The Psalms are a collection of anthems or poems, some of which date to the time of King David. Other Psalms date to later times, such as during the Babylonian Captivity. For over 2000 years, they have been used by Christians and Jews to praise and thank God as well as to offer God our penitent hearts.
The Psalter, located in The Book of Common Prayer, is the Book of Psalms. The Psalms have been translated for easier reading or singing aloud, ideally by a congregation. It is also used for individual prayer on the same basis. There are two recommended methods for using the Psalter:
1.In the back of The Book of Common Prayer, there is a Daily Office Lectionary which lists the readings for us to read each day as a part of Morning and/or Evening Prayer. Included in this list are the Psalms to be read.
2.The Psalter is marked into daily readings for Morning and Evening Prayer. We may read the Psalms of the day in the morning until coming to the notation for Evening Prayer. We may then read the Psalms for evening until coming to the notation for the next day's Morning Prayer.
The asterisk* at the end of a line in a Psalm marks a time to make a notable pause to meditate on what one has read.
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