Jeremiads and the Christian Life
What is a Jeremiad? It’s often defined as lengthy, mournful complaint. It’s rarely a compliment when aimed at a piece of writing. And yet, it’s a reference to one of history’s greatest authors and a piece of writing that has endured for thousands of years—Jeremiah and his Lamentations.
The prophet Jeremiah bore witness to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The book opens by describing the city as a once virtuous woman, but through the Babylonian invasion and exile, she is exploited and unclean. Throughout the lament, there’s a refrain about guilt, that Judah had gotten themselves into this mess because of their grievous sin. There’s also a string of desperate pleas to God, as in 1:20, “Look, O LORD, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious.” The darkest degradations marked Judah in that time, described in 2:20, where Jeremiah cries out to the Lord again:
“Look, O LORD, and see!
With whom have you dealt thus?
Should women eat the fruit of their womb,
the children of their tender care?
Should cpriest and prophet be killed
in the sanctuary of the Lord?”
It’s hard to imagine circumstances so dire that cannibalism marked God’s own people. But buried in so mournful a lament, a declaration of hope bursts into the light. These are some of the most hopeful words in Scripture:
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.” -Lam. 3:22-24
We might say that lamentations are on a spectrum of light and darkness. Somehow, Jeremiah remained hopeful, even as he mourned. He put words to his hope. But not every lament shows off hope with words. What do I mean? Have you ever heard of Heman the Ezrahite? He’s the author of Psalm 88—a lament with no daylight to speak of. It concludes with the line: “darkness has become my only companion.” The entire Psalm is a complaint from a man who keeps praying but hears nothing from God. Heman sings,
“But I, O Lord, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?” -Ps. 88:13-14
That’s the refrain. Life is hard. God’s providence is harsh. And God’s not interested in helping. I wonder if that resonates with you? If it does, apparently you’re not alone. Psalm 88 might be the darkest lament in the Bible. Not in regard to the circumstances. We aren’t sure what Heman was going through. Nonetheless, it would be hard to imagine circumstances more devastating that Jerusalem in 586 B.C. But Psalm 88 might be the darkest lament in the Bible because there doesn’t seem to be a ray of hope in the words of it. There’s no claim that God is faithful, as in Lamentations.
It’s interesting and perhaps encouraging to observe that there’s a good way to complain and a bad way. The bad way in Scripture is referred to as grumbling. It’s a faithfulness, bitter, accusing kind of complaining. It’s the wilderness generation testing the Lord. But lament is complaining accompanied by faith. But what about Heman in Psalm 88? He doesn’t say anything resembling hope. There may be no hope in the words themselves, but here is where Heman’s faith is displayed: he keeps crying out to God. What’s most striking about the darkest lament in Scripture is that somebody can be so battered by life, but still raise their voice to God. Sometimes we’ve got no words of hope to speak of. But to complain to the Lord is to declare that there’s a God in heaven worthy of our trust. Sometimes, a complaint is all we’ve got. And on the testimony of Scripture, that is enough.