A Lament
Jesus, King of sorrows,
Crowned with thorns,
Bearing even in Your resurrected glory
Marks of nails and spear:
You alone, of all the gods of this world,
Are the God who suffers.
You are the Man of sorrows,
Acquainted with grief,
Crushed for our sins,
Your soul in anguish for our iniquity.
You suffered for us,
And you suffer with us.
You are the High Priest who suffers with our weaknesses;
When Your children, Your body, are persecuted,
You are persecuted.
Your Spirit dwelling in Your saints
Groans with us,
Deeper than our deepest whispered longings.
Lord God,
We do groan.
How long must Your afflicted ones
Flee the terrors of the night
And the bullets that fly by day,
The pestilence that stalks at midnight,
The destruction that devastates at noon?
How long must we bear the griefs
Of the boldface, all-caps, headline Troubles
That drive people from their homes
And jeopardize their daughters?
That bury nations' hopes in piles of rubble
And devour communities in tongues of fire and pillars of smoke?
How long the griefs of unseen, individual troubles
Which exact no less a toll?
The cancers, the deaths,
The disease of mind and body,
The fear, the heartache,
The hardships, the prodigals,
The persecution for truth's sake?
But You, O Lord,
When Trouble is near,
God, be nearer!
Make the thorns we bear
Blossom with the rose of Your presence.
Hide not Your face
From the affliction of the afflicted.
Open Your ears and soften Your heart
To our pleas.
Be the fourth man in the flaming fire.
Part the waters.
Open the spring in the desert rock.
Lead with Your pillar of fire.
Shelter with Your pillar of cloud.
Lead with Your pillar of fire.
Shelter with Your pillar of cloud.
Mark Your people with the shield of Your presence--
"Touch not the apple of My eye."
Work mighty deliverances
For Your name's sake.
In our troubles big and small,
Write stories like lighthouses
To draw many to Yourself.
Come quickly, Lord.
We trust You;
Give us grace to trust You.
In living, in dying, in sorrows, in joys,
Make us bold to call on You,
O Triune God and Shepherd,
In gratitude that no created thing
From Your conquering love
Can sever us,
Through the keeping of Jesus our suffering Savior.
Amen.
