We can trust God to bring something new out of our seasons of lament.

To visit Clifton Heritage National Park in Nassau, Bahamas, is to revisit a tragic era in history. Where the land meets the water, stone steps lead up a cliff. Slaves brought to the Bahamas by ship in the eighteenth century would ascend these steps, often leaving family behind and entering a life of inhumane treatment. At the top, there is a memorial to those slaves. Cedar trees have been carved into the shapes of women looking out to sea toward the homeland and family members they’ve lost. Each sculpture is scarred with marks of the slave captain’s whip.

参观巴哈马拿索市（或称拿骚，Nassau）的克利夫顿文化遗产国家公园（Clifton Heritage National Park），如同重温一段黑暗悲惨的历史。那片土地一面临海，乘船到岸的人必须沿着石阶一步步爬上峭壁。在18世纪时，一船船被运送到巴哈马的奴隶，远离家乡的亲友，踏上这些石阶，走向残酷的人生旅程。现在，为了纪念这些可怜的奴隶，峭壁上的香柏木被雕塑成女奴的雕像。她们个个面向大海遥望家乡和亲友，每个雕像都刻上被船长鞭打过的伤疤。

These sculptures of women mourning what they’ve lost remind me of the importance of recognizing the injustices and broken systems in the world, and lamenting them. Lamenting does not mean that we are without hope; rather, it’s a way of being honest with God. It should be a familiar posture for Christians; about forty percent of the Psalms are psalms of lament, and in the book of Lamentations, God’s people cry out to Him after their city has been destroyed by invaders (3:55).

这些雕像哀悼着她们失去的一切，她们的样子提醒了我，应当察觉各种不公义的事和衰败的体制，并为这一切深表哀痛。哀痛不表示我们失去了盼望，相反地，哀痛是一种向上帝坦诚的方式。这是基督徒所熟知的，因为整卷诗篇有将近四成都是哀歌，而在耶利米哀歌中，上帝的子民也在国破家亡之后向上帝哭泣呼求（3章55节）。

Lament is a legitimate response to the reality of suffering, and it engages God in the context of pain and trouble. Ultimately, lament is hopeful: when we lament what is not right, we call ourselves and others to be active in seeking change.

面对现实中的磨难，哀痛是自然的反应，我们也在痛苦折磨中经历上帝。哀痛终究是有盼望的：当我们为不公义的事忧伤痛苦，将会促使我们和其他人一同采取行动，试着改变现状。

And that’s why the sculpture garden in Nassau has been named “Genesis”—the place of lament is recognized as the place of new beginnings.

Lamentations 3:49-58    NIV

3 My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief, 50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. 51 What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city. 52 Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. 53 They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me; 54 the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to perish. 55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” 57 You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” 58 You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.

耶利米哀歌 3:49-58 

3 我的眼多多流泪，总不止息， 50 直等耶和华垂顾，从天观看。 51 因我本城的众民，我的眼使我的心伤痛。 52 无故与我为仇的追逼我，像追雀鸟一样。 53 他们使我的命在牢狱中断绝，并将一块石头抛在我身上。 54 众水流过我头，我说：“我命断绝了！” 55 耶和华啊，我从深牢中求告你的名。 56 你曾听见我的声音：“我求你解救，你不要掩耳不听！” 57 我求告你的日子，你临近我，说：“不要惧怕！” 58 主啊，你申明了我的冤，你救赎了我的命。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The prophet Jeremiah had prophesied for over forty years to a disobedient, disbelieving Judah (627–580 bc). Now in five emotionally charged “funeral laments” he writes as an eyewitness, lamenting the destruction and devastation of Jerusalem, the temple, and the people as they are forcefully exiled to Babylon. He includes the reasons why God would use the Babylonians to discipline His idolatrous people (Lamentations 1:5–8; see 1 Kings 9:6–9; Jeremiah 2:11–13, 18:15–17).

先知耶利米对顽梗不信的犹大国发预言，长达四十多年（公元前627-580年）。他在五篇满怀深情的“哀歌”中，哀叹他目睹耶路撒冷和圣殿遭到毁灭，以及犹大百姓被掳到巴比伦的悲怆。他也解释，上帝为何用巴比伦人来管教这拜偶像的百姓（耶利米哀歌1章5-8节；参阅列王纪上9章6-9节；耶利米书2章11-13节，18章15-17节）。

For two years the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem. Jeremiah witnessed the uncensored horrors of war (2 Kings 25:1-4; Jeremiah 52:12–27; Lamentations 2:20; 4:10). But he also wrote of hope in the midst of despair (3:21–33) and of the restoration that would come (5:19–22). Jeremiah reminded the Jewish people that the Lord, who has judged Judah rightly for her sins, is the Lord of hope (3:21, 24–25), compassion (v. 22), faithfulness (v. 23), and salvation (v. 26). Jeremiah calls the people to repent and to trust in the goodness of God (vv. 25–26; 5:21).

巴比伦人围攻耶路撒冷长达两年之久。耶利米亲眼目睹了战争的恐怖情景（列王纪下25章1-4节；耶利米书52章12-27节；耶利米哀歌2章20节，4章10节）。然而，他也在绝望中传达盼望（耶利米哀歌3章21-33节），以及将来的复兴（5章19-22节）。耶利米提醒犹大百姓说，耶和华以公义审判犹大国的罪，但祂使人有盼望（3章21、24-25节），祂满有怜悯（22节），祂是诚实、信实的（23节），并且赐下救恩（26节）。耶利米呼吁百姓悔改，并相信上帝的良善（25-26节，5章21节）。

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation,” says the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 7:10). How has this been true in your own life?

使徒保罗说：“合乎上帝心意的忧伤会带来悔改，使人得到救恩”（哥林多后书7章10节，当代译本修订版）。这是你人生的真实经历吗？