The book is instructive in grief processing. First, a difficult situation is not denied or minimized. The poet pours out his grief and faces the ugliness of a crushed city and ruined dreams. Second, there is catharsis in explicitly stating the situation. Not only is the grimness not denied, but it is detailed. Sin is confessed. Third, there is a wrestling over the assertion that God has brought on the disaster, and yet that comfort and help can only be in him. The book is an illustration that in times of calamity one need not sink into despair. Fourth, the poet seizes for consolation on what is known of God, his goodness and his faithfulness (3:20–23). Fifth, in prayer the entire situation is rolled over on God himself.
