Lament and the Joy of Salvation in the Lament Psalms

Abstract

Commentators on the lament psalms are usually impressed by their remarkably sombre tone. Yet readers of Individual Lament Psalms would also be struck by the fact that, along with an extended preoccupation with great present distress in the midst of suffering and affliction, there appears, interspersed, the expression of assurance in God's salvation. It would be even more surprising that the Individual Lament psalms, in most cases, end jubilantly in abrupt praise of God. An obvious feature of Individual Lament Psalms is that they are prayers written in the first person singular, in the persona of one who complains of dire troubles, and are addressed to a deity apparently capable of rescuing individuals from the trouble. A confident expression of assurance in God's salvation is evident in the Psalm 130. As is commonly the case with Individual Lament Psalms, this psalm may not refer to any individual experience. Keywords: God's salvation; lament psalms