In yesterday’s post I raised the question why one-third of the Book of Psalms is often ignored in our prayers and when we do notice them, we don’t know what to do with them. I write about the so-called Psalms of Lament, when the psalmist complains to God about His ways that he simply does not understand. These psalms begin with the questions “Why?” or How long?” They arise out of the apparent disjunct between what the psalmist understands about the character of God and what is actually happening before his own eyes.
While these laments are often found in the psalter, other passages of the OT reflect the author’s struggles with God’s ways. Jeremiah’s laments in chapters 12-20 reach a crescendo when he cries out, “O Lord you have deceived me and I was deceived!” (see Jer. 20:7-18).
What does a psalm of lament look like? Probably the most famous example is Psalm 22. To the Christian this psalm is known for being taken on the lips of Jesus on the cross (Ps. 22:1; Mat. 27:46). This should not cause us to remove it from application to any innocent sufferer who feels that God is silent to his cries for help. It is only because it so powerfully describes the righteous sufferer that it is so appropriate for the Righteous Sufferer par excellence.
The typical elements of a psalm of lament are found in Psalm 22.
(a) the address (Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God”);
(b) the complaint with subject “I” “we” or “they” (Psalm 22:2, 6-18)
(c) the request for help (Psalm 22:11, 22:19–21);
(d) the affirmation of trust (Psalm 22:3–5, 22:9–10);
(e) the vow to praise God when the crisis is past (Psalm 22:22–31).
When you encounter the strident questions in such a lament, it is important to keep reading, because the psalmist returns to an affirmation of trust in the Lord even though he does not understand His ways (see Rom. 11:33).
Some wise thoughts from the Anchor Bible Dictionary. “The lament calls God into accountability and that He should act fairly and quickly. The lament allows for honest interchange between humans and God, the freedom to admit even hostile thoughts. The lament turns to God as the ultimate source of help and, in the typical lament form, ends with the assurance that God has heard and will save. The lament does not solve all of the sufferer’s intellectual questions about the origin and meaning of the suffering, but it does provide a structured way for the faithful to bring their suffering to God’s attention and to cope with it.”