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Commentary on Lamentations 1 verses 1–11
Those that have any disposition to weep with those that weep, one would think, should scarcely be able to refrain from tears at the reading of these verses, so very pathetic are the lamentations here.
I. The miseries of Jerusalem are here complained of as very pressing and by many circumstances very much aggravated. Let us take a view of these miseries.
1.As to their civil state. (1.) A city that was populous is now depopulated, Lam 1:1. It is spoken of by way of wonder - Who would have thought that ever it should come to this! Or by way of enquiry - What is it that has brought it to this? Or by way of lamentation - Alas! alas! (as Rev 18:10, Rev 18:16, Rev 18:19) how doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She was full of her own people that replenished her, and full of the people of other nations that resorted to her, with whom she had both profitable commerce and pleasant converse; but now her own people are carried into captivity, and strangers make no court to her: she sits solitary. The chief places of the city are not now, as they used to be, place of concourse, where wisdom cried (Pro 1:20, Pro 1:21); and justly are they left unfrequented, because wisdom's cry there was not heard. Note, Those that are ever so much increased God can soon diminish. How has she become as a widow! Her king that was, or should have been, as a husband to her, is cut off, and gone; her God has departed from her, and has given her a bill of divorce; she is emptied of her children, is solitary and sorrowful as a widow. Let no family, no state, not Jerusalem, no, nor Babylon herself, be secure, and say, I sit as a queen, and shall never sit as a widow, Isa 47:8; Rev 18:7. (2.) A city that had dominion is now in subjection. She had been great among the nations, greatly loved by some and greatly feared by others, and greatly observed and obeyed by both; some made her presents, and others padi her taxes; so that she was really princess among the provinces, and every sheaf bowed to hers; even the princes of the people entreated her favour. But now the tables are turned; she has not only lost her friends and sits solitary, but has lost her freedom too and sits tributary; she paid tribute to Egypt first and then to Babylon. Note, Sin brings a people not only into solitude, but into slavery. (3.) A city that used to be full of mirth has now become melancholy and upon all accounts full of grief. Jerusalem had been a joyous city, whither the tribes went up on purpose to rejoice before the Lord; she was the joy of the whole earth, but now she weeps sorely, her laughter if turned into mourning, her solemn feasts are all gone; she weeps in the night, as true mourners do who weep in secret, in silence and solitude; in the night, when others compose themselves to rest, her thoughts are most intent upon her troubles, and grief then plays the tyrant. What the prophet's head was for her, when she regarded it not, now her head is - as waters, and her eyes fountains of tears, so that she weeps day and night (Jer 9:1); her tears are continually on her cheeks. Though nothing dries away sooner than a tear, yet fresh griefs extort fresh tears, so that her cheeks are never free from them. Note, There is nothing more commonly seen under the sun than the tears of the oppressed, with whom the clouds return after the rain, Ecc 4:1. (4.) Those that were separated from the heathen now dwell among the heathen; those that were a peculiar people are now a mingled people (Lam 1:3): Judah has gone into captivity, out of her own land into the land of her enemies, and there she abides, and is likely to abide, among those that are aliens to God and the covenants of promise, with whom she finds no rest, no satisfaction of mind, nor any settlement of abode, but is continually hurried from place to place at the will of the victorious imperious tyrants. And again (Lam 1:5): "Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy; those that were to have been the seed of the next generation are carried off; so that the land that is now desolate is likely to be still desolate and lost for want of heirs." Those that dwell among their own people, and that a free people, and in their own land, would be more thankful for the mercies they thereby enjoy if they would but consider the miseries of those that are forced into strange countries. (5.) Those that used in their wars to conquer are now conquered and triumphed over: All her persecutors overlook her between the straits (Lam 1:3); they gained all possible advantages against her, sot hat her people unavoidably fell into the hand of the enemy, for there was no way to escape (Lam 1:7); they were hemmed in on every side, and, which way soever they attempted to flee, they found themselves embarrassed. When they made the best of their way they could make nothing of it, but were overtaken and overcome; so that every where her adversaries are the chief and her enemies prosper (Lam 1:5); which way soever their sword turns they get the better. Such straits do men bring themselves into by sin. If we allow that which is our greatest adversary and enemy to have dominion over us, and to be chief in us, justly will our other enemies be suffered to have dominion over us. (6.) Those that had been not only a distinguished by a dignified people, on whom God had put honour, and to whom all their neighbours had paid respect, are now brought into contempt (Lam 1:8): All that honoured her before despise her; those that courted an alliance with her now value it not; those that caressed her when she was in pomp and prosperity slight her now that she is in distress, because they have seen her nakedness. By the prevalency of the enemies against her they perceive her weakness, and that she is not so strong a people as they thought she had been; and by the prevalency of God's judgments against her they perceive her wickedness, which now comes to light and is every where talked of. Now it appears how they have vilified themselves by their sins: The enemies magnify themselves against them (Lam 1:9); they trample upon them, and insult over them, and in their eyes they have become vile, the tail of the nations, though once they were the head. Note, Sin is the reproach of any people. (7.) Those that lived in a fruitful land were ready to perish, and many of them did perish, for want of necessary food (Lam 1:11): All her people sigh in despondency and despair; they are ready to faint away; their spirits fail, and therefore they sigh, for they seek bread and seek it in vain. They were brought at last to that extremity that there was no bread for the people of the land (Jer 52:6), and in their captivity they had much ado to get break, Lam 5:6. They have given their pleasant things, their jewels and pictures, and all the furniture of their closets and cabinets, which they used to please themselves with looking upon, they have sold these to buy bread for themselves and their families, have parted with them for meat to relieve the soul, or (as the margin is) to make the soul come again, when they were ready to faint away. They desired no other cordial than meat. All that a man has will he give for life, and for break, which is the staff of life. Let those that abound in pleasant things not be proud of them, nor fond of them; for the time may come when they may be glad to let them go for necessary things. And let those that have competent food to relieve their soul be content with it, and thankful for it, though they have not pleasant things.
2.We have here an account of their miseries in their ecclesiastical state, the ruin of their sacred interest, which was much more to be lamented than that of their secular concerns. (1.) Their religious feasts were no more observed, no more frequented (Lam 1:4): The ways of Zion do mourn; they look melancholy, overgrown with grass and weeds. It used to be a pleasant diversion to see people continually passing and repassing in the highway that led to the temple, but now you may stand there long enough, and see nobody stir; for none come to the solemn feasts; a full end is put to them by the destruction of that which was the city of our solemnities, Isa 33:20. The solemn feasts had been neglected and profaned (Isa 1:11, Isa 1:12), and therefore justly is an end now put to them. But, when thus the ways of Zion are made to mourn, all the sons of Zion cannot but mourn with them. It is very grievous to good men to see religious assemblies broken up and scattered, and those restrained from them that would gladly attend them. And, as the ways of Zion mourned, so the gates of Zion, in which the faithful worshippers used to meet, are desolate; for there is none to meet in them. Time was when the Lord loved the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob, but now he has forsaken them, and is provoked to withdraw from them, and therefore it cannot but fare with them as it did with the temple when Christ quitted it. Behold, you house is left unto you desolate, Mat 23:38. (2.) Their religious persons were quite disabled from performing their wonted services, were quite dispirited: Her priests sigh for the desolations of the temple; their songs are turned into sighs; they sigh, for they have nothing to do, and therefore there is nothing to be had; they sigh, as the people (Lam 1:11), for want of bread, because the offerings of the Lord, which were their livelihood, failed. It is time to sigh when the priests, the Lord's ministers, sigh. Her virgins also, that used, with their music and dancing, to grace the solemnities of their feasts, are afflicted and in heaviness. Notice is taken of their service in the day of Zion's prosperity (Psa 68:25, Among them were the damsels playing with timbrels), and therefore notice is taken of the failing of it now. Her virgins are afflicted, and therefore she is in bitterness; that is, all the inhabitants of Zion are so, whose character it is that they are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, and that to them the reproach of it is a burden, Zep 3:18. (3.) Their religious places were profaned (Lam 1:10): The heathen entered into her sanctuary, into the temple itself, into which no Israelite was permitted to enter, though ever so reverently and devoutly, but the priests only. The stranger that comes nigh, even to worship there, shall be put to death. Thither the heathen now crows rudely in, not to worship, but to plunder. God had commanded that the heathen should not so much as enter into the congregation, nor be incorporated with the people of the Jews (Deu 23:3); yet now they enter into the sanctuary without control. Note, Nothing is more grievous to those who have a true concern for the glory of God, nor is more lamented, than the violation of God's laws, and the contempt they see put upon sacred things. What the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary was complained of, Psa 74:3, Psa 74:4. (4.) Their religious utensils, and all the rich things with which the temple was adorned and beautified, and which were made use of in the worship of God, were made a prey to the enemy (Lam 1:10): The adversary has spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things, has grasped them all, seized them all, for himself. What these pleasant things are we may learn from Isa 64:11, where, to the complaint of the burning of the temple, it is added, All our pleasant things are laid waste; the ark and the altar, and all the other tokens of God's presence with them, these were their pleasant things above any other things, and these were now broken to pieces and carried away. Thus from the daughter of Zion all her beauty has departed, Lam 1:6. The beauty of holiness was the beauty of the daughter of Zion; when the temple, that holy and beautiful house, was destroyed, her beauty was gone; that was the breaking of the staff of beauty, the taking away of the pledges and seals of the covenant, Zac 11:10. (5.) Their religious days were made a jest of (Lam 1:7): The adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. They laughed at them for observing one day in seven as a day of rest from worldly business. Juvenal, a heathen poet, ridicules the Jews in his time for losing a seventh part of their time: -
- cui septima quaeque fuit lux
Ignava et vitae partem non attigit ullam -
They keep their sabbaths to their cost,
For thus one day in sev'n is lost;
whereas sabbaths, if they be sanctified as they ought to be, will turn to a better account than all the days of the week besides. And whereas the Jews professed that they did it in obedience to their God, and to his honour, their adversaries asked them, "What do you get by it now? What profit have you in keeping the ordinances of your God, who now deserts you in your distress?" Note, it is a very great trouble to all that love God to hear his ordinances mocked at, and particularly his sabbaths. Zion calls them her sabbaths, for the sabbath was made for men; they are his institutions, but they are her privileges; and the contempt put upon sabbaths all the sons of Zion take to themselves and lay to heart accordingly; nor will they look upon sabbaths, or any other divine ordinances, as less honourable, nor value them less, for their being mocked at. (6.) That which greatly aggravated all these grievances was that her state at present was just the revers of what it had been formerly, Lam 1:7. Now, in the days of affliction and misery, when every thing was black and dismal, she remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, and now knows how to value them better than formerly, when she had the full enjoyment of them. God often makes us know the worth of mercies by the want of them; and adversity is borne with the greatest difficulty by those that have fallen into it from the height of prosperity. This cut David to the heart, when he was banished from God's ordinances, that he could remember when he went with the multitude to the house of God, Psa 42:4.
II. The sins of Jerusalem are here complained of as the procuring provoking cause of all these calamities. Whoever are the instruments, God is the author of all these troubles; it is the Lord that has afflicted her (Lam 1:5) and he has done it as a righteous Judge, for she has sinned. 1. Her sins are for number numberless. Are her troubles many? Her sins are many more. it is for the multitude of her transgressions that the Lord has afflicted her. See Jer 30:14. When the transgressions of a people are multiplied we cannot say, as Job does in his own case, that wounds are multiplied without cause, Job 9:17. 2. They are for nature exceedingly heinous (Lam 1:8): Jerusalem has grievously sinned, has sinned sin (so the word is), sinned wilfully, deliberately, has sinned that sin which of all others is the abominable things that the Lord hates, the sin of idolatry. The sins of Jerusalem, that makes such a profession and enjoys such privileges, are of all others the most grievous sins. She has sinned grievously (Lam 1:8), and therefore (Lam 1:9) she came down wonderfully. note, Grievous sins bring wondrous ruin; there are some workers of iniquity to whom there is a strange punishment, Job 31:3. They are such sins as may plainly be read in the punishment. (1.) They have been very oppressive and therefore are justly oppressed (Lam 1:3): Judah has gone into captivity, and it is because of affliction and great servitude, because the rich among them afflicted the poor and made them serve with rigour, and particularly (as the Chaldee paraphrases it) because they had oppressed their Hebrew servants, which is charged upon them, Jer 34:11. Oppression was one of their crying sins (Jer 6:6, Jer 6:7) and it is a sin that cries aloud. (2.) They have made themselves vile, and therefore are justly vilified. They all despise her (Lam 1:8), for her filthiness is in her skirts; it appears upon her garments that she has rolled them in the mire of sin. None could stain our glory if we did not stain it ourselves. (3.) They have been very secure and therefore are justly surprised with this ruin (Lam 1:9): She remembers not her last end; she did not take the warning that was given her to consider her latter end, to consider what would be the end of such wicked courses as she took, and therefore she came down wonderfully, in an astonishing manner, that she might be made to feel what she would not fear; therefore God shall make their plagues wonderful.
III. Jerusalem's friends are here complained of as false and faint-hearted, and very unkind: They have all dealt treacherously with her (Lam 1:2), so that, in effect, they have become here enemies. Her deceivers have created her as much vexation as her destroyers. The staff that breaks under us may do us as great a mischief as the staff that beats us, Eze 29:6, Eze 29:7. Her princes, that should have protected her, have not courage enough to make head against the enemy for their own preservation; they are like harts, that, upon the first alarm, betake themselves to flight and make no resistance; nay, they are like harts that are famished for want of pasture, and therefore are gone without strength before the pursuer, and, having no strength for flight, are soon run down and made a prey of. her neighbours are unneighbourly, for, 1. There is none to help her (Lam 1:7); either they could not or they would not; nay, 2. She has not comforter, none to sympathize with her, or suggest any thing to alleviate her griefs, Lam 1:7, Lam 1:9. Like Job's friends, they saw it was to no purpose, her grief was so great; and miserable comforters were they all in such a case.
IV. Jerusalem's God is here complained to concerning all these things, and all is referred to his compassionate consideration (Lam 1:9): "O Lord! behold my affliction, and take cognizance of it;" and (Lam 1:11), "See, O Lord! and consider, take order about it." Note, The only way to make ourselves easy under our burdens is to cast them upon God first, and leave it to him to do with us as seemeth him good.
Bringing someone to his senses is censure, which makes one think. And he does not abstain from this form of instruction either, but says by Jeremiah, “How long shall I cry, and you not hear? So your ears are uncircumcised.” O blessed forbearance! And again, by the same: “All the heathen are uncircumcised, but this people is uncircumcised in heart,” “for the people are disobedient children,” he says, “in whom faith does not exist.” … Bewailing one’s fate is latent censure and artfully helps to bring salvation, albeit under stealth. He made use of this by Jeremiah: “How did the city sit solitary that was full of people! She that ruled over territories became as a widow; she came under tribute; weeping, she wept in the night.” … In the end, the system God pursues to inspire fear is the source of salvation. And it is the prerogative of goodness to save: “The mercy of the Lord is on all flesh, while he reproves, corrects and teaches as a shepherd does his flock. He pities those who receive his instruction and those who eagerly seek union with him.” … “For according to the greatness of his mercy, so is his rebuke.” For it is indeed noble not to sin, but it is good also for the sinner to repent, just as it is best to be always in good health but well to recover from disease. So he commands by Solomon, “Strike your son with the rod, that you may deliver his soul from death.” And again, “Do not abstain from chastising your son but correct him with the rod, for he will not die.” For reproof and rebuke, as also the original term implies, are the stripes of the soul, chastising sins, preventing death and leading to self-control for those who are out of control.… And so we, too, who in our lives are sick with shameful lusts and reprehensible excesses and other inflammatory effects of the passions, need the Savior. And he administers not only mild but also stringent medicines. The bitter roots of fear then arrest the eating sores of our sins. This is why fear is also salutary, if bitter. Sick, we truly stand in need of the Savior; having wandered, of one to guide us; blind, of one to lead us to the light; thirsty, “of the fountain of life, of which whoever partakes shall no longer thirst”; dead, we need life; sheep, we need a shepherd; we who are children need a tutor, while universal humanity stands in need of Jesus; so that we may not continue intractable and sinners to the end and thus fall into condemnation but may be separated from the chaff and stored up in the paternal garner.
As for Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, who can fully understand or adequately explain them? The first of them seems to compose not a prophecy but a gospel. The second speaks of a rod of an almond tree and of a seething pot with its face toward the north, and of a leopard that has changed its spots. He also goes four times through the alphabet in different meters.
ALEPH: ‘doctrine’, that man may know both himself and God. This, the Jewish people did not have and were thus subject to the enemies.
How does the city sit solitary: He proclaims that the overthrow of the poor city and the fall of the crooked people not only took place under the Chaldeans, but were to be fulfilled to even greater extent under Titus and Vespasian. In fact, before the final captivity, she is not rightly said to be sitting alone, if not perhaps due to some exaggeration of pain. They are said to have been left by the Chaldeans as poor cultivators of the land, over whom Godolias is put in charge, and the city is not entirely destroyed, but is, after the death of Christ, dispersed to become desolated, so that neither stone upon stone, nor the people, shall be left in her. For against them, returned from captivity, grew the rod of anger, since they were not turned towards the Lord through the prophets’ admonitions and reproofs, but had always been ungrateful to the mercies of God. Hence Moses: For I know thy obstinacy, and thy most stiff neck, you have always been rebellious against the Lord, and Stephanus said: You stiff-necked &c. Therefore, although often torn by the lashes of the scourge, overpowered by the enemies, afflicted by every evil, they believed not, but provoked the most high God. So, with ten tribes already captured in Assyria, the two that had remained, following David home and worshiping God according to their kind, eventually, with malevolence increasing, were for the first time captured in Chaldea, wherefore the city is here lamented: How doth the city sit solitary.
Gilbert. Albeit I say nothing, the careful reader will not pass in silence over the splendor of the rhetorical colors, the weight of the sentences and the adornment of speech. For nothing, he will also find the multitude of heads of rhetoric, the choice dialectic and the plainness of the arguments. Moreover, he will teach, without instruction, the abjectness of the rhetorical complaint (conquestio), and occasionally the severity of disdain (indignatio), or the combination of both. To satisfy the unskilled, however, I shall not unwillingly explain the rhetorical complaint and disdain by their proper definitions.
‘Complaint’, as Tully says, ‘is speech seeking to arouse the pity of the audience’. Its first head is that by which we show what prosperity we once enjoyed and what misery we are in now, as it is here: How doth the city sit solitary &c.
‘Disdain is speech by which either hatred is aroused against some person or offense at some event’; the first head of which is from authority, when it is related of how much concern this event has been to the immortal gods &c. As it is said here: Her Nazarites were whiter than snow &c.
In the first alphabet I therefore show the more careful, penetrating reader the right way by denoting a few heads of complaint and disdain &c.
Historical interpretation. HOW DOTH THE CITY SIT SOLITARY: that is to say Jerusalem, deprived of its people, full of disgrace, humiliated among her enemies, once populous and glorious among her enemies; THE MISTRESS OF THE GENTILES IS BECOME AS A WIDOW, deserted by her kings, forsaken by her priests, the temple profaned and the glory of the vessels repudiated, deprived of God’s assistance; THE MISTRESS OF THE GENTILES, whom she before had overthrown or forced under the yoke.
Allegorical interpretation. The Church is to be lamented with more tears than her sins require, being made a WIDOW due to the absence of her spouse. HOW DOTH THE CITY SIT SOLITARY, forsaken by the assistance of God and the angels! If the bridegroom were together with the bride, the bride need not be mourned for, since the children of the bridegroom cannot mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them, but they rejoice with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice, but when they noticed that their mother, that is to say the Church, had been widowed from the bridegroom, it was fit that not only the sons cry, but also all their friends. Hence Jeremiah deplored more than everyone and on behalf of everyone not the ruin of boulders but of men.
HOW DOTH THE CITY SIT SOLITARY: this shows the disposition of the crying, hence, for the mourner’s emotion to be expressed, also Job is said to have sat on a dunghill, who himself is interpreted ‘mourning’. Of this captivity it is said: Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and cried. Namely we, who did not want to stand in the throne of the kingdom and in the supreme height of heaven; by rights we wail when we sit on the rivers of temptation, whence Isaiah: Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans. Thus, for our Jerusalem, when she has landed in the shame of her sins, there is no throne of dignity, but she is defiled with mortal offenses, whence Jeremiah laments, not only because of her being contaminated with worldly undertakings, but because she sits SOLITARY, and solitary because she is AS A WIDOW, and a widow because she is deserted by her spouse for the sake of the ugliness of her nefarious actions. AS A WIDOW, not really a widow, namely, for if she at times is despised by the bridegroom, nevertheless the rights of matrimony are retained, so that, if she should wish to return by means of penitence, she would recover her spouse, when she has made satisfaction, and the raiment of immortality, clad anew in which she will yield to the tribute of no one. Hence St Paul: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another.
Moral interpretation. The soul SITS SOLITARY AS A WIDOW, divested of the goods of virtue, since she has submitted herself to the lordship of the Chaldeans and defied the spouse of her youth. The Chaldeans are interpreted ‘they who take captive’; they are demons, who recall the soul from the seat of the heavenly fatherland and capture it in their power. Hence: Get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans. Since, namely, you, daughter of God, refused to stay in the light of virtue, go, change your name and enter into the shadows of blindness! Hence Jeremiah exclaims with sighs: HOW DOTH THE CITY SIT SOLITARY, that is to say the soul, once full of virtues and approbations of the saints as A CITY FULL OF PEOPLE, now desolate, she who previously, among the throngs of friends, was mighty by divine aid, now sits wretched among enemies. For her there is no fellowship with the saints, no communion with the sacraments, no partaking with her spouse, but she is brought back to pay tribute to vices. Hence: My father left me subject to many creditors, whom, even if I should labor every day, I would not satisfy. Many are the tributes to offense, to which the soul is subject, until it, through penitence, returns to liberty. Hence: Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. Thus follows the voice of the one lamenting: WEEPING SHE HAS WEPT IN THE NIGHT.
St. Paschasius. There are Canticles of Canticles; there are also Lamentations of Lamentations.
The book of Solomon is called the ‘Canticles of Canticles’, Jeremiah’s Threni the
‘Lamentations of Lamentations’. For as the Canticles excel, in which the
bridegroom or the bride enjoys sweet embraces, so do the Lamentations, in
which the bridegroom’s absence from the bride is deplored by many ways of
weeping, whence it is said: How doth the city sit solitary &c. In those Canticles,
several persons are introduced to wedding bliss; in these Lamentations, many
are deplored who have been taken away. Canticles are proper in the heavenly
fatherland, lamentations in this life’s misery. Therefore, David says: A hymn
becomes You in Zion, O God, and elsewhere: Blessed is the man whose help is from thee;
in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears, in the place which he hath
set.
St. Paschasius. He laments by means of a fourfold alphabet, as both we and the world
consist of four elements - fire, air, water, earth - in order that we who are
made of four elements, should grieve by way of four alphabets. That the
prophet laments not only the present, but also the future and the past, the
Book of Proverbs reveals, where you read that the entire Judea and Jerusalem
mourned Joshua, and Jeremiah in particular.
Beneath the four cardinal directions he laments by means of a fourfold
alphabet the trespasses of the present world, inviting everyone to wailing. For
this number is material, since both man and the world are composed of four
elements. Four are the seasons, four the climates; our age likewise consists of
four parts: both of the day, the week, the month and the year. Therefore this number, somehow material and square and solid, matches everything with
itself, not only worldly things, but also celestial, so that they will stand firm.
Four are the evangelists, four the excellent virtues, whence the others originate,
by which, as by the four rivers of paradise, all the germs of virtue are watered.
Since, therefore, we, who do wrong within and without, consist of four
elements, it is just that we together with the prophet lament in a fourfold
number, and by means of a material number renew ourselves inside and
outside, that the single wailing of the letters should be opposed to the single
degradations of morals and bodies, that we, who are held captive upon the rivers
of Babylon, absolved by penitence and grace, shall enjoy true liberty in our own
Zion.
St. Paschasius. It is an accepted fact that there are many kinds of wailing, many diversities
of tears. We bemoan our own detriment differently from another’s. In one way
we lament owing to our yearning for the heavenly fatherland, in another way
because of the immensity of our offenses and in dread of hell. We lament
differently on account of the distress of heart than we do of love for pious
recollection. Divine Scripture explains these diversities of weeping in different
places, when it describes the various passions and lamentations of individuals.
Hence David: My tears have been my bread day and night &c, and elsewhere: I have
labored in my groanings, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my
tears. And Jeremiah: My eye is troubled through indignation &c. The faithful are
moved by these passions, who have recalled to their minds that whole volume
of Ezekiel, in which there had been written lamentations and songs and woe.
St. Paschasius. In Lamentations, we have decided to expound the ruin of the earthly city as
well as the forfeit of the Church and the hazard of souls and, owing to the
suitability of the passages, direct the meanings according to three times.
The Threni, as St Jerome says, were in Hebrew composed by means of the
rules of metre. Hence, in Latin, the single Hebrew letters, with which, in
Hebrew, every verse takes its beginning, are put before every separate sentence,
and not so many letters lack mystical sense, since not one tittle, nor one jot of the
law shall pass away. Thus, the understanding of every single letter should be
adapted to every single sentence.
Aleph is interpreted as ‘doctrine’. The true doctrine is, however, that by
which God is known and the state or weakness of each and everyone is not
ignored. Hence Isaiah: Glorify ye the Lord in instruction. Then Jeremiah, in a spirit
of grief, says: How doth the city sit solitary &c. He does not lament the walls of the
city but, figuratively, his people taken into captivity. Hence Isaiah: And the
daughter Zion shall be left as a covert in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,
and as a city that is laid waste. This is a forceful prophet’s outcry, full of wailing,
full of pain, full of astonishment and dismay.
Gilbert. It is manifest that the Lamentations of Jeremiah are in a special way
punctuated by the clause of speech, or colored by means of asyndeton. For
the case is said to be briefly completed without a presentation of the whole
sentence, which is succeeded by another clause of the speech, as this is: Weeping
she has wept in the night &c. Occasionally, by way of asyndeton, connecting
particles are removed, separate parts are brought forth in this fashion: How doth
the city sit solitary &c, and in a rhetorical manner the speech sometimes consists
of two clauses, sometimes of three or more.
St. Paschasius. A lamentation is a compunction, infused by the gift of the Holy Ghost in
the hearts of men, either due to moaning over the present life or yearning for
the everlasting. We read David’s laments over Saul and Jonathan and over
Absalon. Ezekiel wept with much weeping, Peter cried bitterly. But these are justly
called the ‘Lamentations of Lamentations’ and so extend genus to species, as
sometimes species is extended to genus. So the ruin of the earthly Jerusalem
and of the people are deplored, that the detriments of the present Church may
be bewailed. So the new people’s community with the old, who, dashing from
the faith, are being captured, is lamented, as is the ruin of each and everyone’s
soul, which used to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. So Lamentations allude
to the present captivity, under which this prophecy takes place, that the
captivity under Titus and Vespasian may not be entirely forgotten. Finally the
prophet, considering all the adversities and ruins of present life both wails and
moans individual things, so that the individuals may learn to deplore their own,
while he pities common and foreign offenses.
As this opening verse states: "She that was great among the nations," that is, once subject to her. As Ezekiel 5:5 declares: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the center of the nations."
Then is displayed that the people's glory was once distinguished by their tributes. For: "she that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal" Because, once tributes were made to her. As 2 Samuel 8:2 declares: "and he (David) defeated Moab." And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
And, King Solomon had divided his kingdom within such glories, as setting forth distinctive projects to single cities. As recorded in I Kings 4:21: "Solomon ruled over all the kingdom from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life." Also Proverbs l2:21 states: "The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor."
Now to this Verse 1 is applied the first letter of the Hebrew, "Aleph", since doctrine is indicated. This Verse 1 points out to the Hebrew people the exact doctrine from God that lacks their observance, within their own knowledge, as people within captivity. This fact the prophet Isaiah 5:13 underscores: "Therefore my people go into exile for want of knowledge; their honored men are dying of hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst."
It must be also known that a fourth place of conquest is applicable in many colors, and in parched places: within this first lamentation.
Now, allegorically, "the city", in Verse 1 is the present church. The phrase: "that was full of people!" is indicative of the various tributes. And: "she was great among the nations" denotes obedi ence to the faith. Finally: "she what was a princess among the cities has become a vassal". This can refer to diversity within the Church, as discerned by a life-style prevailing.
Then again "How lonely sits the city that was full of people." This can indicate a loss of protection and aid from angels. And, "How like a widow has she become ". Namely, as she is taken away from her present spouse. Finally: "has become a vassal". That is, exposed to tyrants.
Morally, the phrase: "sits the city", connotes the human soul. And, the phrase, "that was full of people, indicates people of good affection.
Then, the saying, "great among the nations". Namely, regards corruptions. Also: "princess among the cities". That is, as to the human senses.
Then again: "How lonely": away from suffrages of goods. And, "like a widow". As to embraces of a husband. Finally : "has become a vassal": to corruptions.
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SUMMARY
Lamentations 1:1 opens the book with a profound lament, portraying Jerusalem, once a vibrant and populous capital, now utterly desolate. The city, formerly a prominent "princess" among nations and provinces, is depicted as a solitary widow, stripped of her glory and reduced to a state of subjugation and forced tribute, a stark image of the devastating consequences of divine judgment.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Lamentations 1:1 is rich in literary artistry that amplifies its emotional impact. The most prominent device is Personification, where Jerusalem is portrayed as a suffering woman—sitting solitary, becoming a widow, and transforming from a princess to a tributary. This humanizes the city's devastation, making its plight deeply relatable and evoking profound empathy from the reader. The opening "How" (Hebrew: 'Eichah') functions as an Exclamation or Apostrophe, a direct, passionate cry of lament that immediately establishes the book's mournful tone and conveys the prophet's shock and sorrow. Furthermore, the verse employs powerful Metaphors, comparing Jerusalem to a "widow" to convey utter destitution and vulnerability, and to a "princess" to recall its former glory and sovereignty. Finally, the entire verse is built upon striking Juxtaposition and Contrast, setting Jerusalem's glorious past ("full of people," "great among the nations," "princess among the provinces") against its desolate present ("solitary," "widow," "tributary"). This stark contrast highlights the immense scale of the loss and the depth of the tragedy, emphasizing the severity of divine judgment.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Lamentations 1:1 serves as a profound theological statement on the consequences of covenant disobedience. It illustrates God's justice in allowing His chosen city to experience the curses promised for unfaithfulness, as detailed in the Mosaic Law. The city's desolation is not random but a direct result of its persistent rebellion against the Lord. This verse underscores the biblical principle that while God is merciful, He is also righteous and holds His people accountable. It speaks to the fragility of human institutions and power when divorced from divine favor and obedience, reminding us that true security lies in fidelity to God and that His warnings are not idle threats but solemn promises of judgment for unrepentant sin.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Lamentations 1:1 compels us to confront the reality of loss and the profound sorrow that accompanies it, whether on a personal, communal, or national scale. It invites empathy for those who experience desolation and reminds us that grief is a natural and necessary response to significant suffering, even when that suffering is a consequence of sin. Beyond empathy, this verse serves as a sober warning against spiritual complacency and unfaithfulness. It challenges us to examine our own lives and communities, asking if we are living in alignment with God's will, lest we experience a form of spiritual "solitude" or "tributary" status where our joy, freedom, and spiritual vitality are diminished by our own choices. The city's downfall, though a judgment, also implicitly calls for repentance and a turning back to the source of true life and security, reminding us that even in the deepest sorrow, God's ultimate purpose is redemptive, and His grace is available to those who seek Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who is traditionally believed to have written the book of Lamentations?
Answer: The book of Lamentations is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. While the book itself does not explicitly name its author, internal evidence and ancient Jewish tradition strongly link Jeremiah to these laments. He was a contemporary witness to the destruction of Jerusalem, often referred to as the "weeping prophet," and his prophetic ministry warned Judah of the very judgments described in Lamentations, as seen in passages like Jeremiah 25:8-11.
What historical event is Lamentations 1:1 lamenting?
Answer: Lamentations 1:1 is lamenting the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire in 586/587 BC. This traumatic event involved the siege of the city, the burning of the Temple and royal palace, the breaking down of Jerusalem's walls, and the exile of a significant portion of the population to Babylon, as recorded in 2 Kings 25. The verse captures the immediate aftermath of this devastation, portraying the once-thriving capital as desolate and subjugated.
What does it mean for Jerusalem to become "tributary"?
Answer: For Jerusalem to become "tributary" (Hebrew: maç) means that it was forced to pay taxes, tribute, or provide forced labor to its conquerors, the Babylonians. This signifies a complete loss of its sovereignty, independence, and dignity. Previously, as a "princess among the provinces," Jerusalem would have received tribute from other nations; now, its status is reversed, symbolizing its utter humiliation and subjugation under foreign rule. This term underscores the profound shift from power to servitude, reflecting the severe consequences of divine judgment upon the city.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Lamentations 1:1 mourns the desolation of Jerusalem due to sin, it also implicitly points to the deeper human condition of separation from God, which ultimately finds its remedy in Christ. The "solitary" city, stripped of its glory and abandoned, foreshadows the ultimate "solitary" suffering of Jesus on the cross, where He bore the weight of humanity's sin and experienced profound abandonment by God for our sake (Matthew 27:46). Just as Jerusalem became a "widow," vulnerable and without a protector, so too humanity, alienated from God, was left without hope until Christ, the true "Lamb of God," offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice to atone for sin (John 1:29). His death transformed our "tributary" status, freeing us from the bondage of sin and death, making us heirs of God's kingdom rather than slaves to spiritual powers (Colossians 1:13-14). Through His resurrection, Christ rebuilds what sin has destroyed, offering a new spiritual Jerusalem, the Church, where God dwells with His people, a city no longer solitary but full of those redeemed by His grace (Revelation 21:2-3). He is the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to restore and redeem, turning lament into everlasting joy and establishing a kingdom that will never be destroyed.