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THE GODLY LAMENT
The
Apostle Paul instructs believers not to complain about anything (Phil 2:14-16).
Nevertheless, an entire book, Lamentations, is devoted to the people of God
complaining and for just reasons. Although no author is mentioned in the book,
Lamentations is often attributed to the Prophet Jeremiah considering the dire
struggles he encountered in captivity. Lamentations subsists in the context of
God’s chosen people being disciplined for their own sin and rebellion.[1] It appeared as if God had
abandoned the people of the promise when the reality was that his own people
had abandoned him, for God does not move; people move.
Lamentations 3:19-26 highlights the characteristics of a Godly form of lament so while complaining for the sake of complaining and with a focus on self is wrong, a lament rooted in a desire for justice and with a focus on the Lord’s goodness is not only allowed but right. Here, a model of prayer (and indeed Christian worship) is expended by a man on behalf of God’s people.
Lamentations 3:19-26
19 Remember my affliction and
my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of
the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is
my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait
for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.[2]
In this prayer, several elements exist, which cause it to be a Godly and upright lament and surely the model God’s people should employ in lamenting.
The Prayer (vv. 19-20)
The
lament here first offers a complaint or a prayer. The specific request is for
the Lord to remember the servant’s affliction, for he is in distress (v. 20).[3] Christian prayer should be
honest with God. He already knows the troubles of humanity because God the Son
has certainly faced them (Heb 4:15). Thus, when believers pray, the
conversation is mediated to the Father by the Son who already understands
struggles, grief, and pain. Not only then does God already know what people
face, but he empathizes with human weakness. Christians pray, therefore, on a
twofold basis: 1) God already knows and 2) God already understands.
God
already knows that with which people struggle. Human weakness is no surprise to
God. Therefore, it is not only acceptable to be honest with God in prayer, but
it is right. Jeremiah was honest with God in Lamentations. After 18 verses of
complaining about his situation, he asks the Lord to remember his afflictions.
God can handle honesty. The Bible is replete with honest cries to God for
healing and deliverance, and he loves acting in such a manner. Since God
already knows, it is right to communicate those laments to the Almighty.
God also already understands humanity’s struggles because Jesus himself faced them but without sin. Jeremiah, after lamenting, turns his prayer for God for the answer. The complaint is offered; now the focus is on God, for he is the one who is requested to remember (i.e., the prophet is in affliction and bids the Lord to come to his rescue). It is right for God’s people to offer their complaints to the Lord, but a moment must arrive when it is realized that Jesus is the answer. For relationship struggles, Jesus is the answer; for financial struggles, Jesus is the answer; when a job is lost, Jesus is the answer; when sickness hits, Jesus is the answer; and when it seems there is no answer, Jesus is the answer so it is right to be honest in prayer because Jesus knows and he is the irrefutable answer.
The Pivot (v. 21)
After an expression of sorrow and complaint, the author then pivots. Mindful of God’s unfailing faithfulness, he says, “But this I call to mind”—likely the “lovely words of consolation that follow, in which case Jeremiah’s ‘hope’ is inspired by the Lord’s mercies.”[4] A Godly complaint does not focus on the lament (for such is self-focused) but the God who is the answer to all problems and still worthy to be served and praised regardless of circumstances. Thus, the pivot comes with a comprehension of the Lord’s mercies. The Prophet is soon to recall the countless mercies of his God who has been faithful to his people so he pivots with an understanding of the matchless hope he possesses. A Godly lament, therefore, includes not only an honest complaint but more a confession of the Lord’s mercies and goodness. Otherwise, it is merely a complaint, which is the antithesis of Godliness.
The Patience of the Lord (vv. 22-23)
The author first focuses on the patience of the Lord with an affirmation that his love and mercy are unending (v. 21). Even in humankind’s failure, God’s mercies are new every morning (v. 22). God is patient: slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ps 34:6, 86:15, 103:8, 145:8). The most patient being in all the universe is the Almighty God, and he loves to forgive. He is good by nature (even to those who have eternally rejected him). While even God’s patience is capable of ending (for individuals), the Lord is longsuffering and steadfast; therefore, seeing the end of God’s patience is rare. If God’s people would consider how good he has been to them individually, the patience of the Lord would be evident in manifold ways. How many times has God protected his people from harm? How many times has God responded to his people in faithfulness, though they have been unfaithful? Throughout church history, how many times has God’s covenant been manifested among the people of God, though they remain rebellious? God’s patience in matchless, and the people of God should rejoice that their Maker is not only the God of one more chance but the God of another chance and another and another and another. Where would the church be if not for the patience of God?
The Provision of the Lord (v. 24)
The provision of the Lord is then recounted. The writer understands that God is the source of all strength and sustenance, for he declares boldly that the Lord is his portion; thus, his hope lies in God (v. 24). God’s people must see the Lord as the provider. Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). The provision of the Lord, therefore, does not depend on what God gives but on him alone (i.e., life’s sustaining elements are irrelevant and refuse without God, for he is the one who gives and makes sustainable elements sustainable and nourishing). Even in a time a great distress, the author laments but turns his focus to hope in the Lord because he knows that even if food is given, even if protection is offered, and even if difficulties are ameliorated, it is worthless without God, for irrespective of realization, he alone is the provision people seek, and the author here places his hope not in government and not in leaders but in God alone.
The Promise of the Lord (vv. 25-26)
The lamenter then confesses the promise of the Lord—indeed a promise given to his chosen people from before time. The goodness of the Lord is mentioned but with a caveat: namely waiting on and seeking the Lord (v. 25). To those who falsely claim they have never experienced the goodness of the Lord, wait on him; to those who claim to have never seen God’s goodness, wait on him, for he is not finished, which is why a Godly lament requires patience. Trials that are faced with hastiness are faced in a Godless manner and misunderstood, for those who would encounter trials in such a way may see only the trial itself and not the redeeming qualities thereof. The promise of the Lord transcends generations, for the bride of Christ has been grafted into the family of God and Abraham’s blessing (Rom 11:17-24); the promise of God transcends difficulties, for there exists a reward greater than the present sufferings of this life (Rom 8:18); and the promise of God never fails, for no power subsists that may separate God’s people from his love (Rom 8:38-39), of which there is none greater. Praise God for his overarching promise of redemption and his countless blessing toward his people!
Approached with God at the Center,
Lament Is Right
Strains and exertions are assuredly a part of human life even according to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:33) and especially for the one who desires to live a Godly life (2 Tim 3:12). Nonetheless, believers are commanded to do everything with complaint (Phil 2:14-16).[5] How then does one rightfully lament (i.e., in a Godly manner)? As presented here in Lamentations by the Prophet Jeremmiah, a Godly lament is dependent upon its focus (i.e., on the Lord, his purpose, his goodness, and his mercy rather than the situation from which stems the complaint). A grumble solely focused on the circumstances of self does not conform to the model presented in Lamentations. Had an injustice occurred? Yes. Was there reason to lament? Yes. Does the lament offer a reason for rescue that is based upon the discomfort of people? No. Rather, the lament indeed offers a cry from the depths of despair, but it does not stop there and instead shifts to a focus on the Almighty and his mercy. Such a lament is an illustration of a Godly lament. Lament should be employed as a legitimate and common part of Christian worship,[6] but there is a right and wrong way to lament. Lamentations 3 proposes a right way to lament, which believers should seek to exemplify in worship and in prayer.
[1] It
should be noted that although God is patient and understanding, he does not let
rebellion go unpunished.
[2] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the English
Standard Bible.
[3] Lamentations
3 begins by a drastic complaint of longsuffering, and although the third
chapter is set in the context of the entire Israelite community, the writer
(likely Jeremiah) makes his grievance personal, as he feels abandoned along
with the rest of God’s chosen people.
[4] J. G. S. S. Thomson, “Lamentations,” in Job–Malachi, ed. Carl F. H. Henry, vol.
2, The Biblical Expositor (A. J. Holman Company, 1960), 219.
[5]
Such a command comes from the Apostle Paul who certainly had sufficient reason
to complain if anyone ever did.
[6]
Lament is too often not utilized, although it is certainly Biblical and right.
