When the Praise is Handcuffed

According to Jewish, Muslim and Christian traditions, the Prophet Jeremiah is the writer of the Book of Lamentations. 2 Chronicles 35:25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: It is said that Jeremiah retired to a cavern outside the Damascus Gate and there he wrote this book. Lamentations describes the funeral of a city. Lamentations is a tearstained portrait of the once proud Jerusalem that is now reduced to rubble by the invading Babylonians. Lamentations is a 5 poem Dirge, Requiem, Lament, Eulogy, Cry, or Expression of Grief. It's Jeremiah exposing his emotions. In the face of death and destruction, with life seemingly coming apart, Jeremiah turns tragedy into a triumph of faith. But it doesn’t happen in this chapter.
In life; Every Chapter is not hunky-dory.
You don’t get Sunshine, in every chapter of life.
You don’t get Roses in every chapter.
You don’t have Friends and Well Wishers in every chapter.
You don’t have praise in every chapter……
You don’t even have Life in every chapter of Life.
Sometimes you have Rain, Storms, Thorns, Thistles, Enemies,
Sometimes you have Disappointments, Lamentations, even Death!
Sometimes your Praise is in handcuffs.
Handcuffs are metal devices that locks around a person's wrist,
And once handcuffed, a person is restrained from freedom,
Restrained from independence, from choice, self-sufficiency…
That's a problem for people of God, for worshippers, for me…
Praise is what I do when I want to be close to you,
I lift my hands in praise.
Praise is who I am; I will praise Him while I can.
I'll bless Him at all times.
Jerusalem is in Affliction,
Jerusalem is in Catastrophic times,
Jerusalem is in Handcuffs, and lonely.
There is No Visitation, Verse 1 - how lonely sits the city that was full of people, how like a widow is she. Who was great among the nations. She sits alone! She sits in Solitary. She sits in Solitude.
Like a widow. She is become a vassal, peasant, a slave!

There is No Consolation
Verse 2 She weeps bitterly in the night; Her tears are on her cheeks, Among all her lovers, she has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon… (Jeremiah 27:3) They have become her enemies. Be careful who your friends are. Unworthy connections will afford no Consolation in times of trouble. Look at your Buddies list, Friends list, and the people that you are connected to… Look at them NOW!
There is No Relaxation
Verse 3 She dwells among the nations; she finds no rest……She's gone into captivity, gone into exile, Jeremiah 52:27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. Jeremiah teaches us to never despair, though our calamities are ever so many and grievous. He teaches that there is no assured safety, but in the fear of God. Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine, what a foretaste of Glory Divine,
There is Desolation
Desolation is unhappiness, sad, bleak, gloom, discontentment, Verse 4 The roads to Zion mourn because no one comes to the set feasts: All her gates are desolate; Her Priest sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. The table is spread, the invitation is extended, the Gates are open, But Desolation… Nobody shows… no calls…. No RSVPs…… As Zion went, As Jerusalem went; As Judah went, so goes life! A Song in the morning, Tears in the night, Joy in the morning, Pain in the night, Friends when you wake up, Enemies before bedtime, Cash flowing by day, Bankrupted by night, Clean Bill of Health by day, Fighting for your life by night, Praising at the dawn of day, Handcuffed at the dust of night.
There is Agitation
Verse 5 - Her adversaries are the master, her enemies prosper; When the rival rules…… when then enemies do well, When the challenger rules, when the villains do flourish, When the antagonist rules, when the saboteur succeeds, It's a sad feeling when you see your enemies prosper! Asaph said in Psalm 73:2 2my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. 5They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Job got so upset in Job 21:7, he asked Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? Your Praise may be Handcuffed this morning…… but I got a secret to tell you…… You can put this in your pipe and smoke it!! The Wicked may Prosper, thrive, do well, but its only for a Season. The Wicked never Prevail against the Godly,
The Wicked can only go as far as God giveth unto them to go, Job 1:11, Touch what he has. Job 1:12, Don’t touch him, his body. Job 2:5, Touch his bones, touch his flesh, Job 2:6, Don’t touch his life. Don’t let Praise Get Handcuffed,
Praise is Vindication,
Praise is proof that God is the source of my strength,
Praise is proof that the Holy Spirit moves in my soul,
Praise is proof that Jesus is my Savior
Praise is Justification,
In spite of what we're going through, we owe it to God,
Praise is Evidence that Jesus lives in me,
Praise is Evidence that He abides with me,
Praise is Evidence that I am not alone,
Praise is Liberation,
Praise is like Alka Seltzer, Flop Flop, Fiz, Fiz, oh what a relief……
There is a Relief in Praise,
And there is a Sweet Relief in knowing, The Lord will make away……
When you Praise God, there is Deliverance,
When you Praise God, there is liberty,
When you praise God, there is Release,
Praise is Expectation
I'm looking for a miracle, I expect the impossible, I feel the intangible, I see the invisible
Tell the Devil, Tell the Adversary, Tell the Enemy,
Handcuff me if you want to,
If I can't lift my hands,

If I can't lift my hands,

If I, can't lift my hands,

Lord....I'll lift my voice,

I'll lift my mind,

I'll lift my heart,