Editing Psalms (section)

===In Christian prayer and worship===
<!--[[Psalm (Christian)]] and [[Psalms (Christian)]] redirect here-->
[[File:Psałterz florianski1.jpg|thumb|[[St. Florian]]'s psalter, 14th or 15th century, [[Bible translations into Polish|Polish translation]]]]
[[File:Cantoria Della Robbia OPA Florence 9.jpg|thumb|Children singing and playing music, illustration of [[Psalm 150]] (Laudate Dominum)]]
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 134.png|thumb|right|David is depicted as a psalmist in this 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]]
[[New Testament]] references show that the earliest Christians used the Psalms in worship, and the Psalms have remained an important part of [[worship]] in most Christian Churches. The [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Presbyterian]], [[Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] Churches have always made systematic use of the Psalms, with a cycle for the recitation of all or most of them over the course of one or more weeks. In the early centuries of the Church, it was expected that any candidate for [[bishop]] would be able to recite the entire Psalter from memory, something they often learned automatically during their time as [[Christian monasticism|monks]].<ref name="memorise">{{cite web|url=http://www.etrfi.org/uploads/1/0/7/9/10798906/saint_sabas.pdf|title=Saint Sabas and the Psalms|author-first1=Tom|author-last1=Meyer|date=27 March 2010|website=The Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel|access-date=14 July 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=14 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714221859/https://www.etrfi.org/uploads/1/0/7/9/10798906/saint_sabas.pdf}}</ref> Christians have used [[Pater Noster cord]]s of 150 beads to pray the entire Psalter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Doerr |first1=Nan Lewis |last2=Owens |first2=Virginia Stem |title=Praying with Beads: Daily Prayers for the Christian Year |date=28 August 2007 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2727-2 |page=viii |language=English}}</ref>

[[Paul the Apostle]] quotes psalms (specifically [[Psalm 14|Psalms 14]] and [[Psalm 53|53]], which are nearly identical) as the basis for his theory of [[original sin]], and includes the scripture in the [[Epistle to the Romans]], [[Romans 3|chapter 3]].

Several conservative Protestant denominations sing only the Psalms (some churches also sing the small number of hymns found elsewhere in the Bible) in worship, and do not accept the use of any non-Biblical hymns; examples are the [[Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America]], the Presbyterian Reformed Church (North America) and the [[Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)]].

* [[Psalm 22]] is of particular importance during the season of [[Lent]] as a Psalm of continued faith during severe testing.
* [[Psalm 23]], ''The {{LORD}} is My Shepherd'', offers an immediately appealing message of comfort and is widely chosen for church [[funeral]] services, either as a reading or in one of several popular hymn settings;
* [[Psalm 51]], ''Have mercy on me O God'', called the ''Miserere'' from the first word in its Latin version, in both [[Divine Liturgy]] and ''Hours'', in the sacrament of repentance or confession, and in other settings;
* [[Psalm 82]] is found in the [[Book of Common Prayer]] as a funeral recitation.
* [[Psalm 137]], ''By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept'', the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] uses this hymn during the weeks preceding Great [[Lent]].
* [[Psalm 145]]  by title 'A psalm of praise", is an accrostic of praise and David's final Psalm.  Verses from it are frequently used in many contemporary worship songs and read by many contemporary worship leaders in services.

New translations and settings of the Psalms continue to be produced. An individually printed volume of Psalms for use in Christian religious rituals is called a [[Psalter]].

[[Imam-ud-Din Shahbaz]] (1845-1921), a Punjabi evangelist and a poet, produced the first metrical translation of the Psalms in Punjabi, known as Punjabi Zabur. For a hundred years, Punjabi Zabur have been used as an essential part of singing and praising in majority of Urdu and Punjabi Churches around the globe.{{fact|date=December 2024}}

Furthermore, psalms often serve as the inspiration for much of [[Christianity in the modern era|modern]] or [[Contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]] [[Contemporary worship music|worship music]] in a variety of [[Contemporary Christian music#Style and artists|styles]].  Some songs are entirely based on a particular psalm or psalms, and many quote directly from the Book of Psalms (and other parts of the Bible).<ref>{{cite web|title=Let's Sing the Songs Jesus Sang|author-first1=Sarah|author-last1=Eekhoff Zylstra|date=28 November 2016|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/lets-sing-the-songs-jesus-sang/|access-date=8 January 2020|website=The Gospel Coalition}}</ref>

====Eastern Orthodox Christianity====
{{See also|Kathisma}}
[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and Greek-Catholics ([[Eastern Catholics]] who follow the [[Byzantine rite]]) have long made the Psalms an integral part of their corporate and private prayers. The official version of the [[Psalter]] used by the Orthodox Church is the Septuagint. To facilitate its reading, the 150 Psalms are divided into 20 ''kathismata'' (Greek: καθίσματα; Slavonic: кафизмы, {{lang|cu|kafizmy}}; lit. "sittings") and each ''[[kathisma]]'' (Greek: κάθισμα; Slavonic: каѳисма, {{lang|cu|kafisma}}) is further subdivided into three ''stases'' (Greek: στάσεις, {{transliteration|grc|staseis}} lit. "standings", sing. στάσις, ''stasis''), so-called because the faithful stand at the end of each ''stasis'' for the [[Glory be to the Father|Glory to the Father&nbsp;...]].

At [[Vespers]] and [[Matins]], different ''kathismata'' are read at different times of the [[liturgical year]] and on different days of the week, according to the Church's calendar, so that all 150 psalms (20 ''kathismata'') are read in the course of a week. During [[Great Lent]], the number of ''kathismata'' is increased so that the entire Psalter is read twice a week. In the twentieth century, some lay Christians have adopted a continuous reading of the Psalms on weekdays, praying the whole book in four weeks.

Aside from ''kathisma'' readings, Psalms occupy a prominent place in every other Orthodox service including the [[Canonical hours|services of the Hours]] and the [[Divine Liturgy]]. In particular, the penitential [[Psalm 51|Psalm 50]] is very widely used. Fragments of Psalms and individual verses are used as ''[[Prokimenon|Prokimena]]'' (introductions to Scriptural readings) and ''[[Stichera]]''. The bulk of [[Vespers]] would still be composed of Psalms even if the kathisma were to be disregarded; [[Psalm 119|Psalm 118]], "The Psalm of the Law", is the centerpiece of [[Matins]] on Saturdays, some Sundays, and the [[Funeral]] service. The entire book of Psalms is traditionally read out loud or chanted at the side of the deceased during the time leading up to the funeral, mirroring Jewish tradition.

====Oriental Christianity====
Several branches of [[Oriental Orthodox]] and those [[Eastern Catholic]]s who follow one of the Oriental Rites will chant the entire Psalter during the course of a day during the [[Daily Office]]. This practice continues to be a requirement of [[Christian monasticism|monastics]] in the Oriental churches.

====Catholic usage====
{{see also|Responsorial psalmody}}
[[File:Überführung der Bundeslade durch den singenden und tanzenden König David.jpg|thumb|A singing and dancing David leads the [[Ark of the Covenant]], {{circa|1650}}.]]
The Psalms have always been an important part of [[Catholic liturgy]]. The [[Liturgy of the Hours]] is centered on chanting or recitation of the Psalms, using fixed [[melodic formula]]s known as [[psalm tone]]s. Early Catholics employed the Psalms widely in their individual prayers also; however, as knowledge of [[Latin]] (the language of the [[Roman Rite]]) became uncommon, this practice ceased among the unlearned. However, until the end of the Middle Ages, it was not unknown for the laity to join in the singing of the [[Little Office of Our Lady]], which was a shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours providing a fixed daily cycle of twenty-five psalms to be recited, and nine other psalms divided across Matins.

The work of Bishop [[Richard Challoner]] in providing devotional materials in English meant that many of the psalms were familiar to English-speaking Catholics from the eighteenth century onwards. Challoner translated the entirety of the Little Office into English, as well as Sunday Vespers and daily Compline. He also provided other individual Psalms such as 129/130 for prayer in his devotional books. Bishop Challoner is also noted for revising the [[Douay–Rheims Bible]], and the translations he used in his devotional books are taken from this work.

Until the [[Second Vatican Council]] the Psalms were either recited on a one-week or, less commonly (as in the case of [[Ambrosian rite]]), two-week cycle. Different one-week schemata were employed: most [[secular clergy]] followed the Roman distribution, while [[regular clergy]] almost universally followed that of [[St Benedict]], with only a few congregations (such as the [[Benedictine]]s of St Maur<ref>{{Cite book |last=Little |first=Lester K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRC_fLiVUJgC&dq=+regular+clergy+almost+universally+followed+that+of+St+Benedict,+with+only+a+few+congregations+(such+as+the+Benedictines+of+St+Mau&pg=PR11 |title=Benedictine Maledictions: Liturgical Cursing in Romanesque France |date=1993 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-8113-0 |language=en}}</ref>) following individual arrangements. The [[Liturgy of the Hours|Breviary]] introduced in 1974 distributed the psalms over a four-week cycle. Monastic usage varies widely. Some use the four-week cycle of the secular clergy, many retain a one-week cycle, either following St Benedict's scheme or another of their own devising, while others opt for some other arrangement.

Official approval was also given to other arrangements<ref group=Notes>See [http://kellerbook.com "Short" Breviaries in the 20th and early 21st century America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118115359/http://www.kellerbook.com/ |date=18 January 2006 }} for an in-progress study</ref> by which the complete Psalter is recited in a one-week or two-week cycle. These arrangements are used principally by Catholic contemplative religious orders, such as that of the [[Trappists]].<ref group=Notes>See for example [https://newmelleray.org/schedule/psalm-schedule/ the Divine Office schedule at New Melleray Abbey]</ref>

The ''General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours'', 122 sanctions three modes of singing/recitation for the Psalms:
* directly (all sing or recite the entire psalm);
* [[antiphonal]]ly (two choirs or sections of the congregation sing or recite alternate verses or strophes); and
* [[responsorial]]ly (the cantor or choir sings or recites the verses while the congregation sings or recites a given response after each verse).
Of these three the antiphonal mode is the most widely followed.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Over the centuries, the use of complete Psalms in the [[Mass (liturgy)|liturgy]] declined. After the [[Second Vatican Council]] (which also permitted the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy), longer psalm texts were reintroduced into the Mass, during the readings. The [[Mass of Paul VI|revision]] of the [[Roman Missal]] after the Second Vatican Council reintroduced the singing or recitation of a more substantial section of a Psalm, in some cases an entire Psalm, after the first Reading from Scripture. This Psalm, called the ''Responsorial Psalm,'' is usually sung or recited responsorially, although the ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'' 61 permits direct recitation.

====Lutheran and Reformed usage====
[[File:Psalm 1 metrical 1628.jpg|thumb|[[Psalm 1]] in a form of the [[Metrical psalter|Sternhold and Hopkins]] version widespread in [[Anglican]] usage before the [[English Civil War]] (1628 printing). It was from this version that the armies sang before going into battle.]]

Following the [[Protestant Reformation]], many of the Psalms were set as [[hymn]]s. These vernacular translations of the psalms were arranged into rhyming strict-[[Metre (poetry)|metre]] verses, known as [[metrical psalms]] and used for [[congregational singing]]. The metrical psalms were particularly popular in the [[Calvinist]] tradition, where in the past they were often sung to the exclusion of other hymns ([[exclusive psalmody]]). [[John Calvin]] himself made some French translations of the Psalms for church usage, but the completed [[Genevan Psalter]] eventually used in church services consisted exclusively of translations by [[Clément Marot]] and [[Théodore de Bèze]], on melodies by a number of composers, including [[Louis Bourgeois (composer)|Louis Bourgeois]] and a certain Maistre Pierre. [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott|"Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God")]] is based on Psalm 46. Among famous hymn settings of the Psalter were the [[Metrical psalter|Scottish Psalter]] and the paraphrases by [[Isaac Watts]]. The first book printed in North America was a collection of Psalm settings, the ''[[Bay Psalm Book]]'' (1640).

By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. However, the Psalms are popular for private devotion among many Protestants and still used in many churches for traditional worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepsalmssung.org/ |title=The Psalms of David – Sung a cappella |publisher=Thepsalmssung.org |access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref> There exists in some circles a custom of reading one Psalm and one chapter of [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] a day, corresponding to the day of the month.

Metrical psalms are still widely sung in many [[Calvinism|Reformed]] congregations.

====Anglican usage====
[[Anglican chant]] is a method of singing prose versions of the Psalms.

In the early 17th century, when the [[King James Bible]] was introduced, the metrical arrangements by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins were also popular and were provided with printed tunes. This version and the ''[[Tate and Brady|New Version of the Psalms of David]]'' by Tate and Brady produced in the late seventeenth century (see article on [[Metrical psalter]]) remained the normal congregational way of singing psalms in the Church of England until well into the nineteenth century.

In Great Britain, the 16th-century [[Myles Coverdale|Coverdale]] psalter still lies at the heart of daily worship in [[Cathedral]]s and many [[parish church]]es. The new [[Common Worship]] service book has a companion psalter in modern English.

The version of the psalter in the American [[Book of Common Prayer]] prior to the 1979 edition is the Coverdale psalter. The Psalter in the American Book of Common Prayer of 1979 is a new translation, with some attempt to keep the rhythms of the Coverdale psalter.