Lament Psalm Structure

Lament Psalm Structure: A lament psalm has five ingredients to its structure, the most prominent of which is the lament itself. The others are invocation, confidence, praise, and petition.

The Five Elements of the Structure of a Lament Psalm:

• Lament
• Invocation
• Confidence
• Praise
• Petition

Lament Psalm Structure: Lament

The lament is where the psalmist exposes the enemies of God – who are also usually his enemies as well. The psalmist kind of zooms in on these folks and paints a pretty vivid picture for us of exactly how evil they are and how deserving of God’s punishment they are. And in addition, the heightened picture that we get of these enemies also acts as justification for the psalmist asking God for deliverance from them.

An example of a lament in a lament psalm is found in Psalm 9, where the lament appears in verses 15 through 18.

Lament Psalm Structure: Invocation

This is where God is called upon by the psalmist. And sometimes we learn something about who God is in this section.

Lament Psalm Structure: Confidence

Here, the psalmist expresses confidence in the Lord.

Lament Psalm Structure: Praise

The psalmist calls on his audience to praise the Lord in this section. He could also praise the Lord himself

Lament Psalm Structure: Petition

Here is where the psalmist makes his request known to the Lord.

So, that’s the Lament Psalm Structure.