John Piper has an article about the book of Lamentations. He mentions that it's one of the most "formally crafted books in the Old Testament." Its chapters contain 22 stanzas each. Three of the four chapters are in acrostic form fitting the Hebrew alphabet. The structure is very organized and well thought out. The interesting thing is that it's also one of the most emotional books of the bible. Written during a dark time in biblical history when God's people were suffering the horrible judgment of God. Here is a good example of how we can channel our emotions in a way that expresses the depths of our experiences. He mentions that people usually need time to reflect on what they are feeling and afterwards are better able to put it into words (sometimes through poetry). His point is that there is a place for spontaneous emotional expression, but there is still a greater place for sharing meaningful experiences after much reflection and meditation. Both are critical to a healthy spiritual life. Here is a quote from the article.
"Emotions are like a river flowing out of one's heart. Form is like the riverbanks. Without them the river runs shallow and dissipates on the plain. But banks make the river run deep. Why else have humans for centuries reached for poetry when we have deep affections to express? The creation of a form happens because someone feels a passion. How ironic, then, that we often fault form when the real evil is a dry spring."--John Piper
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