Lament Psalm Worksheet
08 December 2009
| Read Psalms 6 and 79, and then respond to the following questions. |
| A. Psalm 6 ("O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath." [NIV]) |
Points |
| 1. To whom is this psalm addressed? |
/5 |
| 2. Is the speaker an individual or a community? |
/5 |
3. What is the person or group requesting?
|
/10 |
4. What inspires the request for help?
|
/10 |
5. Note the shift in tone and tense between verses 7-8. (For translations
that number the stage directions as verse 1, this will be verses 8-9.) Why
has this shift occurred?
|
/10 |
6. Which components of the lament psalm form are missing from this particular
psalm? Explain.
|
/10 |
| Subtotal Points for Part A |
/50 |
| B. Psalm 79 ("O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy Temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble." [NIV]) |
Points |
| 1. Is this psalm communal or individual? |
/5 |
2. Is it a lament psalm? How can you tell?
|
/10 |
3. What is requested in this psalm?
|
/5 |
4. What does the psalmist offer to do if God grants this petition?
|
/5 |
5. Is there any evidence that God does grant this request? If so, where do you see this? If not, how can you tell? If the psalm does not present the request as granted, what historical circumstances might have caused the composer to think the request was denied?
|
/25 |
| Instructor Comments: |
Subtotal Points for Part B |
/50 |
| Total Points |
/100 |
| Less points for late submission |
- |
| Net Points |
|