Lamentations 2:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 2:1-9

It is a very sad representation which is here made of the state of God's church, of Jacob and Israel, of Zion and Jerusalem; but the emphasis in these verses seems to be laid all along upon the hand of God in the calamities which they were groaning under. The grief is not so much that such and such things are done as that God has done them, that he appears angry with them; it is he that chastens them, and chastens them in wrath and in his hot displeasure; he has become their enemy, and fights... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 2:1

How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger ,.... Not their persons for protection, as he did the Israelites at the Red sea, and in the wilderness; nor their sins, which he blots out as a thick cloud; or with such an one as he filled the tabernacle and temple with when dedicated; for this was "in his anger", in the day of his anger, against Jerusalem; but with the thick and black clouds of calamity and distress; he "beclouded" F18 יעיב "obnubilavit",... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 2:1

How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud - The women in the eastern countries wear veils, and often very costly ones. Here, Zion is represented as being veiled by the hand of God's judgment. And what is the veil? A dark cloud, by which she is entirely obscured. Instead of אדני Adonai , lord, twenty-four of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., and some of the most ancient of my own, read יהוה Yehovah , Lord, as in Lamentations 2:2 . The beauty of Israel - His Temple. ... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 2:1

Verse 1 The Prophet again exclaims in wonder, that an incredible thing had happened, which was like a prodigy; for at the first sight it seemed very unreasonable, that a people whom God had not only received into favor, but with whom he had made a perpetual covenant, should thus be forsaken by him. For though men were a hundred times perfidious, yet God never changes, but remains unchangeable in his faithfulness; and we know that his covenant was not made to depend on the merits of men.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 2:1

ZION 'S JUDGMENT IS OF GOD . LAMENTATIONS AND SUPPLICATIONS . Hath the Lord covered; rather, doth … cover . The daughter of Zion; i.e. Jerusalem. Cast down from heaven. Here and in Matthew 11:28 we have a parallel to Isaiah 14:12 , where the King of Babylon is compared to a bright star. "Cast down" whither? Into the "pit" or dungeon of Hades ( Isaiah 14:15 ). The beauty of Israel; i.e. Jerusalem, exactly as Babylon is called "the proud beauty [or,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 2:1

God not remembering his footstool. The ark was regarded as God's footstool; and the temple in which the ark was kept was also sometimes called the footstool of God. When the temple was destroyed and the ark stolen, or broken, or lost, it looked as though God had forgotten his footstool. The symbolism of the ark and the ritual connected with it give a peculiar significance to this fact. I. GOD NO LONGER REMEMBERS THE PLACE WHERE HIS PRESENCE WAS MOST FULLY ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 2:1

The anger of the Lord. Men have fallen into two opposite extremes of opinion and of feeling with regard to the anger of the Lord. There have been times when they have been wont to attribute to the Eternal the passions of imperfect men, when they have represented the holy God as moved by the storms of indignation, as subject to the impulses of caprice and the instigations of cruelty. But in our own days the tendency is the contrary to this; men picture God as all amiability and forbearance,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 2:1

The manifestation of Jehovah's wrath with Israel. It will be noticed that the words "anger" and "wrath" occur again and again in these first three verses. Figure is heaped upon figure in order to bring out the practical effects of this anger. We need not pursue these figures into detail; each of them speaks for itself. Let us rather notice— I. HOW THEY INDICATE THE EXTENT OF PAST FAVOUR . The very fact that, in order to show the character of Jehovah's anger, such strong... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Lamentations 2:1

How ... - Or, “How” doth “אדני 'ădonāy cover.” He hath east down etc. By God’s footstool seems to be meant the ark. See Psalms 99:5 note. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Lamentations 2:1

Lamentations 2:1. How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud Changed her condition for the worse, and turned the light of her prosperity into the darkness of adversity. And cast down, &c., the beauty of Israel The temple and all its glory. And remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger Hath not spared even the ark itself, the footstool of the shekinah, or divine glory, which was wont to appear, sitting, as it were, enthroned upon the mercy-seat, between... read more

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