Lament as a Form of Praise

The Psalms gave us permission to be honest. A third of the Psalter is lament — songs of grief, complaint, even accusation hurled toward the heavens. 'How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?' This is in the Bible. This is on the lips of the people of God.

The modern church has often clipped lament out of its worship, leaving only the songs of triumph and the hymns of certainty. But a faith that cannot lament is a faith that cannot face reality. Children die. Marriages end. Cancers come. Friends betray. The honest faith does not pretend none of this is happening; it brings it to God, with all the pain and rage and grief intact.

Lament is not the opposite of praise. Lament is praise that has chosen honesty over performance. Whatever is breaking your heart today, bring it. The God who hears the praise of the joyful also hears the howl of the bereaved. Both are received in the same love.

The pattern is older than we are. The grace is older than the pattern. We come to it not as students at the head of the class but as children at the foot of a long table, where the meal has been ready for a while and the chair has always been waiting for us. Sit. Receive what has already been given. The day will be longer than you think, and the bread will be enough.