PSALMS are ancient Hebrew songs addressed to or invoking the deity; the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament in the Christian scriptures, includes a book of 150 of these religious songs. In ancient and later Jewish tradition, the book is known in Hebrew as Tehillim ("Praises"), although only one of the songs (Psalm 145) is so designated within the biblical text. The English title Psalms derives from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew mizmor (a song accompanied by string plucking), a label that introduces fifty-seven of the Hebrew psalms. In Christian circles, the Book of Psalms is often referred to as the Psalter, a name taken from the psaltery, a stringed instrument that accompanied the singing of many of the psalms. Use of the word psalter also implies that the Book of Psalms has been used as a hymnal, an official collection of religious songs, since ancient times.

In the...