Psalms Across Traditions

Christian Denominations

• Catholic

  • •Daily Mass
  • •Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)
  • •Personal prayer
  • •Gregorian chant
  • •Monastic worship

• Eastern Orthodox

  • •Psalter read every week during normal times
  • •Twice weekly during Great Lent
  • •Sung in Byzantine chant
  • •Used in nearly every service

• Oriental Orthodox

  • •Coptic Orthodox
  • •Armenian Apostolic
  • •Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
  • •Eritrean Orthodox
  • •Syriac Orthodox
  • •Malankara Orthodox

  These churches chant Psalms extensively during worship and prayer.

• Anglican / Episcopal

  • •Daily Morning Prayer
  • •Evening Prayer
  • •Choral Evensong
  • •Cathedral worship
  • •Hymns based on the Psalms

• Lutheran

  • •Weekly responsive Psalm reading
  • •Congregational singing
  • •Martin Luther encouraged memorizing the Psalms

• Presbyterian

  • •Traditionally known as the “singing church”
  • •Many congregations sing metrical Psalms
  • •Some practice Exclusive Psalmody (singing only Psalms)

• Reformed Churches

  • •Dutch Reformed
  • •Christian Reformed
  • •Reformed Church in America
  • •United Reformed Churches

  Psalms form a central part of worship.

• Baptist

  • •Scripture reading
  • •Devotional studies
  • •Worship songs inspired by the Psalms
  • •Children's ministry

• Methodist

  • •Responsive Psalm readings
  • •Lectionary worship
  • •Personal devotion

• Pentecostal

  • •Prayer meetings
  • •Worship services
  • •Spiritual warfare prayers
  • •Praise services

• Assemblies of God

  • •Frequently quote Psalms during worship
  • •Prayer and encouragement

• Church of God

  • •Worship
  • •Prayer
  • •Teaching

• Nazarene

  • •Corporate worship
  • •Responsive readings
  • •Personal devotion

• Seventh-day Adventist

  • •Sabbath worship
  • •Family worship
  • •Daily devotion

• Mennonite

  • •Congregational singing
  • •Scripture reading

• Amish

  • •Traditional worship
  • •Hymn singing based on Psalms

• Moravian

  • •Choral worship
  • •Liturgical readings

• Quaker (Friends)

  • •Personal meditation
  • •Scripture reflection

• Salvation Army

  • •Worship services
  • •Music ministry
  • •Personal devotion

• Non-denominational Churches

  • •Worship
  • •Prayer
  • •Bible studies
  • •Children's ministries

Jewish Traditions

The Psalms (Tehillim) are one of the most important books in Judaism.

• Orthodox Judaism

  • •Daily prayers
  • •Sabbath services
  • •Festivals
  • •Mourning
  • •Times of illness

• Conservative Judaism

  • •Synagogue worship
  • •Home devotion

• Reform Judaism

  • •Liturgy
  • •Modern worship services

• Hasidic Judaism

  • •Constant recitation
  • •Joyful singing
  • •Mystical meditation

• Sephardic Judaism

  • •Traditional chanting
  • •Family prayer

Traditions Beyond Church and Synagogue

The Psalms travelled a long way past church and synagogue. Some of these traditions sing them constantly; others honour the book the Psalms sit in, or the prophets in it, without reading them in worship. Both are worth knowing about.

• Rastafari

  • •Chanted to drums at all-night gatherings
  • •Psalm 68 — “Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God”
  • •Psalm 137 — the song by the rivers of Babylon
  • •Psalm 133 — sung about living together in unity
  • •Usually the King James wording

  Few traditions sing the Psalms out loud as often as this one.

• Islam

  • •The Psalms have their own name: the Zabur
  • •The Qur’an names them as given to the prophet Dawud (David)

  Muslims honour the Zabur as scripture God gave to David, and follow the Qur’an as God’s final word.

• Baháʼí Faith

  • •Readings at devotional gatherings
  • •Psalms quoted in Baháʼí writings

  Devotional meetings draw on many scriptures, the Psalms among them.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • •Read in the King James Bible
  • •Hymns drawn from the Psalms

• Jehovah’s Witnesses

  • •Read in the New World Translation
  • •Weekly meetings and personal study

• Druze

  • •Honour the prophets of the Hebrew Bible
  • •Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, above all
  • •Their own scripture is the Epistles of Wisdom

  The Psalms are not read in Druze worship the way they are everywhere else on this page — the link here is to the prophets, not to the songbook.

Historic Christian Groups

• Celtic Christians
• Desert Fathers
• Benedictines
• Franciscans
• Dominicans
• Jesuits
• Cistercians
• Carthusians
• Trappists

Many monastic communities pray through all 150 Psalms every week or every month.

Who else reads this book?

The Psalms live inside a much bigger book: the Bible. Families all over the world read that book, and they do not all read it the same way. Some read extra books alongside it. Here is who, as simply as we can say it.

• Christians

  Christians read the whole Bible — the Old Testament, which came first, and the New Testament, which tells about Jesus. The Psalms sit right in the middle.

• Jewish families

  Jewish families read the Hebrew Bible, called the Tanakh. It holds nearly all the same books as the Christian Old Testament, and all 150 Psalms are in it. In Hebrew they are the Tehillim.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  They read the King James Bible, and they read another book they believe is scripture too, called the Book of Mormon.

• Jehovah's Witnesses

  They read the Bible in a translation they made themselves, called the New World Translation.

• Muslims

  Muslims believe God gave true messages to Moses and to Jesus — the Tawrat and the Injil. They believe the Qur'an, given later to the prophet Muhammad, is God's final word, so the Qur'an is the book they follow.

• Rastafari

  Rastafari read the Bible closely, usually the King James translation, and pay special attention to everything it says about Ethiopia.

• Druze

  Druze communities honour many of the same prophets the Bible does, and Jethro — the father-in-law of Moses — most of all.

• Baháʼís

  Baháʼís treat the Bible with great respect, as part of a long story of God speaking to people again and again. They follow the writings of their own founder, Bahá'u'lláh.

None of this changes what a psalm says. It is one of the oldest songs anyone still sings, and an enormous number of very different people have been singing it for a very long time.