Lamentations

Who

Anonymous; traditionally Jeremiah.

When

Soon after Jerusalem fell in 586 BC.

What it is

Five poems over a destroyed city, written while the ruin was still fresh.

What to watch for

Four of the five are alphabet acrostics — grief given a strict form on purpose — and the most famous lines of hope sit exactly in the middle.

Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.Lamentations 3:22