哀三25 等候耶和华，心里寻求祂的，耶和华必善待他。

　　赛三十18 所以耶和华必然等候，好施恩给你们；祂必留在高处，好怜恤你们；因为耶和华是公平的神；凡等候祂的都是有福的。

　　耶利米享受耶和华作他的分，并且他不指望自己，不指望人，也不指望别的事物，只仰望耶和华。一面，耶利米领悟神是慈爱的神，祂是怜恤的，并且祂的话是信实的；另一面，耶利米领悟，我们仍需要每早晨接触主，全然仰望祂，并等候祂（耶利米哀歌生命读经，一○页）。

　　Lam. 3:25 Jehovah is good to those who wait on Him, to the soul that seeks Him.

　　Isa. 30:18 And therefore Jehovah waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He remains on high to have compassion on you; for Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are those who wait for Him.

　　Jeremiah enjoyed Jehovah as his portion, and he put his hope not in himself nor in the people nor in anything else but only in Jehovah. On the one hand, Jeremiah realized that God is a God of lovingkindness, that He is compassionate, and that His word is faithful. On the other hand, Jeremiah realized that we still need to contact the Lord every morning, put our entire hope in Him, and wait on Him. (Life-study of Lamentations, p. 7)

　　在耶利米的时代，以色列人的光景不好。似乎神并不是这么仁慈、亲切、怜恤并信实。……我们需要和耶利米一样，领悟神仍然是我们的分，我们该仰望祂，等候祂，并呼求祂的名（哀三55）。然而，即使我们这样作，也不该期望光景会立刻改变。因着可能没有立刻的改变，所以我们需要继续等候主。

　　在耶利米的事例中，他等候主相当长久。他所说关于复兴时代的预言，其应验至今仍未来到。相反的，以色列今天的光景似乎并不证实这些预言。这指明我们需要学习等候主的功课。今天还不是终极完成的时候；因此，我们必须等候主。

　　等候主非常要紧。神是我们的分，祂满了慈爱和怜恤，并且祂是绝对信实的。现在我们需要仰望祂，等候祂〔24~25〕并呼求祂。……一位圣经教师曾经指出，神在拯救我们的事上行动快速，但在许多别的事上，祂行动并不快速。譬如，我们知道主答应祷告。我们为一件特别的事向祂祷告，但祂也许等候好几个月才答应我们的祷告。这帮助我们领悟，我们的神是真的、活的、怜恤的并信实的，但祂常常不像我们所期待的那样快速行事。

　　神耽延的原因乃是要试验我们。祂要试验我们到一个地步，叫我们失去自己的盼望，觉得自己完全了了。当我们觉得光景无望时，却常是神要进来的时候。这是我们在神分赐之下的经历。

　　〔在哀歌三章〕耶利米说，“耶和华啊，我……呼求你的名。”（55）在主的恢复里，我们学会了呼求主耶稣的名。然而，许多新约的信徒不知道呼求主的名，也没有实行这事。有些人甚至为这实行批评我们。这是何等不幸的光景！

　　我珍赏我们在〔这里〕所强调的三件事：仰望主、等候主并呼求祂的名。我们若实行这些事，就会实际的在神的分赐之下。

　　当我们周围的光景似乎无望时，我们需要领悟，我们的神绝不会被打败。凡祂所说的，祂必信实的成就。所以，我们该信圣经所说的一切。此外，我们需要领悟，神是祂子民的分，我们需要仰望并信靠祂。无论祂现在或以后答应我们，我们都需要信靠祂并等候祂。即使祂似乎没有答应我们的祷告，我们也该继续祷告并等候祂。至终的结果将是照着祂的定旨，我们也将是蒙祂赐福的人。愿我们都学习这功课（耶利米哀歌生命读经，一○至一二页）。

　　参读：耶利米书生命读经，第十一至十二、十八篇；以赛亚书生命读经，第二十一、四十四篇。

　　In Jeremiah’s time, the situation of the people of Israel was not good. It did not seem that God was so loving, kind, compassionate, and faithful….Like Jeremiah, we need to realize that God is still our portion and that we should hope in Him, wait on Him, and call upon His name (Lam. 3:55). However, even though we do these things, we should not expect the situation to change immediately. Since there may be no immediate change, we need to continue to wait on the Lord.

　　In Jeremiah’s case, the waiting on the Lord has been quite long. The fulfillment of his prophecies concerning the age of restoration has still not come. On the contrary, the situation of Israel today does not seem to be a confirmation of these prophecies. This indicates that we need to learn the lesson of waiting on the Lord. Today is not the time of the ultimate consummation; therefore, we must wait on the Lord.

　　To wait on the Lord is very crucial. God is our portion; He is full of lovingkindness and compassion; and He is absolutely faithful. Now we need to hope in Him, wait on Him [vv. 24-25], and call upon Him….A certain Bible teacher pointed out that God acted quickly in saving us, but in many other things He does not act quickly. For example, we know that the Lord answers prayer. We may pray to Him about a particular matter, but He may wait for several months before He answers our prayer. This helps us to realize that our God is true, living, compassionate, and faithful, yet He often does not do things as quickly as we expect.

　　The reason God delays is that He intends to test us. He will test us to such an extent that we will lose our hope and feel that we are utterly finished. When we feel that the situation is hopeless, that is often the time when God will come in. This is our experience under God’s dispensing.

　　In…Lamentations 3, Jeremiah said, “I called upon Your name, O Jehovah” (v. 55a). In the Lord’s recovery we have learned to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. However, many New Testament believers do not know about calling upon the name of the Lord and do not practice it. Some even criticize us for this practice. What an unfortunate situation this is!

　　I appreciate the three matters we have emphasized in this message: to have our hope in the Lord, to wait on Him, and to call upon His name. If we practice these things, we will be under God’s dispensing in a practical way.

　　When the situation around us seems to be hopeless, we need to realize that our God can never be defeated. Whatever He has spoken, He will be faithful to fulfill. Therefore, we should believe all that the Bible says. In addition, we need to realize that God is the portion of His people, and we need to put our hope and our trust in Him. We need to trust in Him and wait on Him whether He answers us now or later. Even if He seemingly does not answer our prayer, we should continue to pray and wait on Him. The eventual result will be according to His purpose, and we will be the ones benefited by Him. May we all learn this lesson. (Life-study of Lamentations, pp. 7-9)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Jeremiah, msgs. 11-12, 18; Life-study of Isaiah, msgs. 21, 44