Psalm 61:8 —
Then I will ever sing in praise of your name
and fulfill my vows day after day.
It’s Palm Sunday! This week, we’ll look at the sixth part of a Lament in Psalms, Subsequent Praise. The prof of my Psalms class called this “Vow to Praise.” The lovely thing about this part is that the psalmists visualize how happy they’ll be after God answers and talk about how they will praise God.
Again, my acrostic for the parts of a Lament is:
A – Address to God
C – Complaint
C – Confession of Trust
E – Entreaty
S – Sureness of Help
S – Subsequent Praise
This final part almost sounds like bargaining with God – because they do make vows that they’ll sacrifice thank offerings when God answers their prayer. But I like to take the perspective that they are so sure of God’s help, they’re already visualizing how they will praise God when God comes through.
And that seems perfect for Palm Sunday. Because “Hosanna” means “Save us.” They hailed Jesus as the one who came in the name of the Lord to save. And we cry the same words in faith that it will happen – even though we haven’t seen it yet.
Yes, the crowd in Jesus’ day probably thought he was about to overthrow the Romans. But we repeat their cries, knowing and believing that Jesus saves and Jesus is the King – even though we haven’t seen it on earth yet.
The “Subsequent Praise” section is about having so much confidence in God that we praise God even before we see the answer. And the answer is so sure – maybe not the specifics, maybe not the timing – that we can already visualize how we will rejoice when the answer comes, and we can already thank God for hearing our prayer.
This section doesn’t appear in every single Lament in Psalms, and it’s often mixed together with the “Sureness of Help” section, not always the last part, but let me list some examples that fit.
Psalm 5:11–
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Psalm 13:6–
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 22:25–
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
I love these ones that are so sure God has heard, they start up the praise as soon as the request has been made with past tense.
Psalm 28:6-7–
Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 43:4–
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
From a Psalm of Confession, Psalm 51:13–
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Psalm 56:12–
I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
Psalm 59:16–
But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
I’m going to stop there for tonight, but there are plenty more examples. When you read Psalms, notice how often the Laments end with praise or a promise to praise. I think they live out what Paul said later in Philippians 4:6–
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The “with thanksgiving” part is built right into the form of the Lament.
And now, as usual, I’m going to pray an example lament – hoping you will try it, too. (And feel free to paste a lament into the comments!) My topic – my heart is just still so heavy that our country has sent people to death camps. And, well, I’ll put it, again, in the lament.
A Lament for Human Rights
Lord God hear my prayer,
listen to my cry.
I’m only one person,
but there are many more who feel this way,
and you’ve promised that when two or three gather in your name,
you are in the midst of them.
You’ve said that if we ask for bread,
you won’t give a stone.
Father, my heart is still heavy
that my own country has sent people to a death camp,
without hearings,
without warrants,
without evidence presented,
without any kind of sentence.
And my own country is revoking visas and green cards
again without hearings,
and apparently based on social media –
in a country where we used to have free speech.
And my own country is not allowing transgender people
to get passports under their correct name
or receive medical care
or serve in the military
or tell their own story.
Lord, this weekend I read not one but two children’s books
set during the Holocaust.
In both books, people didn’t leave Germany on time
and ended up dying.
Is this that time for transgender people?
For immigrants?
For Hispanics?
Is my own country replaying World War Two –
this time with the United States playing the villain?
Father, I do not understand,
I don’t begin to comprehend,
why you let World War Two happen,
where you were during the Holocaust.
But I do believe that you were present
with each one who suffered.
And I would like to think that humankind
learned a thing or two.
And I do trust that you will be with us
even if the worst happens,
that you will give us strength and guidance
to rise to the occasion,
to help the oppressed and stand against injustice.
But God, please act first!
Please let the US Constitution hold!
Let would-be oppressors be thwarted,
let propaganda be shown for what it is.
This time, let them fail to find informants
to send neighbors away to death camps.
Help humankind to do better this time
and stand for what’s right.
Help me to know what I can do,
how I can help.
May staying in America not be a tragic mistake
for transgender folks
or for immigrants
or visa holders.
And please set the prisoners free.
I always believe that justice wins in the end.
May we see it happen sooner this time.
May the people of America stop
any new Holocaust,
any new world war,
and may we again be the land of the free.
May the Bill of Rights apply
to everyone within our shores.
For you are a God of justice,
a God who cares for the fatherless and oppressed.
We look forward to praising your name
at disaster averted,
and having a joyous dance with our transgender friends
celebrating their beautiful lives.