A prayer for physical healing and for deliverance from ill-wishing enemies.
Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-3
st. 2 = vv. 4-5
st. 3 =vv. 6-7
st. 4 = vv. 8-10
Psalm 6 is the first of seven psalms designated in early Christian liturgical use as penitential psalms (the others are 32, 38, 51,102, 130, and 143). A severe illness subjects the psalmist to the unmasked glee of enemies who think to gain by his death. The psalmist prays urgently for God to lift this chastisement (st. 1), appealing for deliverance from death (st. 2), and expressing deep emotional pain inflicted by the glee of his enemies (st. 3). Then follows a confession of joyful assurance that God hears and will foil the enemies' expectations (st. 4).
Clarence P. Walhout (b. Muskegon, MI, 1934) versified the text in 1982 for the Psalter Hymnal; he was a member of the Poets' Workshop, a group of several writers who worked on versifications for the 1987 Psalter Hymnal. Professor of English at his alma mater, Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, since 1969, Walhout also attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He has been editor of the journal Christianity and Literature and is coauthor of The Responsibility of Hermeneutics (1985).
Liturgical Use:
Times of penitence and illness.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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