WAIT ON THE ETERNAL KING AND SUPPLICATE TO HIM In the first lamentation, the author started describing what dwelt upon Judah and Jerusalem of desolation, as a natural fruit of their persistence on disobedience and sin. The second lamentation revealed God’s anger against sin. In the third lamentation the door of hope was opened; and showed that God is good and faithful, and His faithfulness is new every morning, presenting healing to the wounded. The fourth lamentation came to reveal the possibility of falling even after the return to God; and compares between the situation when God made a covenant with His people, and how it came to be with the people’s persistence on breaking the covenant. Now, the fifth lamentation ends the book by a prayer, in which the prophet proclaims that history will record what happened as a serious lesson to the peoples all over the world and in all eras, to return to God by repentance, through the support of God Himself. This last lamentation is a poetic prayer, supplicating before Him to return and have compassion on His people, fallen under chastisement. Here, the prophet calls on us, together with the apostle James, saying: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray” (James 5: 13); …. Let him pour his troubles before God, who alone, can heal his wounds of chastisements. It is an individual and a collective prayer at the same time; for the return to God is realized on both levels. On our side, by praying, we proclaim our need for God, the Grantor of life, freedom, joy, spiritual authority, and eternal inheritance. And on God’s side, He longs to bring us forth to a new beginning. This lamentation is formed of 22 verses; yet it does not follow the alphabetical order, and Is shorter than the previous lamentations, on account of that its verses are short duets It starts by the description of the past glories of Jerusalem, then goes on to describe its present misery. And could be subdivided into: 1- Zion supplicates because of her sorrows, and how she became; and because of those who despise her (1- 18) 2- The supplication to God is based upon His absolute and unchangeable dominion, together with His goodness and faithfulness (19-22). This prayer includes four main elements: 1- Remember, O Lord, what has come upon us” 1 - 15 2- Receive, O Lord, our confession 16 - 18 3- Be glorified, O Lord, in us 19 - 20 4- Renew, O Lord, our life 21 – 22 1- REMEMEMBER, O LORD, WHAT HAS COME UPON US: This prayer, or this cry-out comes from the heart of those who remained in Jerusalem after the destruction of the city and the temple, and the captivation of the elites, the great, the leaders, and the artisans. Portraying the desolation that dwelt upon them, the prophet does not grumble against God, as much as he seeks His mercies. This lamentation carries a confession before Him, together with seeking the divine help; not for the sake of the material and mental losses that dwelt upon them, but for the sake of returning to Him; For the greatest danger for them is to be rejected by God;…. For how long? God is merciful! a- Reproach came upon them (1). That was the most horrible desolation, for in it, there was an insult to the people who always cherished their honor, being the people of God, His worship, and His Holiness. Now, they became in reproach before the pagan nations. b- Loss of inheritance and houses (2). After the divine promise to Abraham and the other fathers have been fulfilled, and they enjoyed the promised land, Now, it became desolate and taken over by foreigners. And what is more painful is that, their private homes were taken by force by the enemy, leaving them homeless. c- Orphanage and widowhood (3). After having God as their Father, and a Groom for the whole nation, He forsook them, to a condition of orphanage and widowhood. d- They pay for the water they drink, and the wood they themselves have gathered, and lost the right to use (4). e- Suffering persecution (5). f- Working to the account of foreigners for the sake of a piece of bread (6). g- Bearing the fruit of their fathers’ iniquities (7). h- Falling into servitude under masters who, themselves, were originally servants (8). i- Getting their bread at the risk of being killed by the sword (9) j- A serious famine dwelt upon the land (10). k- Ravishing women and maidens (11). l- Insulting the princes, and showing no respect to the elders (12). m- Humiliating the young men and boys (13). n- The elders losing their role, and the young the labor of their hands (14) o- Joy turned into mourning (15). a- Reproach came upon them: “Remember, O Lord, what has come upon us. Look and behold our reproach” (1) The soul of the prophet was utterly crushed together with the people remaining in the land. He could no more raise his head up on account of the great reproach that came upon them. Although God who allows for the chastisement is everywhere, knows what come upon the believer, and perceives what go on in the depths of his heart; Yet He seeks from him to ask him to look and behold his reproach, not to humiliate him, but to confirm what God has granted him of the freedom of will. It is as though God asks his believer: “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5: 6). With His fatherhood, the Lord wishes to enter into an open debate with us; He anticipates us to ask Him, to work in, by, and with us. Such work is the subject of His pleasure. That was how the men of God always were; Feeling their great weakness, and their need for the divine intervention, did not cease to seek from the Lord, with the spirit of contrition together with hope, to remember their bitter condition and circumstances; as well as His past promises and conventions. “Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants – how I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples” (Psalm 89: 50). “Lord, Remember David and all his afflictions” (Psalm 132: 1). “Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, ‘Raze it, raze it’, to its very foundation” (Ps. 137: 7). “My God, Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who would make me afraid” (Nehemiah 6: 14). “Remember, O Lord, Your covenant; Put words in my mouth; make steadfast, the counsel of my heart,; and Your house in Your sanctuary” (Judith 9: 18). “Look and behold our reproach” In the time of affliction, we wish to see all our allies, relatives, and acquaintances, look at us to help us. Yet, unfortunately, often feeling that they do not care for us, the prophet says: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Psalm 27: 10). And even if someone looks at us with a compassionate eye, his possibilities may not make him able to help us, Or he may not perceive the truth of our needs; Hence the prophet seeks from the Lord, Himself, to remember them, and to look and behold their reproach. When Peter denied the Lord Christ, “The Lord turned and looked at him; and peter remembered the word of the Lord; …. Then Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22: 61-62). The looks of the Lord Christ pierced Peter’s heart, and exhorted him to repent; something that no creature’s looks nor words could do. b- Loss of inheritance and houses: “Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, and our houses to foreigners” (2) God who granted His believers the land of Canaan as inheritance (Joshua 24: 28; Deuteronomy 4: 21), allows for delivering them to the heathen Babylon, to chasten them. When the believer does what is not befitting of him as a son of God, who bears inside him the kingdom of God, God allows for him to be chastened even by the devil himself, to make him return to God by repentance. That is what the apostle Paul meant when he sought putting away the one who intended to marry his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5: 13). But once the sinner repented in intense grief, he hastens to seek from them to forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow (2 Corinthians 2: 7) c- Orphanage and widowhood: “We have become orphans and waifs; Our mothers are like widows” (3) When man refuses to let the Lord reign in his heart, his soul comes to be in orphanage and widowhood; as though she has lost her heavenly Father and Groom. It is befitting of the believer to keep himself attached to God, being his Father; and to the Savior, being the Groom of his soul, + It is befitting of the good Christian to praise his Father, and to do all goodness for the sake of His glory, according to the words of the blessed apostle: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10: 31). (Maximus, bishop of Turin) + He who practices the righteousness, is born of God. Our mother is the church, whose Groom is our Lord Jesus Christ; and our statutes are the apostolic laws. (St. Dedymus the blind) + That wife (the old Israel) was a denier of her man; Whereas the church, who, having got rid of the evils she received from our fathers, she persisted on embracing her Groom. (St. John Chrysostom) d- They pay for the water they drink, and the wood they themselves have gathered, and lost the right to use: “We pay for the water we drink, and our wood comes at a price” (4) Most of those remaining after the captivation, the poorest people of the land (2 kings 24: 14; 25: 12), worked in the fields, and were committed to pay very high taxes. The soul that refuse to attach to her heavenly Father, and the union with her Savior, her eternal Groom, sets forth into the barren wilderness of this world, not resorting to the Rock of ages, the Lord of glory Jesus Christ, who flows with the living free water, and dig for herself cistern, that cost her much, yet do not produce enough water to quench her thirst. The expense of such cisterns may be the whole time on earth, and even the loss of the eternal life. When comfort goes away from man, he becomes thirsty for the water of the Holy Spirit, capable of satisfying the soul with the inner heavenly joy. + We perceive that we have set forth on a journey in a barren land … What does this mean? … We are in a wilderness. Why are we in a wilderness? … Because in this world, man thirsts while on some way where there is no water. But, let us thirst to have water, For “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5: 6). Our thirst will be quenched from a rock in the barren land; and the Rock is Christ (1 Corinthians 10: 4). It was struck with the rod twice to flow with water; for there are two wooden boards in the cross. (St. Augustine) e- Suffering persecution: “With a yoke on our necks we are hard driven; we are weary, we are given no rest” (5) He talks here about those who were left behind in Judah under a heavy taxation, and likens them to slaves. By the expression “on our necks” , he refers to the humiliation that dwells upon man in bondage. He who bows before the devil will feel the weight of his yoke, will labor with no rest; except by receiving instead, the light and sweet yoke of Christ. + According to Solomon the Sage, “The end of sin is as bitter as wormwood, sharp as two-edged sword” (Proverb 5: 4). Whereas the nature of righteousness, on the contrary, may at the beginning, taste bitter, while at the end it produces the fruits of virtue, sweeter than honey. (The scholar Origen) + Let those set free from sin fear to get bound again by it; And let those bound by it pray to be liberated from it. “His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his own sin” (Proverbs 5: 22) ; And no one is loosed of his bonds outside the church. (St. Augustine) f- Working to the account of foreigners for the sake of a piece of bread: “We have given our hand to the Egyptians, and the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread” (6) Here, the prophet goes with his memory back to the past when their fathers fell into spiritual adultery, whether through forsaking the worship of the living God, and falling into idol-worship; or through considering the worship of the living God like that of the gods of the Egyptians and the Assyrians, and that through making alliances with Egypt and Assyria (Hosea 5: 13; 7: 11; 12: 1). Now the children are reaping the fruits of what their fathers have done; on account of that they walked on the same path of their fathers. The yoke of sin brings on us hunger for bread; Whereas the sweet yoke of Christ liberates us from the captivity of the devil, and lifts us up to the paradisiacal life, full of joy and exultation; namely of the bread of angels. g- Bearing the fruits of their fathers’ iniquities: “Our fathers sinned, and are no more, but we bear their iniquities” (7) Having our hearts opened by the Holy Spirit of God, and enjoyed a kind of enlightenment, we confess together with many of the men of God and the prophets, saying: “We have sinned and committed iniquity, we and the whole household of our fathers” (Nehemiah 1; Daniel 9). + Nothing is heavier and exhausting like sin and rebellion. (St. John Chrysostom) h- Falling into servitude under masters who, themselves, were originally servants: “Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hands” (8) Instead of their kings, princes, and great leaders, they are now ruled by Babylonians, most of whom were from lowly ranks. No judgment nor law can deliver them from their oppression and violence, for they were looked upon as no more than captivated slaves. He who rejects God’s possession of his heart, will be ruled by servants, like the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and Pharaoh, etc. whose rule could be the worse; Yet the rule of the wicked devil, who provokes evil, rebellion, and disobedience of God, would be the most bitter of all. If sin provides us first with pleasure, which makes us feel that without it, life would be tasteless; Yet, by falling into its snares, and being enslaved by it, pleasure would be transformed into bitterness; as revealed to us by St. John Chrysostom by giving the falling into evil desire as an example. + The harlot knows nothing about true love, but knows a lot about how to hunt for men. Her kiss is poison, and her mouth is deadly. Even if this does not appear at first, you are committed to avoid her, for she hides her real evil plans, and keeps them from being apparent at the beginning. (St. John Chrysostom) i- Getting their bread at the risk of being killed by the sword: “We get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness” (9) Because of the intense hunger during the siege, some had to get out of their houses to seek their bread, and came to lose their life by the sword of the Chaldeans (the sword of the wilderness”, … What a horrible portrait for man who, because of some carnal pleasure, he delivers his own soul into the hand of the devil, to go into eternal perdition. J- A serious famine came upon the land: “Our skin is hot as an oven because of the fever of famine” (10) k- Ravishing women and maidens: “They ravished the women in Zion; the maidens in the cities of Judah” (11) L- Insulting the princes and showing no respect to the elders: “Princes were hung up by their hands, and elders were not respected” (12) This refers to the many ways by which the elites were treated to make them reveal the secret places where they hid their treasures; And may probably also refer to hanging the corpses of the dead by their hands, as a kind of humiliation, even after their death. M- Humiliating the young men and boys: “Young men ground at the millstones; boys staggered under loads of wood” (13) The use of young men to grind at millstones was a kind of humiliation at that time, probably that they were used instead of bulls in the large millstones, as it did happen with Samson to ridicule him (Judges 16: 21).. According to Ewald, that referred, as well to the treatment of the imprisoned king and his entourage.. N- The elders losing their role, and the young men the labor of their hands: “The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, and the young men from their music” (14) O- Joy turned into mourning: “The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning: They lost the joy and exultation, as well as their glory and splendor; for the glory of God has forsaken them. + The sinner will never find pleasure in the fruit of his sin; as said by the wisdom of God: “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to man; but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel” (Proverbs 20: 17); And, “The lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Proverbs 5: 3, 4). He may eat and exult for some time, but he will eventually come to hate his own soul, once she is taken away from God. (St. Athanasius the apostolic) + As long as we are still in this world, our life is seen as though a way, at the end of which we are committed to have rest as a fruit of our labor, instead of having labor as the fruit of our rest (or slothfulness). We would rather work for a short time along the way, in order to reach after that the eternal joy, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) 2- RECEIVE, O LORD, OUR CONFESSION: “The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us for we have sinned” (16) Although the prophet says that our sin goes back to past eras, saying, “Our fathers sinned” (7); Yet, he confesses that what happened is nothing but a fruit of what they all did as an extension of the work of their fathers, saying, “Woe to us for we have sinned”. “Because of this, our heart is faint; Because of these things our eyes grow dim” (17) “Because of Mount Zion which is desolate, with foxes walking about on it” (18) A serious sign of God’s anger, was that the temple has become a refuge for the wild beasts. The priests remaining in Jerusalem refused to enter into the temple, to offer any sacrifice, because after its desolation it became so horribly defiled by the pagans, and dwelt by foxes and the animals of the wilderness. Their feeling of sin and defilement kept them from entering into the temple. Up to this very day, the conservative Orthodox Jews refuse to enter into the site of the temple, and stop at the wailing wall outside it. Instead of the temple built on Mount Zion, as a reference to the divine presence among His people, the foxes that symbolize the demons are now walking and running in it. 3- BE GLORIFIED, O LORD IN US: “You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation” (19) If the foxes here refer the Babylonians, they may reign for a certain time; but what gives us comfort is that the Lord reigns in us forever (19). That is the climax of true comfort (Psalm 45: 6; 93: 2; 102: 12; 103: 19; Daniel 4: 3; 34, 35). “Why do You forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time?” (20) By saying: “You forsake us for so long a time”, we remember the horror felt by man when he hears the words said by the Lord to Moses and Aaron, when the people, not trusting in the promise of God, committed them to send spies into the promised land; for which God punished them, for the 40 days spying, to remain 40 years in the maze of the wilderness; after which they were denied entering into the promised land, and fell dead in the wilderness. He punished them for every day of the forty days by one full year, after which they were denied the enjoyment of the divine promise (Numbers 14: 24). + If the sinner, to be punished for every day he sins, by one full year; I am afraid, concerning us, who never spend a single day without disobedience, generations and generations will not be enough to fulfill our punishment]. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) : A long life will not fulfill the punishment for our sins, On the contrary, it will increase our worthiness of punishment. There is no salvation through the length of life, but only by the Savior alone who atones for our sins, being the One who bears the sins of the whole world. St Augustine has an interpretation of this verse, saying: “The carcasses of you who have murmured against shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above” (Numbers 14: 29). He believes that the number 20 is the product of multiplying 5X4. The 5 refers to the 5 books of the law of Moses; and the 4 refers to the four gospels of the New Testament, It is as though man cannot, by himself, be saved, but will perish, whether he is one of the men of the Old Covenant, or the New one, unless the Savior Himself intervenes; for He is the One who redeems Israel of all their iniquities (Psalm 25: 22). The prophet ends his lamentations, not by seeking the removal of affliction, but to be granted the repentance as a divine gift; to return to God in a true reconciliation, never again be angry with us.. We are in need of the help of God Himself in our repentance (Psalm 80: 3, 7, 19; Jeremiah 24: 7; 31: 18; John 6: 44, 65). The prophet feels that the forgiveness is a divine gift which we enjoy through His grace and mercy, and not through our own worthiness. + God would not threaten the non-repentant, if He does not intend to forgive the repentant. It would be doubtful if has not, in another situation, proclaimed the flood of His mercies, saying: “He who falls will rise”; and confirmed that “He desires mercy and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9: 13; 12: 7). Heaven and earth rejoice in the repentance of men. Look into yourself, O sinner, and let your heart be good. Wherever repentance is, it will be a cause for joy. (The scholar Tertullian) + As death is the just worthiness of the (dust) of the early man; Man is saved , not through his own worthiness, but for the sake of God’s mercies. There is no unjustness in God, whether in His forgiveness or in His firmness to put punishment. For His free mercy is realized at the time when there should be a just punishment. (St. Augustine) 4- RENEW, O LORD, OUR LIFE: “Turn us back to you, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old” (21) The words “Turn us back”, meaning (bring us back) is repeated three times; We read: “Turn us back to you, O Lord, and we will be restored” (21). With all the desolation and humiliation that the temple, those who worked in it, and the people of all categories, have reached, yet the door of repentance is still open, but not without the help of God Himself (Jeremiah 18: 31, 33-34; Ezekiel 36: 26-27). The prophet proclaims his great longing for the New Covenant by saying: “Renew our days”. The faith of the church did not change all along the generations; yet it was presented in the first century in a way that suited that era. And once the heresies appeared, the church was committed to proclaim her unchangeable faith in a way that keeps her children safe against the heresies, and confronts the heretics. In every era, therefore, the church presents the treasures of her faith according to the needs of her people. That is why, when the departed Abba Joannes, Metropolitan of the province of Gharbieh, Egypt, gave a speech about “The church renewal”, at the General Committee of the churches of the near East; Even though, not content with the expression itself, yet he proclaimed that by the renewal is meant the return to the early church before the dissension; not in the form, but in the Spirit, thought, and life, to receive her gospel the way it understood, lived, and interpreted in the east and west, before the dissension; To practice her worship by her godly submissive spirit; To walk according to her monastic eschatological Spirit, And to enjoy her features as a church open to the world, preaching through the true love. By that we can, together with the prophet Jeremiah say: “Renew our days as of old” (21); and with the bride of the Song, say: “At our gates are pleasant fruits, all manner new and old, which I have laid up for you, my beloved” (Song 7: 13); And can understand the evangelic words saying: “Every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13: 52); and, “No one having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says the old is better” (Luke 5: 39). + By the coming of our Savior, a new world opened before us, for in Him, all things for us became new. (St. Cyril the Great) + The renewal we go through in this life; moving from an earthly life according to the body, to a heavenly spiritual one, happens in us by the work of the Holy Spirit. (St Basil the Great) + The renewal is actually the work of the Holy Trinity…. Even if we refer to each Person of the Trinity, a specific work that happens to us or to the creation, we have to believe that everything is from the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. (St. Cyril of Alexandria) + He would not call her beautiful unless he sees her image renewed day after day. (The scholar Origen) + He who altered the nature of the five loaves of bread to a multitude of loaves (Matthew 14); Who made the irrational donkey talk (Numbers 22); Who turned the harlot to chastity (John 8); Who made the burning nature of fire cool on those in the furnace (Daniel 3); And who, for the sake of Daniel appeased the nature of the vicious lions (Daniel 6); He who could do all that, can also change the soul which became barren and wild by sin, and turn her into His goodness, compassion, and peace, through the Spirit of the good holy promise. (St. Maccari the Great) Reading this book, the Jews used to repeat verse 21 many times, to end by it the whole book, so that everyone would be filled with the spirit of hope. “Unless You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us” (22). In admonition, Jeremiah cries out to God in the people’s name, seeking from Him not to make the period of His anger much longer; for all were anticipating God’s mercies and forgiveness. + Although the non-repentant sinners raise supplications, yet they are not recognized by God, who disregards them because of their sins. (Pope Gregory (the Great) The book of the lamentations presents to us an actual image of the condition of him who surrendered to sin; that the heaven of his soul got covered by dense dark clouds; Yet the Sun of Righteousness will remain working; will pierce by His rays the dark clouds, to provide the rainbow of the Grantor of the divine promises. “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61: 3). ----------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM THE LAMENTATIONS (Chapter 5) MAKE US REPENT + To whom shall we cry out and complain, because of the heavy burden of sin? Who will turn us back to You, but the richness of Your grace? You are the Way; You came down to us, and carried us on Your shoulders; To bring us back to Yourself. + Look and behold our reproach; For our sins have taken the garment of light away from us; Instead of Your image in us, We are covered by nakedness, disgrace, and reproach Cover us with Your grace, Clothe us with Your righteousness The enemy has forced himself into our house; Has taken over our inheritance; Has corrupted our depths. By giving You the back, We became orphans with no merciful father; Our souls are widowed; For they lost the heavenly Groom Turn us back to You to practice our sonhood to Your Father; And that our souls would exult in You, O heavenly Groom Flowing on us with the water of Your Holy Spirit, amid the dryness of this world; We shall not seek from the world its water which gives no satisfaction to our souls. Nor purchase its wood; But will be attached to the wood of the cross, the divine power of salvation; Turn us back to You; That the enemy would not dare to oppose us; That we fear no labor; For You are our comfort and our rest. + How could we beg from the world its mortal food?! When You are the free bread coming down from heaven?! Our fathers sinned to You; And we consummated their walk; Turn us back to You, to enjoy Your compassion and righteousness. + Sins have humiliated us; To become slaves to a multitude of cruel masters; Grant us the perfection of freedom; Nobody can save us from their yoke but Your sweet yoke; Servitude to You is the perfection of freedom; O sweet, even in Your chastisements. + The fire of lust and sins burned even our skins; While Your fire is a joyful heavenly light; That kindles my heart with true love; That turns me into an almost fiery minister; + The devil will never cease to oppress all; He will not have mercy on a woman or maiden; And will have no compassion on an elder whatever his age is; And will never quit until he turns life into anxiety and bitterness; Instead of the joy of the heavenly Spirit; He brings forth the spirit of intense mourning. + You are the Fountain of every joy; While he is the source of every bitterness; Who will save us from him but You?! You are the heavenly King of kings; Who sits on Your heavenly throne; To set out of every believer a king of authority; Whose soul would never shake, however violent are the winds of temptations; Have compassion on us, And do not treat us according to our sins; Will you be angry with us forever? You, who are longsuffering, merciful, and compassionate?!
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