Chapter 52 - Jeremiah an Ending

The final chapter of the book of Jeremiah is a recounting. It is a recounting of destruction. It is a kind of parallel to chapter 39. Why recount such destruction and terror? 
There is something in the naming of devastation. “Here.” “This is what happened. This terrible thing has happened, and now those of us who remain, live on the other side of the loss which would have been unspeakable, except that it happened, so it must be spoken.” 

Jeremiah ends and Lamentations begins. Lamentations is a structured cry, a prayer. There are five chapters in Lamentations. Chapters 1 and 2 and 4 and 5 each contain 22 verses. This corresponds to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 contains 66 verses, the structure being AAA, BBB, CCC, etc.. The middle chapter, the centre of the lament has in its centre verses we have heard before. These verses exist as a tether to the other words of the book which are words naming destruction and directing mourning and grief. The middle of the lament is a reminder of God’s love; 

They are easily the most memorable words that Jeremiah ever wrote; 

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end; 
they are new every morning great is your faithfulness, 
‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, 
therefore I will hope in him.” 

Now, in the life of Jeremiah, in the history of Jerusalem, in the completion of the book, we are in the aftermath. 
Now, in the history of our world, in much of our lives, we are entering the aftermath. The aftermath surveys the damage and destruction. It is preamble to new life. 

And this we call to mind and therefore we have hope; 

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases …”