Lamentations 4:1-16: a reflection

1How the gold has become dim! The most pure gold has changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out at the head of every street. 2The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! 3Even the jackals offer their breast. They nurse their young ones. But the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4The tongue of the nursing child clings to the roof of his mouth for thirst. The young children ask for bread, and no one breaks it for them. 5Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets. Those who were brought up in purple embrace dunghills. 6For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown as in a moment. No hands were laid on her. 7Her nobles were purer than snow. They were whiter than milk. They were more ruddy in body than rubies. Their polishing was like sapphire. 8Their appearance is blacker than a coal. They are not known in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones. It is withered. It has become like wood. 9Those who are killed with the sword are better than those who are killed with hunger; for these pine away, stricken through, for lack of the fruits of the field. 10The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children. They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11The LORD has accomplished his wrath. He has poured out his fierce anger. He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devoured its foundations. 12The kings of the earth didn’t believe, neither did all the inhabitants of the world, that the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem. 13It is because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the middle of her. 14They wander as blind men in the streets. They are polluted with blood, So that men can’t touch their garments. 15“Go away!” they cried to them. “Unclean! Go away! Go away! Don’t touch! When they fled away and wandered, men said among the nations, “They can’t live here any more.” 16The LORD’s anger has scattered them. He will not pay attention to them any more. They didn’t respect the persons of the priests. They didn’t favor the elders.

Amid a lament over Jerusalem's ruin, the opening cry mourns how what was once precious has been debased: how the gold has grown dim, and the precious sons of Zion are esteemed as common clay. How the gold has become dim, the lament begins; the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the potter's hands. What had been precious, gold, the sons of Zion, treasured and honored, had come to be debased, dimmed, esteemed as common clay. The lament grieves this loss: how what was precious has been ruined and brought low. It is a cry over the debasing of what was once treasured. This shows grief over how what is precious can be lost or debased. Grieve and guard what is precious, for it can be lost or debased. What was once treasured can grow dim and be brought low. Do not take for granted what is precious, lest it be ruined. Guard the precious things before they are debased.

Notice the grief at the heart of this lament: how the gold has grown dim. The lament mourns a debasing, a ruin, of what had once been precious. The gold, once bright, has grown dim; the sons of Zion, once treasured and honored like fine gold, are now esteemed as common clay pots. What had been precious had been brought low, debased, its glory dimmed. The lament grieves this deeply: the loss and debasing of what was once treasured. This holds a sobering reflection, even apart from the fuller and darker story. Precious things, things of real worth and glory, can be lost, debased, brought low. What is bright can grow dim; what is treasured can come to be esteemed as common; what is precious can be ruined. This can happen to many things of worth: to a people, a community, a life, a devotion, a good that was once bright and is now dimmed. And such loss is a fitting cause for grief. But there is also, in this, a call to value and guard what is precious while we have it, not taking it for granted, not letting it grow dim through neglect or wrong, but treasuring and guarding it, lest it be lost or debased. We do well to grieve rightly over the debasing of precious things, and to value and guard what is precious before it grows dim. Grieve rightly over the debasing of what was precious, and guard what is precious still. What is bright can grow dim; do not take precious things for granted. Value and guard what is precious, lest it be lost or debased. Treasure the good you have been given before it grows dim.

That is worth taking to heart, for what is precious can be lost or debased, and we do well to grieve such loss rightly and to guard what is precious, as the lament mourned the gold grown dim. We can take precious things for granted, letting them grow dim through neglect; but the lament grieves how the gold has grown dim and the precious esteemed as common. Guard what is precious. Do not take for granted the precious things you have been given; value and guard them, lest they grow dim and be debased, and grieve rightly when what was precious is lost. Grieve rightly over the debasing of what was precious, and value and guard what is precious still before it grows dim, as amid a lament over Jerusalem's ruin the opening cry mourns how what was once precious has been debased, how the gold has grown dim and the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, are esteemed as common clay; for what had been precious, treasured and honored, had come to be debased and dimmed and esteemed as common, and the lament grieves this loss, how what was precious has been ruined and brought low, which holds a sobering reflection even apart from the darker story, that precious things of real worth and glory can be lost, debased, and brought low, since what is bright can grow dim and what is treasured can come to be esteemed as common, and this can happen to a people, a community, a life, a devotion, or a good that was once bright and is now dimmed, such loss being a fitting cause for grief, but also a call to value and guard what is precious while we have it, not taking it for granted or letting it grow dim through neglect but treasuring and guarding it lest it be lost, so that we do well to grieve rightly over the debasing of precious things and to value and guard what is precious before it grows dim.

Lord, amid a lament over Jerusalem's ruin, the opening cry mourns how what was once precious has been debased: how the gold has grown dim, and the precious sons of Zion are esteemed as common clay. How the gold has become dim, the lament begins; the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the potter's hands. What had been precious, gold, the sons of Zion, treasured and honored, had come to be debased, dimmed, esteemed as common clay. The lament grieves this loss: how what was precious has been ruined and brought low. Show me the grief at the heart of this lament: how the gold has grown dim. The lament mourns a debasing, a ruin, of what had once been precious. The gold, once bright, has grown dim; the sons of Zion, once treasured like fine gold, are now esteemed as common clay pots. What had been precious had been brought low, its glory dimmed. This holds a sobering reflection. Precious things, things of real worth and glory, can be lost, debased, brought low. What is bright can grow dim; what is treasured can come to be esteemed as common; what is precious can be ruined. This can happen to many things of worth: to a people, a community, a life, a devotion, a good that was once bright and is now dimmed. And such loss is a fitting cause for grief. But there is also, in this, a call to value and guard what is precious while I have it, not taking it for granted, not letting it grow dim through neglect or wrong, but treasuring and guarding it. Take that to my heart. Help me grieve rightly over the debasing of precious things, Lord, and to value and guard what is precious before it grows dim, not taking for granted the good you have given me, but treasuring and guarding it, lest it be lost or debased.