Just as the Book of Psalms provides the words we need for lament (expressing our grief and hurt to God), the Psalter also provides the guidance and language we need for negotiating the time after lament (learning to trust and give thanks).

Nearly half of the psalms in the Book of Psalms are "laments," expressions of grief, trouble, and suffering combined with calls for God's help. Glenn Pemberton's earlier book, Hurting with God, describes how the lament psalms helped him express his heart honestly before God. In After Lament, he masterfully explores the next stage of the journey, pointing out that lament does not always lead to thanksgiving. What happens when God does not answer our lament? In this rich book, Pemberton draws our attention to psalms of trust. How do we learn to trust God "after lament"?

Even if God's answer to our lament was "yes," we cannot return to our life before the storm. Scars remain. And should God's answer to our lament be something other than we wanted, we have an even greater faith challenge. How do we live with a God who said "no" in our moment of greatest need? Focusing on the psalms of trust, this book shows the Bible's answer to this question.

Glenn Pemberton teaches Old Testament at Abilene Christian University, including a popular undergraduate course on Israel's wisdom and devotional literature. Glenn has been a preacher among churches for over twenty years. He earned his PhD from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology, and has published various essays on Proverbs and is author of Hurting with God (ACU Press, 2012) and When God Calls: Will You Trust Me Now? Glenn and his wife Dana live in West Texas.

"In his previous book, Hurting with God, Glenn Pemberton has shown us how to read the psalms of lament close to lived reality. Now in After Lament he guides us through a move beyond lament to hope, praise, and thanksgiving. The perceptiveness of his interpretive skill is made deeply compelling by the fact that every word he writes has been filtered through his own life of loss and renewed buoyancy. Readers will find a faithful, strong companion in Pemberton in the move into and out of lament, all in an act of profound faith."

—Walter Brueggemann
Columbia Theological Seminary
author of An Introduction to the Old Testament

"I recommend this well-written and wise book to everyone, particularly those who struggle with life."

—Tremper Longman III
Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies
Westmont College

ISBN: 9780891124870

Pages: 224

Dimensions (inches): 9 x 6

Weight (pounds): 0.75