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  Bible reading for weekend Aug 27 -- 29 Aug 27 -- Lamentations 4 and Psalm 35 Aug 28 -- Lamentations 5 and Psalm 36 Aug 29 -- Ezekiel 1 and Psalm 37 ================   "But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations." (Lamentations 5:19) THE FALLEN CROWN (Lam 4-5). This weekend we read the last two chapters of Lamentations, continuing the sorrowful song of the fallen nation. Notice where we get our common phrase, "worth its weight in gold" (4:2). Though God's people are precious like gold, here they have been devalued among the nations like common clay. The anointed king, Zedekiah, sought to flee Jerusalem but was captured (4:20). The Edomites are singled out for judgment, too, since they gave no aid to the fleeing Jews (4:21-22). The last chapter recounts their suffering, and closes with a prayer for restoration: "But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsa...

  Bible reading for Aug 25 -- 26 Aug 25 -- Lamentations 2 and Psalm 33 Aug 26 -- Lamentations 3 and Psalm 34 ================    "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) THE ABANDONED CITY (ch 2). Lamentations is composed of five poems, or songs, and each section is written as an acrostic in the Hebrew language.  The five poems together form a chiasm. (See Tom Constable's helpful notes on Lamentations .) This chapter is full of sorrow for the ruined city. The city of God has been reduced to a ghost town. For the next seven decades there would be no sound of worship nor the public proclamation of God's word -- no more feasts, music, the reading of the law, joyful shouts, and sacrifices at the temple. Not for a long time would people hear the Aaronic blessing echo in the courts, "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upo...