I had the unique privilege to write a review of Sandra McCracken’s latest album (out yesterday) for The Gospel Coalition. You can read the whole review HERE, but here’s the introduction:
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As many as 40 percent of the Bible’s psalms could be categorized as psalms of lament. Their words pulse with protest, indignation, complaint, and sorrow, even as they contain hope. While the modern worship movement has done much good, it has largely missed the importance of lament.
Artists like Sandra McCracken help us recover this biblical tradition.
McCracken’s new album, Songs from the Valley, feels like a natural progression from her previous two studio albums, Psalms and God’s Highway. The psalms drive us to God, seeking his light in the darkness of earthly toil. They give voice to our protests and frustrations. They provide a framework and vocabulary for approaching God, even when he seems distant.
The protests and expressed frustrations of lament might seem beneath the Christian believer, but they are all over the pages of Scripture.
