Psalm 6 is the 6th psalm from the Book of Psalms. The Psalm gives its author as King David. David's supposed intention in writing the psalm was that it would be for anyone suffering from sickness or distress or for the state of the Kingdom of Israel while suffering through oppression. The Geneva Bible gives the following summary: The psalm is the first of the seven Penitential Psalms, as identified by Cassiodorus in a commentary of the 6th century AD. Many translations have been made of these psalms, and musical settings have been made by many composers.
In 1532, Marguerite de Navarre, a woman of French nobility, included the sixth psalm of David in the new editions of the popular Miroir de l’âme pécheresse. The psalm would also be later translated by the futureElizabeth I of England in 1544, when Elizabeth was eleven years old. Many feel that the penitential Psalm had a reformation orientation to the readers of the day.
Psalm 6 in medieval illumination
The psalm was frequently chosen for illumination in medieval Books of Hours, to open the section containing the penitential psalms.
Themes
From Augustine's Enarrationes till Eduard König and the advent of the form-critical method in the early 20th century this was considered one of the penitential psalms. Since then Hermann Gunkel has classed it as one of the Individual Lamentations, as one of the"Sick Psalms". For Martin Luther, the 6th Psalm was very important. It illustrated various central points of his theology. Psalm 6 is in three parts, distinguished by the person.
First, the psalmist addresses God and
speaks for himself, and
finally speaks to his enemies.
The psalmist expresses his distress in parts 1 and 2 and uses a rich palette of words to describe this distress, "powerless," "bone shaking," "extreme distress". He even expresses his distress by the excessiveness "of tears bathed layer", "eye consumed by grief,"... In stating the enemies of the Psalmist, we understand that this distress is caused by relational problem. But it is unclear if he is innocent. However, he says he will be reinstated and that his opponents will be confounded. Trouble seems primarily psychological, but is also expressed through the body. It is as much the body as the soul of the psalmist cries out to God. In fact, it is also touched in his spiritual being, faced with the abandonment of God. In the absence of God emerges the final hope of the Psalmist, expressed confidence cry in the last three verses.
Heading
The Psalm header can be interpreted in different ways:
Some verses of Psalm 6 are referenced in the New Testament:
Verse 3a: in.
Verse 8 in ;.
In the Psalms almost all lament Psalms end with an upturn and here the upturn is a statement of confidence in being heard. .. The sorrowful prayer models lamenting with an attitude of being heard, as seen in the book of Hebrews..
Verse 1 is quoted in chapter 6 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical by this church.
Music
In the Rule of St. Benedict the psalm is sung "At Prime on Monday with three other psalms, namely Psalm 1, Psalm 2 and Psalm 6." Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 6 twice: once as "Ach, Herr, straf mich nicht", SWV 24, included in his Psalmen Davids, Op. 2,, and once as "Ach Herr mein Gott, straf mich doch nicht", SWV 102, as part of his Becker Psalter settings, Op. 5. "Herr, straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn / Das bitt ich dich von Herzen" is a German paraphrase of Psalm 6, set by, among others, Johann Crüger. Settings based on Crüger's hymn tune were included in the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch, and composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Psalm 6 also formed the basis of the hymn "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" by Johann Georg Albinus. The French composer Henry Desmarest used the psalm in the work "Grands Motets Lorrain".
