Lamentations 3:39-5:22; James 3:1-18

Thought from Today’s Old Testament Passage: Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. — Lamentations 3:57. How different are our expectations from our fears! This man of God had said, "When I cry and shout He shutteth out my prayer." He had said again, "Thou has covered Thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through." He had added even to that, "Surely against me is He turned." But now he corrects his misapprehensions. Neither was prayer shut out, nor had God turned against him; for he joyfully confesses, "Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, "Fear not." As much as to say, —"Not only didst Thou hear me, but Thou didst come to me; not only didst Thou hear me speak, but Thou didst speak Thyself, and I heard Thee say, —Fear not. Not only was Thou not turned against me as an enemy, but Thou didst prove Thyself my friend by being my loving and tender comforter." Brethren, if our experiences have so far exceeded our expectations and belied our doubts, let us take care that we record them. Do not let us suffer our lamentations to be written in a book, and our thanksgivings to be spoken to the wind. Write not your complaints in marble and your praises upon the sand. Let the record of mercy received be carefully made, accurately measured, distinctly worded, correctly dated, and so preserved that in years to come you may turn for your encouragement to it. Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of the Bible, Vol. 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1962), p. 196.