Psalm 13: The A-B-C’s of Lament
Adapted from a teaching at the Tucson Reformed Baptist Church Women’s Luncheon in July, 2023
“Lament is the minor key language of God’s people, as we walk through a broken world.” Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
Where do you turn when your world falls apart? You know what I am talking about. The loss of a child. The shocking betrayal of a spouse or friend. A cancer diagnosis. It’s those moments when life hits hard, your chest aches, weeping takes over, and you feel like a shell-shocked soldier, wondering if this is even reality. What is that moment for you, when your heart sunk and you knew that your life would never be the same? With tears unstoppable, numbness of body and soul, or sometimes deep anger, where do you run?
Psalm 13 beckons us to run to the Lord. While we don’t know the occasion of this Psalm, David ran to the Lord. He knew betrayal from Saul and Absalom. He experienced the heavy weight of his grievous sins against Bathsheba and Uriah. King David knew the loss of a child and the ache of a wayward son. He knew the burden of leading a nation, only to have his enemies rise up from within to thwart all that he sought to accomplish. Sometime during the course of his life, David turned to the Lord and penned the words of Psalm 13. While this lament is anything but rudimentary, here we find the A-B-C’s of lament. Psalm 13 provides just what we need in seasons of desperation. Let’s consider the A-B-C’s of lament from Psalm 13.
ASK – David turned to the Lord and asked hard questions. This turning and this asking are deep expressions of faith that should not be overlooked. But these questions make us uncomfortable; they take us by surprise. Are we allowed to talk to God like this?
“Lord, how long will You continually forget me? How long will You hide your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?” (Ps. 13:1-2)[1]
Yes, the Lord invites His children to come to Him with our wounded hearts, asking hard questions, even the ones that sound angry, desperate, and accusatory. Lament is messy. There is no question off limits for you when approaching your heavenly Father, so come...and ask hard questions.
BEG – In Psalm 13, David begged God for what he needed. It sounds almost bossy, commanding, insistent. But David was desperate, and he knew that no one else could help. Only One could answer the cries of his heart.
“Consider me and answer, Lord, my God. Restore brightness to my eyes...” (Ps. 13: 3a)
David begged God, and it was personal. He begged, because he knew that the Lord was his God and that his God answers the cries of his children. David pleaded, knowing that if God did not answer, death awaited as well as the triumph of his enemies (Ps. 13:3b-4). As David turned to the Lord, he asked hard questions and begged God for what he needed. Then David’s desperate lament concludes with a glorious “but,” a turning point when David chose trust.
CHOOSE – David chose to trust the Lord. His questions were not yet answered, and he didn’t yet see all of his prayers fulfilled. But he chose to trust in the Lord’s faithful love. David chose to rejoice in God’s deliverances and to sing to the Lord, remembering His generosity (Ps. 13:5-6). David chose to trust the Lord, to rejoice, and to sing... even in the dark dissonance of his life circumstances.
David gazed forward by faith to a Redeemer who would experience ultimate suffering and utter perfect lament. Jesus asked hard questions of His Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matth. 27:46) Jesus begged His Father for what He needed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me...” (Lk. 22:42a) And Jesus chose trust, as He resigned Himself fully to the will of God in all things. “...nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done” (Lk. 22:42b). Jesus, the Son of David and David’s Lord, is a merciful and faithful High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16), who knows your suffering and has walked the way of lament to the point of death. Victoriously, He rose from the grave, that you might find help and hope in Him. He will carry you and will bring you home one day. No more tears, no more pain, no more suffering (Rev. 21:4). As you await your glorious reunion, let Psalm 13 be a friend to you in desperate times.
Application: As you face your storm, will you turn to your God - asking, begging and choosing trust? Ideas: Write out your own lament, using Psalm 13 as a model. Make a playlist of songs entitled “Songs in the Storm” – songs that you can sing to the Lord in your suffering. Create a list of ways that the Lord has been faithful in the past, his deliverances, the ways that he has been generous to you. Consider Jesus – how has He suffered and how can He help you in your time of need?
Let us humbly ask, beg, and choose to turn to our Lord and our Savior Jesus together!
[1] Holman Christian Standard Version
“Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Discovering the Grace of Lament” by Mark Vroegop is a great resource on how to bring our sorrows to God through lamenting.
The Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy Devotional Journal is an ideal companion to assist in the lament process.