“I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”（Ps13:6, ESV）

The Psalms of Lament constitute almost a third of the Psalms, and is a very important content of the 150 Psalms. The various Psalms of David (as we mentioned earlier) have shown us that when faced with life’s calamities and difficult situations, it is natural to lament, to complain, and even to ‘curse’ the enemies who caused us all the pains and sufferings; lament is, in fact, a basic posture of prayer. Nevertheless, it should be noted that laments, complaints and even ‘curses’ are just one of the elements of a Psalm of Lament.

Just like the Psalms of Praise, Psalms of Lament have a rather distinct structure which include the following elements—

       (1)	Direct address to God
       (2)	Lament/complaint/curse
       (3)	Confidence in God
       (4)	Petition to God
       (5)	Conclusion/Praise

The order of these elements might vary according to different Psalms, as such fluidity is common among most literary devices, but almost every element can be seen in the Psalms of Lament (except Ps. 88, which lacks the element of Praise).

Take again Ps. 13 of David as an example—

     How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
      	     How long will you hide your face from me?
      How long must I take counsel in my soul
    	     and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
     How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

The opening direct address (1) to God “O Lord” is the most typical feature of a Lament; any Psalm that opens with such an address is very likely to be a Psalm of Lament. After this direct address, David put forth his 3-fold laments (2 ) to God, describing his distress and asking God vehemently “How long” must he endure all these?

     Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
   	     light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
      lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
   	     lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

In the next 2 verses, David petitioned (4) to God. He asked God to “consider and answer” him, and to “light up (his) eyes” (NET translated as “revive me”, with the understanding that David was telling God that he was at the edge of death (v.3b ESV “sleep the sleep of death”) ) and urged God to deliver him asap, so that he was revived and his eyes would lit up again. And that his enemies would have no cause to rejoice over him.

     But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
	     my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 

And in v.5, there appears an unexpected coordinating conjunction “but”, contrasting the fact that even though David was facing the stress of his enemies and his life was in grave danger, he still chose to trust in the steadfast love and salvation of his God—even when his deliverance was nowhere to be found at that very moment. This is his expression of confidence in God (3).

     I will sing to the LORD,
	      because he has dealt bountifully with me.

After expressing his confidence in God, David went on to sing a song to the Lord, drawing his Psalm to an interesting yet moving end. Interesting, because the opening tone of the Psalm is so urgent, and the psalmist’s anxiety can be felt through the paper, so who can imagine that it will close with a song of doxology? And this is precisely why it is so moving at the same time. The psalmist had found himself in a dire situation, yet he was able to turn his gaze toward the Lord, expressing his trust and confidence in Him and even sing Him a Praise! How can one not be moved?

This Psalm, along with all the Psalms of Lament, teaches us an important reality, and that is—when face with life’s blatant injustice, unpredictable adversities and unjustified sufferings, lament is possible and necessary; however, it will not be the last word nor will it have the last say. At times, we might feel that the complaints or agonies expressed in the Psalms of Lament are incompatible with the life of faith. Yet an OT scholar reminds us that: “The experience of anguish and puzzlement in the life of faith is not a sign of deficient faith, something to be outgrown or put behind one, but is intrinsic to the very nature of faith.” (R.W.L. Moberly) It is the Psalms of Lament that are able to teach us how to wrestle and struggle with all the grief, confusion and injustice that cause our laments and complaints positively and properly.

The Psalms of Lament show us that the psalmists may protest against injustice vigorously, they may grumble and fret when confronted with unexpected disasters, and they may become depressed when evils seem to prevail, yet all of them have something in common—they will neither wallow in self-pity nor flounder about in self-remorse, and end up going down the rabbit hole. Instead, their laments always conclude in praise, for they know clearly who is the one who listens closely to their laments and complaints.

We are bound to encounter all sorts of undesirable and difficult situations in the life of faith, so it is natural to lament, and it is necessary to lament. Nevertheless, we should always remember that He who listens to our laments and complaints is the One who did not spare His own Beloved Son but gave him up to us, so in our laments, Praise will always be the last word and have the last say.