The Sidney or Sidneian Psalms are a 16th-century Biblical paraphrase of the Psalms in English verse, the work of Philip and Mary Sidney, aristocratic siblings who were influential Elizabethan poets. The Psalms were published after Philip's death in 1586 and a copy was presented to Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1599. The translation was praised in the work of John Donne.
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is the first in the Sidney Psalter and was written by Philip Sidney in the late 16th century. This is a poetic adaptation of the psalm in the biblical Book of Psalms. The Sidney psalms differ from other psalm translations from the Renaissance period in their focus on aesthetics. Though some claim this detracts from true translation they are still praised today for their creative poetic forms. Of the contemporaries, John Donne praised them as "The highest matter in the noblest form".
Themes The first psalm sets up themes which recur through the Psalter:
Separation of sinful from righteous The Book of Psalms, including the Sidney Psalter, is concerned with being righteous. Psalms 31 and 51 contain pious apologies which blame God (Psalm 22) and others (Psalm 109), when people are not completely sinless. There is a recurring theme of judgement to separate sinners from the righteous. This begins Psalm 1, where the wheat is literally sorted from the "chaff" – "the wicked, but like chaff".
"Not with the just, be their meetings placed". Examples of this recurrent theme include:
Psalm 11: "on them: storms, brimstone, coals he rains: that is their share assigned. But so of happy other side."
Psalm 145: "He will his lovers all preserve; He will the wicked all destroy."
The righteous and the sinful may be separated by the path they choose. Psalm 1 sees two paths laid out for man, "ruin's way" where "wicked counsel leads," or the way of God. This Psalm shares the motif of paths or "the way", especially choosing the right path, with the Bible; the opening line of Psalm 1 refers to "tread[ing]" the right path. This path can be seen as the beginning of a journey the psalms and through this lyrical Psalter.
Other references to paths in the Psalter include: Psalm 16: "Thou life's path wilt make me know"
Psalm 119: "and to thy paths will have a good eye"
Anthropomorphic nature This Psalm attempts to describe the nature of God. God is described as a man, and thus describes actual man as lesser to preserve man's inferiority to God. When God is made man, man becomes a worm (Psalm 22), a sheep (Psalm 23), or a tree.
Verse 2 describes the righteous as "a freshly planted tree" and continues this metaphor by referring to the "braunches", "fruite" and "leafe" of the tree as ways of describing a prosperous follower of God. This imagery continues through the rest of the Psalter.
Trees may be used in Psalms for several reasons. The roots of a tree may be a metaphor for roots in God. Fruit borne from trees may be a metaphor for the gifts of God. The growth of trees may be a metaphor for spiritual growth. Use of fig leaves to represent shame or sin are also tree-related imagery. Examples from the text include:
Psalm 72: "I as an Olive tree, Still green shall flourish: God's house the soil shall be My roots to nourish."
Psalm 92: "Like cedar high and like date-bearing tree, For green and growth, the just shall be."
Translation differences In this section the word "translation" refers to translation of meaning.
Biblical translations were rife in the 16th century as the growth of the Church of England promoted personal relationships with God and understanding of Holy texts. These various translations highlighted some problems with interpreting "the Word of God": How is meaning truly translated? This is particularly true with literary versions such as the Sidney Psalter, which as aesthetic interpretations may arguably cause the focus on form and courtly style to obscure the true message – or revisers of "The Whole Booke of Psalmes" thought. The examples below highlight some differences in meaning implied by different translations. Sidney's Psalm One is here compared to the anti-aesthetic King James Bible equivalent.
"He shall be like a freshly planted tree To which sweet springs of waters neighbours be"
"and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water".
The main difference between the verse translations is in the addition of adjectives. For example, the adjective "freshly" arguably changes the imagery of this section, from that of a firmly rooted, strong being of nature to a weak and flexible sapling. Another interpretation of this is that Sidney's tree represents a "fresh" faith that still has room to grow with the aid of God's "sweet springs".
Equally, the inclusion of the noun "neighbours" in the following line gives new action to the "water", making the "waters neighbours" to the tree changes the relationship between the two from one of simple useful proximity to an active relationship of caring attention.
"Wicked" to "ungodly".
In both line 2, verse 1 and line 1, verse 3, Sidney prefers the word "ungodly" as used in the King James Bible for the word "wicked". In the 16th century the difference between these two adjectives were not as great as it appears to a modern audience, but the different level of negative connotation remains. Often in biblical literature the "ungodly" simply need educating and saving, making them appear more as "the lost sheep"; whereas "the wicked" suggests a greater intention to do evil. Part of the definition of "wicked" in the Oxford English Dictionary reads as "inclined or addicted to wilful wrong-doing". So the change in adjective changes the level of sinners' "wilful" intent.
"But are like the chaf which the wind driveth away". "But like chaf with wind/ Scattered".
In this line the main difference is clearly the term "scattered" as opposed to "driveth away". The King James Bible was not completed until 1611, long after the circulation of the Psalter, so it cannot be said that Sidney softened or made harsher any terms as had not the comparative reference we see here. What can be said is that different imagery is created: Sidney's psalm portrays the wicked being separated from one another, carelessly "scattered" away, while the King James Bible gives the impression of force driving away the wicked to a separate and faraway place. "Scattered" also has positive connotations, however, especially in relation to farming. A farmer will "scatter" seeds to grow or "scatter" feed for beasts. Although this is not the implied meaning here, these connotations are significant in view of the frequency with which animal-husbandry and agricultural language appear throughout the Book of Psalms.
"But on God's law his heart's delight doth binde". "But his delight is in the law of the Lord".
There are many interesting differences between these lines. First let us examine the placement of God in the sentence construction. In both sentences "God" or "the Lord" is the object however where the King James Bible uses the now standard sentence construction SVO (subject, verb, object) placing "the Lord" at the end of the sentence. The Sidney psalm has an archaic OSV (object, subject, verb) form. One reason for this could simply be to make the line fit the rhyming pattern ("binde" rhyming with "minde" at the end of the following line). But it changes the importance placed on "God"/"the Lord" by placing him in the middle of the line, where his presence has less impact than it does as the closing words in the King James Bible version.
Another difference is the inclusion of the possessive noun "heart's". As with previous examples, inclusion of extra words like these have often been put down to poetic flourishes, but they do create different interpretations of the text. By making the "delight" from the "heart" Sidney makes the "delight" a purely emotional reaction, whereas, without this addition in The King James Bible translation, the delight can equally be from the mind – happy to choose the righteous option – or soul – naturally reacting to God – or any other part of man.
Criticism In his journal "Sir Philip Sidney's Psalms, the Sixteenth-Century Psalter, and the Nature of Lyric", Roland Greene praises Philip Sidney as "the premier English poetical theorist of the time". However, most criticism and reviews of the Sidney Psalter focus on the later psalms written by Mary Sidney, with Moffet terming Mary Sidney's Psalmes "sweet and heavenly tuned,". This sadly leaves a gap in critical response to first 43 Psalms, which were written by Philip Sidney before his death, though there is much on his other works.
However, there is some criticism of the Psalter as a whole. David Norton explains how Bray, a Sidney contemporary and a "great spreader of Christian culture", hoped that "literary appreciation (of a sort) would make people more religious.". Bray praised the Psalter as a work of art, which would make people more interested in the Bible and thereby religion.
Psalm 3 This section focuses on the third Psalm featured in the Sidney Psalter, a project that involved translating the Psalms into English poetry in the 16th century. Originally written by poet Sir Philip Sidney, the project was completed by his sister Mary Herbert after Philip's death in 1586. Psalm 3 was written by Philip Sidney and adapts the third biblical Psalm, told from the perspective of David when he fled from his son Absalom. When Philip Sidney died in a military campaign, he had completed only 43 of the Psalms. The remaining translations were left for his sister. A copy was presented to Elizabeth I in 1599. Although The Sidney Psalms were privately circulated, they were not officially published until 1828. While some have criticised them for considerable differences between Sidney's poetic elaborations and the Psalms that feature in the anti-aesthetic King James Bible, others have praised them for their creative poetic forms. Most notably complimentary were the metaphysical poets John Donne and George Herbert.
Synopsis Psalm 3 belongs to Sidney's Psalmes of David, as David is the subject of many of the Psalms. It is his personal thanksgiving to God for answering the prayer of an afflicted soul. In the King James Bible, the Psalm is introduced as "A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son".The King James Bible, David Norton · Cambridge University Press · Paperback. Absalom led a fierce and powerful rebellion against his father, seeking to take the Kingdom from him. When David is left feeling betrayed by his own son and deserted by his subjects, he turns to God in prayer and confesses his faith. The story of Absalom can be found in the two Books of Samuel. Sidney's Psalm opens with David questioning God about the ever constant presence of sinners in the world. He goes onto say that no matter how his enemies may multiply, he can rely on God to be his protector.
Structure As with all Sidney's poetic adaptations, Psalm 3 has a consistent rhyme scheme throughout.It is divided into six stanzas, each opening with a rhyming couplet and having an AABCCB rhyme scheme. The original biblical Psalms make no use of rhyme, which highlights the parallel between aestheticism and anti-aestheticism. However, Sidney's use of rhyme helps to maintain the psalm's traditional musical style.
Themes Segregation of the sinful A recurring theme in Sidney's Psalms is the divide between the righteous and the sinful, sinners frequently being referred to as "enemies". Psalm 3 opens with David directly questioning God about such enemies: "LORD, how do they encrease, That hatefull never cease To breed my grievous trouble How many ones there be, That all against poor me Their numbrous strength redouble?"Sir Philip Sidney, Hannibal Hamlin · OUP Oxford · Paperback, p. 309.