My soul is downcast
O Lord
And the weight of lament
Is heavy in my bones
I long to be free of it-
To cast my sorrow off
Like a dirty garment-
And yet,
I sense you here in the sorrow
Not leading me out of it
But walking me through it
For there is a work of the soul
That can only be accomplished
Through brokenness.
Merciful God
My heart echoes the cry of the Psalmist:
“From the ends of the earth,
I cry to you for help
When my heart is overwhelmed”1
For my heart is surely
Overwhelmed with grief
And I confess that
My flesh longs to find comfort
In earthly things
But my only true help
Is in you.
Guide me, Holy Spirit
In this season of lament
That I would not let my grief
Turn to cynicism or apathy
But that you would break my heart
For what breaks yours
And then restore my brokenness
That I might become
A more accurate reflection of you,
A more Spirit-led agent of change
In the brokenness around me.
When the tears are too many
And can’t be contained
When the words are too complex
And can’t be spoken
When the pain is too great
And can’t be concealed
Let your Spirit intercede for me
And let me find solace in
Knowing that
You bottle every tear
You know every thought
You heal every wound
For in your presence
Nothing is wasted
And all is redeemed.
Let this season of lament
Be a season of drawing near
To you, Merciful Christ
Who wept over the lost sheep of Israel
Who weeps over the lost with me now
And who promised that on this earth,
Though we would have
Many trials and sorrows,
We can take heart
In the midst of them
Because you,
Victorious One,
Have overcome the world.
1. (Ps. 61:2)
Photo by Vitaliy Rigalovsky on Unsplash
Thank you, Heather, for this Liturgy of Lament. I have just copied it to give it to our 96 year old neighbor across the street. We do a weekly Bible study with him and he is really struggling with some sorrows and grief. I think this will minister to him.
I pray that it does! Thank you for sharing the liturgy with him. May God bring comfort to his heart through your kindness.
Thank you.