The singing of psalms spans thousands of years of church tradition. Today’s songwriters and worship leaders mine these texts for words and inspiration as they craft new songs for the church.

Editor’s note: This article was first published in the Aug. 2, 1997, issue of America, titled "Praying the Psalms: Some Notes.” For some years I have been keeping rather extensive reading ...

Of the 150 psalms in the book known in Hebrew as “Tehillim,” the 23rd may be the best known: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The late rabbi Adin Steinsaltz explained that ...