Lamentations

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 3

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2026-04-26

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on Lamentations, focusing on Jeremiah's hope amid despair. Despite rejection, unanswered prayer, and national judgment, Jeremiah recalls God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, which are new every morning. Weaver emphasizes that our hope is in God's character, not circumstances, and calls believers to patiently bear affliction, humble themselves, and recognize daily mercies.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles into Lamentations chapter 3, and we're going to read verses 21 through 41 today. Lamentations chapter 3. Look, if you would, please. Lamentations chapter 3. And so notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 20. He says, My soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. Then he said, verse 21, This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

[John Weaver] It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

[John Weaver] He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smited him. He is filled full with reproach, for the Lord will not cast off forever. But though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 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, to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth the living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. So this is the third installment of the message, the cry of a broken heart. And we are talking about Jeremiah, who's known as the weeping prophet. And of course, the Book of Lamentations gives us an absolutely wonderful picture of a broken heart in the life of Jeremiah. And we know that God is particularly close to those who have a broken and contrite heart, for the Word of God says so repeatedly. I quoted last week Psalm 34 and verse 18, where the Bible says the Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart, and saith it such as be of a contrite spirit. I also pointed out that Jeremiah's heart was broken not just because of the sins and rebellion and the wickedness of the people, but also because of the false prophets who were lying and causing the people to believe a deceit. He was also broken over the fact that God himself was rejected and his law was rejected. He was also broken over the fact that his message was not being received.

[John Weaver] No one would listen to him. In fact, the truth of the matter is, When you look at the book of Jeremiah and read, Jeremiah was basically an intruder and a cast out and a cast away. No one wanted him. No one wanted to listen to him. And of course, Jeremiah was broken because he was unable to help his people. He did not save them. And he certainly did not save the nation because God destroyed them. So we have the very first reason Jeremiah had a broken heart was the rejection of his service. And then, of course, last week we looked at the second reason, and that was simply because there was a refusal of his supplications. In other words, God would not hear his prayers for his people. The people had reached the point of no return. There is a point of no return. There is a time when God is not going to be merciful. There is a time when prayer is absolutely useless and God is not going to answer that prayer. And so these people had reached the point of no return.

[John Weaver] They had broken they had broken the covenant in every respect. And there was just no hope for them. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly, the Jeremiah chapter five, we covered this last week, but I want you to see it again just by way of review. Look what God says beginning there in verse 1, Jeremiah 5 verse 1, God told Jeremiah, Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth,

[John Weaver] and I will pardon it. And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth?

[John Weaver] Now look what he says concerning these people. Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return. Therefore I said, surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. So he says, I'm looking at all these common everyday people. They're poor, they don't understand. And then notice, if you would, verse five, he said, I will get me into the great man and we'll speak to them, these educated men rulers, for they've known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God.

[John Weaver] But these have all together broken the yoke and burst the bonds. So God told him in verse one to run to and fro. If he could find one man, just one in the entire city, in the entire country there, that would execute judgment and that sought the truth God would pardon the entire city and the entire country if he could just find one and he could not because every strata of society was corrupted so if

[John Weaver] you'll skip down to Jeremiah 5 look in verse 31 he said the prophets prophesied falsely and the priests may rule by their means and my people love to have it so but watch this statement this question And what will you do in the end thereof? So the truth of the matter is nobody wanted to listen. No one wanted to repent. They wanted to maintain the status quo, regardless how evil, how wicked it was. But God was willing to spare them if he found one righteous man. And he did not. Now, may I remind you. That God told Jeremiah not to pray for these people.

[John Weaver] because he determined to destroy them. In Jeremiah chapter 7 in verse 16, God said, neither pray for this people, neither lift up intercession or prayer for them, nor make intercession for them, for I will not hear thee. So, Jeremiah, I'm not going to listen to you if you're praying for this people. Then when you get to Jeremiah 11 in verse 14, again God said, therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them. Then God added this, for I will not hear them in the time that they cry to me in their trouble. So God wouldn't listen to Jeremiah. God wouldn't listen to the people. That's why I said in Jeremiah chapter 15, even if Samuel and Moses stood before him, God would not be entreated for this people. And finally, in Jeremiah chapter 14, verses 10 through 12, God said, all right, Jeremiah, I'm going to let you pray. But here's what you pray. Do not pray for their good. In other words, you pray that I'm going to destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do.

[John Weaver] He said when they fast, I will not hear their cry. When they offer a burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept it. He said I will consume them by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence. So let me just point out the fact that Jeremiah was thoroughly discouraged at this particular point. Jeremiah was rejected by the people and refused by God as far as praying for those people were concerned. But when you look down in Lamentations 3 and verse 21, Jeremiah makes a wonderful and yet a very astounding statement.

[John Weaver] He said, this I recall as of mine, therefore have I hope. How in the world could you have hope in a situation like Jeremiah? So what was it that gave Jeremiah hope in such a desperate and depressing situation? And the answer is, I'm going to show you, the remembrance of the Sovereign. The remembrance of the Sovereign.

[John Weaver] Now this passage has real significance when it is understood in its context. So I'm going to repeat a few things because I want to impress upon you the context. Jeremiah was desolate. He was in despair. He was rejected by his countrymen. God was refusing to hear his supplications. No one wanted to listen to him. No one wanted to help him. Everyone was against him. And I'm going to be honest with you. That is enough to drive anyone insane and to make them really and truly want to quit.

[John Weaver] To me, having been in the ministry now nearly 61 years, it will be 61 next month. I find it absolutely astounding that many pastors still retain and remain in the ministry for a long, long time. Because most people have no idea what a preacher goes through, especially what a pastor goes through. And I laugh every time I think about this, and I've mentioned this before, but I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. I really did. But the reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only worked on Sunday and on Wednesday, and you could play the rest of the week.

[John Weaver] Well, I found out that certainly was not true, not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. So here, and I'm going to show you the passage, is the real difference in men that are used of God. Those men who are really used of God may be discouraged, they may be rejected, they may be hated, they may be despised, they may be ignored, but they cannot quit. They cannot give up. They cannot stop.

[John Weaver] So if you will hold Lamentations chapter 3, but turn back in your Bibles, to Jeremiah chapter 20. You will see even Jeremiah wanted to quit, even tried to quit, but he couldn't. So if you look in Jeremiah chapter 20, and let's begin reading there with verse 7, notice what he said. O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. He said, thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed.

[John Weaver] I am in derision daily. Everyone mocketh me. Nobody's listening. Nobody wants the truth. He said, for since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoiled because the word of the Lord was made to reproach unto me and a derision daily because nobody wanted it. Verse nine. Then I said. I will not make mention of him nor speak anymore in his name, I'm going to quit. But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.

[John Weaver] And I was weary with forbearing and I could not stay. Watch this. For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. They're talking about Jeremiah now. Reports say they and we will report it. All my familiars watch for my halting, saying for adventure he will be enticed and we shall prevail against him and we shall take our revenge upon him. Then he said, but the Lord is with me as a mighty, terrible one.

[John Weaver] Therefore, my persecutors shall stumble. And they shall not prevail. They shall be greatly ashamed for they shall not prosper. Their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. So Jeremiah said it was so bad. I wanted to quit. I tried to quit, but his word was as a burning fire in me. And I was weary with forbearing and I could not quit.

[John Weaver] Now, Jeremiah found nothing in his circumstances that would encourage him. He found nothing in his situation that would comfort him. Moreover, Jeremiah found nothing in himself that would comfort or encourage him. This is the problem that many pastors have. This is also the problem many Christians have. When we get in trouble or we get in affliction, we start looking around for help. And I find out, well, Steve can't help me. Dinah can't help me. Lorraine can't help me.

[John Weaver] And so what happens is this. Since I can't find any outside help, I begin to look inside. And guess what? There's nothing inside of me that is going to help me either. So here's what we do. When we get in trouble and we get an affliction, we start looking around or we start looking within instead of looking up. See, David said it like this in Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2. David said, I will lift up mine eyes into the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He said, I've got to look to the Lord. I cannot look to anyone else or anything else.

[John Weaver] So Jeremiah then, in Lamentations chapter 3, had what you and I would call a wake up moment. He saw the sovereign God by faith, and he recognized his power, his grace, his mercy, and so he said in verse 21, this I recall to mind, therefore have I hope.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand something. He was not calling his circumstances to mind. He was not calling his situation to mind. He was not recalling his rejection or his feelings of despair and desperation of mind, what he was recalling to mind was the greatness of God and the power of God, the mercies and compassions and loving kindness of God.

[John Weaver] Now, the problem is this. We often forget God. Look what he said. This I recall to mind. Why had he not thought about it earlier? Well, maybe his back had not been up against the wall sufficiently. But this I recall to mind. Did you know that David refers to our forgetfulness and lack of trust in God as, huh, as infirmity? So look in your Bible, soul limitations, chapter three, but turn, if you would, to Psalm 77, Psalm 77. And so David refers to this mentality of looking to God last and forgetting him as an infirmity. So in Psalm 77, let's begin reading there with verse one and we'll read through verse 13. So look in Psalm 77.

[John Weaver] I really want you to see this. So look in verse one, if you would. David said, I cried unto my God with my voice, even unto God with my voice, And he gave ear to me, he listened to me. Now watch this. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night and cease not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and was troubled.

[John Weaver] I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. He says concerning God thou holdest mine eyes waking. I'm so troubled that I cannot speak. I've considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit may diligent search.

[John Weaver] Now look at his questions now. Will the Lord cast off forever? Will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Does his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten, be gracious? Have ye in anger shut up his tender mercies? Look at this. This is what most Christians and most pastors go through and experience all the time. We get in such trouble, we think God has forsaken us and forgotten all about us. But look what he says in verse 10.

[John Weaver] And I said, this is my infirmity. This is my sickness. This is my disease. And I said, this is my infirmity. But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. I'm going to recall what God has done for me. I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of all thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God?" So he said, this is my infirmity. I forgot the wonders of God. I forgot the works of God. I forgot to meditate upon Him. This is my sickness. This is my infirmity.

[John Weaver] So the Hebrew word for infirmity there is the word Kala and it literally means and it refers to one that is wounded, one that is sick, one that is grieved, one that is pained, one that is weak, and one that is full of sore travail. So whenever we forget the goodness and the greatness, the majesty and the compassions of God, we are in deep trouble. I want you to go back to Lamentations chapter three. I want you to watch.

[John Weaver] This is what he recalls of mine. This is what gave him hope. So he said in verse 21, this I recall to mind, therefore have I hope. What is it that he recalls to mind? Verse 22 and 23. It is the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.

[John Weaver] Now, our Heavenly Father is not just simply the fountain of mercies, He happens to also be the Father of mercies. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul wrote, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Now, I want you to understand in Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 22, the word mercies is in the plural. When you look in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 3, the word mercies is in the plural. In other words, when we see the plurality of God's mercies, It means not only that there is an abundance, a multiplicity of his mercies, but it also means there are varied mercies. There are variegated mercies. There's mercies of different kinds.

[John Weaver] Now, I would suspect that the Apostles in the New Testament were much like Jeremiah in the Old Testament and those prophets as well. Because the Apostle Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 8 and 9. Listen carefully. Paul wrote, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. Now when you hear someone talk about we're troubled, we are perplexed, we're in despair, we're persecuted, Wow, you think, boy, they're the lowest of the low. The Apostle Paul said, no, we may have gone through those things, but those things were done over with and God delivered us out of them.

[John Weaver] So here's what he's saying. Now, watch this in verse twenty one, twenty two, twenty three. He said, this I recall to mind, therefore, have I hope it is of the Lord's mercy that we're not consumed because his compassions fail not. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.

[John Weaver] Now, as bad as things are, it is simply the mercies of God that they are not worse. We may be afflicted, but by his grace we are not consumed. Whatever state we find ourselves in, no matter how bad it is, Except for God's mercies, except for God's compassions, except for God's loving kindnesses, everything could be a thousand times worse. So our hope is in him, our hope is in his mercies, his compassions and his loving kindness.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, Holy Lamentations 3 to Psalm 103 and let's begin reading there. with verse 8. Psalm 103. Watch if you would please at verse 8. Look at this. I want you to be encouraged with this. Psalm 103, verse 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. Look at verse 10.

[John Weaver] He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. I love verse 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

[John Weaver] Listen to what Matthew Henry said on this passage. He says, we all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that we are not consumed. Then he goes on. Others have been consumed around us. And ourselves have been in the consuming, and yet we are not consumed. We're out of the grave. We're out of hell. Had we been dealt with according to our sins, we should have been consumed a long time ago. But we have been dealt with according to God's mercies, and we are bound to acknowledge his praise. He said we have been into consuming, and yet we're not consumed.

[John Weaver] Alice and I were talking on the way to church this morning. And she's got a high school reunion coming up. And she was telling me there were five of her classmates that died this year. And this is just the fourth month. So, we have been consuming and yet we are not consumed ourselves. So, here's the question I need to ask you. As a truth, of God's tender mercies, loving kindnesses and confessions stirred your heart. They need to.

[John Weaver] We tend to think sometimes that God is far off. We tend to think oftentimes that we cannot discern him. And yet the scripture tells us that his compassions and his tender mercies and his loving kindnesses are new every morning. Each morning that you awake, it's because of God's compassion and God's tender mercies and loving kindness. Each day that you have life, it's because of God's tender mercies, loving kindnesses and compassions. Each day that you're not in the grave, it's because of God's tender mercies, loving kindnesses and compassions. The very fact that you are alive right now out of the grave and out of punishment is a testimony to the mercies of God.

[John Weaver] So I want you to understand something. When our comforts fail, the compassions of God do not fail. The problem is we do not discern His multitudinous mercies. We do not acknowledge them. We're not thankful for them. And yet the Scripture tells us they are new every morning. Why are they new every morning even though we are unfaithful? And the answer comes back, because God is faithful. He is the faithful God. That's what the Word of God says in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9. Know therefore that the Lord, He is God, the faithful God, and he keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and his commandments to a thousand generations." When you get to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9, the scripture says that God is faithful by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son. Even the reason you were called into fellowship with Jesus Christ was because of the faithfulness of God. God is faithful to his covenantal promises. I want you to listen to this one. Okay. Hang on.

[John Weaver] You need to, you need to memorize this passage. First Corinthians 10 verse 13. I'm going to stop on the first little part of the sentence. There is no temptation taken you, but such as common demand. Now the word temptation there refers to a trial or affliction or trouble or travail, there's no temptation taking you with such as common demand. So usually when we get into trouble, heartache, affliction, we start whining and we start complaining and we say, but nobody's going through what I'm going through. Nobody's suffering like I'm suffering, which is not true. Everything that happens to us is common to others.

[John Weaver] God does not put any supernatural burdens upon us. So listen to what he said. There is no temptation taking you, but such is common to man. But God is faithful. Think about this, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that you're able.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just stop right there. The faithfulness of God is not going to put more on you than you can handle. So whatever your affliction, whatever your soreness, whatever your trouble, whatever your trial. If God allowed it to come upon you, you can handle it. God is faithful. He's never, ever going to put more on us than we can handle.

[John Weaver] Now, as you listen to this. There are no temptations taking you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation, will with the test, will with the trial, will with the afflicted, make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. God always has a way of escape for us. Usually that way of escape is through submission and obedience, but it is still a way of escape.

[John Weaver] Now, All I'm trying to tell you is this, folks. We need to be cognizant of the fact that we are experiencing God's mercies, God's compassions every morning. Whatever hard things that you and I suffer, we must never, ever entertain hard thoughts against God. We must be ever ready to maintain that he is merciful, loving, gracious, kind and faithful. He has not dealt with us according to that which we deserve.

[John Weaver] He has not given us justice. We must see his mercies everywhere. We must see his mercies in our lives. We must see his mercies in the lives of others. The problem is we just don't recognize God's mercies. We take so much for granted. And yet His mercies are multitudinous every, every morning.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at this back in Lamentations chapter 3. I want to tie it together for you. I want you to watch this. Lamentations chapter 3. He said in verse 21, This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. What did he recall? It is at the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. Ah, look at verse 24 and 25. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh after Him. Now, let me go back and point out the truth in verse 24. He said, The Lord is my portion.

[John Weaver] I'm going to stop right there. The Lord is my portion. Do you remember what God said to Aaron and his sons as well as to the whole tribe of Levi? God said in Numbers chapter 18 and verse 20, And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them. I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. He said, but the Levites, you're not getting the portion, the Judahgoth or Naphtali or Simeon. No, no, no, no. You're not getting land. You're getting me. I am your inheritance. I am your part. Now, David said in Psalm 16 and verse five, the Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. Thou maintainest my lot. The Lord is my portion. And then in Psalm 73 and verse 26, he said, my flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. How about this? David said in Psalm 119 verse 57, Thou art my portion, O LORD.

[John Weaver] I've said that I would keep thy words. Now stop and think about this. If the Lord is our portion, if he is our inheritance, and that's what the Bible says, even in Romans chapter eight, we should be satisfied with our portion. We should never want any more. I like Well, the little child said she was supposed to quote. Psalm 23, verse one. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

[John Weaver] But she got it mixed up. And she said, the Lord is my shepherd, and that's all I want. Well, that's true. If he's our portion, if he's our inheritance, that should be all that we want.

[John Weaver] Now, you have to grasp this truth these principles that Jeremiah is here enunciating. You have to remember now that this preacher, this prophet of God, was thoroughly discouraged, depressed, and desolate. I mean, his own countrymen hated him and despised him. They imprisoned him. They threw him in a dungeon, sunk up to his armpits in mud. They tried to murder him. And all he's going to do is pray for them. And God says, no, no, no, I'm not going to listen to your supplications.

[John Weaver] And so what in the world? Here's a man at the end of his rope. And he's teaching us something that we must embrace and that we must learn to apply. Now, watch this. Look, if you would, back in verse 24, he said, the Lord is my portion set my soul. Watch this. Therefore, I hope in him. Wow. The only one that we can have hope in is God himself. Now, let me point something else out in verse 24. He said, The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, not my mouth, but my soul. The Hebrew word for soul is the word nephesh, and it refers to the soul, the whole life, the appetite, the activity of the mind, the activity of will, that which breathes. In other words, what he's saying is The Lord is my portion with everything that is in me. Any ability I have, any mind that I have, any will that I have, any affection that I have, the Lord is my portion. He's saying that everything in him claims God as his portion, as in inheritance, and therefore he was willing to wait on them and willing to help them and willing to hope in him now david said it a little differently and i'll give you an illustration where you can grasp it we read in

[John Weaver] psalm 42 in verse 1 as the heart pandeth after the water as the heart pandeth after the water brooks so pandeth my soul after thee oh god now what makes a heart and I'll just use the word deer, pen after the water brooks. Well, there are men all over this country that hunt deer with dogs. I do not particularly enjoy nor like that type of hunting. But the dogs get on the trail of the deer and they run that deer. And they can run the deer down, especially if they swap back and forth. But can you imagine a deer that's trying to outrun the dogs and maybe he's being chased for 45 minutes, maybe an hour? And I can assure you he's thirsty and ready for the water brooks. So, Davidson is a heart pendant after the water brooks. So fanneth my soul after thee. In other words, Lord, I'm as thirsty for you as that chaste heart is for the Winterbrooks. I want you. I want all that is in me to want you.

[John Weaver] So if you do not wish to stumble, if you do not wish to fall, if you do not wish to be defeated, you must be fully persuaded that God is your portion and that he is your portion in every area of life. So he said, the Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Lamentations 3, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 8. I want you to see that God is our portion in life and in death. So look in Romans chapter 8. And let's begin reading there with verse 31. Romans 8, verse 31. Paul writes, What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? So if God is on our side, it doesn't matter who's against us.

[John Weaver] But now you can also swap that around. If God be against us, it doesn't matter who's for us. But if God is for us, who can be against us? It would not do any good for anyone to be against us because they'd be against God at the same time. So he says, if God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

[John Weaver] Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes an intercession for us. Now watch this argument. Look at the questions. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.

[John Weaver] We are counted as the sheep of the slaughter. But look what he says now. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

[John Weaver] Now watch carefully, for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus the Lord. Now, if God is our portion, and He's for us, and none of these things can ever separate us from the love of Christ, what more could we want? You know, I've thought about this many times.

[John Weaver] I have no idea how much money George Soros has. Billions, I am sure. I would not trade the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. I would not even trade the truth that I know for all of his billions. Stop and think about this. The Lord is our portion. Years ago, I read about a young widow woman she was burying her young husband and after the funeral one well-meaning lady came up to this young widow woman and said trying to reassure her well we know God didn't do this God didn't take his life the devil did this the young woman The young widow looked at her and said, please, please do not say that. She said, if you take away from me the sovereignty of God, you destroy all of my hope and all of my peace.

[John Weaver] The Bible says that our soul, our life is in his hands and he holds our lives in his hand. Our times are in his hand. Everything's in his hand and nothing is ever going to separate us from the love, mercy and compassion of God. It doesn't matter our circumstances. It doesn't matter our situations. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. No, no.

[John Weaver] He has given us His Son. He has spared not His own Son. How shall we not also with Him, free to give us all things?

[John Weaver] Now, look if you would, in verse 26, Lamentations chapter 3. He said in verse 25, the Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, So when we're in affliction, when we're in tests and trials, we need to learn to wait, to be patient. So the Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Then he says this in verse 26. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. In other words, wait for deliverance is what he's talking about. Whatever affliction you're in, whatever test, whatever trial, It's good that you wait patiently and quietly before him.

[John Weaver] There should be no murmuring. There should be no complaining. There should be no belly aching. There should be no self-pity sessions. None of that. No, we know that we're sinners and we know that we have sinned. So look at the next verse. He said after verse 26, verse 27, it is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Wow. What in the world is he talking about? It's good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

[John Weaver] He says, you really need to learn this when you're young. It'll help you throughout your life. So if you can picture this in your mind, especially in Bible times, they plowed with oxen. So you would train a young ox, but how would you do that? You had an unequal yoke in one sense of the word. you took a grown ox and put the yoke on him and then you took that same yoke but yet you had to make it smaller and put it around the neck then of the young ox and so the young ox would walk beside the full grown ox and all the work was being done by the full grown ox and yet that one young ox was walking side by side What was he doing? What was being done to him? He's being broken to yoke. He's being trained. He's being trained to be in submission. He's being trained to be obedient. So he said it's good then that we bear the yoke in our youth. It's better if we learn to submit and obey when we're young.

[John Weaver] It's going to help us through all of our lives. Now, let me tell you something. Bearing our yoke may not be pleasant. but it certainly is profitable, and it certainly is honorable, and it becomes us. Moreover, it is our duty, our responsibility, to quietly and patiently bear whatever afflictions God is pleased to lay upon us, for it is for our good and for His glory.

[John Weaver] Now, look in verses 28 through 30. Look what he says. I'm going to give you a quote. Look in verse 28. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence. because he has borne it upon him or he's placed it upon him. He put in his mouth in the dust. If so be there may be hope. Think about this now, he put in his mouth in the dust. He gives his cheek to him that smited him.

[John Weaver] He is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. I'll stop with verse 30. He said he is filled full with reproach.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry. And Matthew Henry is commenting on these verses. Here's what he said. When we are sedate and quiet under our afflictions, when we sit alone and keep silence, do not run to and fro into all companies with our complaints, aggravating our calamities, and quarreling with the disposals of Providence concerning us, but retire into privacy, that we may in a day of adversity consider, sit alone,

[John Weaver] that we may converse with God and commune with our hearts, silencing all discontented, distrustful thoughts, listen now, and laying our hand upon our mouth, as Aaron who under a very severe trial, that being the death of his sons, held his peace. We must keep silence under the yoke as those that have borne it upon us, not willfully pulled it upon our own necks, but patiently submitted to it when God has laid it upon us. When those who are afflicted in their youth accommodate themselves to their afflictions, fit their necks to the yoke and study to answer God's in and afflicted them, They will find it good for them to bear it, for it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those that are exercised thereby."

[John Weaver] Now he's got one more paragraph. He says, when we are humble and patient under our affliction, he gets good by the yoke who puts his mouth in the dust. Not only lays his hand upon his mouth in token of submission to the will of God in his affliction, but puts it in the dust as a token of sorrow, shame, and self-loathing, at the remembrance of sin as one perfectly reduced and reclaimed and broad as those that are vanquished to lick the dust."

[John Weaver] And then he quotes Psalm 72 and verse 9. He said, we must therefore humble ourselves, if so be there may be hope. If there be any way to acquire and secure good hope under our afflictions, It is this way. And yet we must be very modest in our expectations of it, must look for it with it may be, as those who own ourselves are utterly unworthy of it. Those who are truly humbled for sin will be glad to obtain a good hope through grace upon any terms, though they put their mouth in the dust for it. And those who would have hope must do so and ascribe it to the free grace if they have any encouragements which may keep their hearts from sinking into the dust when they put their mouths there." Isn't that wonderful? Look what he's saying. Just be humble. Be willing to put your mouth in the dust because God has still not dealt with you, not dealt with us according to our sins, neither has rewarded us according to our iniquities.

[John Weaver] Not at all. Now, here's the question. What good is it for us to quietly and patiently obey our yokes and yield to those yokes and submit to those yokes? What is it that or why is it that we must bear those yokes without griping, without complaining, and yet at the same time humbling ourselves before God? Well, here's the answer. Look in Lamentations chapter 3, beginning in verse 31. Look at verse 31.

[John Weaver] For the Lord will not cast off forever. Your affliction is not going to last forever. It's not. I remember reading years ago about an old black preacher. Someone asked him his favorite verse in the Bible. Well, he said, My favorite verse is actually part of a verse that occurs many times in the Bible. Well, they ask, what part of that verse is your favorite? He said, well, it only happens to be four words.

[John Weaver] Now it came to pass. It didn't come to stay. It came to pass. Wow. Stop and think about that. It doesn't matter what our afflictions are. They're not going to stay with us forever. So this is what he's saying. For the Lord will not cast off forever. Now watch verse 32. But though he caused grief. Yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. Here's why. And I'm going to speak on this next week.

[John Weaver] 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, to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approved it not." Wow! Wow! Let's read on. He said, Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good, Wherefore doth the living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Then he says this, let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto the God of the heavens or the God in the heavens. Wow. So notice, if you would, especially verse 33, for he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. God delights in obedience, not in affliction. He delights in submission, not in grief. He is more ready to forgive than he is to afflict. And therefore, we should be more ready to repent than to rebel. So here's our hope.

[John Weaver] We have to remember the sovereign. It is the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.

[John Weaver] Now, here are my applications today. The first one you should know automatically. Regardless of our circumstances, regardless of our situations, we must learn to rejoice in the tender mercies and loving kindnesses and compassions of our Lord. It will make our lives more enjoyable as well as blessed as we look for every day and see His mercies and His compassions upon us. And when we discern special mercies and special compassions, we should be able to give Him special praise and special glory.

[John Weaver] So let me tell you some things. that we need to thank him for and praise him for, that we take for granted. Have you ever noticed that we take for granted sleep, rest?

[John Weaver] Now I find it as I get older, I don't sleep like Steve does. A lot of times I'm awake at 3 o'clock in the morning or 4 o'clock in the morning and I can't go back to sleep. I don't necessarily get up right away, but I just lie there and pray. And I might have to have a nap during the day if I'm awake at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. But I'm just simply saying, I've learned to really appreciate sleep and especially rest as well. Think about our health.

[John Weaver] We take that for granted. We take our family for granted. We take our spouses for granted. We take our finances for granted. We take our friends for granted. We take love for granted. We take fellowship for granted. All these familiar mercies, we think that we're going to have them all the time. Let me tell you, we even take a hot bath for granted. I've oftentimes, as I've soaked in a hot bath, thought about the millions of people that could not and do not have access to a hot bath. That's a mercy of God, and we take it for granted. And we take it for granted that we can have a garden, that we can have a cow, or we can have Vincent. We take all that for granted. Instead of praising God for all of his tender mercies, loving kindnesses, and compassions.

[John Weaver] So, this brings us to this, whenever you and I are discouraged, when we're depressed, when we think nobody loves us and nobody cares for us, we need to memorize and we need to quote these verses. Lamentations 3, 22 and 23 is the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. He calls his compassions a failed luck. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.

[John Weaver] Now, I think there's another verse that we need to add to that, which I've quoted many times. That's Genesis 32 and verse 10, where Jacob said, I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies or of all the truth which thou hast shown unto me. Stop and think about that. God has been so merciful, so kind, so gracious. to each one of us. There's another verse you need to put down.

[John Weaver] Because our Lord has promised this. Doesn't matter if you're in surgery, doesn't matter if you're a widow, doesn't matter if you're a widower, doesn't matter what your circumstances, what your situation is. It just doesn't matter because he said in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 7, for he said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee. We are never alone. We are never forsaken. We should never consider ourselves desolate, desperate, because our Heavenly Father is always with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always with us. Our Holy Spirit is always with us. We are never, ever forsaken. And it looks as if in our day and time the situation, the circumstances in which Jeremiah found himself are going to be very prevalent in our day and time as well.

[John Weaver] And how desperately we need these truths. It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed because His compassions fail not. They're new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Think about that hymn. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord God unto me. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I've needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord God, unto me. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee.

[John Weaver] We thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that you would help us, teach us, Lord, to be thankful, to be grateful, to be appreciative, and to recognize and to acknowledge the multitudinous mercies and loving kindnesses and compassions that you bestow upon us. Forgive us, Lord, for taking thee for granted, and all of your multitudinous mercies and compassions for granted. We just assume, Lord, that we'll have tomorrow. And yet thou didst say, boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Lord, help us. Help us, Lord, to seek Your greatness, your mercy, your compassions, and your love in our lives on a daily basis, that we may praise Thee and give Thee thanks. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 3

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	5726115284779
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-04-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	88

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads Lamentations 3:21-41, setting the stage for the message on Jeremiah's broken heart and the hope he finds in God.

Well, let's open our Bibles to Lamentations chapter 3, and we're going to read verses 21 through 41 today. Lamentations chapter 3. Look, if you would, please. Lamentations chapter 3. And so notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 20. He says, "My soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me." Then he said, verse 21,

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:21-41

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smited him. He is filled full with reproach, for the Lord will not cast off forever. But though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 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, to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth the living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord." "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."

So this is the third installment of the message, "The Cry of a Broken Heart." And we are talking about Jeremiah, who's known as the weeping prophet. And of course, the Book of Lamentations gives us an absolutely wonderful picture of a broken heart in the life of Jeremiah. And we know that God is particularly close to those who have a broken and contrite heart, for the Word of God says so repeatedly. I quoted last week Psalm 34 and verse 18, where the Bible says, "The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." I also pointed out that Jeremiah's heart was broken not just because of the sins and rebellion and the wickedness of the people, but also because of the false prophets who were lying and causing the people to believe a deceit. He was also broken over the fact that God himself was rejected and his law was rejected. He was also broken over the fact that his message was not being received.

Review of Jeremiah's Broken Heart

Weaver reviews the first two reasons for Jeremiah's broken heart: rejection of his service and refusal of his supplications, emphasizing that God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people because they had reached a point of no return.

No one would listen to him. In fact, the truth of the matter is, when you look at the book of Jeremiah and read, Jeremiah was basically an intruder and a cast out and a cast away. No one wanted him. No one wanted to listen to him. And of course, Jeremiah was broken because he was unable to help his people. He did not save them. And he certainly did not save the nation because God destroyed them. So we have the very first reason Jeremiah had a broken heart was the rejection of his service. And then, of course, last week we looked at the second reason, and that was simply because there was a refusal of his supplications. In other words, God would not hear his prayers for his people. The people had reached the point of no return. There is a point of no return. There is a time when God is not going to be merciful. There is a time when prayer is absolutely useless and God is not going to answer that prayer. And so these people had reached the point of no return.

They had broken the covenant in every respect. And there was just no hope for them. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly, to Jeremiah chapter 5, we covered this last week, but I want you to see it again just by way of review. Look what God says beginning there in verse 1, Jeremiah 5 verse 1, God told Jeremiah,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth?"

Now look what he says concerning these people. "Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return. Therefore I said, surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God." So he says, I'm looking at all these common everyday people. They're poor, they don't understand. And then notice, if you would, verse 5, he said, "I will get me unto the great men and will speak unto them, these educated men, rulers, for they have known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31

"But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds."

So God told him in verse 1 to run to and fro. If he could find one man, just one in the entire city, in the entire country there, that would execute judgment and that sought the truth, God would pardon the entire city and the entire country if he could just find one. And he could not, because every strata of society was corrupted. If you'll skip down to Jeremiah 5, look in verse 31, he said, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: but what will ye do in the end thereof?" So the truth of the matter is nobody wanted to listen. No one wanted to repent. They wanted to maintain the status quo, regardless how evil, how wicked it was. But God was willing to spare them if he found one righteous man. And he did not. Now, may I remind you, that God told Jeremiah not to pray for these people.

Because he determined to destroy them. In Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 16, God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee."

So, Jeremiah, I'm not going to listen to you if you're praying for this people. Then when you get to Jeremiah 11 and verse 14, again God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them."

Then God added this,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble."

So God wouldn't listen to Jeremiah. God wouldn't listen to the people. That's why I said in Jeremiah chapter 15, even if Samuel and Moses stood before him, God would not be entreated for this people. And finally, in Jeremiah chapter 14, verses 10 through 12, God said, all right, Jeremiah, I'm going to let you pray. But here's what you pray. Do not pray for their good. In other words, you pray that I'm going to destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do.

He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:10-12

"When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."

So let me just point out the fact that Jeremiah was thoroughly discouraged at this particular point. Jeremiah was rejected by the people and refused by God as far as praying for those people were concerned. But when you look down in Lamentations 3 and verse 21, Jeremiah makes a wonderful and yet a very astounding statement.

The Remembrance of the Sovereign

Jeremiah's hope is restored by recalling God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, not by looking at circumstances or within himself.

He said, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." How in the world could you have hope in a situation like Jeremiah? So what was it that gave Jeremiah hope in such a desperate and depressing situation? And the answer is, I'm going to show you, the remembrance of the Sovereign. The remembrance of the Sovereign.

Now this passage has real significance when it is understood in its context. So I'm going to repeat a few things because I want to impress upon you the context. Jeremiah was desolate. He was in despair. He was rejected by his countrymen. God was refusing to hear his supplications. No one wanted to listen to him. No one wanted to help him. Everyone was against him. And I'm going to be honest with you. That is enough to drive anyone insane and to make them really and truly want to quit.

To me, having been in the ministry now nearly 61 years, it will be 61 next month. I find it absolutely astounding that many pastors still retain and remain in the ministry for a long, long time. Because most people have no idea what a preacher goes through, especially what a pastor goes through. And I laugh every time I think about this, and I've mentioned this before, but I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. I really did. But the reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only worked on Sunday and on Wednesday, and you could play the rest of the week. Well, I found out that certainly was not true, not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. So here, and I'm going to show you the passage, is the real difference in men that are used of God. Those men who are really used of God may be discouraged, they may be rejected, they may be hated, they may be despised, they may be ignored, but they cannot quit. They cannot give up. They cannot stop.

So if you will hold Lamentations chapter 3, but turn back in your Bibles, to Jeremiah chapter 20. You will see even Jeremiah wanted to quit, even tried to quit, but he couldn't. So if you look in Jeremiah chapter 20, and let's begin reading there with verse 7, notice what he said.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed." "I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me."

Nobody's listening. Nobody wants the truth. He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily."

Because nobody wanted it. Verse 9.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name."

I'm going to quit.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones."

"And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Watch this. "For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side." They're talking about Jeremiah now. "Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him." Then he said, "But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one." "Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." So Jeremiah said it was so bad. I wanted to quit. I tried to quit, but his word was as a burning fire in me. And I was weary with forbearing and I could not quit.

Now, Jeremiah found nothing in his circumstances that would encourage him. He found nothing in his situation that would comfort him. Moreover, Jeremiah found nothing in himself that would comfort or encourage him. This is the problem that many pastors have. This is also the problem many Christians have. When we get in trouble or we get in affliction, we start looking around for help. And I find out, well, Steve can't help me. Dinah can't help me. Lorraine can't help me.

And so what happens is this. Since I can't find any outside help, I begin to look inside. And guess what? There's nothing inside of me that is going to help me either. So here's what we do. When we get in trouble and we get in affliction, we start looking around or we start looking within instead of looking up. See, David said it like this in Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2. David said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." He said, I've got to look to the Lord. I cannot look to anyone else or anything else.

So Jeremiah then, in Lamentations chapter 3, had what you and I would call a wake-up moment. He saw the sovereign God by faith, and he recognized his power, his grace, his mercy, and so he said in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." Now, I want you to understand something. He was not calling his circumstances to mind. He was not calling his situation to mind. He was not recalling his rejection or his feelings of despair and desperation of mind. What he was recalling to mind was the greatness of God and the power of God, the mercies and compassions and lovingkindness of God.

Now, the problem is this. We often forget God. Look what he said. "This I recall to my mind." Why had he not thought about it earlier? Well, maybe his back had not been up against the wall sufficiently. But "this I recall to my mind." Did you know that David refers to our forgetfulness and lack of trust in God as infirmity? So look in your Bible, so Lamentations chapter 3, but turn, if you would, to Psalm 77, Psalm 77. And so David refers to this mentality of looking to God last and forgetting him as an infirmity. So in Psalm 77, let's begin reading there with verse 1 and we'll read through verse 13. So look in Psalm 77.

The Infirmity of Forgetting God

Using Psalm 77, Weaver explains that forgetting God's works and mercies is a spiritual sickness, and we must actively remember His wonders.

I really want you to see this. So look in verse 1, if you would. David said, "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me." He listened to me. Now watch this. "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled." "I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search."

Now look at his questions now. "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah." Look at this. This is what most Christians and most pastors go through and experience all the time. We get in such trouble, we think God has forsaken us and forgotten all about us. But look what he says in verse 10.

"And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High." I'm going to recall what God has done for me. "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?" So he said, this is my infirmity. I forgot the wonders of God. I forgot the works of God. I forgot to meditate upon Him. This is my sickness. This is my infirmity.

So the Hebrew word for infirmity there is the word kalah and it literally means and it refers to one that is wounded, one that is sick, one that is grieved, one that is pained, one that is weak, and one that is full of sore travail. So whenever we forget the goodness and the greatness, the majesty and the compassions of God, we are in deep trouble. I want you to go back to Lamentations chapter 3. I want you to watch. This is what he recalls to mind. This is what gave him hope. So he said in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." What is it that he recalls to mind? Verse 22 and 23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

The Multitude of God's Mercies

God's mercies are plural and varied, new every morning, and the reason we are not consumed despite our sins.

Now, our Heavenly Father is not just simply the fountain of mercies, He happens to also be the Father of mercies. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul wrote,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort."

Now, I want you to understand in Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 22, the word mercies is in the plural. When you look in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 3, the word mercies is in the plural. In other words, when we see the plurality of God's mercies, it means not only that there is an abundance, a multiplicity of his mercies, but it also means there are varied mercies. There are variegated mercies. There's mercies of different kinds.

Now, I would suspect that the Apostles in the New Testament were much like Jeremiah in the Old Testament and those prophets as well. Because the Apostle Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Listen carefully. Paul wrote, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." Now when you hear someone talk about we're troubled, we are perplexed, we're in despair, we're persecuted, wow, you think, boy, they're the lowest of the low. The Apostle Paul said, no, we may have gone through those things, but those things were done over with and God delivered us out of them.

So here's what he's saying. Now, watch this in verse 21, 22, 23. He said, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Now, as bad as things are, it is simply the mercies of God that they are not worse. We may be afflicted, but by his grace we are not consumed. Whatever state we find ourselves in, no matter how bad it is, except for God's mercies, except for God's compassions, except for God's lovingkindnesses, everything could be a thousand times worse. So our hope is in him, our hope is in his mercies, his compassions and his lovingkindness.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Lamentations 3, to Psalm 103 and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Psalm 103. Watch if you would please at verse 8. Look at this. I want you to be encouraged with this. Psalm 103, verse 8.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 103:8-13

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever."

Look at verse 10.

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." I love verse 10. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." Listen to what Matthew Henry said on this passage. He says, "We all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that we are not consumed." Then he goes on. "Others have been consumed around us. And ourselves have been in the consuming, and yet we are not consumed. We're out of the grave. We're out of hell. Had we been dealt with according to our sins, we should have been consumed a long time ago. But we have been dealt with according to God's mercies, and we are bound to acknowledge his praise." He said we have been into consuming, and yet we're not consumed.

God's Faithfulness in Trials

Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 10:13 to show that God is faithful to not allow trials beyond our ability and always provides a way of escape.

You need to memorize this passage. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. I'm going to stop on the first little part of the sentence. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." Now the word temptation there refers to a trial or affliction or trouble or travail. There's no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. So usually when we get into trouble, heartache, affliction, we start whining and we start complaining and we say, but nobody's going through what I'm going through. Nobody's suffering like I'm suffering, which is not true. Everything that happens to us is common to others.

God does not put any supernatural burdens upon us. So listen to what he said. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful." Think about this, "but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able." Now, let me just stop right there. The faithfulness of God is not going to put more on you than you can handle. So whatever your affliction, whatever your soreness, whatever your trouble, whatever your trial, if God allowed it to come upon you, you can handle it. God is faithful. He's never, ever going to put more on us than we can handle.

Now, as you listen to this. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." God always has a way of escape for us. Usually that way of escape is through submission and obedience, but it is still a way of escape. Now, all I'm trying to tell you is this, folks. We need to be cognizant of the fact that we are experiencing God's mercies, God's compassions every morning. Whatever hard things that you and I suffer, we must never, ever entertain hard thoughts against God. We must be ever ready to maintain that he is merciful, loving, gracious, kind and faithful. He has not dealt with us according to that which we deserve.

The Lord as Our Portion

Jeremiah declares the Lord as his portion, meaning God is his inheritance and all he needs, leading to patient hope and waiting.

I'm going to stop right there. "The Lord is my portion." Do you remember what God said to Aaron and his sons as well as to the whole tribe of Levi? God said in Numbers chapter 18 and verse 20,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 18:20

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel."

He said, but the Levites, you're not getting the portion of Judah or Naphtali or Simeon. No, no, no, no. You're not getting land. You're getting me. I am your inheritance. I am your part. Now, David said in Psalm 16 and verse 5, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot." The Lord is my portion. And then in Psalm 73 and verse 26, he said, "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." How about this? David said in Psalm 119 verse 57, "Thou art my portion, O Lord."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:57

"I have said that I would keep thy words."

Now stop and think about this. If the Lord is our portion, if he is our inheritance, and that's what the Bible says, even in Romans chapter 8, we should be satisfied with our portion. We should never want any more. I like, well, the little child said she was supposed to quote Psalm 23, verse 1. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

But she got it mixed up. And she said, "The Lord is my shepherd, and that's all I want." Well, that's true. If he's our portion, if he's our inheritance, that should be all that we want. Now, you have to grasp this truth, these principles that Jeremiah is here enunciating. You have to remember now that this preacher, this prophet of God, was thoroughly discouraged, depressed, and desolate. I mean, his own countrymen hated him and despised him. They imprisoned him. They threw him in a dungeon, sunk up to his armpits in mud. They tried to murder him. And all he's going to do is pray for them. And God says, no, no, no, I'm not going to listen to your supplications.

And so what in the world? Here's a man at the end of his rope. And he's teaching us something that we must embrace and that we must learn to apply. Now, watch this. Look, if you would, back in verse 24, he said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul." Watch this. "Therefore will I hope in him." Wow. The only one that we can have hope in is God himself. Now, let me point something else out in verse 24. He said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul," not my mouth, but my soul. The Hebrew word for soul is the word nephesh, and it refers to the soul, the whole life, the appetite, the activity of the mind, the activity of will, that which breathes. In other words, what he's saying is, "The Lord is my portion" with everything that is in me. Any ability I have, any mind that I have, any will that I have, any affection that I have, the Lord is my portion. He's saying that everything in him claims God as his portion, as his inheritance, and therefore he was willing to wait on him and willing to hope in him. Now David said it a little differently and I'll give you an illustration where you can grasp it. We read in

Psalm 42 in verse 1, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Now what makes a hart, and I'll just use the word deer, pant after the water brooks. Well, there are men all over this country that hunt deer with dogs. I do not particularly enjoy nor like that type of hunting. But the dogs get on the trail of the deer and they run that deer. And they can run the deer down, especially if they swap back and forth. But can you imagine a deer that's trying to outrun the dogs and maybe he's being chased for 45 minutes, maybe an hour? And I can assure you he's thirsty and ready for the water brooks. So, David said, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." In other words, Lord, I'm as thirsty for you as that chased hart is for the water brooks. I want you. I want all that is in me to want you.

So if you do not wish to stumble, if you do not wish to fall, if you do not wish to be defeated, you must be fully persuaded that God is your portion and that he is your portion in every area of life. So he said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him." Now, I want you to hold Lamentations 3, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 8. I want you to see that God is our portion in life and in death. So look in Romans chapter 8. And let's begin reading there with verse 31. Romans 8, verse 31. Paul writes,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:31-39

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

So if God is on our side, it doesn't matter who's against us.

But now you can also swap that around. If God be against us, it doesn't matter who's for us. But if God is for us, who can be against us? It would not do any good for anyone to be against us because they'd be against God at the same time. So he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Now watch this argument. Look at the questions. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;

we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." But look what he says now. "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Now watch carefully, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, if God is our portion, and He's for us, and none of these things can ever separate us from the love of Christ, what more could we want? You know, I've thought about this many times.

Bearing the Yoke and Humbling Ourselves

Weaver explains that it is good to bear affliction quietly, put our mouth in the dust in humility, and submit to God's training, knowing affliction is temporary.

There should be no murmuring. There should be no complaining. There should be no bellyaching. There should be no self-pity sessions. None of that. No, we know that we're sinners and we know that we have sinned. So look at the next verse. He said after verse 26, verse 27, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." Wow. What in the world is he talking about? "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."

He says, you really need to learn this when you're young. It'll help you throughout your life. So if you can picture this in your mind, especially in Bible times, they plowed with oxen. So you would train a young ox, but how would you do that? You had an unequal yoke in one sense of the word. You took a grown ox and put the yoke on him and then you took that same yoke but yet you had to make it smaller and put it around the neck then of the young ox. And so the young ox would walk beside the full grown ox and all the work was being done by the full grown ox. And yet that one young ox was walking side by side. What was he doing? What was being done to him? He's being broken to yoke. He's being trained. He's being trained to be in submission. He's being trained to be obedient. So he said it's good then that we bear the yoke in our youth. It's better if we learn to submit and obey when we're young.

It's going to help us through all of our lives. Now, let me tell you something. Bearing our yoke may not be pleasant, but it certainly is profitable, and it certainly is honorable, and it becomes us. Moreover, it is our duty, our responsibility, to quietly and patiently bear whatever afflictions God is pleased to lay upon us, for it is for our good and for His glory.

Now, look in verses 28 through 30. Look what he says. I'm going to give you a quote. Look in verse 28. "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him." Or he's placed it upon him. "He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope." Think about this now, "he putteth his mouth in the dust. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him."

"He is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off for ever." I'll stop with verse 30. He said, "He is filled full with reproach." Now, I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry. And Matthew Henry is commenting on these verses. Here's what he said. "When we are sedate and quiet under our afflictions, when we sit alone and keep silence, do not run to and fro into all companies with our complaints, aggravating our calamities, and quarreling with the disposals of Providence concerning us, but retire into privacy, that we may in a day of adversity consider, sit alone,

that we may converse with God and commune with our hearts, silencing all discontented, distrustful thoughts, listen now, and laying our hand upon our mouth, as Aaron who under a very severe trial, that being the death of his sons, held his peace. We must keep silence under the yoke as those that have borne it upon us, not willfully pulled it upon our own necks, but patiently submitted to it when God has laid it upon us. When those who are afflicted in their youth accommodate themselves to their afflictions, fit their necks to the yoke and study to answer God's end in afflicting them, they will find it good for them to bear it, for it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those that are exercised thereby." Now he's got one more paragraph. He says, "When we are humble and patient under our affliction, he gets good by the yoke who puts his mouth in the dust. Not only lays his hand upon his mouth in token of submission to the will of God in his affliction, but puts it in the dust as a token of sorrow, shame, and self-loathing, at the remembrance of sin as one perfectly reduced and reclaimed and brought as those that are vanquished to lick the dust."

And then he quotes Psalm 72 and verse 9. He said, "We must therefore humble ourselves, if so be there may be hope. If there be any way to acquire and secure good hope under our afflictions, it is this way. And yet we must be very modest in our expectations of it, must look for it with a 'it may be,' as those who own ourselves are utterly unworthy of it. Those who are truly humbled for sin will be glad to obtain a good hope through grace upon any terms, though they put their mouth in the dust for it. And those who would have hope must do so and ascribe it to the free grace if they have any encouragements which may keep their hearts from sinking into the dust when they put their mouths there." Isn't that wonderful? Look what he's saying. Just be humble. Be willing to put your mouth in the dust because God has still not dealt with you, not dealt with us according to our sins, neither has rewarded us according to our iniquities.

Not at all. Now, here's the question. What good is it for us to quietly and patiently obey our yokes and yield to those yokes and submit to those yokes? What is it that or why is it that we must bear those yokes without griping, without complaining, and yet at the same time humbling ourselves before God? Well, here's the answer. Look in Lamentations chapter 3, beginning in verse 31. Look at verse 31.

God Does Not Afflict Willingly

God takes no pleasure in affliction; He is compassionate and ready to forgive, so we should repent rather than rebel.

"For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Your affliction is not going to last forever. It's not. I remember reading years ago about an old black preacher. Someone asked him his favorite verse in the Bible. Well, he said, "My favorite verse is actually part of a verse that occurs many times in the Bible." Well, they asked, "What part of that verse is your favorite?" He said, "Well, it only happens to be four words. 'And it came to pass.' It didn't come to stay. It came to pass." Wow. Stop and think about that. It doesn't matter what our afflictions are. They're not going to stay with us forever. So this is what he's saying. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Now watch verse 32. "But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." Here's why. And I'm going to speak on this next week.

"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, to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not." Wow! Wow! Let's read on. He said, "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" Then he says this, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord." "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Wow. So notice, if you would, especially verse 33, "For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." God delights in obedience, not in affliction. He delights in submission, not in grief. He is more ready to forgive than he is to afflict. And therefore, we should be more ready to repent than to rebel. So here's our hope.

We have to remember the sovereign. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Applications and Conclusion

Weaver urges believers to rejoice in daily mercies, memorize Lamentations 3:22-23, and trust God's promise never to leave or forsake us.

Now, here are my applications today. The first one you should know automatically. Regardless of our circumstances, regardless of our situations, we must learn to rejoice in the tender mercies and lovingkindnesses and compassions of our Lord. It will make our lives more enjoyable as well as blessed as we look for every day and see His mercies and His compassions upon us. And when we discern special mercies and special compassions, we should be able to give Him special praise and special glory.

So let me tell you some things that we need to thank him for and praise him for, that we take for granted. Have you ever noticed that we take for granted sleep, rest? Now I find it as I get older, I don't sleep like Steve does. A lot of times I'm awake at 3 o'clock in the morning or 4 o'clock in the morning and I can't go back to sleep. I don't necessarily get up right away, but I just lie there and pray. And I might have to have a nap during the day if I'm awake at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. But I'm just simply saying, I've learned to really appreciate sleep and especially rest as well. Think about our health.

We take that for granted. We take our family for granted. We take our spouses for granted. We take our finances for granted. We take our friends for granted. We take love for granted. We take fellowship for granted. All these familiar mercies, we think that we're going to have them all the time. Let me tell you, we even take a hot bath for granted. I've oftentimes, as I've soaked in a hot bath, thought about the millions of people that could not and do not have access to a hot bath. That's a mercy of God, and we take it for granted. And we take it for granted that we can have a garden, that we can have a cow, or we can have Vincent. We take all that for granted. Instead of praising God for all of his tender mercies, lovingkindnesses, and compassions.

So, this brings us to this, whenever you and I are discouraged, when we're depressed, when we think nobody loves us and nobody cares for us, we need to memorize and we need to quote these verses. Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Now, I think there's another verse that we need to add to that, which I've quoted many times. That's Genesis 32 and verse 10, where Jacob said, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant." Stop and think about that. God has been so merciful, so kind, so gracious to each one of us. There's another verse you need to put down.

Because our Lord has promised this. Doesn't matter if you're in surgery, doesn't matter if you're a widow, doesn't matter if you're a widower, doesn't matter what your circumstances, what your situation is. It just doesn't matter because he said in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, for he said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." We are never alone. We are never forsaken. We should never consider ourselves desolate, desperate, because our Heavenly Father is always with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always with us. Our Holy Spirit is always with us. We are never, ever forsaken. And it looks as if in our day and time the situation, the circumstances in which Jeremiah found himself are going to be very prevalent in our day and time as well.

And how desperately we need these truths. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Think about that hymn. "Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided—great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!" Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee.

We thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that you would help us, teach us, Lord, to be thankful, to be grateful, to be appreciative, and to recognize and to acknowledge the multitudinous mercies and lovingkindnesses and compassions that you bestow upon us. Forgive us, Lord, for taking thee for granted, and all of your multitudinous mercies and compassions for granted. We just assume, Lord, that we'll have tomorrow. And yet thou didst say, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Lord, help us. Help us, Lord, to seek Your greatness, your mercy, your compassions, and your love in our lives on a daily basis, that we may praise Thee and give Thee thanks. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Hope in God's Character Amid Despair

Summary: Jeremiah's hope is restored not by circumstances but by recalling God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness.

Evidence: He said, 'This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.' What did he recall? 'It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.'

The Danger of Forgetting God's Mercies

Summary: Forgetting God's works and mercies is a spiritual infirmity that leads to despair, as seen in Psalm 77.

Evidence: And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

God's Faithfulness in Trials

Summary: God is faithful to limit our trials and provide a way of escape, ensuring we are never overwhelmed beyond our ability.

Evidence: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.

The Lord as Our Sufficient Portion

Summary: God Himself is our inheritance and all we need, leading to contentment and patient hope.

Evidence: The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Patient Submission Under Affliction

Summary: Believers should quietly bear affliction, humble themselves, and trust that God's chastening is temporary and for good.

Evidence: It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord... He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

God's Reluctance to Afflict

Summary: God does not afflict willingly; He delights in mercy and is more ready to forgive than to punish.

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

Key Arguments

Hope Comes from Remembering God, Not Circumstances

Summary: Jeremiah's hope was restored by recalling God's mercies and faithfulness, not by looking at his rejection or despair.

Evidence: He was not calling his circumstances to mind... What he was recalling to mind was the greatness of God and the power of God, the mercies and compassions and lovingkindness of God.

Forgetting God Is a Spiritual Infirmity

Summary: Psalm 77 shows that forgetting God's works leads to doubt and despair, which David calls an infirmity.

Evidence: And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

God's Mercies Are Multitudinous and Daily

Summary: God's mercies are plural, varied, and renewed every morning, preventing our consumption despite our sins.

Evidence: It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

God's Faithfulness Limits Our Trials

Summary: 1 Corinthians 10:13 assures that God will not allow trials beyond our ability and provides a way of escape.

Evidence: God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape.

The Lord as Our Portion Brings Contentment

Summary: When God is our inheritance, we should be satisfied and hope in Him alone, as Jeremiah declared.

Evidence: The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Affliction Is Temporary and for Our Good

Summary: God will not cast off forever; affliction is a yoke to train us, and we should bear it quietly and humbly.

Evidence: For the Lord will not cast off for ever... It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

God Takes No Pleasure in Affliction

Summary: God does not afflict willingly; He is compassionate and desires repentance, not suffering.

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

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:21-41

Context: The main passage read and expounded, focusing on hope in God's mercies and faithfulness.

Psalm 34:18

Context: Quoted to show God's closeness to the brokenhearted.

Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31

Context: God's search for one righteous man in Jerusalem and the corruption of prophets and priests.

Jeremiah 7:16

Context: God commands Jeremiah not to pray for the people.

Jeremiah 11:14

Context: God again forbids prayer for the people.

Jeremiah 14:10-12

Context: God instructs Jeremiah to pray for their destruction, not their good.

Jeremiah 20:7-11

Context: Jeremiah's struggle with his calling and inability to quit despite persecution.

Psalm 121:1-2

Context: David's declaration that help comes from the Lord, not from hills or men.

Psalm 77:1-13

Context: David's infirmity of forgetting God's works and his resolve to remember them.

2 Corinthians 1:3

Context: God as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Context: Paul's description of being troubled but not destroyed.

Psalm 103:8-13

Context: God's mercy, grace, and removal of transgressions.

Deuteronomy 7:9

Context: God is the faithful God keeping covenant and mercy.

1 Corinthians 1:9

Context: God is faithful, by whom we are called into fellowship with Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Context: God's faithfulness in not allowing temptation beyond our ability.

Numbers 18:20

Context: God tells Aaron the Levites have no land inheritance; God is their portion.

Psalm 16:5

Context: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance.

Psalm 73:26

Context: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 119:57

Context: Thou art my portion, O Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

Context: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ; we are more than conquerors.

Historical References

Matthew Henry's Commentary

Context: Weaver quotes Matthew Henry on Lamentations 3:22, emphasizing that we owe our preservation to God's sparing mercy.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Lamentations 3:28-30

Context: Weaver reads an extended quote from Matthew Henry about sitting alone in silence, putting mouth in the dust, and humbling ourselves under affliction.

George Soros

Context: Weaver mentions billionaire George Soros to illustrate that he would not trade his salvation for all of Soros's wealth.

Story of a young widow

Context: Weaver recounts a story of a young widow who insisted on God's sovereignty as her hope after her husband's death.

Old black preacher's favorite verse

Context: Weaver shares an anecdote about a preacher whose favorite verse was 'And it came to pass,' emphasizing that trials are temporary.

Important Quotes

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

Significance: Jeremiah's turning point from despair to hope by remembering God's character.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Significance: The core truth that sustains hope: God's daily, unfailing mercies.

And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

Significance: David's recognition that forgetting God's works is a spiritual sickness.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Significance: Jeremiah's declaration of God as his sufficient inheritance and ground of hope.

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

Significance: Affirms God's compassionate nature and reluctance to cause suffering.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.

Significance: Key promise of God's faithfulness in limiting trials.

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Significance: God's abiding presence as a source of comfort in all circumstances.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to 'recall to mind' God's mercies when we are discouraged, and how can we practice this daily?

Context: Jeremiah's hope was restored by remembering God's character, not his circumstances.

Why is forgetting God's works described as an 'infirmity' in Psalm 77, and how does this affect our faith?

Context: David's struggle with doubt and his resolve to remember God's wonders.

In what ways do we take God's daily mercies for granted, and how can we cultivate gratitude?

Context: Weaver lists common mercies like sleep, health, and family that we often overlook.

How does understanding God as our 'portion' change our perspective on trials and contentment?

Context: Jeremiah declared the Lord as his inheritance, leading to hope and patience.

What does it practically look like to 'bear the yoke' and 'put our mouth in the dust' during affliction?

Context: Weaver explains the imagery of training oxen and humbling ourselves under God's hand.

How does the truth that God does not afflict willingly shape our response to suffering?

Context: God delights in mercy, not affliction, which should lead us to repentance rather than rebellion.

Why is it important to remember that our trials are temporary ('it came to pass'), and how can this encourage us?

Context: The old preacher's favorite verse emphasizes that afflictions do not last forever.

Applications

Rejoice in Daily Mercies

Summary: Believers should actively look for and thank God for His mercies every morning, rather than taking them for granted.

Evidence: We must learn to rejoice in the tender mercies and lovingkindnesses and compassions of our Lord... when we discern special mercies and special compassions, we should be able to give Him special praise.

Memorize and Quote Scripture in Trials

Summary: When discouraged, believers should memorize and recite Lamentations 3:22-23 and Genesis 32:10 to remind themselves of God's faithfulness.

Evidence: Whenever you and I are discouraged... we need to memorize and we need to quote these verses. Lamentations 3:22-23... I think there's another verse... Genesis 32 and verse 10.

Trust God's Unfailing Presence

Summary: In every circumstance, believers can rely on God's promise never to leave or forsake them, as stated in Hebrews 13:5.

Evidence: Because our Lord has promised this... he said in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, for he said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'

Patiently Submit to Affliction

Summary: Believers should quietly bear trials without complaining, humbling themselves before God and trusting His purposes.

Evidence: It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord... He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

Repent Rather Than Rebel

Summary: Since God is more ready to forgive than to afflict, believers should respond to trials with self-examination and turning to God.

Evidence: He is more ready to forgive than he is to afflict. And therefore, we should be more ready to repent than to rebel.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:08:57Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:49:49Z

Clean Transcript

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 3

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

Well, let's open our Bibles to Lamentations chapter 3, and we're going to read verses 21 through 41 today. Lamentations chapter 3. Look, if you would, please. Lamentations chapter 3. And so notice, if you would, beginning there with verse 20. He says, "My soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in me." Then he said, verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope."
#1 | 0:00 to 0:33 | cleaned
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."
#2 | 0:34 to 1:02 | cleaned
"He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smited him. He is filled full with reproach, for the Lord will not cast off forever. But though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 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, to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth the living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord."
#3 | 1:03 to 2:02 | cleaned
"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." So this is the third installment of the message, "The Cry of a Broken Heart." And we are talking about Jeremiah, who's known as the weeping prophet. And of course, the Book of Lamentations gives us an absolutely wonderful picture of a broken heart in the life of Jeremiah. And we know that God is particularly close to those who have a broken and contrite heart, for the Word of God says so repeatedly. I quoted last week Psalm 34 and verse 18, where the Bible says, "The Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." I also pointed out that Jeremiah's heart was broken not just because of the sins and rebellion and the wickedness of the people, but also because of the false prophets who were lying and causing the people to believe a deceit. He was also broken over the fact that God himself was rejected and his law was rejected. He was also broken over the fact that his message was not being received.
#4 | 2:03 to 3:18 | cleaned
No one would listen to him. In fact, the truth of the matter is, when you look at the book of Jeremiah and read, Jeremiah was basically an intruder and a cast out and a cast away. No one wanted him. No one wanted to listen to him. And of course, Jeremiah was broken because he was unable to help his people. He did not save them. And he certainly did not save the nation because God destroyed them. So we have the very first reason Jeremiah had a broken heart was the rejection of his service. And then, of course, last week we looked at the second reason, and that was simply because there was a refusal of his supplications. In other words, God would not hear his prayers for his people. The people had reached the point of no return. There is a point of no return. There is a time when God is not going to be merciful. There is a time when prayer is absolutely useless and God is not going to answer that prayer. And so these people had reached the point of no return.
#5 | 3:19 to 4:29 | cleaned
They had broken the covenant in every respect. And there was just no hope for them. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly, to Jeremiah chapter 5, we covered this last week, but I want you to see it again just by way of review. Look what God says beginning there in verse 1, Jeremiah 5 verse 1, God told Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth,
#6 | 4:29 to 5:08 | cleaned
and I will pardon it. And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth?"
#7 | 5:08 to 5:17 | cleaned
Now look what he says concerning these people. "Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return. Therefore I said, surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God." So he says, I'm looking at all these common everyday people. They're poor, they don't understand. And then notice, if you would, verse 5, he said, "I will get me unto the great men and will speak unto them, these educated men, rulers, for they have known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God."
#8 | 5:17 to 5:57 | cleaned
"But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds." So God told him in verse 1 to run to and fro. If he could find one man, just one in the entire city, in the entire country there, that would execute judgment and that sought the truth, God would pardon the entire city and the entire country if he could just find one. And he could not, because every strata of society was corrupted.
#9 | 5:57 to 6:29 | cleaned
If you'll skip down to Jeremiah 5, look in verse 31, he said, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: but what will ye do in the end thereof?" So the truth of the matter is nobody wanted to listen. No one wanted to repent. They wanted to maintain the status quo, regardless how evil, how wicked it was. But God was willing to spare them if he found one righteous man. And he did not. Now, may I remind you, that God told Jeremiah not to pray for these people.
#10 | 6:29 to 7:12 | cleaned
Because he determined to destroy them. In Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 16, God said, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee." So, Jeremiah, I'm not going to listen to you if you're praying for this people. Then when you get to Jeremiah 11 and verse 14, again God said, "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them." Then God added this, "for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble." So God wouldn't listen to Jeremiah. God wouldn't listen to the people. That's why I said in Jeremiah chapter 15, even if Samuel and Moses stood before him, God would not be entreated for this people. And finally, in Jeremiah chapter 14, verses 10 through 12, God said, all right, Jeremiah, I'm going to let you pray. But here's what you pray. Do not pray for their good. In other words, you pray that I'm going to destroy them because that's exactly what I'm going to do.
#11 | 7:13 to 8:22 | cleaned
He said, "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." So let me just point out the fact that Jeremiah was thoroughly discouraged at this particular point. Jeremiah was rejected by the people and refused by God as far as praying for those people were concerned. But when you look down in Lamentations 3 and verse 21, Jeremiah makes a wonderful and yet a very astounding statement.
#12 | 8:23 to 9:02 | cleaned
He said, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." How in the world could you have hope in a situation like Jeremiah? So what was it that gave Jeremiah hope in such a desperate and depressing situation? And the answer is, I'm going to show you, the remembrance of the Sovereign. The remembrance of the Sovereign.
#13 | 9:03 to 9:29 | cleaned
Now this passage has real significance when it is understood in its context. So I'm going to repeat a few things because I want to impress upon you the context. Jeremiah was desolate. He was in despair. He was rejected by his countrymen. God was refusing to hear his supplications. No one wanted to listen to him. No one wanted to help him. Everyone was against him. And I'm going to be honest with you. That is enough to drive anyone insane and to make them really and truly want to quit.
#14 | 9:30 to 10:13 | cleaned
To me, having been in the ministry now nearly 61 years, it will be 61 next month. I find it absolutely astounding that many pastors still retain and remain in the ministry for a long, long time. Because most people have no idea what a preacher goes through, especially what a pastor goes through. And I laugh every time I think about this, and I've mentioned this before, but I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher. I really did. But the reason I wanted to be a preacher is because they only worked on Sunday and on Wednesday, and you could play the rest of the week.
#15 | 10:17 to 10:58 | cleaned
Well, I found out that certainly was not true, not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. So here, and I'm going to show you the passage, is the real difference in men that are used of God. Those men who are really used of God may be discouraged, they may be rejected, they may be hated, they may be despised, they may be ignored, but they cannot quit. They cannot give up. They cannot stop.
#16 | 10:59 to 11:30 | cleaned
So if you will hold Lamentations chapter 3, but turn back in your Bibles, to Jeremiah chapter 20. You will see even Jeremiah wanted to quit, even tried to quit, but he couldn't. So if you look in Jeremiah chapter 20, and let's begin reading there with verse 7, notice what he said. "O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed."
#17 | 11:31 to 12:01 | cleaned
"I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me." Nobody's listening. Nobody wants the truth. He said, "For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily." Because nobody wanted it. Verse 9. "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name." I'm going to quit. "But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones."
#18 | 12:02 to 12:34 | cleaned
"And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Watch this. "For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side." They're talking about Jeremiah now. "Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him." Then he said, "But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one."
#19 | 12:34 to 13:00 | cleaned
"Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten." So Jeremiah said it was so bad. I wanted to quit. I tried to quit, but his word was as a burning fire in me. And I was weary with forbearing and I could not quit.
#20 | 13:01 to 13:26 | cleaned
Now, Jeremiah found nothing in his circumstances that would encourage him. He found nothing in his situation that would comfort him. Moreover, Jeremiah found nothing in himself that would comfort or encourage him. This is the problem that many pastors have. This is also the problem many Christians have. When we get in trouble or we get in affliction, we start looking around for help. And I find out, well, Steve can't help me. Dinah can't help me. Lorraine can't help me.
#21 | 13:26 to 14:05 | cleaned
And so what happens is this. Since I can't find any outside help, I begin to look inside. And guess what? There's nothing inside of me that is going to help me either. So here's what we do. When we get in trouble and we get in affliction, we start looking around or we start looking within instead of looking up. See, David said it like this in Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2. David said, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." He said, I've got to look to the Lord. I cannot look to anyone else or anything else.
#22 | 14:07 to 14:52 | cleaned
So Jeremiah then, in Lamentations chapter 3, had what you and I would call a wake-up moment. He saw the sovereign God by faith, and he recognized his power, his grace, his mercy, and so he said in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope."
#23 | 14:53 to 15:17 | cleaned
Now, I want you to understand something. He was not calling his circumstances to mind. He was not calling his situation to mind. He was not recalling his rejection or his feelings of despair and desperation of mind. What he was recalling to mind was the greatness of God and the power of God, the mercies and compassions and lovingkindness of God.
#24 | 15:18 to 15:45 | cleaned
Now, the problem is this. We often forget God. Look what he said. "This I recall to my mind." Why had he not thought about it earlier? Well, maybe his back had not been up against the wall sufficiently. But "this I recall to my mind." Did you know that David refers to our forgetfulness and lack of trust in God as infirmity? So look in your Bible, so Lamentations chapter 3, but turn, if you would, to Psalm 77, Psalm 77. And so David refers to this mentality of looking to God last and forgetting him as an infirmity. So in Psalm 77, let's begin reading there with verse 1 and we'll read through verse 13. So look in Psalm 77.
#25 | 15:46 to 16:43 | cleaned
I really want you to see this. So look in verse 1, if you would. David said, "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me." He listened to me. Now watch this. "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled."
#26 | 16:43 to 17:11 | cleaned
"I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search."
#27 | 17:11 to 17:35 | cleaned
Now look at his questions now. "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah." Look at this. This is what most Christians and most pastors go through and experience all the time. We get in such trouble, we think God has forsaken us and forgotten all about us. But look what he says in verse 10.
#28 | 17:35 to 18:11 | cleaned
"And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High." I'm going to recall what God has done for me. "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?" So he said, this is my infirmity. I forgot the wonders of God. I forgot the works of God. I forgot to meditate upon Him. This is my sickness. This is my infirmity.
#29 | 18:11 to 18:52 | cleaned
So the Hebrew word for infirmity there is the word kalah and it literally means and it refers to one that is wounded, one that is sick, one that is grieved, one that is pained, one that is weak, and one that is full of sore travail. So whenever we forget the goodness and the greatness, the majesty and the compassions of God, we are in deep trouble. I want you to go back to Lamentations chapter 3. I want you to watch.
#30 | 18:52 to 19:23 | cleaned
This is what he recalls to mind. This is what gave him hope. So he said in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." What is it that he recalls to mind? Verse 22 and 23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
#31 | 19:24 to 19:51 | cleaned
Now, our Heavenly Father is not just simply the fountain of mercies, He happens to also be the Father of mercies. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." Now, I want you to understand in Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 22, the word mercies is in the plural. When you look in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 3, the word mercies is in the plural. In other words, when we see the plurality of God's mercies, it means not only that there is an abundance, a multiplicity of his mercies, but it also means there are varied mercies. There are variegated mercies. There's mercies of different kinds.
#32 | 19:52 to 20:59 | cleaned
Now, I would suspect that the Apostles in the New Testament were much like Jeremiah in the Old Testament and those prophets as well. Because the Apostle Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Listen carefully. Paul wrote, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." Now when you hear someone talk about we're troubled, we are perplexed, we're in despair, we're persecuted, wow, you think, boy, they're the lowest of the low. The Apostle Paul said, no, we may have gone through those things, but those things were done over with and God delivered us out of them.
#33 | 21:00 to 21:55 | cleaned
So here's what he's saying. Now, watch this in verse 21, 22, 23. He said, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
#34 | 21:55 to 22:13 | cleaned
Now, as bad as things are, it is simply the mercies of God that they are not worse. We may be afflicted, but by his grace we are not consumed. Whatever state we find ourselves in, no matter how bad it is, except for God's mercies, except for God's compassions, except for God's lovingkindnesses, everything could be a thousand times worse. So our hope is in him, our hope is in his mercies, his compassions and his lovingkindness.
#35 | 22:13 to 22:59 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Lamentations 3, to Psalm 103 and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Psalm 103. Watch if you would please at verse 8. Look at this. I want you to be encouraged with this. Psalm 103, verse 8. "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever." Look at verse 10.
#36 | 22:59 to 23:37 | cleaned
"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." I love verse 10. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
#37 | 23:38 to 24:11 | cleaned
Listen to what Matthew Henry said on this passage. He says, "We all owe it to the sparing mercy of God that we are not consumed." Then he goes on. "Others have been consumed around us. And ourselves have been in the consuming, and yet we are not consumed. We're out of the grave. We're out of hell. Had we been dealt with according to our sins, we should have been consumed a long time ago. But we have been dealt with according to God's mercies, and we are bound to acknowledge his praise." He said we have been into consuming, and yet we're not consumed.
#38 | 24:12 to 25:04 | cleaned
Alice and I were talking on the way to church this morning. And she's got a high school reunion coming up. And she was telling me there were five of her classmates that died this year. And this is just the fourth month. So, we have been consuming and yet we are not consumed ourselves. So, here's the question I need to ask you. Has the truth of God's tender mercies, lovingkindnesses and compassions stirred your heart? They need to.
#39 | 25:06 to 25:48 | cleaned
We tend to think sometimes that God is far off. We tend to think oftentimes that we cannot discern him. And yet the scripture tells us that his compassions and his tender mercies and his lovingkindnesses are new every morning. Each morning that you awake, it's because of God's compassion and God's tender mercies and lovingkindness. Each day that you have life, it's because of God's tender mercies, lovingkindnesses and compassions. Each day that you're not in the grave, it's because of God's tender mercies, lovingkindnesses and compassions. The very fact that you are alive right now out of the grave and out of punishment is a testimony to the mercies of God.
#40 | 25:50 to 26:42 | cleaned
So I want you to understand something. When our comforts fail, the compassions of God do not fail. The problem is we do not discern His multitudinous mercies. We do not acknowledge them. We're not thankful for them. And yet the Scripture tells us they are new every morning. Why are they new every morning even though we are unfaithful? And the answer comes back, because God is faithful. He is the faithful God. That's what the Word of God says in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 9. "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." When you get to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9, the scripture says that "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." Even the reason you were called into fellowship with Jesus Christ was because of the faithfulness of God. God is faithful to his covenantal promises. I want you to listen to this one. Okay. Hang on.
#41 | 26:42 to 28:05 | cleaned
You need to memorize this passage. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. I'm going to stop on the first little part of the sentence. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." Now the word temptation there refers to a trial or affliction or trouble or travail. There's no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. So usually when we get into trouble, heartache, affliction, we start whining and we start complaining and we say, but nobody's going through what I'm going through. Nobody's suffering like I'm suffering, which is not true. Everything that happens to us is common to others.
#42 | 28:06 to 28:58 | cleaned
God does not put any supernatural burdens upon us. So listen to what he said. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful." Think about this, "but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."
#43 | 28:59 to 29:21 | cleaned
Now, let me just stop right there. The faithfulness of God is not going to put more on you than you can handle. So whatever your affliction, whatever your soreness, whatever your trouble, whatever your trial, if God allowed it to come upon you, you can handle it. God is faithful. He's never, ever going to put more on us than we can handle.
#44 | 29:21 to 29:47 | cleaned
Now, as you listen to this. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." God always has a way of escape for us. Usually that way of escape is through submission and obedience, but it is still a way of escape.
#45 | 29:48 to 30:19 | cleaned
Now, all I'm trying to tell you is this, folks. We need to be cognizant of the fact that we are experiencing God's mercies, God's compassions every morning. Whatever hard things that you and I suffer, we must never, ever entertain hard thoughts against God. We must be ever ready to maintain that he is merciful, loving, gracious, kind and faithful. He has not dealt with us according to that which we deserve.
#46 | 30:19 to 30:54 | cleaned
He has not given us justice. We must see his mercies everywhere. We must see his mercies in our lives. We must see his mercies in the lives of others. The problem is we just don't recognize God's mercies. We take so much for granted. And yet His mercies are multitudinous every morning.
#47 | 30:58 to 31:21 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look at this back in Lamentations chapter 3. I want to tie it together for you. I want you to watch this. Lamentations chapter 3. He said in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." What did he recall? "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Ah, look at verse 24 and 25. "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." Now, let me go back and point out the truth in verse 24. He said, "The Lord is my portion."
#48 | 31:23 to 32:14 | cleaned
I'm going to stop right there. "The Lord is my portion." Do you remember what God said to Aaron and his sons as well as to the whole tribe of Levi? God said in Numbers chapter 18 and verse 20, "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel." He said, but the Levites, you're not getting the portion of Judah or Naphtali or Simeon. No, no, no, no. You're not getting land. You're getting me. I am your inheritance. I am your part. Now, David said in Psalm 16 and verse 5, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot." The Lord is my portion. And then in Psalm 73 and verse 26, he said, "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." How about this? David said in Psalm 119 verse 57, "Thou art my portion, O Lord."
#49 | 32:16 to 33:43 | cleaned
"I have said that I would keep thy words." Now stop and think about this. If the Lord is our portion, if he is our inheritance, and that's what the Bible says, even in Romans chapter 8, we should be satisfied with our portion. We should never want any more. I like, well, the little child said she was supposed to quote Psalm 23, verse 1. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
#50 | 33:43 to 34:16 | cleaned
But she got it mixed up. And she said, "The Lord is my shepherd, and that's all I want." Well, that's true. If he's our portion, if he's our inheritance, that should be all that we want.
#51 | 34:17 to 34:30 | cleaned
Now, you have to grasp this truth, these principles that Jeremiah is here enunciating. You have to remember now that this preacher, this prophet of God, was thoroughly discouraged, depressed, and desolate. I mean, his own countrymen hated him and despised him. They imprisoned him. They threw him in a dungeon, sunk up to his armpits in mud. They tried to murder him. And all he's going to do is pray for them. And God says, no, no, no, I'm not going to listen to your supplications.
#52 | 34:30 to 35:05 | cleaned
And so what in the world? Here's a man at the end of his rope. And he's teaching us something that we must embrace and that we must learn to apply. Now, watch this. Look, if you would, back in verse 24, he said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul." Watch this. "Therefore will I hope in him." Wow. The only one that we can have hope in is God himself. Now, let me point something else out in verse 24. He said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul," not my mouth, but my soul. The Hebrew word for soul is the word nephesh, and it refers to the soul, the whole life, the appetite, the activity of the mind, the activity of will, that which breathes. In other words, what he's saying is, "The Lord is my portion" with everything that is in me. Any ability I have, any mind that I have, any will that I have, any affection that I have, the Lord is my portion. He's saying that everything in him claims God as his portion, as his inheritance, and therefore he was willing to wait on him and willing to hope in him. Now David said it a little differently and I'll give you an illustration where you can grasp it. We read in
#53 | 35:06 to 36:39 | cleaned
Psalm 42 in verse 1, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Now what makes a hart, and I'll just use the word deer, pant after the water brooks. Well, there are men all over this country that hunt deer with dogs. I do not particularly enjoy nor like that type of hunting. But the dogs get on the trail of the deer and they run that deer. And they can run the deer down, especially if they swap back and forth. But can you imagine a deer that's trying to outrun the dogs and maybe he's being chased for 45 minutes, maybe an hour? And I can assure you he's thirsty and ready for the water brooks. So, David said, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." In other words, Lord, I'm as thirsty for you as that chased hart is for the water brooks. I want you. I want all that is in me to want you.
#54 | 36:39 to 38:05 | cleaned
So if you do not wish to stumble, if you do not wish to fall, if you do not wish to be defeated, you must be fully persuaded that God is your portion and that he is your portion in every area of life. So he said, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."
#55 | 38:06 to 38:29 | cleaned
Now, I want you to hold Lamentations 3, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 8. I want you to see that God is our portion in life and in death. So look in Romans chapter 8. And let's begin reading there with verse 31. Romans 8, verse 31. Paul writes, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" So if God is on our side, it doesn't matter who's against us.
#56 | 38:30 to 39:13 | cleaned
But now you can also swap that around. If God be against us, it doesn't matter who's for us. But if God is for us, who can be against us? It would not do any good for anyone to be against us because they'd be against God at the same time. So he says, "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
#57 | 39:14 to 39:42 | cleaned
"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Now watch this argument. Look at the questions. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
#58 | 39:43 to 40:21 | cleaned
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." But look what he says now. "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
#59 | 40:22 to 40:30 | cleaned
Now watch carefully, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, if God is our portion, and He's for us, and none of these things can ever separate us from the love of Christ, what more could we want? You know, I've thought about this many times.
#60 | 40:31 to 41:08 | cleaned
I have no idea how much money George Soros has. Billions, I am sure. I would not trade the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. I would not even trade the truth that I know for all of his billions. Stop and think about this. The Lord is our portion. Years ago, I read about a young widow woman. She was burying her young husband and after the funeral one well-meaning lady came up to this young widow woman and said, trying to reassure her, "Well, we know God didn't do this. God didn't take his life. The devil did this." The young widow looked at her and said, "Please, please do not say that." She said, "If you take away from me the sovereignty of God, you destroy all of my hope and all of my peace."
#61 | 41:10 to 42:23 | cleaned
The Bible says that our soul, our life is in his hands and he holds our lives in his hand. Our times are in his hand. Everything's in his hand and nothing is ever going to separate us from the love, mercy and compassion of God. It doesn't matter our circumstances. It doesn't matter our situations. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. No, no.
#62 | 42:25 to 42:49 | cleaned
He has given us His Son. He has spared not His own Son. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
#63 | 42:50 to 42:58 | cleaned
Now, look if you would, in verse 26, Lamentations chapter 3. He said in verse 25, "The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." So when we're in affliction, when we're in tests and trials, we need to learn to wait, to be patient. So "the Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." Then he says this in verse 26. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." In other words, wait for deliverance is what he's talking about. Whatever affliction you're in, whatever test, whatever trial, it's good that you wait patiently and quietly before him.
#64 | 42:58 to 43:43 | cleaned
There should be no murmuring. There should be no complaining. There should be no bellyaching. There should be no self-pity sessions. None of that. No, we know that we're sinners and we know that we have sinned. So look at the next verse. He said after verse 26, verse 27, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." Wow. What in the world is he talking about? "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."
#65 | 43:43 to 44:14 | cleaned
He says, you really need to learn this when you're young. It'll help you throughout your life. So if you can picture this in your mind, especially in Bible times, they plowed with oxen. So you would train a young ox, but how would you do that? You had an unequal yoke in one sense of the word. You took a grown ox and put the yoke on him and then you took that same yoke but yet you had to make it smaller and put it around the neck then of the young ox. And so the young ox would walk beside the full grown ox and all the work was being done by the full grown ox. And yet that one young ox was walking side by side. What was he doing? What was being done to him? He's being broken to yoke. He's being trained. He's being trained to be in submission. He's being trained to be obedient. So he said it's good then that we bear the yoke in our youth. It's better if we learn to submit and obey when we're young.
#66 | 44:15 to 45:26 | cleaned
It's going to help us through all of our lives. Now, let me tell you something. Bearing our yoke may not be pleasant, but it certainly is profitable, and it certainly is honorable, and it becomes us. Moreover, it is our duty, our responsibility, to quietly and patiently bear whatever afflictions God is pleased to lay upon us, for it is for our good and for His glory.
#67 | 45:27 to 45:53 | cleaned
Now, look in verses 28 through 30. Look what he says. I'm going to give you a quote. Look in verse 28. "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him." Or he's placed it upon him. "He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope." Think about this now, "he putteth his mouth in the dust. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him."
#68 | 45:53 to 46:22 | cleaned
"He is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off for ever." I'll stop with verse 30. He said, "He is filled full with reproach."
#69 | 46:22 to 46:35 | cleaned
Now, I want to give you a quote by Matthew Henry. And Matthew Henry is commenting on these verses. Here's what he said. "When we are sedate and quiet under our afflictions, when we sit alone and keep silence, do not run to and fro into all companies with our complaints, aggravating our calamities, and quarreling with the disposals of Providence concerning us, but retire into privacy, that we may in a day of adversity consider, sit alone,
#70 | 46:36 to 47:15 | cleaned
that we may converse with God and commune with our hearts, silencing all discontented, distrustful thoughts, listen now, and laying our hand upon our mouth, as Aaron who under a very severe trial, that being the death of his sons, held his peace. We must keep silence under the yoke as those that have borne it upon us, not willfully pulled it upon our own necks, but patiently submitted to it when God has laid it upon us. When those who are afflicted in their youth accommodate themselves to their afflictions, fit their necks to the yoke and study to answer God's end in afflicting them, they will find it good for them to bear it, for it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those that are exercised thereby."
#71 | 47:16 to 48:07 | cleaned
Now he's got one more paragraph. He says, "When we are humble and patient under our affliction, he gets good by the yoke who puts his mouth in the dust. Not only lays his hand upon his mouth in token of submission to the will of God in his affliction, but puts it in the dust as a token of sorrow, shame, and self-loathing, at the remembrance of sin as one perfectly reduced and reclaimed and brought as those that are vanquished to lick the dust."
#72 | 48:07 to 48:42 | cleaned
And then he quotes Psalm 72 and verse 9. He said, "We must therefore humble ourselves, if so be there may be hope. If there be any way to acquire and secure good hope under our afflictions, it is this way. And yet we must be very modest in our expectations of it, must look for it with a 'it may be,' as those who own ourselves are utterly unworthy of it. Those who are truly humbled for sin will be glad to obtain a good hope through grace upon any terms, though they put their mouth in the dust for it. And those who would have hope must do so and ascribe it to the free grace if they have any encouragements which may keep their hearts from sinking into the dust when they put their mouths there." Isn't that wonderful? Look what he's saying. Just be humble. Be willing to put your mouth in the dust because God has still not dealt with you, not dealt with us according to our sins, neither has rewarded us according to our iniquities.
#73 | 48:43 to 49:51 | cleaned
Not at all. Now, here's the question. What good is it for us to quietly and patiently obey our yokes and yield to those yokes and submit to those yokes? What is it that or why is it that we must bear those yokes without griping, without complaining, and yet at the same time humbling ourselves before God? Well, here's the answer. Look in Lamentations chapter 3, beginning in verse 31. Look at verse 31.
#74 | 49:52 to 50:36 | cleaned
"For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Your affliction is not going to last forever. It's not. I remember reading years ago about an old black preacher. Someone asked him his favorite verse in the Bible. Well, he said, "My favorite verse is actually part of a verse that occurs many times in the Bible." Well, they asked, "What part of that verse is your favorite?" He said, "Well, it only happens to be four words.
#75 | 50:36 to 51:19 | cleaned
'And it came to pass.' It didn't come to stay. It came to pass." Wow. Stop and think about that. It doesn't matter what our afflictions are. They're not going to stay with us forever. So this is what he's saying. "For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Now watch verse 32. "But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." Here's why. And I'm going to speak on this next week.
#76 | 51:20 to 51:54 | cleaned
"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, to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not." Wow! Wow! Let's read on. He said, "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good? Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" Then he says this, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord."
#77 | 51:56 to 52:36 | cleaned
"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Wow. So notice, if you would, especially verse 33, "For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." God delights in obedience, not in affliction. He delights in submission, not in grief. He is more ready to forgive than he is to afflict. And therefore, we should be more ready to repent than to rebel. So here's our hope.
#78 | 52:37 to 53:19 | cleaned
We have to remember the sovereign. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
#79 | 53:20 to 53:34 | cleaned
Now, here are my applications today. The first one you should know automatically. Regardless of our circumstances, regardless of our situations, we must learn to rejoice in the tender mercies and lovingkindnesses and compassions of our Lord. It will make our lives more enjoyable as well as blessed as we look for every day and see His mercies and His compassions upon us. And when we discern special mercies and special compassions, we should be able to give Him special praise and special glory.
#80 | 53:34 to 54:21 | cleaned
So let me tell you some things that we need to thank him for and praise him for, that we take for granted. Have you ever noticed that we take for granted sleep, rest?
#81 | 54:22 to 54:40 | cleaned
Now I find it as I get older, I don't sleep like Steve does. A lot of times I'm awake at 3 o'clock in the morning or 4 o'clock in the morning and I can't go back to sleep. I don't necessarily get up right away, but I just lie there and pray. And I might have to have a nap during the day if I'm awake at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. But I'm just simply saying, I've learned to really appreciate sleep and especially rest as well. Think about our health.
#82 | 54:43 to 55:20 | cleaned
We take that for granted. We take our family for granted. We take our spouses for granted. We take our finances for granted. We take our friends for granted. We take love for granted. We take fellowship for granted. All these familiar mercies, we think that we're going to have them all the time. Let me tell you, we even take a hot bath for granted. I've oftentimes, as I've soaked in a hot bath, thought about the millions of people that could not and do not have access to a hot bath. That's a mercy of God, and we take it for granted. And we take it for granted that we can have a garden, that we can have a cow, or we can have Vincent. We take all that for granted. Instead of praising God for all of his tender mercies, lovingkindnesses, and compassions.
#83 | 55:22 to 56:24 | cleaned
So, this brings us to this, whenever you and I are discouraged, when we're depressed, when we think nobody loves us and nobody cares for us, we need to memorize and we need to quote these verses. Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
#84 | 56:25 to 56:59 | cleaned
Now, I think there's another verse that we need to add to that, which I've quoted many times. That's Genesis 32 and verse 10, where Jacob said, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant." Stop and think about that. God has been so merciful, so kind, so gracious to each one of us. There's another verse you need to put down.
#85 | 57:00 to 57:28 | cleaned
Because our Lord has promised this. Doesn't matter if you're in surgery, doesn't matter if you're a widow, doesn't matter if you're a widower, doesn't matter what your circumstances, what your situation is. It just doesn't matter because he said in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, for he said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." We are never alone. We are never forsaken. We should never consider ourselves desolate, desperate, because our Heavenly Father is always with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always with us. Our Holy Spirit is always with us. We are never, ever forsaken. And it looks as if in our day and time the situation, the circumstances in which Jeremiah found himself are going to be very prevalent in our day and time as well.
#86 | 57:30 to 58:41 | cleaned
And how desperately we need these truths. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Think about that hymn. "Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided—great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!" Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee.
#87 | 58:44 to 59:32 | cleaned
We thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that you would help us, teach us, Lord, to be thankful, to be grateful, to be appreciative, and to recognize and to acknowledge the multitudinous mercies and lovingkindnesses and compassions that you bestow upon us. Forgive us, Lord, for taking thee for granted, and all of your multitudinous mercies and compassions for granted. We just assume, Lord, that we'll have tomorrow. And yet thou didst say, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Lord, help us. Help us, Lord, to seek Your greatness, your mercy, your compassions, and your love in our lives on a daily basis, that we may praise Thee and give Thee thanks. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#88 | 59:32 to 1:00:38 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:08:57Z

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 3

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on Lamentations, focusing on Jeremiah's hope amid despair. Despite rejection, unanswered prayer, and national judgment, Jeremiah recalls God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, which are new every morning. Weaver emphasizes that our hope is in God's character, not circumstances, and calls believers to patiently bear affliction, humble themselves, and recognize daily mercies.

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads Lamentations 3:21-41, setting the stage for the message on Jeremiah's broken heart and the hope he finds in God.

Scripture Reading — Lamentations 3:21-41

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope." "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth." "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smited him. He is filled full with reproach, for the Lord will not cast off forever. But though he cause grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 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, to subvert a man in his cause the Lord approveth not. Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore doth the living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord." "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."

Review of Jeremiah's Broken Heart

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31

"Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. And though they say the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth?"

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31

"But these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds."

Because he determined to destroy them. In Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 16, God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee."

So, Jeremiah, I'm not going to listen to you if you're praying for this people. Then when you get to Jeremiah 11 and verse 14, again God said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them."

Then God added this,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 7:16

"for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble."

He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 14:10-12

"When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence."

The Remembrance of the Sovereign

Jeremiah's hope is restored by recalling God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, not by looking at circumstances or within himself.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed." "I am in derision daily, everyone mocketh me."

Nobody's listening. Nobody wants the truth. He said,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily."

Because nobody wanted it. Verse 9.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name."

I'm going to quit.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 20:7-11

"But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones."

The Infirmity of Forgetting God

Using Psalm 77, Weaver explains that forgetting God's works and mercies is a spiritual sickness, and we must actively remember His wonders.

The Multitude of God's Mercies

God's mercies are plural and varied, new every morning, and the reason we are not consumed despite our sins.

Now, our Heavenly Father is not just simply the fountain of mercies, He happens to also be the Father of mercies. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 3, the Apostle Paul wrote,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 103:8-13

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever."

Look at verse 10.

God's Faithfulness in Trials

Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 10:13 to show that God is faithful to not allow trials beyond our ability and always provides a way of escape.

The Lord as Our Portion

Jeremiah declares the Lord as his portion, meaning God is his inheritance and all he needs, leading to patient hope and waiting.

I'm going to stop right there. "The Lord is my portion." Do you remember what God said to Aaron and his sons as well as to the whole tribe of Levi? God said in Numbers chapter 18 and verse 20,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 18:20

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:57

"I have said that I would keep thy words."

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:31-39

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

So if God is on our side, it doesn't matter who's against us.

Bearing the Yoke and Humbling Ourselves

Weaver explains that it is good to bear affliction quietly, put our mouth in the dust in humility, and submit to God's training, knowing affliction is temporary.

God Does Not Afflict Willingly

God takes no pleasure in affliction; He is compassionate and ready to forgive, so we should repent rather than rebel.

We have to remember the sovereign. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

Applications and Conclusion

Weaver urges believers to rejoice in daily mercies, memorize Lamentations 3:22-23, and trust God's promise never to leave or forsake us.

The Cry of a Broken Heart Part 3

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	5726115284779
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-04-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 127: The Cry of a Broken Heart — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	88

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Scripture Reading: Weaver reads Lamentations 3:21-41, setting the stage for the message on Jeremiah's broken heart and the hope he finds in God.
Review of Jeremiah's Broken Heart: Weaver reviews the first two reasons for Jeremiah's broken heart: rejection of his service and refusal of his supplications, emphasizing that God told Jeremiah not to pray for the people because they had reached a point of no return.
The Remembrance of the Sovereign: Jeremiah's hope is restored by recalling God's mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, not by looking at circumstances or within himself.
The Infirmity of Forgetting God: Using Psalm 77, Weaver explains that forgetting God's works and mercies is a spiritual sickness, and we must actively remember His wonders.
The Multitude of God's Mercies: God's mercies are plural and varied, new every morning, and the reason we are not consumed despite our sins.
God's Faithfulness in Trials: Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 10:13 to show that God is faithful to not allow trials beyond our ability and always provides a way of escape.
The Lord as Our Portion: Jeremiah declares the Lord as his portion, meaning God is his inheritance and all he needs, leading to patient hope and waiting.
Bearing the Yoke and Humbling Ourselves: Weaver explains that it is good to bear affliction quietly, put our mouth in the dust in humility, and submit to God's training, knowing affliction is temporary.
God Does Not Afflict Willingly: God takes no pleasure in affliction; He is compassionate and ready to forgive, so we should repent rather than rebel.
Applications and Conclusion: Weaver urges believers to rejoice in daily mercies, memorize Lamentations 3:22-23, and trust God's promise never to leave or forsake us.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Hope Comes from Remembering God, Not Circumstances

Jeremiah's hope was restored by recalling God's mercies and faithfulness, not by looking at his rejection or despair.

He was not calling his circumstances to mind... What he was recalling to mind was the greatness of God and the power of God, the mercies and compassions and lovingkindness of God.

Forgetting God Is a Spiritual Infirmity

Psalm 77 shows that forgetting God's works leads to doubt and despair, which David calls an infirmity.

And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

God's Mercies Are Multitudinous and Daily

God's mercies are plural, varied, and renewed every morning, preventing our consumption despite our sins.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

God's Faithfulness Limits Our Trials

1 Corinthians 10:13 assures that God will not allow trials beyond our ability and provides a way of escape.

God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape.

The Lord as Our Portion Brings Contentment

When God is our inheritance, we should be satisfied and hope in Him alone, as Jeremiah declared.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Affliction Is Temporary and for Our Good

God will not cast off forever; affliction is a yoke to train us, and we should bear it quietly and humbly.

For the Lord will not cast off for ever... It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

God Takes No Pleasure in Affliction

God does not afflict willingly; He is compassionate and desires repentance, not suffering.

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

Scripture References

Lamentations 3:21-41: The main passage read and expounded, focusing on hope in God's mercies and faithfulness.
Psalm 34:18: Quoted to show God's closeness to the brokenhearted.
Jeremiah 5:1-5, 31: God's search for one righteous man in Jerusalem and the corruption of prophets and priests.
Jeremiah 7:16: God commands Jeremiah not to pray for the people.
Jeremiah 11:14: God again forbids prayer for the people.
Jeremiah 14:10-12: God instructs Jeremiah to pray for their destruction, not their good.
Jeremiah 20:7-11: Jeremiah's struggle with his calling and inability to quit despite persecution.
Psalm 121:1-2: David's declaration that help comes from the Lord, not from hills or men.
Psalm 77:1-13: David's infirmity of forgetting God's works and his resolve to remember them.
2 Corinthians 1:3: God as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9: Paul's description of being troubled but not destroyed.
Psalm 103:8-13: God's mercy, grace, and removal of transgressions.
Deuteronomy 7:9: God is the faithful God keeping covenant and mercy.
1 Corinthians 1:9: God is faithful, by whom we are called into fellowship with Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:13: God's faithfulness in not allowing temptation beyond our ability.
Numbers 18:20: God tells Aaron the Levites have no land inheritance; God is their portion.
Psalm 16:5: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance.
Psalm 73:26: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 119:57: Thou art my portion, O Lord.
Romans 8:31-39: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ; we are more than conquerors.

Historical References

Matthew Henry's Commentary: Weaver quotes Matthew Henry on Lamentations 3:22, emphasizing that we owe our preservation to God's sparing mercy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Lamentations 3:28-30: Weaver reads an extended quote from Matthew Henry about sitting alone in silence, putting mouth in the dust, and humbling ourselves under affliction.
George Soros: Weaver mentions billionaire George Soros to illustrate that he would not trade his salvation for all of Soros's wealth.
Story of a young widow: Weaver recounts a story of a young widow who insisted on God's sovereignty as her hope after her husband's death.
Old black preacher's favorite verse: Weaver shares an anecdote about a preacher whose favorite verse was 'And it came to pass,' emphasizing that trials are temporary.

Important Quotes

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

Jeremiah's turning point from despair to hope by remembering God's character.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The core truth that sustains hope: God's daily, unfailing mercies.

And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

David's recognition that forgetting God's works is a spiritual sickness.

The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Jeremiah's declaration of God as his sufficient inheritance and ground of hope.

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

Affirms God's compassionate nature and reluctance to cause suffering.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.

Key promise of God's faithfulness in limiting trials.

I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

God's abiding presence as a source of comfort in all circumstances.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to 'recall to mind' God's mercies when we are discouraged, and how can we practice this daily?

[Context]

Jeremiah's hope was restored by remembering God's character, not his circumstances.

[Question]

Why is forgetting God's works described as an 'infirmity' in Psalm 77, and how does this affect our faith?

[Context]

David's struggle with doubt and his resolve to remember God's wonders.

[Question]

In what ways do we take God's daily mercies for granted, and how can we cultivate gratitude?

[Context]

Weaver lists common mercies like sleep, health, and family that we often overlook.

[Question]

How does understanding God as our 'portion' change our perspective on trials and contentment?

[Context]

Jeremiah declared the Lord as his inheritance, leading to hope and patience.

[Question]

What does it practically look like to 'bear the yoke' and 'put our mouth in the dust' during affliction?

[Context]

Weaver explains the imagery of training oxen and humbling ourselves under God's hand.

[Question]

How does the truth that God does not afflict willingly shape our response to suffering?

[Context]

God delights in mercy, not affliction, which should lead us to repentance rather than rebellion.

[Question]

Why is it important to remember that our trials are temporary ('it came to pass'), and how can this encourage us?

[Context]

The old preacher's favorite verse emphasizes that afflictions do not last forever.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:49:49Z