Daughter Zion’s elders sit on the ground and mourn. They throw dust on their heads; they put on mourning clothes. Jerusalem’s young women bow their heads all the way to the ground. My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is churning. My insides are poured on the ground because the daughter of my people is shattered, because children […]

My Lord rejected his altar, he abandoned his sanctuary; he handed Zion’s palace walls over to enemies. They shouted in the Lord’s own house as if it were a festival day. The Lord planned to destroy Daughter Zion’s wall. He stretched out a measuring line, didn’t stop himself from devouring. He made barricades and walls wither—together they wasted away. Zion’s gates sank into […]

He bent his bow as an enemy would; his strong hand was poised like an adversary. He killed every precious thing in sight; he poured out his wrath like fire on Daughter Zion’s tent. My Lord has become like an enemy. He devoured Israel; he devoured all her palaces; he made ruins of her city walls. In Daughter Judah he […]

Oh, no! In anger, my Lord put Daughter Zion under a cloud; he threw Israel’s glory from heaven down to earth. On that day of wrath, he didn’t consider his own footstool. Showing no compassion, my Lord devoured each of Jacob’s meadows; in his wrath he tore down the walled cities of Daughter Judah. The kingdom and its officials, he […]

03/05/17 Psalm 32:1-7 Dr. Christena Cleveland Dr. Christena Cleveland is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Leadership, Spirituality, and Intercultural Studies at Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC. She is a social psychologist and reconciliation scholar-practitioner who writes and lectures widely on the theology and practice of reconciliation. In her book, Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that […]

I called to my lovers, but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have perished in the city; they were looking for food to survive. Pay attention, Lord, for I am in trouble. My stomach is churning; my heart is pounding inside me because I am so bitter. In the streets the sword kills; in the house it is like […]

Because of all these things I’m crying. My eyes, my own eyes pour water because a comforter who might encourage me is nowhere near. My children are destroyed because the enemy was so strong. Zion spreads out her hands; she has no comforter. The Lord commanded Jacob’s enemies to surround him. Jerusalem is just a piece of garbage to them. The Lord is right, […]

From above he sent fire into my bones; he trampled them. He spread a net for my feet; he forced me backward. He left me devastated, constantly sick. My steps are being watched; by his hand they are tripped up. His yoke is on my neck; he makes my strength fail. My Lord has handed me over to people I can’t resist. […]

The enemy grabbed all her treasures. She watched nations enter her sanctuary— nations that you, God, commanded: They must not enter your assembly. All her people are groaning, seeking bread. They give up their most precious things for food to survive. “Lord, look and take notice: I am most certainly despised.” Is this nothing to all you who pass by? Look […]

While suffering and homeless, Jerusalem remembers all her treasures from days long past. When her people fell by the enemy’s hand, there was no one to help her. Enemies saw her, laughed at her defeat. Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore, she’s become a joke. All who honored her now detest her, for they’ve seen her naked. Even she groans and […]