Lamentations 3:52-66 - "Out of the Depths"

Lamentations 3:52-66

"Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off. I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O LORD, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD."

In Lamentations 3:52–66, Jeremiah prays against the enemies that were attacking him, enemies who were instruments of the LORD’s judgment. Yet even in the midst of this peril, he lifts his voice to God. This prayer points forward to the greater work of Christ, Who also faced relentless opposition. While many assume that Christ prayed for everyone’s salvation, He interceded specifically for those the Father had given Him (John 17:9,20). For the rest, judgment and desolation awaited, as He declared to the Jewish nation that their house was left desolate (Matthew 23:38). In this, we see the difference between God’s mercy and human rebellion, and we see Christ’s obedience to the Father’s will.

Jeremiah’s words in verse 52 describe being pursued without cause, chased like a bird by a fowler. This is a vivid picture of Christ’s persecution, for He was sought out by those who could find no true fault in Him, only false accusations. Jeremiah’s pit becomes a metaphor for the literal pit of condemnation Christ endured. In order to save His people, He bore the contradiction of sinners against Himself (Hebrews 12:3). From that pit, He cried to the Father with tears and supplications, as recorded in Hebrews 5:7, and was heard, for all things were according to God’s purpose. Christ’s prayers and suffering exemplify intercession on behalf of His people, reflecting the Spirit’s groanings on our behalf described in Romans 8:26. Even when our cries are but a breath, God perceives them, listening as intently as a mother listening for her infant’s breathing, and He hears Christ’s pleas for the fulfillment of redemption.

Verses 57–63 of Lamentations reveal Jeremiah’s confidence in God amidst destruction. God drew near when called upon, saying, "Fear not" (v.57). Christ demonstrated the same courage, not fearing what men could do to Him, even as His soul was troubled in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42). He surrendered His will to the Father, bearing the sins of the unjust, and showing that true strength is found in obedience. There is a parallel between Jeremiah pleading his cause and Christ looking to the Father to plead His cause, ultimately resulting in the resurrection that validates the work of redemption. Christ lives to intercede for those He redeemed, demonstrating the assurance we have in His representative work.

Jeremiah acknowledges the wrong and vengeance of his enemies, yet he leaves judgment in God’s hands. Similarly, Christ did not retaliate against His persecutors but commended His righteous soul to the Father (Acts 1:24). The mocking and reproach Christ endured, from taunting songs in His day to the crucifixion, mirrors the taunting Jeremiah describes. Christ’s suffering fulfilled God’s righteousness, a righteousness credited to His people, for all human righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Believers are spared from judgment according to works because Christ has borne the penalty. Those who reject Him, however, remain under God’s wrath, as described in Revelation 20:12–13.

The enemies of God’s people may think they triumph, but nothing occurs outside His sovereign direction. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection assure the safety of His people, and even in affliction, His followers are preserved. As Jeremiah prayed through the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, we too can turn to God in distress, giving all glory to Him for the work of Christ. Through His intercession, we find confidence and hope, knowing that He has already pleaded our cause, redeemed our lives, and continues to intercede on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).