Sorrow and Grief:
102 – Languishing away in sorrow, feeling God opposes me.
I mingle tears with my drink…
For you have taken me up and thrown me down.
6 – Moaning because of opposition and personal sin.
My eye wastes away because of grief.
13 – Mourning and oppressed, feeling God is distant.
How long, O Lord, shall I cry for help?
42 – Deep discouragement and sadness.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
why are you in turmoil within me?
77 – A time of deep trouble, has God forgotten?
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying.
126 – God’s help is the difference between weeping and joy.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the desert!
Discouragement and Despair:
143 – Running to the Lord for refuge in overwhelming trouble.
The enemy has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness.
38 – Heaviness and brokenness because of personal sin.
My iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
42 – Deep discouragement and sadness.
My tears have been my food day and night…
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
88 – The blackness of despair and darkness.
You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Loneliness:
102 – Languishing away in sorrow, feeling God opposes me.
I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the house top.
42 – Deep discouragement and sadness.
I remember how it used to be:
how I would go with the crowds to the house of God…
God, why have you forgotten me?
142 – Feeling alone, in danger, and trapped.
No refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.
Overwhelmed:
69 – Flooded by attack and shame.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold.
38 – Overwhelmed by personal sin and its consequences.
My iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
79 – Hopelessness in the face of abuse and destruction.
The nations have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food.
143 – Running to the Lord for refuge in overwhelming trouble.
Answer me quickly, oh Lord! My spirit fails!
In Danger:
70 – Attacked by those who delight to make me fall.
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
3 – Crying out for rescue, confident in the Lord’s salvation.
I will not fear ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
Fearful and Afraid:
56 – Constantly attacked and opposed by many.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
55 – Betrayed by friends, fearfully wanting to escape.
My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Trapped and in Distress:
57 – Running to the love of God for refuge amidst enemies.
God will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me.
142 – Feeling trapped while alone and attacked.
In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me…
No refuge remains to me.
Feeling Distant from and Abandoned by God:
13 – Mourning and oppressed, feeling God is distant.
How long, O Lord, shall I cry for help?
22 – At the point of death, feeling forsaken by God.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
43 – Feeling rejected by God, crying out for vindication.
You are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?
60 – A national lament in light of defeat.
You have made your people see hard things.
74 – Oppressed and standing in ruins as a nation.
Walk through the awful ruins of the city;
the enemy has destroyed everything.
77 – A time of deep trouble, has God forgotten?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Feeling God is Angry with Us:
85 – Asking God to turn from anger to restoration.
Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
44 – Calling on God to act and save as he has done before.
You have rejected us and disgraced us… Rise up; come to our help!
60 – A national lament in light of defeat.
Oh God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
you have been angry; oh, restore us.
90 – God is everlasting, but man’s life is fleeting and sinful.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Guilt and Repentance:
51 – A plea for mercy and cleansing after great sin.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
32 – Freedom in confessing sin and the burden of silence.
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven.
130 – Waiting and hoping for God’s love and redemption.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
Anger and Rage:
10 – Longing for justice for the poor and oppressed.
Do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
7 – Crying out for judgment against those who wrongly persecute.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
73 – Deep wrestling with why the wicked prosper.
All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
94 – Calling on God to act against arrogance and wickedness.
Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
120 – Anger against lies and violence.
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
140 – Looking to God for rescue and vengeance.
Let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
Full List of Lament Psalms:
The categories above do not contain all of the lament Psalms. The goal of those lists is to just give a helpful representative selection. Below is a full list* of the lament Psalms.
Personal Lament Psalms:
3, 4, 5, 7, 9:13-20, 10, 13, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27:7-14, 28, 31, 36, 39, 40:11-17, 41, 42, 43, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 73, 77, 86, 88, 120, 139:19-24, 141, 142
Corporate Lament Psalms:
12, 44, 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89:38-52, 90, 94, 123, 126
Lament Psalms of Repentance:
6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 106, 130, 143
Imprecatory Lament Psalms:
35, 69, 83, 109, 137, 140
*This list is adapted from those found in Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop