The sound of lament is heard throughout Scripture. It is more than a cry of grief, more than a purely human reaction to a distressing event or oppressive situation. It is both a protest against the pain of the present time, and also a timeless expression of the weeping voice of God, in whose image and likeness we are made.

Human beings cry for the loss of life, for the loss of a future, for the loss of hope. In its power and precision, our personal lament lacerates the stodgy platitudes of well meaning friends and expresses the paradox that in the midst of life we know we are in death.

 Lucy Winkett