Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Lamentations 3:57
Thou drewest near in the day [that] I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
57. Thou drewest near ] Cp. Psa 145:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 57. Fear not.] How powerful is this word when spoken by the Spirit of the Lord to a disconsolate heart. To every mourner we may say, on the authority of God, Fear not! God will plead thy cause, and redeem thy soul.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There was a time when I was in distress, and called upon time, and thou didst draw near unto me. God is never far off from any of us, as to his essential presence; nor is it possible that he should, for he filleth all places. But he is said to be near us or far off from us, as he manifests, or doth not manifest, his goodness to us by acts of gracious providence: of that drawing near the text speaketh. God being infinite in goodness and mercy, is spoken of as absent from those persons and places where he is not showing mercy, and present only there where he showeth forth his goodness, and to be drawing nigh to them to whom he beginneth to show mercy.
Thou saidst, Fear not; thou didst encourage me formerly upon my prayer.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
57. Thou drewest nearwith Thyhelp (Jas 4:8).
Resh.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou drewest near in the day [that] I called upon thee,…. When persons draw nigh to God in a way of duty, and particularly in this of prayer, and calling on his name; he draws nigh to them in a way of grace and mercy, and manifests himself to them, and works salvation for them. The Targum is,
“thou didst cause an angel to draw near to deliver me in the day that I prayed unto thee:”
thou saidst, fear not; any of thine enemies; or that thou shouldest not be delivered from them; see Isa 41:10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here the Prophet tells us that he had experienced the goodness of God, because he had not suffered a repulse when he prayed. And this doctrine is especially useful to us, that is, to call to mind that we had not in time past prayed in vain. For we may hence feel assured, that as God ever continues like himself, he will be ever ready to help us when- ever we implore his protection. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet declares here that he had experienced the readiness of God to hear prayer: Thou didst come nigh, he says, in the day when I called on thee; thou didst say, Fear not And this approach or coming nigh refers to what was real or actually done, that God had stretched forth his hand and helped his servants. Since, then, they had been confirmed by such evidences, they had the privilege of ever fleeing to God. God, indeed, supplies us with reasons for hope, when he once and again aids us; and it is the same as though he testified that he will ever be the same as we have once and again found him to be.
He then adds an explanation, Thou didst say, Fear not He does not mean that God had spoken; but, as I have said, he thus sets forth the fact, that he had not sought God in vain, for he had relieved him. Though God may not speak, yet when we find that our prayers are heard by him, it is the same as though he raised us up and removed from us every fear. The sum of what is said is, that God had been propitious to his servants whenever they cried to him. It now follows, —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Lam 3:57 Thou drewest near in the day [that] I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
Ver. 57. Thou drawest near. ] This thou hast done, and this I hope thou yet wilt do. Experience breedeth confidence.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
drewest: Psa 69:18, Psa 145:18, Isa 58:9, Jam 4:8
thou saidst: Isa 41:10, Isa 41:14, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2, Jer 1:17, Act 18:9, Act 27:24, Rev 1:17, Rev 2:10
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lam 3:57. God is not. slack in his care for liis own. When the righteous prophet appealed to Him he was heard promptly.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
In the past, the Lord had heeded Jeremiah’s prayers and had given him hope. The Lord had come to his rescue and had redeemed (delivered) him from destruction (cf. Lev 25:25-28; Lev 25:47-54; Rth 4:1-12).
"No greater testimony can a sinner offer to God than to say, in thanksgiving, ’Thou hast redeemed my life’ (Lam 3:58)." [Note: Jensen, p. 135.]