Lamentations 3:58-60

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Lamentations 3:55-65

We may observe throughout this chapter a struggle in the prophet's breast between sense and faith, fear and hope; he complains and then comforts himself, yet drops his comforts and returns again to his complaints, as Ps. 42:1-11. But, as there, so here, faith gets the last word and comes off a conqueror; for in these verses he concludes with some comfort. And here are two things with which he comforts himself:? I. His experience of God's goodness even in his affliction. This may refer to the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:58

O Lord, thou hast pleaded the cause of my soul ,.... Or, causes of "my soul", or "life" F21 ריבי נפשי "causas animaa meae", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; such as concerned his soul and life: not one only, but many of them; and this respects not Jeremiah only, and the Lord's pleading his cause against Zedekiah and his nobles; but the people of the Jews in former times, when in Egypt, and in the times of the judges: thou hast redeemed my life ; by delivering out of the pit... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:59

O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong ,.... Or, "my perverseness" F23 עותתי "perversitatem", Pagninus, Montanus; "quae exercetur, vel exercebatur in me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; not that he or they had been guilty of; but the wrong that was done to him and them by their enemies; how perverse and ill natured they had been to them; how badly they had used them; what injuries they had done them; none of which escaped the omniscience of God, to which the appeal is made; and upon... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Lamentations 3:60

Thou hast seen all their vengeance ,.... The spirit of revenge in them; their wrath and fury, and how they burn with a desire of doing mischief; as well as their revengeful actions, carriage, and behaviour: and all their imaginations against me ; their secret contrivances of mischief, their plots and schemes they devise to do hurt unto me. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:60

Thou hast seen - all their imaginations - Every thing is open to the eye of God. Distressed soul! though thou knowest not what thy enemies meditate against thee; yet he who loves thee does, and will infallibly defeat all their plots, and save thee. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:58

Verse 58 For the same purpose he now says, that God had been his judge to undertake his cause, and not only once, for he had contended for him as though he had been his perpetual advocate. The meaning is, that the Prophet (who yet speaks in the name of all the faithful) had found God a defender and a helper, not only in one instance, but whenever he had been in trouble; for he uses the plural number, and says, Thou hast pleaded the pleadings of my soul He adds, Thou hast redeemed my life. It... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:59

Verse 59 The word עותתי, outti, is rendered by some “iniquity,” but in an ironical sense, as though the Prophet had said, “Thou, God, knowest whether I have offended.” But the word is to be taken passively; the verb עות, out, means, to subvert, as we have elsewhere seen, even in this chapter. Then, by his subversion, he means oppression, even when his adversaries unworthily trod him under their feet. And hence he asks God at the same time tojudge his judgment, that is, to undertake his cause,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Lamentations 3:60

Verse 60 This mode of speaking was often used by the saints, because God, when it pleased him to look on their miseries, was ever ready to bring them help. Nor were they words without meaning, when the faithful said, O Lord, thou hast seen; for they said this for their own sake, that they might shake off all unbelief. For as soon as any trial assails us, we imagine that God is turned away from us; and thus our flesh tempts us to despair. It is hence necessary that the faithful should in this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:52-66

THE SPEAKER 'S SUFFERINGS ; AN EARNESTLY BELIEVING PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE . He speaks as a representative of the nation; if we should not rather say that the nation itself, personified, is the speaker. In the first triad some have supposed a reference to the persecution suffered by Jeremiah at the hands of his countrymen. The "dungeon," or rather "pit," will in this case be the "dungeon" ("pit") mentioned in Jeremiah 38:6 . But a "pit" is a figure in the psalms for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Lamentations 3:57-58

Prayer heard and answered. How natural that the mind of a pious man should, in seasons of distress and calamity, revert to the bygone days, remember the clouds by which they were overcast, and take encouragement at the vivid recollection of gracious interposition and help! I. THE DAY OF DELIVERANCE . 1 . This was a day of need and of distress, of sore need and of bitter distress. 2 . It was a day of prayer, a day in which Divine aid had been zealously and urgently... read more

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