A Lament Psalm for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery

How much longer?

O Lord, my God
    how long will You hide from Your creation?
How long will we be in turmoil,
    hatred flowing throughout the world?

How much longer will violence be inevitable?

Peace is foreign to this nation and world,
    bigotry and prejudice remain.
Murder and hatred is what we expect,
    and we feel abandoned in our pain.

We see injustice with our eyes
    while some persist to be blind.
We have been numb to the images
    of Your creation being slaughtered.

Black boys, men, girls, and women are crying out
    and You remain hidden.
Our nation has been complicit
    and we stand condemned.

How much longer do we wait?

Answer us, my Lord and God.
Hear the mourning of your children;
    act swiftly, act justly,
    comfort the mourning and broken-hearted,
    destroy this evil in our nation,
show the world You are merciful and just.

Forgive us, merciful Creator and Maker.
This nation remains unrepentant
    for our individual and systemic racism.
We need Your amazing grace
    because your Church has been complicit;
we have sinned against You and our neighbor.

But You remain faithful and True;
    our hearts yearn for You.
Your children have been given grace,
    the salvation and restoration through Jesus.
Justice and mercy met once
    through taking our sin and giving your perfection.

Help us sing
    ‘How Great Thou Art.’