8 Hymns to Sing in Response to Tragedy

When words fail, when we don’t even know how to pray, we can rest in the glorious reality that Christ himself intercedes for us. We have scriptures that give us a language to say what we feel but cannot verbalize, especially the Psalms, and the very words of Christ, who cried out so we wouldn’t have to, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And those of us who continue the hymn-singing tradition have the benefit of texts that have eloquently captured the tension of human pain and incarnational reality.

Here are a few that I’ve chosen to share now, in the hope that they can sources of strength and comfort to those who need them during this time of unrest. They contain words of lament, grief, and conviction, juxtaposed with the hope that we have in Christ and our responsibility toward each other.