Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope

Preaching the Word

by Philip Graham Ryken

The prophet Jeremiah is a supreme example of how believers can live well in a society that has turned against God. While the book of Jeremiah chronicles the last, desperate days of Jerusalem before it is conquered by an invading army, Lamentations expresses the cries of Jeremiah’s heart for the fallen city. Together, the two books reflect on the meaning of human suffering and illustrate the eternal principle that a man will reap what he sows. In this commentary, Philip Graham Ryken helps pastors, church leaders, and Bible teachers understand and teach these spiritually relevant books, inspiring readers to respond to God’s personal call to live for him in these troubled times. Part of the Preaching the Word series.

Genres: Christian, Theology

834 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2001

About the author

Philip Graham Ryken is Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he has preached since 1995. He is Bible Teacher for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, speaking nationally on the radio program Every Last Word. Dr. Ryken was educated at Wheaton College (IL), Westminster Theological Seminary (PA) and the University of Oxford (UK), from which he received his doctorate in historical theology. He lives with his wife (Lisa) and children (Joshua, Kirsten, Jack, Kathryn, and Karoline) in Center City, Philadelphia. When he is not preaching or spending time with his family, he likes to read books, play sports, and ponder the relationship between Christian faith and American culture. He has written or edited more than twenty books, including Bible commentaries on Exodus, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Galatians.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are plenty of good insights in this volume for sermons, but I do not consider it a particularly good commentary. It also feels very bloated and could probably have been much shorter than 800+ pages without losing anything of significance. In all honesty, I wish that I had read Matthew Henry instead.

[Peter Krol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I read only the single chapter on Lamentations (as that's the book I'm studying right now). The commentary on Jeremiah may be far more engaging than that on Lamentations.

[Bob O'Bannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryken strikes a healthy balance between practical application and scholarly commentary and shows in many instances how relevant the book of Jeremiah is for us today. Our culture has changed so much in the 20 years since this commentary was written, and sometimes it shows in the observations made, but this is an excellent volume for anyone wanting to read devotionally through Jeremiah (as I did) or wanting to preach the inspired words of the “weeping prophet.”

[Bill McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philip Graham Ryken has a written a very thorough ( with one exception ) commentary that I think both clergy and lay people will get a lot out of. My reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that his commentary on Lamentations was just too brief.

[Wassenario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Jeremiah. A hard message at times but helped me get a more complete view of Gods justice