A lament in the Bible is a poetic song or poem that expresses grief, sorrow, or mourning. Laments are found throughout the Old Testament and contain passionate cries to God in times of distress, disaster, or despair. The purpose of biblical laments is to pour out raw emotions to God, protest suffering, plead for help, and seek God’s compassion. Laments give voice to human pain and remind believers of God’s sovereignty, justice, and steadfast love.
Some key features of laments in Scripture include:
- Addressing God directly
- Describing the problem, suffering, or injustice
- Asking bold questions of God
- Requesting God’s intervention and help
- Affirming trust and hope in God
- Vowing to praise God after he delivers
Many Psalms fall into the category of laments, such as Psalm 13, 22, 31, 39, 42, 43, 56, 69, 79, 80, 85, 90, 94, 123, 126, 137, 142, and 144. The book of Lamentations also contains laments over the destruction of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Other laments appear in the prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk. Job’s speeches have elements of laments as he grapples with profound suffering.
Here are some examples of laments in the Bible:
Psalm 13
Psalm 13 is a short, desperate plea from David to God in a time of trouble. The first two verses loudly ask “How long?” four agonizing times. David feels forgotten by God, surrounded by enemies, overwhelmed with sorrow, and crying day and night (Psalm 13:1-2). Yet he makes a quick turn in verse 3, boldly asking for God’s attention and deliverance so his enemies don’t boast over his demise. David ends this lament in confident trust that God will deal bountifully with him (Psalm 13:5-6).
Psalm 22
Psalm 22 is an anguished lament where David cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). David describes being scorned, despised, mocked, surrounded, pierced, and brought low (Psalm 22:6-8). He recounts God’s care since birth and deliverance in the past (Psalm 22:9-11). David pleads for God not to be far away but to deliver him from enemies and the power of the grave (Psalm 22:19-21). The psalm ends in praise, with David vowing to “tell of your name to my brothers and sisters” and “praise you in the midst of the congregation” (Psalm 22:22-23, 25).
Psalm 88
Psalm 88 is one of the most melancholy laments, describing unrelenting pain and darkness closing in. The psalmist cries day and night to the Lord (Psalm 88:1). He feels rejected by God, like one without strength or hope (Psalm 88:4-5, 9-10). The psalmist describes being at the brink of the grave, utterly adrift and overwhelmed (Psalm 88:3-7). Unlike other laments, Psalm 88 ends without any shift in tone or hope. It illustrates that even in depression and despair, we can still cry out to God authentically.
Lamentations 1-5
The book of Lamentations contains five poetic dirges mourning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile. Chapter 1 personifies Jerusalem as a weeping widow (Lamentations 1:1-2). The people’s sin and rebellion caused this calamity from the Lord’s righteous anger (Lamentations 1:5, 8, 18, 20). Yet even in judgment, the Lord remains just and faithful (Lamentations 1:18). Chapter 2 continues to describe the Lord’s judgment on the city’s walls and people (Lamentations 2:1-10). The poet grieves over the suffering of mothers and children (Lamentations 2:11-12). Chapter 3 shifts to a personal lament from one afflicted man. He cries out from the darkness, feels abandoned by God, and suffers bitterness, ridicule, and affliction (Lamentations 3:1-20). Yet the man remembers God’s goodness and hopes in his salvation (Lamentations 3:21-26). Chapters 4 and 5 return to communal laments, reflecting on past blessings compared to Zion’s present scorn, ruin, and desperate hunger (Lamentations 4:4-5, 9-10; 5:1-18).
Habakkuk 1-2
The book of Habakkuk contains an exchange between the prophet and God that follows the pattern of a lament. Habakkuk is distraught over the injustice and wickedness rampant in Judah (Habakkuk 1:2-4). He cries out, demanding that God do something! (Habakkuk 1:1-2). God replies that he is raising up the Babylonians to execute judgment against Judah (Habakkuk 1:5-11). This shocks Habakkuk, who now laments how God could use those more wicked than Judah to punish his people (Habakkuk 1:12-17). The book ends with Habakkuk praising God’s sovereignty, justice, and salvation by faith as he awaits the judgment (Habakkuk 2:1-4; 3:16-19).
Some key principles we learn about laments in the Bible:
- God invites our honest cries of pain – the Psalms model raw, unrestrained honesty before God.
- God is big enough to handle our protests, doubts, and questions.
- God wants us to cry out to Him in brokenness and grief.
- God understands human anguish and can handle our rage, confusion, despair.
- Pouring our hearts out honestly allows us to reconnect to truth about who God is.
- After lamenting, we can remember God’s past faithfulness and goodness.
- God desires our grief to move to hope and trust in Him.
- God promises to be near the brokenhearted; our cries matter to Him (Psalm 34:18).
Purposes of Lament
Laments serve several important purposes in the life of believers:
- Honest expression – Laments give language for expressing unsanitized, gut-level emotions to God.
- Community – Laments unite us to others who suffer and reject trite answers.
- Protest – Laments question injustice and refuse to accept the status quo.
- Trust – As we cry out, we reconnect to God’s character – just, faithful, compassionate.
- Process grief – Laments help us pour out our sorrow so we can emerge with hope.
- Remember – Recalling God’s past faithfulness restores our trust for the future.
- Humble admission – Admitting despair moves us to admit need for God’s redemption.
When are Laments Appropriate?
Times that may call for laments include:
- A crisis event – death, disaster, diagnosis, attack, exile
- Ongoing suffering – persecution, poverty, oppression, pain
- Acute depression, grief, or anguish
- Mourning over personal sin and its consequences
- Lamenting social injustice and repentance for complicity
- Confusion and doubt over God’s character or ways
- Feeling intense distance or silence from God
- Pouring out betrayal, hatred, vengeance – giving it over to God
In short, laments can be offered to God anytime we are at the end of our own strength and solutions. Crying out shows we trust God is able to redeem our pain when we cannot fix or understand it. Laments lay our deepest hurts before the one true Healer.
Examples of Laments in Everyday Life
Many events may prompt lament in our lives or the lives of those around us. Here are some examples:
- Weeping and asking “Why?” when parents lose a young child unexpectedly
- Screaming out to God from the grief of a miscarriage
- Sobbing alone after a spouse walks out
- Crying “How long, O Lord?” in unrelenting pain
- Asking “Do you even care?” when prayers seem to go unanswered
- Yelling at God in anger after losing a job
- Challenging God in confusion amidst senseless tragedies
- Questioning justice when corrupt leaders oppress the poor
- Letting loss and sorrow spill out through art – music, writing, dance
- Sharing raw grief honestly in community
In short, laments can give voice to suffering in a broken world in ways that lead us back to the only source of hope – the compassion and redemption of Jesus.
Jesus and Laments
Jesus prayed using the language of lament from the Psalms as he suffered on the cross – “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). Even Jesus expressed the depths of human pain and questioning of abandonment by God as he bore the consequences of all human sin. Yet Jesus emerged victorious over death, rising to reign forever! Jesus’ lament on the cross reminds us that God can fully identify with human suffering, so we can freely pour out our hearts to Him.
The book of Hebrews also reminds us we have a High Priest, Jesus, who is not unable to “sympathize with our weaknesses” and who has been “tested as we are” yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness” to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). We have a Savior who welcomes our honest cries for help in our walk with Him.
Examples of Laments in Church History
Many Christians through the centuries have voiced laments calling on God in times of grief, doubt, injustice, or agony. Here are a few examples:
- Augustine – His Confessions contain many laments over his sinful past.
- Athanasius – On the Incarnation laments sin’s consequences but finds hope in Christ.
- Thomas à Kempis – Imitation of Christ laments the burdens of this life.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Letters and Poems from Prison lament Nazi injustice.
- Corrie ten Boom – Laments in The Hiding Place and other works.
- David Brainerd – Diary laments ministry struggles among Native Americans.
- C.S. Lewis – A Grief Observed laments his wife’s death.
- Mother Teresa – Come Be My Light laments her spiritual darkness.
- Henri Nouwen – The Inner Voice of Love laments loneliness and self-doubt.
- John Newton – Laments in various hymns over his sinful past.
How to Write a Lament
Writing personal laments can help process grief and reconnect us to hope in Christ. Key steps include:
- Identify the pain – Name the situations, emotions associated with grief, suffering, disappointment.
- Direct it to God – Voice the lament to God as protest, plea, complaint, intercession.
- Ask bold questions – Ask God “why?”, “how long?”, etc. to express confusion, doubt.
- Request help – Ask God to intervene, change the situation, heal, meet needs.
- Affirm trust – Remind yourself of God’s past faithfulness, sovereignty, compassion.
- Offer praise – Thank God that he hears you and will help you in the distress.
Sample lament starters:
- “God, why have you…?”
- “How long, O Lord…?”
- “Where are you, God?”
- “Lord, I feel so…”
- “O God, come and…”
Honest laments open the door for God’s comfort, strength, and redemption. As we lament suffering, we can gain perspective that leads us to hope in Christ’s victory over sin, evil, and death.
Benefits of Laments
Regular lament can reap many spiritual benefits in the life of believers. Laments can:
- Provide a healthy outlet for a range of emotions
- Guard against denial and repression
- Unite us to others who suffer
- Keep prayer and praise grounded in reality
- Help process grief and trauma
- Reveal our deep need for God
- Restore perspective on truth, grace, redemption
- Cultivate deeper intimacy and trust with Jesus
- Make space for joy and hope to reemerge
In short, biblical lament guides us through life’s lowest valleys to find hope on higher ground with Christ. Laments lay our deepest hurts at the feet of Jesus, opening us to receive His healing salvation.
Laments Lead to Hope
A key theme in many laments is a shift from crying out to God, to praising God and expressing hope. Psalm 13 reflects this movement from pleading “How long?” to trusting in God’s salvation. Psalm 22 shifts from “why have you forsaken me?” to “you have answered me!” Laments guide us through despair into the light of redemption and renewed trust in Christ. After lamenting honestly, we emerge with fresh perspective on God’s character and the promise of eternal victory in Jesus.
