For Aid I Call: A Lament

READ: PSALM 7:1; PROVERBS 18:10; HEBREWS 13:6

Oh Lord, are Your ears stone?
From times of old I have cried out for aid, but no answer have I received.

To the left, fear plots for my life; affliction laughs at my right hand.
Trouble is near me.

But You, O God, O Lord of might and justice,
You alone are my hope.
Even when all hope seems lost, You keep me secure.

Tears washed my bed, and a troubled sleep took me,
but I awoke in joy, for Your steadfast love encompassed me.

I call to You only for aid, and You alone I seek;
I cannot save myself.

Your sword alone can crush my enemies,
and You alone can lay my foes at my feet.

From my lips, Your praise builds its peak;
higher than the mountaintops,
To the depths of the sea and to the farthest star Your song reaches.

For You are the Deliverer, the Faithful, and the Giver of blessings.
I will praise You alone, for You are good. • Bonny Garlets

• Today’s poem is written in the style of a lament psalm. Lament psalms are a mix of complaint, trust, and assurance. When our foundations are crumbling, we can talk to God with raw honesty, like the psalmists did, and we can trust Him to hold us safely even in the midst of suffering. Because Jesus suffered the cross for us, crying out in the words of Psalm 22, we can come to Him in any suffering. We can know that He feels our hurts with us, and He promises to save us and to one day make all things new. What kinds of hardships or trouble have you been experiencing lately? Consider taking some time to pour out your own lament to God.

• If you want to dig deeper, read Psalms 3:8; 6:6; 7:9; 16:9; 28:1-2; 30:5; 32:10; 33:5; 36:5; 45:4; 56:4; 71:5; 108:12; 146:3-5.

LoORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:1-3 (NIV)