“Deal bountifully with thy servant, That I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: Hide not thy commandments from me. My soul breaketh for the longing That it hath unto thy judgments at all times. Thou hast rebuked the proud That are cursed, which do err from thy commandments. Remove from me reproach and contempt: For I have kept thy testimonies. Princes also did sit and speak against me: But thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are My delight and my counsellors.”
Psalm 119:17-24 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.119.17-24.KJV
Seeking Hope in the Midst of Sorrow
Lamentations is a book of sorrow, written in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction. The city lay in ruins. Grief covered the people like dust. But right in the middle of this lament, something remarkable happens: a word of hope.
"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him."
Lamentations 3:25 NIV
Jeremiah, who scholars believe is the likely author of Lamentations, writes this verse not because everything was good, but because he knew God is good, even when life is not. This kind of hope is a deliberate choice to seek God’s presence when things seem dark. It’s trusting in His character when circumstances don’t make sense.
The verse highlights two actions: hoping and seeking. Hope in God fixes our eyes forward, on what He will do. Seeking Him draws us inward into relationship with the God who is already near.
Verse 26 continues the theme: “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” The Hebrew word for ...