I've recently been pondering about what must be the saddest sentence in the Bible.

The Lord (Jahweh) was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.

Wow, don't you just get a sense of the hurt? All hope lost!

But ... yes there always seems to be a 'but' when God is involved.
But there was a man ...!

You can read more about that in the Bible - Genesis 6.

On this occassion the man's name was Noah. Other obvious examples of "but there was a man" situations in scripture would involve Abraham, Moses, Jonah. None of these four were perfect, but all where "God's man for the hour".

Many hold onto the false belief the that Lord (Jahweh) of the Old Testament (Tanakh - Law, prophets, writings) is a cruel, angry, merciless God compared with the other God of the New Testament, Jesus, who is compassionate, kind, meak, gentle.

Such a belief denies the connection between pain, compassion and anger. We see all three working in the life of Jesus. In the Old Testament the Lord (Jahweh) is described as being kind, compassionate, slow to anger. This is not a different 'God'.

This is anger without sin, it is not a "smash someone's face in" anger (both metaphorically and literally). See Ephesians 4:26.

The Lord (Jahweh) is a God of justice. Justice demands consequences (fruit).

Elsewhere we read of another "but there was a man ..." instance where that man was God Himself - Emannuel (God with us), a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. A  man (Jesus) without sin (unlike Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jonah ...). See Isaiah 7:14, 53:3

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him ... the Redeemer came ...

Will you, while you have the opportunity as an act of free-will, bow in worship before this God of sorrows and acquanted with grief?
Philippians 2:10-11, Romans 14:9-12, Isaiah 45:23