking, "What have I done?"
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And that's the attitude of most people. "What have I done?"
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Now, if you go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11, and I'm just showing you now, you cannot separate the person of God and the providence of God because the providence of God happens to be the act of God. So look if you would in Numbers chapter 11 verse 1. The Scripture says, "And when the people complained," note the word complained, "and when the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and the Lord heard it." He heard all their griping, bellyaching, whining, "and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." Note, if you would, they were complaining, they were griping, and it displeased the Lord. Now, to give you a fuller understanding, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 21. Numbers chapter 21. Note, if you would, please, Numbers 21 and look, if you would, at verse 5. Numbers 21 verse 5. "And the people spake against God and against Moses." Now note they spake against God and against Moses.
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"Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water." Look at this, "and our soul loatheth this light bread," manna. "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died." Look at this, "and the people spake against God and against Moses." Why were they speaking against God? Why were they speaking against Moses? Because they did not like the route that God had led them. They did not consider the fact that, first of all, God led them the long way around, the Bible tells you, lest they should see war and be discouraged because they were not trained sufficiently to fight at that particular time. And now they're in the wilderness, but they're there because of their sin and their rebellion.
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And so now it's God's fault. I mean, it's God's fault that we're here. We don't like his leading us in this direction. Moreover, now they're complaining about the manna that God supplied. The word manna literally means "what is it?" They didn't know what it was when they saw it. And they took that manna and they would grind it and eat it. And of course, the Bible said it was white and round like the coriander seed, tastes like honey, kind of like a wafer of some type.
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But notice it was the perfect food. I mean, God was giving that food for them to sustain it. You know what they say? You read the book of Numbers yourself. "We want those garlics and leeks that we left in Egypt." We want the stinky stuff. We don't want the stuff that God has provided for us right here. And so they're bellyaching, and they're whining, and they're loathing the direction of God in their lives, and they're loathing the provision of God in their lives.
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And the truth of the matter is I'm afraid that all of us are guilty in this respect. Because many times we just get fed up with what's going on. We don't like what's happening to us. We don't like what we have or what we don't have. And we gripe and we complain.
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Now, let me show you another verse. This time in the New Testament, I want you to turn to the book of Acts chapter 13 and look if you would please at verse 45. Look in Acts chapter 13 and verse 45. And of course, this is exceedingly plain as well. So Acts chapter 13, verse 45, the Bible says, "But when the Jews saw the multitudes," now let's go back to verse 44. Look at this. So Paul is preaching. The Bible says, "And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." So they want to come hear the word of God. But watch verse 45. "But when the Jews saw the multitudes," that is, those who were coming to hear the preaching, "they were filled with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." So because of their envy, they are now contradicting the truth of Paul's preaching. They're saying the opposite. They're saying that Paul is wrong. They are right. Now, look what the Bible says.
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They speak against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. So they were blaspheming God. So I want you to take note of the fact that speaking against God and his word, as well as his providence, is not only contradicting God, but it is also blaspheming him. So we have to understand there are times in our lives that we are chastised, that we are chastened, that we are whipped.
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Now, I want to point out that the Bible says in Micah chapter 6 and verse 9, "Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it." So when we refuse as God's children to hear his word, we get the rod. We get whipped. We get chastised. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12, and I want you to hold this passage because I'll probably refer back to it just a little bit later. Hebrews chapter 12, you mark that passage, and I want you to notice what God says very plainly. Hebrews chapter 12, look if you would beginning there in verse 9. We'll come back and read the rest of it earlier. We'll look in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 9. The Word of God says, "Furthermore, we've had fathers of our flesh who corrected us." Watch this. "We've had fathers of our flesh who corrected us."
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"And we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?"
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Now look at verse 10. "For they," that is our earthly fathers, "verily for a few days chasten us after their own pleasure. But he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." So God is telling us now that every time he chastens us, it is always for our profit that we might be holy as he is holy. So there is a chastening when we sin.
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Now, I want you to go back to Lamentations chapter 3. And I want this verse to sink into your hearts. In Lamentations 3 verse 33 says this, "For he," that is God, "doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."
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Now let me give you a very revealing truth. When you see the word "willingly" in Lamentations 3 and verse 33, the Hebrew word is "leb" or "lev" and the word means "heart." You remember that passage in Proverbs 4 verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life." It's exactly the same Hebrew word. So actually what he's saying in Lamentations 3 verse 33 is God does not afflict us from his heart.
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He afflicts us out of necessity. He does not do it from delight. He does not do it necessarily to cause pain or misery. Like any loving father, like any intelligent mother, God uses the rod of correction not to gratify himself, but to educate us and to profit us and to make us holy.
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Now, here's a quote from Matthew Poole. I'm going to come back to this quote before I end. I want you to remember one thing. Look what he said. "In the Hebrew, it is, he does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight, not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicted. Hence, judgment is called God's strange work. Showing mercy is his proper and natural work which flows from himself without any cause in the creature. Judgment is a strange work to which he never proceeded but when provoked and as it were forced from the creature, which it followeth that he cannot delight in it." So I want you to go back and look now at Lamentations 3 verse 33 and let's read through verse 36. Here's something that God does not delight in. Watch what he said.
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"For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth." God has absolutely all power. He is omnipotent. He could crush anyone and everyone or all of us at any time he pleases. But God says that's not what he delights in. No, he's not going to do that. Watch this. "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the right of a man before the face of the Most High." He's not going to do that. Watch verse 36, "...to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not." God is not interested in destroying any man. Our Father is not going to be unrighteous or unjust to any man, not even to the wicked. Now there's a passage in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verse 11, and here's what God said, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked man turn from his way, and live.
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Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why would you die, O house of Israel?" What did God just say? "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." God is not some old meanie up in heaven just waiting to afflict someone or to stomp someone in the ground. Those of us who have children understand, especially the fathers, that we've never delighted in having to chastise our children. I've never told Alice, "Wow, isn't this wonderful, I get to whip my children today."
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No, I have no delight in whipping them. I did chastise them, but only out of necessity to educate them and to teach them principles. And here's a principle. If we haven't learned it, we need to learn it. And that is this. If we sin, we're going to suffer. You're not going to escape suffering if you sin. So it's impossible to sin against God if you're a Christian and not be chastised.
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So let me show you. Look back in Hebrews chapter 12. I told you I'd come back there. But look beginning there with verse 5. Watch this. I'm telling you, it's impossible as a Christian to sin against God and not be chastened. Verse 5, Hebrews chapter 12. "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons." Now look at this, "for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons." Wow! So, our Father only whips his children. So this is why I'm saying if you can sin against God and not be chastised, you're not his child. Not his child. I've got friends. Warren Luke has eight children. I have never whipped any of his children.
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And they've been at my house many times, but I've never whipped one of them. Why? They're not mine. I mean, I'm not going to whip his child. But I will go to him and say, "Your child deserves a whipping. He did this and this and that." But I'm not going to whip him. It's not my responsibility. That's his responsibility. So just like I'm not going to whip your children and you're not going to whip my children, God is not going to whip the devil's children. I mean, he will judge them, but he's not going to chastise them. So this is why I'm saying, if you can sin and escape chastisement, then you are not his child.
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Now, it is the wickedness of man, it is the depravity of the heart, it is the lack of biblical wisdom and understanding that makes one think that somehow he is the exception to this. Wow! There are many Christians who believe, "Well maybe I can do this little sin and get by with it." No, no, you're not the exception. God scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then he said ye are bastards and not sons. So I want you to think about this. If you begin to think that somehow you can sin against God and escape his judgment, his chastening, that you can sin against God and you're going to be the exception.
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You need to remember Romans chapter 8 and verse 32. You know what the Bible says there? Listen to this. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" Jesus Christ was the sinless Son of God. Jesus Christ was the perfect man and the holy God. He was the God-man. And when God imputed our sins upon him, he did not spare his only begotten Son. If you believe that somehow God is going to let you escape chastisement when he chastened his own Son, you're deceived. You're deceived. No, you cannot sin against God and get by with it.
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Now, notice if you would, God does not grieve and afflict the children of men from a malicious, unjust, or wicked action or desire. He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. God does chasten us as his children, but it's always for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness. That's what he said in Hebrews 12 and verse 10. Our earthly fathers chastened us after their own pleasure, he said, and we gave them reverence. I'm sure some of you can remember when your father chastened you.
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If I had to get a whipping at my house, I'd much rather my mother do it. Because I could just simply cry and holler and scream and she'd pretty well stop. But dad wouldn't. My father had a good principle. He went by and it was this. If you do it right, you don't have to do it often. And I can tell you he did it right. And once he did it right, I would be willing to say, "Yes, sir." And "No, sir." And I'm ready to go to work right now. Now, I'm just simply pointing out the fact God is known for his mercy and his grace. He is not known necessarily just for his affliction and his chastisement, although he does that.
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I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 104. I want you to see something about the nature of God and about the mercy and kindness of God. So here's what the Bible says in Psalm 104. There's many passages, but look in Psalm 104, if you would, please. And let's begin reading with verse 10. We'll read through at least verse 15 or 16. But look at this. We could read the entire psalm. Notice if you would, Psalm 104, verse 10. The Bible said, "He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills." We're talking about water. Why?
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"They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."
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"The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted." Look at verse 17, "where the birds make their nests, as for the stork, the fir trees are her house. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the coneys. He appointed the moon for seasons, the sun knoweth his going down," and he talks about the young lions, how they roar and they seek their prey from God, how God feeds every animal and takes care of all these things. God is known for his mercies. God is known for his goodness, his compassions, his kindnesses. And God takes care of everything. Can you imagine if you just had to feed all the birds in the world for one day?
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What it would cost you? That's not all the other animals. I'm just going to say, God is known for his goodness. You remember that passage in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 45. He said that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, "for he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and he sendeth rain upon the just and on the unjust."
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You know, this boggles my mind. But once you consider this and think about this, the wicked hate God. They despise him. They curse him. They dishonor Him. They refuse to worship Him. And the only time they take His name is in vain, cursing. And yet God continues to allow them to live. He gives them life. He gives them help. He gives them food. He gives them family. He gives them finances. He gives them fellowship. Everything they have, He gave them and still gives them. And they hate Him and they despise Him. Wow.
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I'm just simply pointing out the fact this is actually, actually astounding. Now, if you will turn in your Bible to the book of Isaiah chapter 28, you will see this reference in Scripture. And I hope you think about the quote that I gave you from Matthew Poole. So look in Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 21. I preached on this passage many, many years back. Isaiah 28 and verse 21, the Word of God says this, "For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act." So in the context he's talking about judgment and judgment is here referred to as his strange work and as his strange act. So God is so well known for his mercy, goodness and grace that when he judges and when he sends forth his holy judgment, it's called his strange work, his strange act.
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God's frowns are given reluctantly, but his favors are given graciously. I think his judgment is referred to as a strange work due to the fact that his normal place is his mercy seat. It's almost as if he has to arise from the mercy seat to give forth his strange work, his strange act, which is judgment.
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Now let me show you something else. Since you're in the book of Isaiah, if you will turn to Isaiah chapter 63, and I want you to look at verse 9. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. I look in verse 8. We'll read verse 8 first. In fact, we can go back to verse 7. Let's go back to verse 7. Jeremiah, Isaiah says, "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath bestowed upon us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses."
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"For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Saviour."
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Now look, "In all their affliction he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them and carried them all the days of old." Look at that, in all of their affliction, he was afflicted. He suffered with his people. He suffered with his children. I remember when I was a boy and I'd done something wrong, my father getting a switch and was going to whip me.
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And he would always say this. "This is going to hurt me worse than it does you." I thought to myself, I don't believe that at all. Until I got to be a father and I had to whip my children. It does hurt. It does hurt. I can remember right now. I was so hurt one time from my children. Because they lied to me. I did not think they would ever, ever lie to me. But they did.
#65 | 44:54 to 45:35 | cleaned
And I was just absolutely broken over. I disciplined them. I did not want to. But I did. I'm just simply saying, in all of our affliction, he was afflicted. I never desired or delighted in whipping my children. And God the Father does not desire or delight in whipping his children, but he does so. You know, we delight in doing good things for our children, our grandchildren. Me too. Grandmoms are very difficult to control when it comes to spending money on their grandchildren. Especially buying new little dresses for the girls and toys for the boys and things like that. Alice came home just a few weeks ago, took a little outfit that I got for Meredith. Look at the little purse I got for Chloe. Yeah, I understand that.
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Tammy, I hope you're listening. But anyhow, I'm just saying, you know what the Scripture says? Listen to this. The Scripture says in Matthew 7, verse 11, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask him?" God delights in giving good things, because he's our Father.
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Now, here's a quote from Calvin, and he's talking about controlling our thoughts and controlling our minds, and especially when we are suffering, when we're in affliction. And he says this, "That such thoughts then might not tempt us to unbelief, the prophet here puts a check on us and declares that God does not afflict from his heart, that is, willingly, as though he delighted in the evils of men, as a judge, who, when he ascends his throne and condemns the guilty to death, does not do this from his heart, because he wishes
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all to be innocent, and thus to have a reason for acquitting them. But, yet he willingly condemns the guilty, because this is his duty. So also God, when he adopts severity toward men, He indeed does so willingly, because he is the judge of the world, but he does not do so from the heart, because he wishes all to be innocent, for far away from him is all fierceness and cruelty. And as he regards men with paternal love, so also he would have them to be saved, were they not, as it were, by force to drive him to rigor." In other words, they force him to basically punish and condemn them. So obviously God does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. It's not in the heart of God to do that maliciously, wickedly.
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The only time he grieves us, the only time he afflicts us, the only time he chastens us is for our profit and that we might have His holiness in our lives. He does so out of necessity.
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Now, let me make some applications, and I want you to listen to these because they, I think, are very important. I don't believe I ever saw the program, but years ago, there was a black comedian by the name of Flip Wilson. And he popularized the saying, does anybody remember what it was? "The devil made me do it." Listen to me very carefully. The devil, Satan, does not need to tempt most of us. He does not even need to bother with us.
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When you read in the Bible, He only really dealt with several men. He tempted Adam and Eve, Job, our Lord, and our Lord said that he desired to have Peter that he might sift him as wheat, but that's it. Do you know why he does not mess with most of us? He doesn't need to because of our flesh. I want you to look in your Bible to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and I want to begin reading there with verse 19. I want you to see something.
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So many people says the devil made them do these things. No, he did not. So look in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19. Remember our Lord said whatever you sow in the flesh you're going to reap in the flesh. So he tells you in verse 19, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest." Now, wait a minute. The works. This is something your flesh does. "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?" This is all flesh.
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"Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." All of that's the work of the flesh. That's us, left and right. And it doesn't matter if it's adultery all the way down to murder, to revellings, to drunkenness, to strife, fussing and fighting and feuding. That's flesh. That is flesh. So the flesh of our fallen nature, our sin nature, is sufficient to tempt us and to make us sin. Nothing else is needed. Nothing else is required. It's just our pure depravity. It's our lust for the flesh.
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So, in like manner, you have to say this, God does not even need to necessarily afflict us directly from his hand. All God needs to do is to leave us to ourselves. Allow us to reap that which we have sown. And we're going to reap the consequences of our sins. So let me say this again. Most of our problems, most of our heartaches, most of our afflictions, stem from our own sins, our own disobedience, our own rebellion. Here's the second application. God never afflicts us unless we give him cause to do it. He shows us kindness when it seems good to him to do so, but he sends bitter things against us. It is because we both deserve them and need them. Think about that. We both deserve them and need them. Here's a quote from Calvin. He says, "Jesus Christ, who are evil, know how to give good to your children."
#75 | 52:19 to 53:46 | cleaned
"What then are we to expect from the very fountain of goodness? As parents are not willingly angry with their children nor handle them abruptly, there is no doubt but that God never punishes men except when he is constrained," that is out of necessity, when he must do it. So here's my next application. Chastisement is a divine cordial. You remember I told you the word cordial, that which is affectionate, that which is loving, that which is gracious and kind. Chastisement is a divine cordial. We may not like being chastened, but chastisement is a demonstration that we are indeed the child of God. If you can sin and get by with it, you are not his child.
#76 | 53:48 to 54:49 | cleaned
But the Bible says in Hebrews 12 and verse 6, "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." None of us can get by without chastening in one form or another. And then he said in the book of Revelation chapter 3 and verse 19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." As many as I love, I rebuke. God prefers to bestow his love upon us and be gracious and kind to us. So let me close with one illustration.
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I want you to think about this. OK. Next week. Next week. On the 15th of May. I will have been preaching and teaching for 61 years. OK. I've taught not just preaching, but I have taught in Christian schools and Christian colleges. I've taught from the fourth grade all the way through college level. I've taught many college students, but the one that really tried me was fourth grade. In my fourth grade class, I had one young man who was much bigger than the other fourth grade students. And this young man did something every day that caused me to have to spank him every day like clockwork. The young man was from a broken home.
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We had a form that the parents had to sign that gave us permission to use corporal punishment. And I usually ended up doing the corporal punishment. We had one other man that did so occasionally as well, but I usually ended up doing it. And before I would ever whip a child, I would usually call the parents, and I would prefer to speak to the father. And I would tell him, "Your son has done such and such, and I'm going to chastise him. I'm going to give him three licks with this paddle."
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"If you would like to come down and observe, you're more than welcome. Just come on down." Usually the father would say this, "Preacher, just do what you need to do, and I'll take care of it when he gets home." That's the way it was when I was a child. If I got a whipping somewhere else, when I got home, I got another one. Okay. So what I would do is this. I would have the child sitting in front of my desk and I would ask, "What did you do?"
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I wanted to hear him verbalize his sin or his disobedience. And when he told me what he had done, I would say, "Now I'm going to chastise you. I'm going to whip you. I'm going to give you three licks." I said, "Now let me ask you a question. Am I angry with you?" "No, sir." "Do I hate you?" "No, sir." "Do I love you?" "Yes, sir." "Well, if I love you, son, why am I going to chastise you?" And the answer would come, "Because you love me." And I would say, "Yes, that is correct. Now bend over and I want to give you these three licks." And then when I'd whip the child, I would put my arm around him, tell him that I loved him, and we would have prayer and ask the Lord to bless that chastisement and to teach him.
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I had to do this to this kid just about every day for I don't know how long. And then one day it dawned on me. And so I waited for him to come in the door at the school. And when he came in the door, I put my arm around him and I said, "Ronnie, I said, I just want to tell you, I love you today. And I want to ask the Lord to give you a good day and bless you in your studies."
#82 | 59:04 to 59:36 | cleaned
"Would that be all right?" "Yes, Pastor, yes." And I pray with him. Guess what? I never had to whip that child again because every day I just put my arm around him and tell him I loved him. Think about this. Here's a fourth grade student from a broken home that probably got away with I don't know what all. But he realized that chastisement was an act of love. And he would do whatever is necessary to get chastised just so I could put my arm around him and tell him I love him. And he realized when God chastens us, it's because he loves us. And he's just putting his arm around us saying, "Son, I love you. Don't do this anymore. Don't make me pick up that paddle again." Huh? Chastisement is a divine cordial because it demonstrates that we are his children. All right, before we pray, any questions or comments on the lesson? I just want you to remember this. God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.
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Father, again, we thank you for your love, grace and mercy, goodness and kindness. We thank you, Father, even for your chastisement. We thank you for the afflictions. We may not like them, Lord, but they are good for us because we are to profit from them and to become more holy, more godly, more obedient. Lord, we do pray for these on the prayer list and ask, Lord, that you would undertake for them. We pray for Steve this week as he faces tests or whatever, Lord, just give him grace and mercy and each of these others. And Lord, we pray for the Safis again, Lord, that you would help them and bless them. Give us, Lord, your grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:40:00Z

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 4

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this final part of the series, John Weaver expounds Lamentations 3:33, emphasizing that God does not afflict or grieve people from His heart, but only out of necessity for their profit and holiness. He reviews the previous points—rejection of Jeremiah's service, refusal of his supplications, and the hope found in God's mercies—and then focuses on the solace of God. Weaver argues that complaining about providence is complaining against God, that most afflictions stem from our own sin, and that chastisement is a divine cordial demonstrating God's love. He uses Scripture and personal illustrations to show that God's judgment is His 'strange work,' while mercy is His delight.

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces Lamentations 3:33 and reviews the three previous points: rejection of Jeremiah's service, refusal of his supplications, and the hope Jeremiah found in God's mercies.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:33

"doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1

And then they even tried to murder him. So obviously, they rejected his service. And the second reason I said that he had a broken and contrite heart was because of the refusal of his supplications. God would not hear him as he prayed for these people. And certainly, I pointed out from the Scripture, it was God's will that the nation be destroyed because of their sin and because of their rebellion. They were completely rebellious against God. In fact, this is why I quoted last week again, Jeremiah chapter 5, especially verse 1, when God told Jeremiah to run to and fro through the whole city, if he could find one man that would execute judgment and do that which is right, he would pardon the entire city. But Jeremiah did not find even one man. So the entire society was completely corrupt. Now, I must point out that although God refused the supplications of Jeremiah, He did not leave Jeremiah in the dark, because he said in Jeremiah chapter 7, Jeremiah chapter 11, and when you get to Jeremiah chapter 14 again, he said, "Pray not for this people, for I will not hear thee." And he also said that he's not going to hear those people when they cry.

Scripture Reading — Zephaniah 3:1-2

"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city."

The Solace of God

Weaver introduces the fourth point: reflecting upon the solace (comfort, consolation) of God, explaining that God is cordial and full of comfort, not malicious.

Complaining Against Providence

Weaver argues that complaining about circumstances is complaining against God's providence, and that we cannot separate God from His providence. He gives examples from Genesis 42 and Numbers 11, 21.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 42:28

"And he said to his brethren, 'My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack.' And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, 'What is this that God hath done unto us?'"

What?

The hardest words for you and I to speak oftentimes are these. "I have sinned. I have done wrong. It is my fault. I brought this upon myself. I disobeyed God."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 8:4-6

"Moreover, thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, Shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? Now look, why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return."

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:1

" Note, if you would, they were complaining, they were griping, and it displeased the Lord. Now, to give you a fuller understanding, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 21. Numbers chapter 21. Note, if you would, please, Numbers 21 and look, if you would, at verse 5. Numbers 21 verse 5. "

And the people spake against God and against Moses." Now note they spake against God and against Moses.

Blaspheming God Through Contradiction

Using Acts 13:45, Weaver shows that speaking against God's word and providence is contradicting and blaspheming God.

Chastisement as a Necessity, Not Delight

God's Strange Work of Judgment

Weaver cites Isaiah 28:21 to show that judgment is God's 'strange work,' while mercy is His normal disposition. He also references Isaiah 63:9 to show God is afflicted in our afflictions.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 28:21

God's frowns are given reluctantly, but his favors are given graciously. I think his judgment is referred to as a strange work due to the fact that his normal place is his mercy seat. It's almost as if he has to arise from the mercy seat to give forth his strange work, his strange act, which is judgment. Now let me show you something else. Since you're in the book of Isaiah, if you will turn to Isaiah chapter 63, and I want you to look at verse 9. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. I look in verse 8. We'll read verse 8 first. In fact, we can go back to verse 7. Let's go back to verse 7. Jeremiah, Isaiah says, "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath bestowed upon us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses."

Applications and Illustrations

Closing Prayer

Weaver closes with a prayer thanking God for His love, grace, and even chastisement, and prays for those on the prayer list.

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 4

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	57262358144158
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-05-03
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	84

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver introduces Lamentations 3:33 and reviews the three previous points: rejection of Jeremiah's service, refusal of his supplications, and the hope Jeremiah found in God's mercies.
The Solace of God: Weaver introduces the fourth point: reflecting upon the solace (comfort, consolation) of God, explaining that God is cordial and full of comfort, not malicious.
Complaining Against Providence: Weaver argues that complaining about circumstances is complaining against God's providence, and that we cannot separate God from His providence. He gives examples from Genesis 42 and Numbers 11, 21.
Blaspheming God Through Contradiction: Using Acts 13:45, Weaver shows that speaking against God's word and providence is contradicting and blaspheming God.
Chastisement as a Necessity, Not Delight: Weaver explains from Lamentations 3:33 that 'willingly' means 'from the heart,' and that God afflicts out of necessity, not delight. He quotes Matthew Poole and references Hebrews 12 to show chastisement is for our profit and holiness.
God's Strange Work of Judgment: Weaver cites Isaiah 28:21 to show that judgment is God's 'strange work,' while mercy is His normal disposition. He also references Isaiah 63:9 to show God is afflicted in our afflictions.
Applications and Illustrations: Weaver applies the message: most problems stem from our own sin; God never afflicts without cause; chastisement is a divine cordial proving we are His children. He shares a personal story of a fourth-grade student to illustrate that chastisement is an act of love.
Closing Prayer: Weaver closes with a prayer thanking God for His love, grace, and even chastisement, and prays for those on the prayer list.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God does not afflict from His heart

The Hebrew word for 'willingly' in Lamentations 3:33 is 'leb' (heart), meaning God does not afflict with pleasure or delight, but only when provoked.

Weaver explains the Hebrew and quotes Matthew Poole: 'he does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight... judgment is called God's strange work.'

Complaint against providence is complaint against God

Because God is sovereign, despising His providence is equivalent to attacking God personally.

Weaver says, 'One does not have to attack God personally. All he has to do is despise his providence... you cannot separate God and his providence.'

Chastisement proves sonship

Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God chastens every son He receives; lack of chastisement indicates illegitimacy.

Weaver reads Hebrews 12:6-8 and concludes, 'if you can sin against God and not be chastised, you're not his child.'

Most suffering is self-inflicted

Galatians 6:7-8 shows that we reap what we sow; many afflictions are consequences of our own sin.

Weaver states, 'Most of our problems, most of our heartaches, most of our afflictions, stem from our own sins, our own disobedience, our own rebellion.'

God's judgment is His strange work

Isaiah 28:21 calls judgment God's 'strange work' because mercy is His natural disposition.

Weaver reads Isaiah 28:21 and explains, 'God is so well known for his mercy, goodness and grace that when he judges... it's called his strange work.'

Chastisement is an act of love

God chastens out of love, for our profit and holiness, just as a loving father disciplines his children.

Weaver shares a personal story of a student who misbehaved to receive discipline because it was accompanied by love, illustrating that chastisement is a divine cordial.

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:33: The key verse of the sermon: 'For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.'
Jeremiah 5:1: God told Jeremiah to find one righteous man in Jerusalem to pardon the city, but none was found.
Micah 3:4: God will not hear the cries of those who have behaved ill, as a form of retribution.
Zephaniah 3:1-2: Jerusalem is called filthy, polluted, and oppressing; she obeyed not, received not correction.
Lamentations 3:21-23: Jeremiah's hope: the Lord's mercies are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:31-33: The Lord will not cast off forever; though He cause grief, He will have compassion; He does not afflict willingly.
Romans 8:28: All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
Galatians 6:7-8: Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; sowing to the flesh reaps corruption.
Genesis 42:28: Joseph's brothers, upon finding their money returned, ask, 'What is this that God hath done unto us?' ignoring their own sin.
Jeremiah 8:4-6: The people of Jerusalem hold fast to deceit, refuse to return, and no man repents, saying 'What have I done?'
Numbers 11:1: When the people complained, it displeased the Lord, and His fire consumed some in the camp.
Numbers 21:5-6: The people spoke against God and Moses, loathing the manna; God sent fiery serpents.
Acts 13:45: The Jews, filled with envy, contradicted and blasphemed Paul's preaching.
Micah 6:9: Hear ye the rod and Him who hath appointed it.
Hebrews 12:5-10: God chastens every son He receives; chastening is for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.
Ezekiel 33:11: God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Romans 8:32: He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also freely give us all things?
Psalm 104:10-17: God's provision for all creation: springs, grass, trees, birds, showing His goodness and mercy.
Matthew 5:45: God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust.
Isaiah 28:21: The Lord will do His work, His strange work, and bring to pass His act, His strange act (judgment).

Historical References

Matthew Poole (17th-century Puritan commentator): Weaver quotes Poole's commentary on Lamentations 3:33, explaining that God does not afflict from the heart, and judgment is His strange work.
John Calvin (16th-century Reformer): Weaver quotes Calvin on controlling thoughts during affliction, stating God does not afflict from His heart but as a judge who wishes all to be innocent.
Flip Wilson (20th-century comedian): Weaver references Flip Wilson's catchphrase 'The devil made me do it' to contrast with the biblical teaching that the flesh is sufficient to tempt us.

Important Quotes

For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

The central verse of the sermon, establishing that God's affliction is not from His heart or delight.

You cannot separate the person of God from the providence of God.

Key argument that complaining about circumstances is complaining against God Himself.

There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God.

Emphasizes God's absolute sovereignty over all events.

Most of our problems stem from our own disobedience, our own pride, and our own rebellion.

Highlights that many afflictions are self-inflicted through sin.

He does not afflict from the heart, that is, with pleasure and delight, not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicted.

Matthew Poole's explanation of Lamentations 3:33, clarifying God's motive in affliction.

Chastisement is a divine cordial.

Weaver's summary that discipline is a comforting demonstration of God's love.

If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.

Scripture quote (Hebrews 12:8) used to prove that chastisement is a mark of true sonship.

God does not afflict from his heart, that is, willingly, as though he delighted in the evils of men.

Calvin's quote reinforcing that God's affliction is not malicious but judicial.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Have you ever entertained mean, vile, or blasphemous thoughts against God when facing difficult circumstances?

[Context]

Weaver challenges the congregation to examine their hearts for unbiblical thoughts about God during trials.

[Question]

Why is complaining about our circumstances equivalent to complaining against God?

[Context]

Weaver argues that God's providence cannot be separated from His person, so despising providence is despising God.

[Question]

How does the concept of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8) explain many of our afflictions?

[Context]

Weaver states that most problems stem from our own disobedience and rebellion.

[Question]

What does it mean that God's judgment is His 'strange work' (Isaiah 28:21)?

[Context]

Weaver explains that mercy is God's natural disposition, while judgment is foreign to His heart.

[Question]

How can chastisement be a 'divine cordial' or comfort to believers?

[Context]

Weaver uses the term 'cordial' to describe chastisement as a loving, affectionate act that proves we are God's children.

[Question]

Why is it impossible for a true Christian to sin without being chastised?

[Context]

Weaver cites Hebrews 12:6-8 to show that God scourges every son He receives; lack of chastisement indicates illegitimacy.

[Question]

How does the story of Joseph's brothers in Genesis 42 illustrate the human tendency to blame God for self-inflicted troubles?

[Context]

Weaver points out that the brothers asked 'What is this that God hath done unto us?' while ignoring their own sin of selling Joseph.

[Question]

What can we learn from Weaver's story about the fourth-grade student who misbehaved to receive discipline?

[Context]

The story illustrates that chastisement, when accompanied by love, can be a powerful demonstration of care and a means to change behavior.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:05:57Z