Chapters 1, 2 and 3 each closed with brief prayers:
1:20-22, A prayer for vengeance on the perpetrators of violence against Judah.
2:20-22, A prayer of acknowledgment that the national bereavement is due to the LORD's anger.
3:55-66, A prayer, to the One who judges righteously,
offering thanksgiving for personal redemption (v.55-58),
and requesting a fitting reward for those who have wronged His righteous servant (v.59-66).
Chapter 4 reviews the actions of the LORD in righteous judgment against His people.
Because of Judah's sins, He has exalted other nations over them, and turned their blessings into cursings. Yet, someday, He will reverse the situation: Jerusalem's enemies will be judged without remedy, the cause of Jerusalem's punishment will be removed, and the promises of her restoration will be fulfilled.
In Chapter 4, Israel observes that all of these things are the LORD's doing... both their judgment and their restoration come from Him. Yet, the chapter closes without a prayer.
Ch. 5 may be regarded as the closing prayer for the previous chapter,
and as the response of the believing remnant to the LORD's work and Word concerning the nation. This chapter breaks the pattern of the previous four, in that it is not acrostic, and it is not set to the qinah {dirge} rhythm. Rather, it is a free form prayer.
The first biblical occurrence of this word is of the LORD remembering those who were saved through judgment (Gen 8:1). It is frequently used of His faithfulness to keep His covenants (eg., Gen 9:15; Ex 2:24). Moses prayed that the LORD would remember His unconditional covenant with the patriarchs, as he pled for his rebellious people (Ex 32:13).
Likewise, here, the prayer of Israel's believing remnant rests upon the promises of God, which cannot fail.
The LORD had clearly delineated how He would deal with the nation (in Leviticus ch.26, Deuteronomy ch.28, and other passages). He would bless them, if they walked in His ways (Lev 26:3-f). However, if they walked contrary to Him, He would punish them (Lev 26:21-f). If they persisted in walking contrary to Him, He would increase the punishments, until they were removed from the land (Lev 26:23-33). These promises of judgment, having been fulfilled, were the cause of Jeremiah's Lamentations.
As surely as the LORD fulfilled His promises of judgment, He will be faithful to His promises to regather and restore the nation, when they turn to Him in repentance (eg., Lev 26:40-42; Deu 4:27-31; 30:1-6).
Consider, and behold our reproach -
The believing remnant calls the LORD's attention to the depth of their humiliation.
The thought is: 'We have been humbled. We accept our punishment as deserved (Lev 26:41).'
(The punishments, which You promised, have come upon us.)
we have given the hand to {ie., pledged ourselves to serve} Egypt and Assyria... for food.-
our fathers have sinned... we have borne their iniquities (cp. Lev 26:39b)-
Here, the remnant is not blaming the previous generations for their plight (cp. v.16b), but acknowledging that the foolishness of their predecessors, in entering into ungodly alliances, has contributed to the fall of the nation.
servants rule over us. (Foreigners, who previously served us, now have the upper hand. cp. Deu 28:43)
we gathered our bread with peril... our skin was black... because of... famine. Lev 26:29-31
Babylon's siege of Jerusalem had prevented the harvest of crops in fields beyond the city walls, and brought intense famine to those within. (Verses 2-10 recall the terrors of the siege. Verses 11-18 rehearse the terrors of the captivity, which followed the fall of the city.)
The specific sufferings of groups within the nation (v.11-13)-
Yet, they are powerless to reverse the damage and restore that which sin has lost.
Our heart is faint, our eyes are dim...-
The heart of Jeremiah (which reflected that of the LORD) is now reflected in the remnant (cp. Lam 1:13; Jer 8:18). They, too, are blinded by their tears, for the effects of sin (cp. Lam 2:11; Psa 69:3)... their sin, for which the LORD justly took His Kingdom from them... their sin, which brought dishonor upon His Name and the place of His Name...
...because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate... cp. Jer 17:3; Mic 3:12
Having confessed their sin and owned their judgment, they appeal to the God of the Covenant for restoration (Lev 26:40-42).
Thou, O LORD, remainest... (v.19) -
Though the earthly city which He chose for the glory of His Name lies desolate, the LORD continues {ie., He has not been displaced}, His Sovereignty continues uninterrupted (cp. Psa 9:7; 90:2).
There is no other to whom a desolate sinner might appeal for salvation (cp. Isa 45:21,22; Acts 4:12). It is He who will restore Israel (Psa 102:12,13).
Note that the One identified in Psalm 102 is the Messiah (cp. Psa 102:25-27 with Heb 1:8-12). In that future day, Israel will recognize and turn to Him (cp. Zech 12:10; 1Tim 6:14-16).
Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever...? (v.20) -
Here, the remnant seeks Him with their whole heart (Jer 29:13).
They plead in desperation, for apart from Him, there is no remedy for their condition (cp. Psa 13:1; 77:7-10). Compare the prayer of the remnant, previewed prophetically by Jeremiah in Jer 14:19-22.
Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned... (v.21) -
The remnant has come to realize that they cannot turn their own hearts to God, for their hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). Salvation, from their sinful condition, and restoration, to the place of blessing, can come only when the LORD does His transforming work within them (cp. Psa 80:3,7,19; Jer 31:18; 32:39,40).
But thou hast utterly rejected us; Thou art very wroth against us. (v.22) -
As Jeremiah closes the prayer, it is with the sad recognition that God's wrath against the nation would not soon be lifted (cp. Jer 15:1-5).
This verse seems almost too heavy as a final thought. When the Rabbis conclude the public reading of certain books (eg., Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Malachi, and Lamentations), they repeat the next to the last verse, making it the last, in order to close with a word of comfort. [GWms]
In the distant future (from Jeremiah's time), at the close of the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jer 30:7), when the Messiah returns, the day will come when the LORD will accomplish the turning of their hearts, for which the remnant longs in v.21. cp. Eze 36:24-28; Jer 31:31-34; Zech 12:10; 13:1; Rom 11:25-27