God creates the category of Messiahship, of the anointed king, so that he may himself come and be the anointed king of Israel, doing in person the work of judgment and mercy for which the ideal king would be equipped. Well, just as we can look back at the formation of that messianic portrait as a role designed for God’s own use, so the call to be people of lament at the place where the world is in pain is itself a vocation designed for God’s own use, in the person of his spirit, dwelling – and groaning! – in the hearts of God’s people.
