It is Finished

Well, good morning everyone. We are back after four odd months of lockdown and exile from church.

It's wonderful to be back in church with you. My mind this week went to John Calvin, who in 1538,

on Easter Day, in fact, on 1538, was exiled from Geneva, removed from the pulpit, kicked out of

the town, by the council of the town. And after, I think, a number of years of preaching there,

Calvin's ministry was such that he got up every Sunday, in fact, not just Sunday, but every day

of the week, in fact, and preached through books of the Bible, verse after verse after verse from

the original Greek and Hebrew. He was so, it didn't matter what calendar it was, didn't matter whether

it was Easter Day or, you know, whatever he was up to next, he just preached that passage and just

kept plowing through the text. And so when he was banished on Easter Day, 1538, it was just over

three years later, he was called back to Geneva. He ascended into the pulpit for the first time

and he picked up the very next verse from three years before. Such was his confidence in the Word

of God and the ministry of the Word. Well, after four months of exile, we got Lamentations 4.

And I frankly, as we gather on a day like today, it'd be good if we came up with a somewhat more of a

jovial, uplifting passage, if you like, than Lamentations 4. Lamentations is the darkest book

in the Bible and Lamentations 4 is the darkest chapter of the darkest book of the Bible.

So let's pray and launch in. Father God, this is your Word. It reveals sin. It reveals hope

in the gospel of the Lord Jesus. And so as we gather in all the joy of gathering as your people this day,

help us not to miss this moment. Help us not to bypass this text and what it reveals

about the idols of our hearts. Just we pray, have mercy on us. Amen.

Amen. Recently for our family movie night, we watched the movie, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

It's a film based on a memoir of the same name. It retells the story of 13-year-old William,

who grew up as a part of a village of farmers in Malawi. Life is very tough. Life is very basic for them.

There's no running water, no electricity. If you could afford it, your transport was a bicycle

and you had one for the family. William briefly goes to school, but his parents, like so many others,

can't afford the education fees. He's a bright kid. He has a keen interest in electronics,

scavenging through rubbish heaps to find bits and pieces to fix people's radios and other bits and

pieces for them. He secretly gets access to the school library after being removed from the school.

He reads a book about wind turbines and the production of electricity.

And in the end of all of that, scavenging through junk heaps, he builds a windmill,

junk, junk, which produces enough power to run a pump to draw water out of a well and water crops.

This in the 2000s, around the 2000s, I forget exactly what the date was, 2001, 2002,

where there was a devastating drought in Malawi.

And the effect of his work saved a village from starvation as a 13-year-old.

This country is devastated by drought. I think probably the most harrowing part of the whole story

is the way that this community just disintegrates during the slow death of starvation and poverty.

Family relationships break down. Law and order disintegrate as people steal from even women and babies

in order to survive.

There is a real sense of hopelessness as people slowly starve to death.

It's a true story.

And as we turn to Lamentations 4, we see a similar scenario of devastation and starvation and the upheaval of a society.

So get your Bibles, open them up for me.

Be grateful if you just need to see this text this morning.

Lamentations 4 casts, if you like, up a variety of mental pictures

that depict the suffering of the final siege of Jerusalem and beyond.

It also lays out for us some of the reasons why the judgment was imposed on Israel.

And it ends with just this whisper.

Just a hint of hope at the end.

And they're the three steps that I'll be taking us through today.

If you've got the St. Paul's app open, the first one is the reversal of fortunes.

Lamentations is a response to the events recorded in 2 Kings 24 and 25.

There's also a shorter version of it in 2 Chronicles 36.

The scene is the fall of Jerusalem.

The global bully at that time was Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.

The Babylonian army lay siege to Jerusalem from 588 BC to 587 BC.

About 18 months, they surrounded the city and they slowly, slowly choked the city.

And terrible calamities befell the citizens of Jerusalem, as we see in Lamentations 4.

Some members attempted to escape, run for their lives, and they were cut down in the process.

This is a vivid description of what takes place in this city.

Twice at the beginning of chapter 4, the poet cries out,

Alas!

The NIV translated as how.

It's not quite as desperate as, Alas!

The situation is unrelieved agony.

Where chapter 2 describes the leveling of the physical structures of Jerusalem,

chapter 4 describes the leveling of the people.

Verses 1 and 2 set it up for us.

Have a look for us with me.

How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull.

The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner.

How the precious children of Zion, once worth their weight in gold,

are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands.

Now Psalm 19 tells us that nothing is more precious than gold,

except the word of God.

And the temple of Jerusalem was covered in gold and jewels and stone,

you know, precious jewels.

And now the gold, it says here, has lost its shine.

And the jewels are scattered like pebbles on the streets.

But the primary significance of this description is it's a metaphor

for the people of God themselves.

The precious children of Zion.

As it says in verse 2,

God's precious people are trodden underfoot like broken pottery.

They have become worthless, cast out into the street.

Though once they were worth their weight in gold,

they are now thrown out like worthless pots of clay,

fragile, broken, despised.

So the main message, if you look through,

particularly the first 12 verses or so,

is the, if you like, the devastating reversal of fortunes

at all levels of society.

What is precious is now treated as worthless.

Children who should be nurtured are being starved.

The rich are reduced to the rubbish heap.

Vivid colours are turned black.

Good health has now shrunk and shriveled.

Mothers who should be feeding their children are feeding on them.

Holy men have become dirty and defiled.

The royal protector of life itself is himself trapped in a pit.

Verse 10 is, if you like, the vivid and disturbing image

which takes us, with their own hands,

compassionate women have cooked their own children

who became their food when their people were destroyed,

when my people were destroyed.

Compassionate women.

The author here makes it very clear.

These are not immoral.

These are compassionate women.

Compassionate mothers are now feeding on their own children.

Frankly, I cannot get my mind around that,

let alone the emotions of what it means to have that level of despair

of life itself.

And yet all this points metaphorically to a greater level of despair

that will befall upon all of humanity.

What this passage is telling us is that the whole community from top to bottom

has been turned upside down and shaken out and left shattered

and scattered like trash littering the streets.

It is pure devastation.

I did say this is the darkest chapter of the darkest book of the Bible.

The tragic irony of all of this reversal of fortunes is the end of verse 2

where they are described as the work of the potter's hands.

In the rest of the Bible,

that phrase is a way of describing Israel itself.

As God did for the very first human being in Genesis 2,

so he has done for Israel.

He has fashioned them with the loving care of a potter shaping the clay

in his own image, his precious possession.

It's a way of describing throughout the rest of the Bible

the special covenant relationship

when Israel needed to appeal to God for help

as their merciful father

when they appealed upon his compassion.

For instance, Isaiah 64 verse 8,

Isaiah 64:8

Yet you, Lord, are our father.

We are the clay.

You are the potter.

We are the work of your hand.

Lord, so do not be angry with us.

Beyond measure.

Lord, do not remember our sins forever.

Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are your people.

The metaphor is normally used to convey the preciousness

of Israel in God's hands.

The tragedy of something so precious being squandered

as though worthless is an echo of Jeremiah's warning

in Jeremiah chapter 2.

Jeremiah 2 · chapter mention

In Jeremiah 2, he lists the amazing privileges

that Israel had enjoyed in their relationship with God.

Sacrificial love, redemption from slavery,

protection in the wilderness,

the gift of the promised land,

a rich inheritance.

Instead, as Jeremiah 2.5 tells us,

they followed worthless idols

and they became worthless themselves.

Why are they now broken pots?

Because of idolatry.

There is a sober warning here

for God's people in any generation.

When we fail to hold on to the preciousness

of what we have in God's word

and what we are in Jesus Christ

and fail to live in accordance with that word

and that status,

then we are in danger of becoming worthless to God.

No matter what our religious pretense is,

no matter what we say with our mouth,

we are in danger of becoming worthless to God,

worthless to His world

and worthless in His mission.

So make no mistake,

Lamentations does give us a language

to express our sorrows and our struggles in life.

It does do that for us.

But it does so much more

than give us language for sorrow.

fundamentally more

than language of sorrow.

It helps us to see the world

and it helps us to see ourselves

through very different lenses.

Lament helps us uncover

the idolatry of our hearts.

Lament mourns the effects

of suffering on a society,

but not simply because of the losses

that we've experienced.

It's a memorial

to the futility

of trusting in anything

but God.

That's lament.

So friends,

think of your life

as a glass of water

with the sediment

at the bottom.

I'm sorry,

I actually put the stuff

in there too late this morning.

I should have put it in last night.

It would have looked like

pure water by then.

Hopefully.

But

forget that.

Imagine it's a,

your life is like

a glass of pure water.

Sediment at the bottom.

Or let me just put it like this,

a good bottle of wine.

If the glass remains stable

and you don't shake the bottle,

the sediment stays at the bottom.

The sediment is not activated.

But bump the glass,

shake it up,

shake the bottle up,

and all of a sudden,

what used to be pure

realizes actually

it wasn't pure

in the first place.

suffering bumps

the glass of our lives.

It stirs up

the sediments

we forgot,

the ones that we tried

to hide,

the fear,

the pride,

the greed,

self-sufficiency,

the things that are lying

dormant,

the idols of the heart,

the pursuit of comfort,

the pursuit of security.

Whatever it is,

it bumps the sediment,

it stirs it up,

it brings it to the surface.

That's what suffering does.

That's what hardship does.

That's what lockdowns do.

That's what GFCs do.

That's what the death

of a loved one does.

That's what droughts do

to farmers.

It bumps the glass

of our lives

and shakes it up

and helps me to see

where is my trust?

What are the idols

in my heart?

What are the idols

in my heart?

In the Bible,

an idol

is simply an object

of trust

that takes the emotional

and practical place

of God in our lives.

Timothy Keller

in his book

Counterfeit Gods

provides a great definition

of idolatry.

He says,

It's not sorrow,

it's despair.

As you think about loss

in your life

or as you consider

a season

when tears and sadness

were a daily experience,

what did you learn

about yourself?

What lesson did you discover

as you stood

over the rubble

of your life

in that moment?

What idols

were surfacing

in your heart

at that moment?

What repentance

was needed

in that moment?

These moments

of sediment

coming to the surface

are a gift

from God

to see

what idols

are in the heart.

And perhaps

you are in that season

of sorrow right now

and my heart bleeds

for you if you are.

Maybe your glass

has been bumped

right now.

What you need

to know

in amongst

everything else

is that there

is an important

lesson to learn.

I want to encourage

you to allow

your grief

to show you

what is surfacing

in your heart.

Let God

uncover it

layer by layer

the things

which you perhaps

place too much

trust in.

In the same way

that pain

can be a platform

for worship,

it can also

be a very

significant

if not

the most

significant

conduit

for spiritual

growth and

repentance.

Lament

mourns

the idols

upon which

we have

placed

too much

hope.

And so

in this way

lament

not only

expresses

sorrow

over loss,

it also

laments

misplaced

trust.

trust.

And so

here we

are,

Jerusalem

is

destroyed,

the society

is destitute

because of

idolatry,

their misplaced

trust led

them into

ruin and

it is a

comprehensible

ruin.

one reason

for the

judgment

falling

upon

Jerusalem

in

Israel

is

given

to us

in

verse

13.

It's

failed

leadership.

It says

it happened

because of

the sins

of her

prophets

and the

iniquities

of her

priests

who shed

within her

the blood

of the

righteous.

Now it's

clear when

you look at

the book

of Jeremiah

from the

prophet of

Jeremiah who

also wrote

Lamentations

that there

is a

breakdown

in social

morality

throughout the

whole community

of God's

people.

But

the religious

leaders

should have

been doing

the most

to preserve

the nation

in covenantal

faithfulness.

Instead

we are

told here

that they

led the

nation

in corruption

and idolatry.

Again

priests

and the

prophets

the leaders

of God's

people

we see

reversal

of fortunes.

Verse 14

those who

were meant

to be

the eyes

of God

for the

nation

are groping

blindly

through the

streets.

Again

verse 14

those who

are meant

to be

holy

and pure

living

as examples

of covenant

faithfulness

are defiled

filthy

black.

Verse 15

those who

used to

decide the

fate of

the lepers

are now

treated as

lepers

themselves.

Verse 16

those who

lived in

God's

presence

are finding

no respect

on the

earth.

This

is

the

consequence

for 40

years

the prophet

Jeremiah

pleaded

pleaded

with them

to

away

from their

wickedness

to lead

God's

people

in covenant

faithfulness

to the

word of

God.

For 40

years

they

spurned

repentance

and the

grace

that was

they

just

preaching

preaching

so far

from stopping

the national

decline

they

helped

it

they

hastened

it

all that

was left

for them

was the

bleakness

of judgment

by God

and society

itself.

They were

the most

despised

in Jerusalem

on this

day.

There is

something very

significant

here about

the importance

of leadership

and the

importance of

leadership of

our churches

and the

importance of

leadership of

this church.

The leaders

in Jeremiah's

time were

not condemned

for their

inexperience

not condemned

for their

inefficiency

not condemned

for their

personalities

not condemned

for their

ineptitude

they weren't

judged

because their

sermons

were too

long

or because

they weren't

strategic

enough

or because

they didn't

put on the

programs that

the people

wanted

or that

their

personal

care

they weren't

the personal

caregivers

and the

counselors

for everyone

they would

judge

because their

hearts went

after the

wrong gods

sin

was what

characterized

them

their hearts

were bad

and the people

became bad

they starved

the people

of the word

of God

and now

the people

are starving

for food

itself

one thing

led to

another

friends it

is so easy

for Christians

to blame

society

to blame

governments

to blame

social media

for the

decline of

the church

and the

Christian faith

in this

country

and throughout

the west

maybe instead

we should look

to the preachers

and the pastors

for the

moral decline

in our

country

too often

and for

too long

we have

stood in

pulpits

and we have

compromised

the gospel

we have

cared for

ourselves

more than

our flocks

we have

cared for

our retirement

packages

more than

our sermons

our own

peace

rather than

the good

of the

church

or the

advancement

of God

and his

mission

without

a vital

relationship

with Christ

and communing

with Christ

how can we

expect

the members

of our

church

to be any

different

apathy

breeds

apathy

sin

breeds

sin

lack

of

discipleship

breeds

lack

of

discipleship

if your

pastors

and leaders

are not

seeing much

growth in

faith in

Jesus

Christ

and communing

with God

in his

word

how on

earth

will you

ever do

it

believe it

or not

for

especially

for those

of us

in the

individualistic

independent

west

with that

mindset

believe it

or not

you

are

dependent

upon your

pastors

and your

leaders

you may

have access

to the

word of

God

but our

job is a

prophetic

access to

the word

of God

you are

dependent

upon us

and where

we go

so you

go

God's

judgment

will fall

hard on

pastors who

preach

falsehood

who give

permission

for sin

to reign

in the

church

who are

more caught

up in their

social media

profiles and

the greatness

of God

who are more

interested in

the approval

of people

than the

approval of

God

who submit

to the

worldview

and ethics

of society

rather than

submit to

the word

of God

when we

skew the

scriptures to

make it fit

with our

idols

our opinions

our passions

our desires

we kill

God's

sheep

and God

will not

stand for

it

we might

be the

shepherds

but he

is the

chief

shepherd

and he

will fire

his

pastors

and so

may God

forgive me

for in

any ways

in which I

have been

guilty of

these things

and may

he deliver

you

from following

me into

any way

of unrighteousness

and apathy

but there's

one more

leader here

in this

text

that has

failed

it's not

just the

priests

and the

prophets

it's also

the king

it's

verse 20

stark

the

Lord's

anointed

our

very

life

breath

was caught

in their

traps

we thought

that under

his shadow

we would

live

among the

nations

this is

referring here

to king

Zedekiah

the lord's

anointed

direct line

from great

king

David

the one

to lead

God's

people

with the

prophets

and the

priests

in covenant

faithfulness

Zedekiah

was meant

to rule

the nation

with loving

mercy

instead

Zedekiah

had

established

unholy

alliances

with

godless

nations

like

Egypt

hoping

that

Egypt

would

come

to

their

rescue

in this

moment

and they

look

for the

nations

to come

and they

don't

come

the

idolatry

of

Zedekiah

the

hope

of

Zedekiah

was in

greater

nations

than

Babylon

and in

this

moment

they

were

gone

false

hope

he

was a

weak

and a

treacherous

king

who

condoned

the

religious

corruption

and the

moral

degradation

of

Israel

he

ignored

the

advice

of

God's

prophet

Jeremiah

again

and again

and again

and again

he was

meant to be

the hope

of Israel

the very

life breath

in verse

20

instead

of bringing

life

to the

city

he ran

for his

life

and he

is caught

he's

blinded

he's

imprisoned

and all

of his

sons

are killed

in front

of him

see the

significance

of that

the line

of David

is ended

and so

verse 20

expresses the

utter

despair

of Israel

prophet

priest

king

they've

all

failed

they've

all

failed

all

three

branches

of their

leadership

system

have

failed

God

gave

his

people

prophet

priests

and kings

to lead

them

both

spiritually

and politically

they all

failed

and so

is there

any hope

is there

any hope

and if you

read this

text you go

there is no

hope for

Israel

it's all

done

it's

dusted

it's

gone

except

in the

very

last

verse

there is

this

whisper

of hope

this

glimmer

of hope

what we

see here

is a

surprising

leadership

and a

great

reversal

I always

thought chapter

three was the

most hopeful

bit of

lamentations

but this is

actually the

most hopeful

bit

your punishment

will end

daughter

Zion

the story

does not

end in

this moment

for Israel

there is

another

reversal

to come

in mocking

derision

the poet

here

tells

nearby

pagans

Edom

read the

book of

Obadiah

and you

see what

Edom did

in this

moment

to Jerusalem

as people

tried to

flee the

city

the people

of Edom

were cutting

them down

in the

crossroads

killing

them by

the sword

as they

tried to

get out

of there

and coming

in the

back door

and trying

to loot

what they

could

out of

Jerusalem

and Israel

at the

same time

these are

their

half

brothers

and

sisters

and the

poet

says here

you

Edom

successful

at the

moment

enjoy

it

delight

in it

but the

reversal is

coming for

you

your turn

will come

God's

justice

will be

imposed

on them

as well

as on

Israel

and one

day

God's

people

though

afflicted

now

will put

behind

them

every

single

trace

of the

exile

and you

know what's

amazing

here

what's

amazing

is it's

the Lord's

anointed

is the

one who

will give

them rest

who will

restore

everything

the one

who at

the moment

has been

imprisoned

blinded

put into

slavery

captured

is the

one who

will bring

them rest

and healing

and hope

and restoration

in Luke

4

Jesus

turns up

to the

synagogue

in Nazareth

he grabs

the portion

of the

scroll of

Isaiah

and he

reads this

the spirit

of the

Lord is

on me

because he

has anointed

me

anointed

me to

proclaim

good news

to the

poor

he has

sent me

to proclaim

freedom

for the

prisoners

recovery

of sight

to the

blind

set the

oppressed

free

to proclaim

the year

of the

Lord's

favour

you see

ultimately

what Jeremiah

was looking

for here

was the

kind of

leadership

that could

only be

found in

Jesus

Christ

he is

the prophet

the priest

and the

king

Jesus

Christ

is the

true

prophet

he not

only speaks

the word

of God

but he

is the

word

of God

that is

he reveals

to us

the word

of the

will

of God

the purpose

of God

the salvation

of God

he's not

only the

holy priest

who is

blameless

before God

and man

but able

and therefore

able to

mediate

between God

and man

he is

himself

the perfect

sacrifice

he does

not

he is

the perfect

sacrifice

in that

he satisfies

the divine

justice

of God

for our

sin

he went

to the

cross

he died

under

the wrath

the fierce

wrath

of God

and in

so doing

what he

does

is he

turns

the anger

of God

away

from us

2 Corinthians

tells us

he who

was rich

beyond

imagination

became

poor

in the

dust

destitute

so that

we

who are

in the

dust

and destitute

because of

our

sinfulness

because of

our

idolatry

we are

deserving

of God's

judgment

so that

we

might become

spiritually

rich

what a

reversal

we get

a glimpse

of this

in the

very

first

Hebrew

word

in the

last

verse

of

Lamentations

4

it is

a word

that is

best

translated

it

is

finished

it

is

your

exile

is

over

it

is

finished

the

last

thing

that

Jesus

breathes

the

last

thing

he

says

is

he

breathes

his

last

on

the

cross

in

John

19

30

it

is

finished

one of

the

wonderful

and great

paradoxes

of history

is that

here is

the

helpless

powerless

broken

devastated

Jesus

dying

on the

cross

and his

very last

words

are

I did

it

I've

triumphed

I've

accomplished

it

and what

he accomplished

is described

for us a

little later

in the

New

Testament

1

Peter

3

18

Christ

suffered

once for

sins

the

righteous

for the

unrighteous

to bring

you to

God

it's a

surprising

moment of

leadership

by the

flawless

prophet

the

flawless

priest

the

flawless

king

that

produces

the

great

reversal

there

is an

infinite

chasm

between

God

and us

and Jesus

has done

everything

that's

required

he has

paid

every

debt

we owe

he has

dealt

with

every

bit of

shame

every

bit of

guilt

every

bit

of

sin

he has

accomplished

it all

there is

nothing

more

that we

must do

to bridge

the gap

between

us

and God

Jesus

last

word

was

I've

done

everything

necessary

to bring

you to

salvation

I've

thirsted

so that

you might

be satisfied

I've been

trapped

so that

you can

be set

free

I've

been

emptied

that

you

might

be

filled

I've

been

covered

with

your

dust

and

filth

so

that

you

might

be

pure

I've

been

killed

and

devastated

and

destroyed

that

you

might

live

forever

seen

could

be

devastated

tomorrow

by

40

millimetres

of

rain

and

they

can't

even

get

the

headers

in

to

get

it

off

just

like

that

the

hope

the

things

that we

look

to

will

abandon

us

on

the

day

of

despair

allow

the

hard

times

to

show

you

where

your

heart

is

where

your

trust

is

but

also

that's

the

first

thing

second

thing

we

must

as

the

people

of

God

we

must

lament

the

decline

of

this

church

in

this

country

the

decline

of

the

morality

and

the

rejection

of

the

word

of

God

in

our

society

and

we

must

take

responsibility

for

it

we

must

lament

the

biblical

illiteracy

in the

church

and in

society

we

must

lament

it

we're

responsible

for

it

and

Edom

might

be

smiling

right

now

but

there

is

a

great

and

eternal

tragedy

around

the

corner

and

what

part

have

we

played

in

that

anyone

who

does

not

take

refuge

in

God's

anointed

will

face

the

judgment

of

God

and

they

will

do

so

alone

and

that

is

a

prospect

more

terrible

than

slow

death

by

starvation

it

will

never

end

it

will

never

end

you

will

never

reach

the

satisfaction

of

death

the

hope

of

death

and

so

I

want

to

ask

you

church

in

all

seriousness

if

we

are

not

lamenting

this

is

the

question

I

want

to

leave

you

with

if

we

if

you

are

not

lamenting

the

degradation

in

church

and

in

society

if

it

does

not

break

your

heart

and

the

judgment

of

God

that

is

coming

what

does

it

say

about

the

vitality

of

your

relationship

with

Christ

and

to

have

known

in

gin

so

you

well