Modern Psalms

O Lord, hear the heaviness of my heart,
for sorrow rises within me like a flood.
My soul is weary from the suffering I see,
and from the suffering that walks beside me each day.

Why does pain fill the earth You created?
Why do Your people cry out without relief?
You formed the heavens and the deep places of the sea,
yet the world groans as though abandoned.

Did You make us only to struggle and fall?
Why must the righteous carry burdens that seem too heavy?
Why did Your Son suffer among men
and bear wounds that pierced both flesh and spirit?

Lord, if You are near, why do You feel so far away?

If Your Spirit lives among us,
why do the broken walk through long nights of sorrow?

I look upon the world and see grief upon grief.
The poor cry out.
The weary stumble.
The forgotten search for hope in dry places.

Sometimes my mind whispers fearful thoughts:
Is this world a prison of suffering?
Are we wandering in darkness with no hand to guide us?
Are we alone beneath the heavens?

Yet still I lift my voice to You, O God,
for even in doubt my heart searches for You.
Even in sorrow my spirit reaches upward.

You are the One who hears the cry of the afflicted.
You are the One who sees the tears that fall in secret.
You are the One who remembers those the world forgets.

You are the One who hears the cry of the afflicted.
You are the One who sees the tears that fall in secret.
You are the One who remembers those the world forgets.

Therefore I will not silence my questions before You.
I will pour them out like water at Your feet,
for the Lord who formed the heart
also understands its anguish.

Look upon Your servant, O God.
Strengthen the weary soul.
Bring light to the dark places of this world.

For though the night is long,
I still hope that morning belongs to You.

Amen.