Who is in anguish and writhes in pain?

A unique feature of Jeremiah’s ministry and writing as a prophet is just how much of his own personal experience is made part of the prophetic message. We have already noted examples of this in the previous section. This passage (Jeremiah 4:19–22) is the first of many extended personal laments from the prophet (see also Jeremiah 11:18–23;  Jeremiah 12:1–6;  Jeremiah 15:10–11, Jeremiah 15:15–21;  Jeremiah 17:14–18;  Jeremiah 18:18–23;  Jeremiah 20:7–13, Jeremiah 20:14–18 and perhaps Jeremiah 5:3–5; Jeremiah 8:18–22).¹ Jeremiah deeply and personally felt the consequences of bringing a message of such devastating judgment on his own people. His whole life was profoundly shaped by the message he brought. He was mocked, rejected, and persecuted by his own people. Through all of this Jeremiah regularly cried out to the Lord, lamenting what he had been sent to do and say.²

The expression, My anguish, my anguish, is literally My bowels, my bowels. In ancient psychology, organs affected by emotional experiences were seen as much more involved in the experience than modern psychologists allow for. The reaction of certain organs is the end-point of mental processes.³ This cry of personal anguish does not interrupt the vision of the coming invasion and the suffering it will bring, but rather intensifies the vision, because Jeremiah is not simply a messenger, but he will suffer with the people he has been sent to speak to. By expressing his personal feelings, he also lends words to the grief that the godly amongst the Lord’s people will feel. Telling people about his personal reaction was not a cry for sympathy for himself so much as an anguished plea for repentance.⁴