Pleading for God to take away the mourning.
As Jerusalem falls and suffering increases, the writer pleads for God to hear their cries. The writer wants God to hear and to act. There is an interesting image in this text about God’s role. Jeremiah begs for God to become Jerusalem’s lawyer. The prayer is that God will take Jerusalem’s case but the image continues that God will also be the judge. Here we have the image of God speaking on behalf of Jerusalem but also being the kind and loving judge who hears the case and will rule in Jerusalem’s favor. A similar image reappears in the New Testament in Romans when Paul writes about God being the justifier of our sins and then again in 1 John when John writes about Jesus being our advocate before the Father. This image encourages and strengthens. God hears and sees our suffering. He responds with loving kindness and pleads our case before Himself. God cannot lie nor can he deny his love. This is a beautiful image of the heart of God. He must be just but he loves with such depth that he will act on our behalf even when our sin is the cause of the suffering. Live a life of praise.