Jeremiah's Hope
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Jeremiah's hope in the attributes of God.
Text: Lam. 3:21-23
Date: 05/21/2017, the Traditional service.
Occasion: Missions Conference
Description:
When Jeremiah wrote Lamentations he was in the depths of despair. His city had been destroyed, the great Temple of God had been turned into rubble, and his friends and family had either been killed or taken away to Babylon as slaves. And yet, in the midst of this calamity, he turned to the Lord with a hopeful hymn of praise. Jeremiah's hope was not grounded in himself, but in the very nature and character of God. We will analyze that hope and the attributes of God that bolstered it. Then we will turn briefly to the realization of that hope in the restoration of Jerusalem and the building of Nehemiah's wall. We will find that Nehemiah's hope was the same as Jeremiah's hope, and therefore should be our hope as well. And so, in this missions-oriented message, we will plot our course for the future on the steadfast love, the inexplicable mercy, and the unwavering faithfulness of God.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Lam. 3:21-23.
A. Context
1. The reason for the lamentation.
a. The historical setting.
i. The reason for the Exile, Jer. 7:8-11.
ii. Lessons of the Exile, Jer. 11:7, Num. 14:18.
b. The details of the Exile, Jer. 19:9, 2Kings 25:9-12.
2. The reason for the song of hope, vs. 21.
a. Wormwood and gall, Lam. 3:1-3,17,19-20.
b. Hope in the midst of despair.
i. Moving through discouragement.
ii. Finding light in the darkness.
B. The great attributes of God.
1. Steadfast love that never ceases.
a. Covenantal love.
b. Eternal and immutable.
2. Mercies that never end, vs. 22b-23a.
a. An outpouring of God's love, vs. 22b.
b. Mercy and justice, Ex. 33:19.
c. God's love of mercy, vs. 23a.
3. God is faithful, vs. 23b.
C. The realization of Jeremiah's hope.
1. God restores a remnant, Jer. 29:10-11, Dan. 1:1.
2. Nehemiah builds a wall.
III. Application, Heb. 11:1.
IV. Conclusion
