Lamentations 3:32

. Wherefore doth a living man complain?.... Or murmur, or fret and vex, or bemoan himself; all which the word {k} may signify; as the prophet had done in his own person; or as representing the church, Lamentations 3:1; and here checks himself for it; and especially since the mercies and compassions of God never fail, and are daily renewed; and the Lord himself is the portion of his people, Lamentations 3:23; and seeing he is good to them that seek him, and it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of God, and to bear the yoke patiently, Lamentations 3:25; and because of the unwillingness of God to afflict men, and his sympathy and compassion towards them under affliction, Lamentations 3:32; and especially since all is from the sovereignty of God, who does according to his will; and from whom all good and evil come, Lamentations 3:37; he is not to be complained of, or against, for anything he does; or to be murmured at; nor should men vex and fret themselves at their own adversity, or at the prosperity of others; or bemoan themselves, as if no case was like theirs, or so bad.

3:21-36 Having stated his distress and temptation, the prophet shows how he was raised above it. Bad as things are, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not worse. We should observe what makes for us, as well as what is against us. God's compassions fail not; of this we have fresh instances every morning. Portions on earth are perishing things, but God is a portion for ever. It is our duty, and will be our comfort and satisfaction, to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. Afflictions do and will work very much for good: many have found it good to bear this yoke in their youth; it has made many humble and serious, and has weaned them from the world, who otherwise would have been proud and unruly. If tribulation work patience, that patience will work experience, and that experience a hope that makes not ashamed. Due thoughts of the evil of sin, and of our own sinfulness, will convince us that it is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. If we cannot say with unwavering voice, The Lord is my portion; may we not say, I desire to have Him for my portion and salvation, and in his word do I hope? Happy shall we be, if we learn to receive affliction as laid upon us by the hand of God.

But though he cause grief,.... As he sometimes does in his own people; by convincing them of sin, and producing in them godly sorrow, which worketh repentance unto life, not to be repented of; by correcting and chastising them for it, and by hiding his face from them; all which are grievous to them: yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies; his mercies are many, both temporal and spiritual, and his compassion is answerable; which he shows to his people by an application of pardoning grace, through the blood of Christ, by sympathizing with them under their afflictions, and delivering from them; by granting them his gracious presence, and restoring to them the joys of his salvation; all which is not according to their merits, but his mercies.

Let him also learn patiently to bear abuse and reviling from men. Let him present his cheek to him who smites him, as was done by Job ( Job 16:10 ) and the servant of Jahveh ( Isaiah 50:6 ); cf. Matthew 5:39 . On Lamentations 3:30 , cf. Psalm 88:4 ; Psalm 123:3 , etc. There is a certain gradation in the three verses that it quite unmistakeable. The sitting alone and in silence is comparatively the easiest; it is harder to place the mouth in the dust, and yet cling to hope; it is most difficult of all to give the cheek to the smiter, and to satiate oneself with dishonour (Ngelsbach). In Lamentations 3:31-33 follow the grounds of comfort. The first is in Lamentations 3:31 : the sorrow will come to an end; the Lord does not cast off for ever; cf. Jeremiah 3:5 , Jeremiah 3:12 . The second is in Lamentations 3:32 : when He has caused sorrow, He shows pity once more, according to the fulness of His grace. Compassion outweighs sorrow. On this subject, cf. Psalm 30:6 ; Job 5:18 ; Isaiah 54:8 . The third ground of comfort is in Lamentations 3:33 : God does not send affliction willingly, as if it brought Him joy (cf. Jeremiah 32:41 ), but merely because chastisement is necessary to sinful man for the increase of his spiritual prosperity; cf. Acts 14:22 ; 2 Corinthians 4:17 . ויּגּה is for וייגּה: cf. Ewald, 232, f; Gesenius, 69, 3, Rem. 6.

That he may bring home to the hearts of God's people the exhortation to bear suffering with patience and resignation, and that he may lead them to see that the weight of sorrow under which they are sighing has been sent from the Lord as a chastisement for their sins, the prophet carries out the thought, in Lamentations 3:34-39, that every wrong committed upon earth is under the divine control (Lamentations 3:34-36), and generally that nothing happens without God's permission; hence man ought not to mourn over the suffering that befalls him, but rather over his sins (Lamentations 3:37-39).

Acts 8:23 . εἰς γὰρ χολὴν : The passages in LXX generally referred to as containing somewhat similar phraseology are Deuteronomy 29:18 ; Deuteronomy 32:32 , Lamentations 3:15 . But the word χολή is found in LXX several times, and not always as the equivalent of the same Hebrew. In Deuteronomy 29:18 ; Deuteronomy 32:32 , Psalm 69:21 , Jeremiah 8:14 ; Jeremiah 9:15 , Lamentations 3:19 , it is used to translate ראֹשׁ ( רוֹשׁ , Deuteronomy 32:32 ), a poisonous plant of intense bitterness and of quick growth (coupled with wormwood, cf. Deuteronomy 29:18 , Lamentations 3:19 , Jeremiah 9:15 ). In Job 16:14 (where, however, AS2 read ζωήν for χολήν ) it is used to translate מְרֵרָה , bile, gall in Acts 20:14 of the same book it is the equivalent of מְרֹרָה in the sense of the gall of vipers, i.e. , the poison of vipers, which the ancients supposed to lie in the gall. In Proverbs 5:4 and Lamentations 3:15 it is the rendering of לַעֲנָה , wormwood; and in the former passage we have πικρότερον χολῆς .

d admirably give us the character of persons under afflictions preparing for mercy. They hope and quietly wait for God ‘ s salvation, Lam_3:26; they bear God ‘ s yoke, Lam_3:27, because he hath laid it upon them; they sit alone and keep silence, Lam_3:28; and here, they put their mouths in the dust, that is, humble themselves to the feet of God, and to the will of God; not being too confident of deliverances in this life, but if peradventure ## there may be hope. Lamentations 3:30 According to our Saviour’s precept, Mat_5:39, he doth not take any private revenge; he is reproached and reviled, but when he is so he revileth not again, 1Pe_2:23; he is filled with reproach from others, but his mouth is not filled with the reproachings of others. Lamentations 3:31 This is that which beareth up his spirits, that though the Lord may for a time estrange himself from his people, yet he will not always forsake them. Lamentations 3:32 But though, as a prudent parent, he may see reason to cause grief in and to afflict his own people, yet as a tender good father, that pitieth his children in misery, he will have compassion upon them, having not only mercies, but a multitude or abundance of mercies. Lamentations 3:33 In the Hebrew it is, he doth not afflict from his heart, that is, with pleasure and delight; or (which seemeth the best sense to me) not from his own mere motion without a cause given him from the persons afflicte

3. The character of God, Deu 32:4. The corruption of the people, Deu 32:5, Deu 32:6. They are called to remember God's kindness, Deu 32:7, and his dealings with them during their travels in the wilderness, Deu 32:8-14. Their ingratitude and iniquity, Deu 32:15-18. They are threatened with his judgments, Deu 32:19-28. A pathetic lamentation over them because of their sins, Deu 32:29-35. Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed with reproaches for their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies, Deu 32:36-42. A promise of salvation to the Gentiles, Deu 32:43. Moses, having finished the song, warmly exhorts the people to obedience, Deu 32:44-47. God calls him up to the mount, that he may see the good land and then die, Deu 32:48-52. 1. To set forth the Majesty of God; to give that generation and all successive ones a proper view of the glorious perfections of the object of their worship. He therefore shows that from his holiness and purity he must be displeased with sin; from his justice and righteousness he must punish it; and from the goodness and infinite benevolence of his nature he is ever disposed to help the weak, instruct the ignorant, and show mercy to the wretched, sinful sons and daughters of men. 2. To show the duty and interest of his people. To have such a Being for their friend is to have all possible happiness, both spiritual and temporal, secured; to have him for their enemy is to be exposed to inevitable destruction and ruin. 3. To warn them against irreligion and apostasy; to show the possibility of departing from God, and the miseries that would overwhelm them and their posterity should they be found walking in opposition to the laws of their Creator.