The Form of Lament

The psalms never fail to surprise me with new insight, even if my articles on the Psalms may never fail to bore you with the lack thereof. For example, the other day I was reading Psalm 20 and realized that I was looking at the shape of a psalm of lament, but written from the perspective of an onlooker or, if you will, from the outside. Let me explain.

A typical psalm of lament has three components to its structure:

· Lament

· Petition

· Statement of Faith

If you look at Psalm 13, you will see a perfect example of a psalm of lament. In verses 1-2, David, laments to God about the length of time that God has been absent, and that his enemies have exalted over him. Then in verses 3-4, David distills his despair to a single request: “Lift up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Finally, in verses 5-6, David crosses what I call the tipping point of faith with this statement: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.”

Of course, throughout the Psalms, the structure of this varies. It isn’t always a one-two-punch kind of thing, but the elements are almost always there.

Now turn your attention to Psalm 20. Notice that this prayer for the king looks like someone following along with a psalm of lament. In verses 1-3 the congregation praying on behalf of the king asks for all the things that David, for example, often prays for when he is lamenting to God:

· To be heard

· For help to come from Zion

· For his offerings to be regarded

Verses 4-5 mirror the petition section of a typical lament in that they open with, “May [God] grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.” The clear implication is that the king has made a request and the congregation both prays and anticipates God’s answer to that request.

Finally in verses 6 through 9, a leader of the congregation steps into the prayer (as indicated by the shift to the first-person voice) and makes a statement of faith: “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed.” As with all such statements, the moment of salvation hasn’t happened yet. But the speaker is confident that it will.

As if the tipping point of faith involved a literal shove by the speaker, the congregation joins in in verse 11: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

So why bring all this up? Is it just trivia from a Psalm’s turbo-nerd?

The more I read the prayers in the Book of the Psalms, the more interested I am in form. Form is not magic. If your prayer is a hot mess, it’s ok. God still hears you. Rather, form speaks to awareness, the acknowledgement of what you are praying and why.

When you pray for someone who is suffering with the form of the lament guiding your prayer, it focuses your mind on the reality of that person’s suffering, the need to ask that his or her request be answered, and the gravity of believing that God will work in that person’s life according to his goodness and his purpose. 

Psalm 20

1  May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
    and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart's desire
    and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
    and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
    he will answer him from his holy heaven
    with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save the king!
    May he answer us when we call.