"Winners of souls must first be weepers for souls."
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon
The Book of LAMENTATIONS
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"Tears are defined simply as "drops of salty fluid flowing from the eyes." They can be caused by irritation or laughter but are usually associated with weeping, sorrow, and grief. When we cry, friends wonder what's wrong and try to console us. Babies cry for food, and children cry at the lost of a pet; adults cry when confronted with trauma and death."
"In the book of Lamentations Jeremiah's grief ran deep. Called the "weeping prophet," his tears flowed from a broken heart. As God's spokesman, he knew what lay ahead for Judah, his country, and for Jerusalem, the capital and "the city of God." God's judgement would fall and destruction would come. And Jeremiah wept. His tears were not self-centered, mourning over personal suffering or loss. He wept because the people had rejected their God--the God who had made them, loved them, and sought repeatedly to bless them. Jeremiah's heart was broken because he knew that the selfishness and sinfulness of the people would bring them much suffering and an extended exile. Jeremiah's tears were tears of empathy and sympathy. His heart was broken with those things that break God's heart."
"What causes you tears? Do you weep because your selfish pride has been wounded, or because people around you sin against and reject the God who loves them dearly? Do you weep because you have lost something that gives you pleasure, or because people all around you will suffer for their sinfulness? Our world is filled with injustice, poverty, war, and rebellion against God, all of which should move us to tears and to action. Therefore "it is by action and not by faith alone that a man is justified." (James 2:24)
"Tears are defined simply as "drops of salty fluid flowing from the eyes." They can be caused by irritation or laughter but are usually associated with weeping, sorrow, and grief. When we cry, friends wonder what's wrong and try to console us. Babies cry for food, and children cry at the lost of a pet; adults cry when confronted with trauma and death."
"In the book of Lamentations Jeremiah's grief ran deep. Called the "weeping prophet," his tears flowed from a broken heart. As God's spokesman, he knew what lay ahead for Judah, his country, and for Jerusalem, the capital and "the city of God." God's judgement would fall and destruction would come. And Jeremiah wept. His tears were not self-centered, mourning over personal suffering or loss. He wept because the people had rejected their God--the God who had made them, loved them, and sought repeatedly to bless them. Jeremiah's heart was broken because he knew that the selfishness and sinfulness of the people would bring them much suffering and an extended exile. Jeremiah's tears were tears of empathy and sympathy. His heart was broken with those things that break God's heart."
"What causes you tears? Do you weep because your selfish pride has been wounded, or because people around you sin against and reject the God who loves them dearly? Do you weep because you have lost something that gives you pleasure, or because people all around you will suffer for their sinfulness? Our world is filled with injustice, poverty, war, and rebellion against God, all of which should move us to tears and to action. Therefore "it is by action and not by faith alone that a man is justified." (James 2:24)
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Jerusalem Cries over Her Loss
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"Jerusalem once was full of people,
but now the city is empty.
Jerusalem once was a great city among the nations.
but now she is like a widow.
She was like a queen of all the other cities,
but now she is a slave.
She cries loudly at night,
and tears are on her cheeks.
There is no one to comfort her;
all who love her are gone.
All her friends have turned against her
and are now her enemies.
Lamentations 1:1-2
Life Application Study Bible, notes on Lamentations,
Life Application Study Bible, notes on Lamentations,
page 1385, Zondervan Press, NIV Version
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