Psalms of Lament

Introduction

WELCOME/NO MATTER (really important this weekend!)

SERIES INTRO: Psalms in Real Life

Series Intro

Here’s the “why” behind this series. Here’s the why:

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We live in an imperfect world… so what do we do with that?

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The real world, real life… it’s imperfect.

What do we do with that?

Unjust & Out of our Control

And this is why many of the Psalms were written… to help us navigate this imperfect world… with God.

Now, “imperfect” and “God”—those don’t seem to be able to coexist. If there really is this all-powerful God, then why do...

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We live in an imperfect world… that is unjust.

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Unjust.

We live in a world where other people use their power and their influence in a way that is unjust or unfair—and sometimes we’re the target.

Sometimes you and me, we suffer the consequences. It’s not right. It’s not fair. In fact, it’s unjust.

But there’s apparently this God who Is “in charge” of all of this… so… is he just bad at his job? Why doesn’t he just “fix” all of this?

Or how about this one:

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We live in an imperfect world… that is out of our control.

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What do we do with a world that is out of our control? Where mass shootings happen, or pandemics happen, or natural disasters happen?

Or maybe on a little smaller scale, but no less impactful:

Where the test results aren’t good? Or we get laid off because of market conditions? Or we worry about bills getting paid because the cost of the most basic things have skyrocketed because of wars and supply chains and policies and fear—none of which are in our control, but all of which mess with our security and comfort?

What do we do with an imperfect world that is out of our control—and that God apparently allows to spin out of control?

Our Responses: Mad, Sad, & Sanitized

I’m not trying to paint a deliberately bleak picture here. But, “facts, bro:” this is the real world—the world that we live in everyday.

And if you’re feeling a little bit of tension right now, let’s talk about that for a sec—because that tension you’re feeling is also part of the “why” behind this series.

If you’re feeling a little bit of tension with that question of “Why, God?” Why do you let this world go on being unjust and out of control? Why?

It’s probably because you have already moved past that question. You’ve already decided what your’e doing with it.

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We live in an imperfect world… what do we do with that?

Some of us get mad.

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Some of us get mad. That’s what we do.

We rage. We get angry. We look to assign blame (usually the other side of the aisle, or my idiot boss, or maybe even God himself).

Call it venting or ranting or whatever—but we respond in anger like it’s our medication and therapist and best friend who always agrees with us—all wrapped up into one.

Now, others of us don’t get mad; we get sad.

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We live in an imperfect world… what do we do with that?

We get mad. We get sad.

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But not just sad; depressed. Hopeless, even. It almost feels like it’s not a choice we’re making (to feel that way). It almost feels like it’s the only authentic option.

It’s headline fatigue. More bad news.

It’s uncertainty. No light at the end of the tunnel; still lots of twists and turns yet to come. What’s the headline gonna be tomorrow? Don’t know… but it’s gonna be bad!

All of which serves to undermine any real sense of security we might have.

And so we make sadness our companion. Because we can depend on it. Because hoping for something different not only seems unrealistic—but unwise.

So: some of us get mad. Some of us get sad.

But for others of us, both of those feel a little too extreme. Yes; bad things happen. Life’s not fair. You can’t control everything. But come on. Come on.

It’s not that bad. Or, it’s not all bad. Or, it’ll all work out in the end. (There’s something in the Bible about that, I think. Go read it before you bother me again with your… feelings.)

And while there might be some kernels of truth in that approach, here’s how I’d describe that:

I’d describe it as sanitized.

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We live in an imperfect world… what do we do with that?

We get mad. We get sad. Or we sanitize it.

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We sanitize it.

Now, there’s a word that has gotten a lot more play in these past few years, amirite? “Cleaned and sanitized for your protection.” “Your safety is our utmost concern.”

We’ve seen that put on more signs in more places in the last 2 years than the last 200, I think.

Here’s my favorite one of those:

SHOW HERTZ SANITIZED PICTURE

I do a good bit of traveling, which means I’m renting cars (at least, I did before they required I take out a second mortgage). But I usually use Hertz, and this is what I see at most airports when I walk to my car in the rental lot. It’s right over the door, so it’s “sealed.” Strategically placed there.

Why?

Well, besides the obvious, here’s the purpose of the sticker:

It’s to make you and I feel better. More safe; more secure. (And hopefully more likely to spend our money with them the next time we need a rental.)

And most times, there’s good reason behind it. It’s not just a sign. Someone sprayed something or cleaned something that is intended to kill viruses and other germs so that we don’t get infected when we sit there or eat there or breathe the air there.

But even though all of those sanitation measures are effective at reducing the risk of getting infected, they aren’t guarantees, are they? Because nothing in this world is 100% sure, is it?

And yet, the sign sure helps us feel better, doesn’t it?

I think many of us respond in the same way to the wild, unjust world that we live in. We “sanitize” it. We put some sort of spiritual “sign” or “sticker” on it to help us feel better about it.

Could be a verse or saying or cliche that probably has some substance behind it… but doesn’t really take into account the fullness of just how painful, risky, or unjust, or out of control our world really is.

Transition: God Does NOT Sanitize

Now for some good news. Now for some good news. Here it is:

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God, in his Word, the Bible, does not sanitize anything.

And He doesn’t expect us to, either.

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This is what’s so crazy about this sanitized approach that’s become so popular on Christian radio or Christian bookstores or Christian social media outlets. Whether they intend to or not—they paint such a different picture than so much of the Bible.

Take the Psalms, for example.

Psalms of Lament

Most of the Psalms are songs—intended to be sung. It was Christian radio before there were radios.

But when you read the Psalms—like, really read them—you’ll see that they don’t sound or feel very much like some of the Christian radio we might listen to today.

In fact, my guess is that most of the Psalms wouldn’t sell very many albums. Here’s why:

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Around 65 of the 150 psalms are “Psalms of Lament:”

Songs that are cries to God out of deep distress or pain.

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65 of the 150. 43%. Closer to half than a third of these Psalms aren’t overly positive, not mostly encouraging, and not really safe.

But here’s the thing:

Neither is this world that we live in.

And that’s what I love so much about the Bible:

It’s not some sort of simple answer book that reduces the painful complexities of life in this world down to a few trite, clever, mostly-naive, annoyingly-spiritual mottos.

On the contrary:

It’s a book that fully embraces the complexities of this world—dedicating tons of space to the more difficult and painful parts.

It’s a book that doesn’t just point the world to “God up in heaven later,” but wrestles with “Why aren’t you here now, God? Why are you letting these things happen to me? Where are you?”

Because that’s real, right? That’s part of our experience.

And it’s a huge part of the Bible as well. Which makes it simultaneously the most divine AND most human books ever written.

No fake instagram images in the Bible. No Christian album cover art. Just real life.

So: 65 of the 150 Psalms are Psalms of Lament. And here’s what most of those Psalms of Lament all have in common—they all follow a similar pattern, seen in (4) parts:

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Psalms of Lament:

Part 1: Address to God

Part 2: Description of complaint

Part 3: Request for God’s help

Part 4: Expression of trust in God

(Credit: Ken Boa)

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(Briefly explain each part.)

Exegesis: Psalm 13

This pattern will become clearer if we kinda see it in one of these Psalms of Lament. So let’s take a look at one together. Turn with me if you would to Psalm 13.

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Psalm 13

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What I’d like to do is just walk down this Psalm together and talk about it. As we do, we won’t just see these different parts of the Psalm; we’ll also draw some things out of them and clarify how we can start to interact with them.

Let’s start with the first part of the Psalm, the “address to God,” which is the first part of verse 1. Three simple words in this address:

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Part 1: Address to God

Psalm 13:1 “How long, LORD?”

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So there it is. There’s the address to God.

Couple things to draw out here. First:

In the “Old Testament” - the first 39 books of the Bible written about the time before Jesus, including the Psalms - in the Old Testament, whenever you see the word “Lord” and it’s in “all caps” like it is here, that’s a translation device.

What that means is that the Hebrew word that is being translated isn’t the Hebrew word for “Lord.” Nor is it a word describing God’s role as Lord/master of the universe.

When it’s capitalized like this in English, what that’s telling you is that the Hebrew word being translated is God’s personal name - which looks like this:

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“LORD” = “YHWH”

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There are (4) Hebrew letters, yod, heh, vav, and another heh. In the Hebrew written language there were no written letters that were vowels. Just consonants. And then when these words were spoken or read out lout, the vowel sounds were added.

So, if God’s personal name was pronounced, it would sound like this:

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“YHWH” = “YaH-WeH”

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But the reason that they translate it as “LORD” instead of “Yahweh” is out of reverence for God’s personal name. It was to remain sacred, and a way to do that was to not speak it out loud. Like Valdemoort, but the opposite.

Here’s the point:

How long, LORD? How long, Yahweh? See: The Psalmist isn’t just complaining to complain. He’s not just a “whiner.”

He’s not just shouting words up at the sky. He’s not talking to some impersonal force or mysterious being behind the curtain pulling all the strings.

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It’s not “God, if you’re up there.” No. It’s “God, you are up there.”

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You’re Yahweh. I’m directing my complaint to you, the one true God, by name.

How many of you had a mom that sometimes called out to you by using your full name—first, middle, and last? Jesse Michael Tink. You. Not you; not you… I’m talking to you.

There’s a little bit of that sense here. Yahweh. I’m talking to you.

Here’s what that means for us:

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The one real God of the Bible wants to personally hear from the real you.

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Not the cleaned up you. Not just you at your best. Not just you at your most trusting or most reverent. No. The real you.

See, the real you isn’t made up only those trusting, reverent, cleaned up parts.

The real you is also made up of the painful, broken, confused, even angry-with-God parts.

He doesn’t just want a connection; he wants an authentic connection. A personal connection.

The real God wants to personally hear from the real you. All of the real you. Address him. By name.

Let’s move onto the second part of Lament Psalms—the description of complaint. We got a hint to what that is for this Psalmist in those first few words, “How long, LORD?” How long? Now he builds this complaint out:

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Description of Complaint

Psalm 13:1-2 “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?”

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He says “how long” (4) times in these (2) verses. The first one is just an address to God. But the next (3) make it clear why he feels like he has to address God in the first place.

So here’s where he goes first. God...

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Description of Complaint

Our relationship is broken because it feels like You’re ignoring me.

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That imagery there of “you’re hiding your face from me.” That’s what that means.

I’m trying to get your attention, God. But it’s like you’re ignoring me… deliberately. Like, every time I go to you, try to look you in the eye, meet your gaze, get your attention… it’s like you deliberately are turning away.

But not only that:

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Description of Complaint

Our relationship is broken because it feels like You’re ignoring me.

Your neglect is taking an emotional and mental toll on me.

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We don’t know exactly what kind of thoughts he’s struggling with; but we do know that he’s sad. Just sad at whatever is happening to him. And as he’s gone to God with his sadness, and as God hasn’t done anything about it, well...

What thoughts would that make you think?

How about…

God hates me? He’s ignoring me...why? Because he hates me.

Well, why does he hate me? Well, it’s because I’ve done something wrong. What have you done? I don’t know… lots.

But is that who God is? He just gets mad and ignores people? That’s not right.

But I still feel like I’m being ignored. At the very least, God’s silent; nothing’s changing.

Why is that?

Well, maybe God isn’t who I thought he was. Or maybe there isn’t a God at all. Maybe I’m making this all up.

And wow, these are weird thoughts! Help! I’m wrestling with all of these thoughts. Drowning in them, even.

And finally in this complaint:

Description of Complaint

Our relationship is broken; it feels like You’re ignoring me.

Your neglect is taking an emotional and mental toll on me.

You don’t seem to care what others have done to me.

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Where were you, God, when they did that to me? When they said that to me? When that happened to me? Where were you?

And they seem to be doing fine, by the way. They don’t seem to be struggling like I’m struggling.

Okay. For this Psalmist, that was was their complaint. 3 parts.

So what does this mean for us?

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Our thoughts and feelings are a vital part of who we are and a significant part of our relationship with God.

It’s ok to express what we really think and really feel about God—especially when we feel like He’s not meeting our expectations.

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And hey—let’s just admit this right now: this is pretty uncomfortable for a lot of us… and for a host of reasons:

It’s hard for some of us because... we’ve got the emotional intelligence of a rock. “Feelings, what are those?”

It’s hard for some of us because... we’ve got feelings, but we’re super uncomfortable with them. And so we stuff them down. Way down. Or we don’t trust them. Feelings are more like mirages or trap doors. They’re clouds that look big and fluffy but couldn’t hold anything up.

But for others of is this is hard because… this doesn’t feel…

Right.

Like, this isn’t what we’re supposed to do. This isn’t what God really wants us to do.

This feels like we’re blaming God.

And who are we—puny, finite, sinful, insignificant human beings—who are we to accuse God or blame God for anything?

No. Get down on your knees. Face in the dirt. God is above and you are below. You want to address him? You address him as “sir.” He’s earned that.

And yet, here it is, in black and white text. It’s there because God wants it to be there. It’s inspired Scripture. Which means that this is what God wants from us. What we really think. What we really feel. Even (and especially) when it feels like we shouldn’t.

But that’s not all He wants from us, though. Let’s get to the 3rd part of Psalms of Lament, a request for God’s help. Starting in verse 3:

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A Request for God’s Help

Psalm 13:3-4 “Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”

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Let me ask you this:

How hard is it to ask for help from someone who you feel like is ignoring you? Neglecting you?

It’s like writing an email… then leaving a voicemail… and then texting someone…

I need this from you… I need to hear from you on this...

And you’ve got nothing from them.

Would you continue to ask that person for their help?

No. You wouldn’t. Because that’s the definition of insanity: doing the same thing but expecting different results.

And yet—this is where the Psalmist goes next. After addressing God, stating his complaint about feeling neglected and ignored...

He asks this same God for help.

Why”?

Well, to answer that question, we have to get to the 4th part of Lament Psalms, an expression of trust in God. Verses 5-6:

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Expression of Trust in God

Psalm 13:5-6 “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

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Why would you continue to ask for help from someone you feel like is ignoring you? Who hasn’t met your expectations?

Well, if that person is God, you’d continue to ask him for his help because of who He is—not just how you feel about who He is.

Let’s say it this way:

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It’s ok to tell God how you truly feel.

It’s not ok to make your feelings the whole truth.

As you tell God about how you feel, tell yourself about who He is.

How you feel + Who God is = the whole truth.

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The whole truth is that God is love. That’s who He is. That’s also true. And even though you might truly feel like He doesn’t love you, you can trust that his love will win out.

The whole truth is that God saves. That’s who He is. That’s also true. And even though you might truly feel like he hasn’t rescued you out of whatever you’re walking through now, you can trust that he’s walking with you through that and will rescue you from all of this once and for all.

The whole truth is that God is good. That’s who He is. That’s also true. And even though you don’t feel like he’s being good to you in the way that you want right now, you can call to your mind the times he has been good to you in the past, and you can bet your last dollar that he’ll be good to you again.

Why would you ask for help from a God you feel like is ignoring you? Neglected you? Forgotten you? “Hidden their face” from you?

You’d do it because you can trust in who He is.

Your circumstances might change; He doesn’t.

You can trust him with all of how you feel about all of it. Direct all of it to him. All of who you are, what you truly think and truly feel.

Just don’t make that all of what you trust him with.

Trust also in who He is.