Sessions Include:

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #1
Life in a Minor Key
Psalm 77

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #2
Bring Your Complaints to God
Psalm 10

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #3
Ask Boldly
Psalm 22

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #4
Choose to Trust
Psalm 13

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #5
Broken World; Holy God
Lamentations 1 - 2

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #6
Hope Springs from Truth Rehearsed
Lamentations 3

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, Lesson #7
Unearthing Idols
Lamentations 5

Most biblical laments follow a pattern as God takes grieving people on a journey. This poetic odyssey usually includes four key elements: (1) an address to God, (2) a complaint, (3) a request, and (4) an expression of trust and/or praise. For the purposes in this book, I’ll use four words to help us learn to lament: turn, complain, ask, and trust. Part 1 explores these steps, helping us to know what they are and how to put them into practice.

Each step of lament is a part of a pathway toward hope. In the address, the heart is turned to God in prayer. Complaint clearly and bluntly lays out the reasons behind the sorrow. From there, the lamenter usually makes a request for God to act—to do something. Finally, nearly every lament ends with renewed trust and praise.

In this first chapter we will see how lament begins by turning to God in prayer. We’ll discover the supply of grace that comes as we take the step of faith to reach out to God. Lament invites us to turn our gaze from the rubble of life to the Redeemer of every hurt. It calls us to turn toward promise while still in pain.

The Psalms are where our journey begins.

Psalms of Lament

The book of Psalms is filled with lament. No doubt that’s why it is a cherished portion of Scripture. Aren’t the Psalms one of the first places you turn to when you’re in pain? The Psalms were the songbook for God’s covenant community. They reflect the joys, struggles, sorrows, and triumphs of life. It’s noteworthy that at least a third of the 150 psalms are laments. It is the largest category in the entire Psalter. Whether the lament is corporate, individual, repentance-oriented, or imprecatory (strongly expressing a desire for justice), you cannot read the Psalms without encountering laments.

One out of three psalms is in a minor key. Just think about that! A third of the official songbook of Israel wrestles with pain. But consider how infrequently laments appear in our hymnals or in our contemporary songs. I find this curious and concerning. Could it be that our prosperity, comfort, and love of triumphalism are reflected in what we sing? Is it possible that our unfamiliarity with lament is a by-product of a subtle misunderstanding of Christian suffering? Don’t get me wrong, there certainly is a place for celebration and joyful affirmation of the truths we believe. But I wonder about the long-term effect if the contemporary church and its people consistently miss this vital dimension of Christianity. The number of laments, their use, and their message invite us to consider the value of this biblical song of sorrow.

Laments are in the Bible for a reason.

When you put all this together, it’s clear that this minor-key song is vital to the life of God’s people. There’s something uniquely Christian about lament, something redemptive, and something full of faith. I hope this book helps you to discover the grace of lament.

Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 17–19.

Check out our Bible Study on Dark Clouds; Deep Mercy. A bible study on the book of Lamentations as well as some Psalms of Lament.

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