Psalms

Psalms or 'psalter' are Judaic religious lyrics. The term usually refers to the 150 'psalms of David', with which the third section of the Old Testament begins. The psalms came to occupy an important place in Christian worship. They were sung during church services by the entire congregation, usually in a responsorial style, with a lead singer intoning the verses of the psalm and the congregation responding with the refrain. The psalms had a great influence on folklore and served as the source of many proverbs. In the Middle Ages the psalter was the main textbook for the mastery of reading. Modern research has shown their composite authorship. Despite this, because of their psychological tone of humility and their literary quality they, along with the supposed Old Testament prophecies of the coming of Christ, remain one of the principal reasons Christians accept the Judaic scriptures in their own canon, especially since the psalter was thought to be written by Jesus' own ancestor. Like the Gospels, the psalms' advocacy of meckness and trust in God made them well-liked by churchmen and aristocrats interested in manipulating the masses in the lesser classes.