A Song of Great Sadness

Today we hear a sad song from the book of Lamentations about at time when the city of Jerusalem was conquered and her people were taken away into exile.  So the city itself is depicted as grieving.  But in the distance, we can hear the echo of a promise remembered.  When I say, "We remember…" You recite the response printed in you bulletin.  At first we will whisper it as a tiny echo from a long ways away, but as we repeat it we will get louder each time until we say it loud and confidently at the end.

A city that once was full of people, now sits lonely on a hill!  How like a widow she has become, she who was great among the nations.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

She who was a princess among the provinces has become a servant.  She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks, among all her lovers, she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.  Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among strangers and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

The roads to Jerusalem mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, her lot is bitter.  Her foes have become her masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has let her suffer: she would not care for the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the sick and she embraced politics, gold and deceit rather than the love of God.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

Her children have gone away, captives before the foe.  All her majesty has departed Jerusalem.  Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

God's mercies are new every morning; God's Faithfulness is great.  The Lord is our portion.  We hope in God.  The Lord is good to those who wait for him and to the soul that seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of God.   And we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end