The Psalter is a body of liturgical poetry.
A Psalm is a sacred song or hymn.
The Psalms is a book of the Bible comprising a collection of religious verses, sung or recited in both Jewish and Christian worship.
Many are traditionally ascribed to King David.
In the liturgical setting, the Psalms are designed for vocal, congregational use, whether by singing or reading.
There are several traditional methods of psalmody: Direct Recitation, Antiphonal Recitation (verse by verse), Responsorial Recitation (solo voice sings verse or group of verses interleaved with congregational response), and Responsive Recitation (leader alternates with congregation verse by verse).
The most common verse is a couplet, but triplets are very frequent, and quatrains are not unknown; although quatrains are usually distributed over two verses.
An asterisk divides each verse into two parts for reading or chanting. In reading, a distinct pause should be made at the asterisk.
Three terms are used in the Psalms with reference to God: Elobim ("God"), Adonai ("Lord") and the personal name YHWH. The "Four-letter Name" (Tetragrammaton) is probably to be vocalized Yahweh; but this is by no means certain, because from very ancient times it has been considered too sacred to be pronounced; and, whenever it occurred, Adonai was substituted for it.
In the oldest manuscripts, the Divine Name was written in antique and obsolete letters; in more recent manuscripts and in printed Bibles, after the invention of vowel points, the Name was provided with the vowels of the word Adonai.
This produced a hybrid form which has been transliterated "Jehovah."
The Hebrew reverence and reticence with regard to the Name of God has been carried over into the classical English versions, the Prayer Book Psalter and the King James Old Testament, where it is regularly render "Lord". In order to distinguish it, however, from "Lord" as a translation of Adonai, YHWH is represented in capital and small capital letters: LORD.
From time to time, the Hebrew text has Adonai and YHWH in conjunction.
Then, the Hebrew custom is to substitute Elohim for YHWH, and our English tradition follows suit, rendering the combine title as "Lord GOD."
BCP, Concerning the Psalter, pages 582-583
There are 150 psalms in the Bible, they are both a source of comfort and praise and of personal transformation and meditation.
The files below are audio only.
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