WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:03.700 Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.740 taking this journey together to read the Bible 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.919 in a year. Today we wrap up the book of Lamentations 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:15.320 with chapters 3 through 5. Chapter 3 I am the 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:17.980 man who has seen affliction by the rod of his 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:21.100 wrath. He has led me and made me walk in darkness 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.059 and not in light. Surely he has turned his hand 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:26.579 against me time and time again throughout the 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:30.079 day. He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.100 my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:36.039 with bitterness and woe. He has set me in dark 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:39.679 places like the dead of long ago. He has hedged 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:43.000 me in so that I cannot get out. He has made my 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:46.479 chain heavy. Even when I cry and shout, he shuts 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:49.420 out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:53.039 stone. He has made my path crooked. He has been 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:56.320 to me a bear lying in wait, like a lion in ambush. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:59.340 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:02.439 He has made me desolate. He has bent his bow 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:06.200 and set me up as a target for the arrow. He has 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:08.640 caused the arrows of his quiver to pierce my 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.140 loins. I have become the ridicule of all my people, 00:01:12.340 --> 00:01:15.819 their taunting song all the day. He has filled 00:01:15.819 --> 00:01:18.540 me with bitterness. He has made me drink wormwood. 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:21.719 He has also broken my teeth with gravel. and 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.700 covered me with ashes. You have moved my soul 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:27.459 far from peace. I have forgotten prosperity. 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:31.200 And I said, My strength and my hope have perished 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.959 from the Lord. Remember my affliction and roaming, 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:37.359 the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.640 and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind, 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:44.500 therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:47.379 we are not consumed, because His compassions 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:51.069 fail not. They are new every morning. Great is 00:01:51.069 --> 00:01:53.590 your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says 00:01:53.590 --> 00:01:57.109 my soul, therefore I hope in him. The Lord is 00:01:57.109 --> 00:01:59.750 good to those who wait for him, to the soul who 00:01:59.750 --> 00:02:02.469 seeks him. It is good that one should hope and 00:02:02.469 --> 00:02:05.510 wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:07.890 is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. 00:02:08.310 --> 00:02:11.229 Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:14.210 has laid it on him. Let him put his mouth in 00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:17.439 the dust. There may yet be hope. Let him give 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.240 cheek to the one who strikes him, and be full 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.639 of reproach. For the Lord will not cast off forever. 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:27.259 Though he causes grief, yet he will show compassion, 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:30.460 according to the multitude of his mercies. For 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:32.840 he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:36.180 children of men. To crush under one's feet all 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:38.680 the prisoners of the earth, to turn aside the 00:02:38.680 --> 00:02:41.199 justice due a man before the face of the Most 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.580 High, or subvert a man in his cause, the Lord 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:48.479 does not approve. Who is he who speaks and it 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.080 comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:53.719 it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High, 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:57.500 that woe and well -being proceed? Why should 00:02:57.500 --> 00:03:00.039 a living man complain, a man for the punishment 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.560 of his sins? Let us search out and examine our 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:06.400 ways, and turn back to the Lord. Let us lift 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.500 our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:12.680 transgressed and rebelled. You have not pardoned. 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.300 You have covered yourself with anger and pursued 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:18.360 us. You have slain and not pitied. You have covered 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:20.699 yourself with a cloud that prayer should not 00:03:20.699 --> 00:03:23.360 pass through. You have made us an off -scouring 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:26.500 and refuse in the midst of the peoples. All our 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:29.759 enemies have opened their mouth against us. Fear 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:32.900 and a snare have come upon us, desolation and 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.840 destruction. My eyes overflow with rivers of 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.340 water for the destruction of the daughter of 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:41.719 my people. My eyes flow and do not cease without 00:03:41.719 --> 00:03:44.620 interruption. till the Lord from heaven looks 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:47.659 down and sees. My eyes bring suffering to my 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.199 soul because of all the daughters of my city. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:53.400 My enemies without cause hunted me down like 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.199 a bird. They silenced my life in the pit and 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.139 threw stones at me. The waters flowed over my 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:02.360 head. I said, I am cut off. I called on your 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:05.139 name, O Lord, from the lowest pit. You have heard 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:08.300 my voice. Do not hide your ear from my sighing, 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:11.699 from my cry for help. You drew near on the day 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:14.780 I called on you and said, Do not fear. O Lord, 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.720 you have pleaded the case for my soul. You have 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.060 redeemed my life. O Lord, you have seen how I 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:24.240 am wronged. Judge my case. You have seen all 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.779 their vengeance, all their schemes against me. 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:29.579 You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.540 schemes against me, the lips of my enemies, and 00:04:32.540 --> 00:04:35.519 their whispering against me all the day. Look 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:38.199 at their sitting down and their rising up. I 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.500 am their taunting song. Repay them, O Lord, according 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:44.180 to the work of their hands. Give them a veiled 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:47.160 heart. Your curse be upon them. In your anger 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:49.680 pursue and destroy them from under the heavens 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:55.379 of the Lord. Chapter 4 How the gold has become 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:59.060 dim. How changed the fine gold. The stones of 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:01.660 the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every 00:05:01.660 --> 00:05:04.850 street. The precious sons of Zion, valuable as 00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:07.689 fine gold, how they are regarded as clay pots, 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:10.689 the work of the hands of the potter. Even the 00:05:10.689 --> 00:05:13.269 jackals present their breasts to nurse their 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:15.529 young, but the daughter of my people is cruel, 00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:18.930 like ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue 00:05:18.930 --> 00:05:21.329 of the infant clings to the roof of its mouth 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:23.970 for thirst. The young children ask for bread, 00:05:24.149 --> 00:05:26.970 but no one breaks it for them. Those who ate 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.779 delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:32.800 who were brought up in scarlet embrace ash heaps. 00:05:32.860 --> 00:05:35.100 The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:37.639 of my people is greater than the punishment of 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:40.360 the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:44.000 with no hand to help her. Her Nazarites were 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.939 brighter than snow and whiter than milk. They 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:50.699 were more ruddy in body than rubies, like sapphire 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:53.300 in their appearance. Now their appearance is 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.399 blacker than soot. They go unrecognized in the 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.079 streets. Their skin clings to their bones. It 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:02.180 has become as dry as wood. Those slain by the 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.839 sword are better off than those who die of hunger. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.899 For these pine away, stricken for lack of the 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:10.399 fruits of the field. The hands of the compassionate 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.180 women have cooked their own children. They became 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:15.939 food for them in the destruction of the daughter 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:18.879 of my people. The Lord has fulfilled his fury. 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:22.060 He has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:24.980 a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations. 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:27.939 The kings of the earth and all inhabitants of 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:30.720 the world would not have believed that the adversary 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.300 and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem, 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:36.339 because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities 00:06:36.339 --> 00:06:39.180 of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.160 of the just. They wandered blind in the streets. 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.000 They have defiled themselves with blood, so that 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.160 no one would touch their garments. They cried 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.680 out to them, Go away, unclean, go away, go away. 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:54.920 Do not touch us. When they fled and wandered, 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:57.720 those among the nations said, They shall no longer 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.420 dwell there. The face of the Lord scattered them. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.319 He no longer regards them. The people do not 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:06.240 respect the priests, nor show favor to the elders. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.079 Still our eyes failed us, watching vainly for 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.120 our help. In our watching we watched for a nation 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.759 that could not save us. They tracked our steps, 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.959 so that we could not walk in our streets. Our 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:22.360 end was near. Our days were over, for our end 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.740 had come. Our pursuers were swifter than the 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.120 eagles of the heavens. They pursued us on the 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:30.639 mountains, and lay in wait for us in the wilderness. 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:33.779 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:37.019 Lord, who caught in their pits, of whom we said, 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.860 Under his shadow we shall live among the nations. 00:07:40.479 --> 00:07:43.160 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:46.019 who dwell in the land of Uz. The cup shall also 00:07:46.019 --> 00:07:48.399 pass over to you, and you shall become drunk 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.199 and make yourself naked. The punishment of your 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.439 iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion. 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:56.399 He will no longer send you into captivity. He 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:58.779 will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom. 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:04.240 He will uncover your sins. Chapter 5 Remember, 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:07.240 O Lord, what has come upon us. Look and behold 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.180 our reproach. Our inheritance has been turned 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:12.660 over to aliens, and our houses to foreigners. 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:15.920 We have become orphans and waifs. Our mothers 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:19.040 are like widows. We pay for the water we drink, 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:22.139 and our wood comes at a price. They pursue at 00:08:22.139 --> 00:08:25.139 our heels. We labor and have no rest. We have 00:08:25.139 --> 00:08:27.720 given our hand to the Egyptians and the Assyrians 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:31.040 to be satisfied with bread. Our fathers sinned 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.980 and are no more. But we bear their iniquities. 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:37.320 Servants rule over us. There is none to deliver 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:40.600 us from their hand. We get our bread at the risk 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:43.019 of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness. 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.679 Our skin is hot as an oven because of the fever 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.720 of famine. They ravaged the women in Zion, the 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.299 maidens in the cities of Judah. Princes were 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:55.440 hung up by their hands and elders were not respected. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.519 Young men ground at the millstones. Boys staggered 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.740 under loads of wood. The elders have ceased gathering 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:05.480 at the gate and the young men from their music. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.779 The joy of our heart has ceased, our dance has 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:11.840 turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:15.159 our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned. Because 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:17.580 of this our heart is faint. Because of these 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:20.580 things our eyes grow dim. Because of Mount Zion, 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:23.820 which is desolate, with foxes walking about on 00:09:23.820 --> 00:09:27.120 it. You, O Lord, remain forever, your throne 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.120 from generation to generation. Why do you forget 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.980 us forever and forsake us for so long a time? 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:36.470 Turn us back to you, O Lord, and we will be restored. 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:40.409 Renew our days as of old, unless you have utterly 00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:49.409 rejected us and are very angry with us. I hope 00:09:49.409 --> 00:09:51.250 you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, 00:09:51.389 --> 00:09:53.330 and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow 00:09:53.330 --> 00:09:55.850 to continue on our journey. God bless you and 00:09:55.850 --> 00:09:56.529 have a great day.