SORROW BECAUSE OF SIN

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which has been brought on me, which the LORD has inflicted in the day of His fierce anger” (Lam. 1:2 NKJV).

The Book of Lamentations is a book that expresses much sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem. It is the sorrow of sin; sin does not bring happiness but rather great sorrow. Our verse speaks of the meditating on the sorrow, the magnitude of the sorrow, and the meaning of the sorrow.

Meditating on the sorrow – “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?” This sorrow that came upon the Israelites is a warning about the consequences of sin. Whenever we see great destruction come upon society, we must not take it lightly; it should sober us up to thinking about the terrible consequences of sin. Yet, so often, we are too taken up with the pleasures of this world that we simply “pass by.” We need to pay attention to these acts of Divine judgment and let it inspire renewed and improved dedication to God.

Magnitude of the sorrow – “See if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.” This sorrow was extremely great. It was a sorrow over the great devastation of Zion. The city was burned to the ground and multitudes were slain or taken into captivity. It reminds us of the great sorrow lost souls will experience when they go to hell. The magnitude of the sorrow of lost souls is the greatest sorrow of all. It will do mankind well to meditate on the magnitude of that suffering.

Meaning of the sorrow – “Which the LORD has inflicted in the day of His fierce anger.” This sorrow means a lot of things. For one thing it means that God gets angry with sin. We like to think of the love of God and how great it is. But we need also to ponder about the anger of God. Such pondering will purify our conduct as nothing else will purify it.

(Adapted from Butler's Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The closer we are to God, the more the slightest sin will cause us deep sorrow!”

Richard Charles (R.C.) Sproul (1938 – 2017)

American Reformed Pastor, Theologian and Author

Word Study

Draw near

In Jam. 4:8 we read, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (NKJV).

Draw near is the Greek word engizō (ἐγγίζω =eng-id'-zo). The word means to come near, approach, bring near. In classical Greek engizō means to approach or bring near, often referring to drawing near to God. In the Septuagintengizō is a common word referring to nearness. It is particularly used to describe the approaching Day of Judgment as well as to one drawing near to God. In the New Testament, engizō describes the approaching of events or people. Engizō is often used to describe the approaching of the kingdom, and of one drawing near to God spiritually.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would make an end to sin (Dan. 9:24)

New Testament Fulfillment – Gal. 1:3-5; Heb. 9:26

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus came to save (John 3:17; Luke 19:10).

Bible Quiz

According to Mark 7, what was the Pharisees' complaint about how some of Jesus’ disciples were eating?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Proverbs 25, feeding a hungry enemy and giving a thirsty enemy a drink will be like doing what? It would be like heaping “coals of fire on his head” (Prov. 25:21-22).

Names of the Lord Jesus Found in the Bible

“Yahweh / Jehovah”

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD (Yahweh); make straight in the desert a highway for our God!” (Isa. 40:3).

1. Meaning – The Lord Jesus has God’s name (cf. Matt. 3:3; Phil. 2:6-11).

2. Insights – The holy name Yahweh means ‘He who is.’ It expresses the idea that only God has self-existent being. The name was so holy that the Jews would not utter it aloud. The Lord Jesus Christ possess this name.

3. Related Titles – I Am (Luke 21:8; John 8:24, 28, 58); Who was and is and is to come (Rev. 4:8)..

Did You Know – Christian History

Adam Clarke was born in 1762 in the county of Londonderry, North Ireland. He was a British Methodist Theologian and Biblical Scholar.

Clarke was converted in 1779 after hearing a Methodist preacher. Three years later he left home to attend Wesley’s school in Bristol, England. Five weeks later he was appointed to his first preaching circuit and for the next 50 years he was a self-taught Wesleyan preacher who, among other academic accomplishments, made himself master of at least twenty languages, including Hebrew, Persian, and other Middle Eastern tongues.

Clarke served on 24 Methodist circuits in England and Ireland, worked for 3 years in the Channel Islands, was three times president of the English Methodist Conference and four times president of the Irish Methodist Conference. Clarke devoted hundreds of working hours to the newly founded British and Foreign Bible Society and 10 years of painstaking editing and collating of state papers. This latter work was a huge undertaking. It required the most exact examination, deciphering, and classification of British State Papers. The research was carried on in 14 different locations, including the Tower of London, London’s Westminster Archives, and Cambridge University Library. In 1808 the University of Aberdeen conferred on Clarke the honorary degree of LL.D.

A glance at the record of the 24 Methodist circuits that Clarke served between 1782 and 1832 shows that his longest resident in any one place was four years. Yet his moving from place to place did not seem to have affected his reading, writing, and publication. He was elected a member of six of the most learned societies of his day, including the Antiquarian Society, the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Royal Irish Academy. In spite of all the distinctions given to him, Clarke remained a loyal Wesleyan preacher and a devout, humble believer.

Clarke was a preacher of rare power and gifts and, particularly in his later years, he preached to crowded churches. To his pulpit ministry he brought all the warmth of his Celtic upbringing and all the vast resources of his comprehensive learning. “I read a great deal, write very little, but strive to study.” This was the secret of Clarke’s success both as a preacher and a writer.

The most important of his numerous works was his Commentary on the Bible (originally published in eight volumes), which had a long and extensive circulation and took Clarke over four decades to produce. He also published a Biographical Dictionary and its supplement, The Biographical Miscellany. His Miscellaneous Works were edited in thirteen volumes by J. Everett.

Adam Clarke died in London on Aug. 26, 1832. He is perhaps the most famous Methodist/Wesleyan commentator to date. His commentary, based on a deep knowledge not only of scripture, but of its languages, lives on and greatly affected the rise of the sanctification doctrines of American Methodists and holiness groups

A Little Humor

A poster read: “God is dead” - Nietzsche.

The graffiti underneath read: “Nietzsche is dead” - God

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Some people have tons of religion but not one ounce of salvation!”