He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
The Prophet speaks not of literal building but of siege: God has hemmed him in with walls of affliction, blocking every escape, surrounding him with bitterness and poison that drains his strength. He repeats this image because confinement itself is his burden, he lies trapped as the dead.
AI summary
God is angry with His own people, yet it comes as a rod to correct, not a sword to destroy. Walk in darkness though we may, we must not quarrel with affliction, for His anger is just and His chastening, though grievous now, mixed with mercy.
AI summary
Commenting on Lamentations 3:1-20
Gall and weariness are his cage. The Chaldeans built their fortresses, and God surrounded the city with sorrow so bitter it became poison itself, draining the spirit. This is what our Lord endured: encompassed with sorrows unto death, exceeding sorrowful in that cup.
AI summary