
At a Glance
116 Pages
17.78 x 13.34 x 0.61
Paperback
RRP $23.09
$22.99
or 4 interest-free payments of $5.75 with
Ships in 5 to 7 business days
Hymns and Lamentations is a meditation on the realities of deep faith and great suffering. It takes its place in the long tradition of religious literature where a personal relationship with the divine is embraced and swum through, while the equally great reality of suffering and injustice questions the very nature of belief and of God. In Hymns and Lamentations, ecstasy and anguish answer one another.
Industry Reviews
The lamentations come first, all tidily numbered from 1 to 50. The first 39 are powerful stuff and, if you have normal feelings, will hit you in the gut. For those among us who try to maintain a cool distance from their inner emotional beings, this is a severe challenge. Miller writes powerfully but note that his torment is that of a religious believer who must reconcile the notion of a just God with the evil of this world. An atheist would not have this problem and neither would a deist because they respectively do not believe in a deity or [believe] in one that abides in a state of indifference to the worlds that resulted from the godly creation. So it is easier for this range of disbelief/belief to handle these times when "God blinked." Miller's evocations of massacres are searing as his hymns are uplifting and will give strength to believers. The secular humanist will give due credence to Miller's humanity. --ZYX
Hymns & Lamentations is a thoughtful collection of writings over the cruelty of life and how faith can help you endure the worst of it all. For those looking for the strength of life to face the worst of it, Hymns & Lamentations is a choice pick. --Midwest Book Review
Miller reaches as far as his art can take him, well beyond the circumference of his own experience. [In Hymns & Lamentations], each poem is occupies a page - and the pages are small. Most stanzas begin with the phrase "Oh God," a call to a God whose presence is invisible but felt. The title is purely descriptive. Part I consists of fifty lamentations, delivered by those slain in the genocides of the past three centuries: the Holocaust, Cambodia, and Atlantic slavery among them. Spoken directly without the veil of figurative language, they are difficult to read in one sitting....
The hymns gain their considerable power exactly from the fact that they follow the laments. Miller does not make the mistake of pretending that the praise and love of the hymns can console or compensate the cries of the murdered and lamenting dead. He does not try to explain their suffering. That's left to the reader. This makes the poems considerably more powerful: they continue revolving in my mind, lament and hymn, long after I read them....
To the extent that it's possible to extract an argument from a collection of poems, his argument is about the nature of God and of God's love. It is an incitement to a more thoughtful theology.... Since the problem of evil is common across religious (and unreligious) lines, his work deserves a wide readership. Long may he write.
--Tom Laichas, author of Empire of Eden
1. A lamentation over a man of God
2. A lamentation over a community
3. A lamentation over a daughter
4. A lamentation over a child
5. A lamentation over a mother
6. A lamentation over many women
7. A lamentation over a man
8. A lamentation over a man
9. A lamentation over a man
10. A lamentation over an elderly man
11. A lamentation over an elderly man
12. A lamentation over a man
13. A lamentation over a young woman
14. A lamentation over a woman
15. A lamentation over a young woman
16. A lamentation over a man
17. A lamentation over a young woman
18. A lamentation over a young woman
19. A lamentation over a daughter, wife, & mother
20. A lamentation over a woman
21. A lamentation over a witness
22. A lamentation over two men
23. A lamentation over a young man
24. A lamentation over a community
25. A lamentation over a mother
26. A lamentation over a enslaved man
27. A lamentation over a community
28. A lamentation over a community
29. A lamentation over a hanged man
30. A lamentation over those in mines
31. A lamentation over a slave ship
32. A lamentation over a slave ship
33. A lamentation over a slave ship
34. A lamentation over a slave
35. A lamentation over fathers, husbands, & brothers
36. A lamentation over a slave
37. A lamentation over a slave ship
38. A lamentation over a family
39. A lamentation over a widow
40. A lamentation over the hands, legs, & heart
41. A lamentation over the eyes, ears and skin
42. A lamentation over the mind, soul, & life
43. A lamentation over the body, the soul, & the life
44. A lamentation over God
45. A lamentation over God 47
46. A lamentation over God 48
47. A lamentation over God's love 49
48. A lamentation over memory 50
49. A lamentation over mourning 51
50. A lamentation over the river 52
1. A hymn for the river 55
2. A hymn for the day 56
3. A hymn for being pleased 57
4. A hymn for the fingers of God 58
5. A hymn for faith 59
6. A hymn for being swallowed 60
7. A hymn for the flowering tree 61
8. A hymn for God's fullness 62
9. A hymn for my wife 63
10. A hymn for a stranger 64
11. A hymn for the river 65
12. A hymn for hymning 66
13. A hymn for the body of God 67
14. A hymn for stillness 68
15. A hymn for knots 69
16. A hymn for being with God 70
17. A hymn for a good life 71
18. A hymn for the fear 72
19. A hymn for no identity 73
20. A hymn for the leech 74
21. A hymn for the river 75
22. A hymn for wholeness 76
23. A hymn for the doubt 77
24. A hymn for uncertainty 78
25. A hymn for my wife 79
26. A hymn for my parents 80
27. A hymn for my brother 81
28. A hymn for a tree 82
29. A hymn for hymning 83
30. A hymn for humility 84
31. A hymn for silent calm 85
32. A hymn for constant prayer 86
33. A hymn for faith 87
34. A hymn for the eyes 88
35. A hymn for the ears 89
36. A hymn for skin 90
37. A hymn for the senses 91
38. A hymn for the senses 92
39. A hymn for never rebelling, never conforming 93
40. A hymn for the river 94
41. A hymn for death 95
42. A hymn for knowing "God is this!" 96
43. A hymn for no hope or expectation 97
44. A hymn for the body 98
45. A hymn for the river 99
46. A hymn for creation 100
47. A hymn for the still wheel 101
48. A hymn for every ugliness 102
49. A hymn for God in the rain 103
50. A hymn for the love of God 104
ISBN: 9780979870729
ISBN-10: 0979870720
Published: 2nd February 2025
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 116
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: S4N Books
Dimensions (cm): 17.78 x 13.34 x 0.61
Weight (kg): 0.11
Shipping
| Standard Shipping | Express Shipping | |
|---|---|---|
| Metro postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
| Regional postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
| Rural postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.
How to return your order
At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.
Additional postage charges may be applicable.
Defective items
If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.
For more info please visit our Help Centre.
























