What is it about?
Contemporary Christian worship is based largely on praise and adoration. When disaster strikes and we are angry towards God, Christians feel guilty, accused of lack of faith, finding no vent for their emotions. The Psalms of Lament provide a means of praying honestly and brutally to God demanding that he responds. Regardless of specific circumstances, the emotions expressed in the psalms are relevant to the emotions experienced by modern readers. They help them pray with equal bold frankness and relate to the movement in the psalms of lament towards a restored relationship with God.
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Why is it important?
In contemporary worship there is little opportunity to admit difficulties in reconciling conflicts of personal disaster and a silent God of love. The Psalms of Lament are a resource to express honest emotions. Most (but not all) show movement from complaint to praise which helps restore the relationship with God in times of distress
Perspectives
Having been through difficult circumstances, the psalms of lament helped me voice my distress more eloquently than my words. I had permission to be honest and that restored my relationship with God
Revd Beverley J Jameson
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This page is a summary of: Permission to rant, Theology, August 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0040571x16647864.
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