Editing Psalms (section)

====Lutheran and Reformed usage====
[[File:Psalm 1 metrical 1628.jpg|thumb|[[Psalm 1]] in a form of the [[Metrical psalter|Sternhold and Hopkins]] version widespread in [[Anglican]] usage before the [[English Civil War]] (1628 printing). It was from this version that the armies sang before going into battle.]]

Following the [[Protestant Reformation]], many of the Psalms were set as [[hymn]]s. These vernacular translations of the psalms were arranged into rhyming strict-[[Metre (poetry)|metre]] verses, known as [[metrical psalms]] and used for [[congregational singing]]. The metrical psalms were particularly popular in the [[Calvinist]] tradition, where in the past they were often sung to the exclusion of other hymns ([[exclusive psalmody]]). [[John Calvin]] himself made some French translations of the Psalms for church usage, but the completed [[Genevan Psalter]] eventually used in church services consisted exclusively of translations by [[Clément Marot]] and [[Théodore de Bèze]], on melodies by a number of composers, including [[Louis Bourgeois (composer)|Louis Bourgeois]] and a certain Maistre Pierre. [[Martin Luther]]'s [[Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott|"Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God")]] is based on Psalm 46. Among famous hymn settings of the Psalter were the [[Metrical psalter|Scottish Psalter]] and the paraphrases by [[Isaac Watts]]. The first book printed in North America was a collection of Psalm settings, the ''[[Bay Psalm Book]]'' (1640).

By the 20th century, they were mostly replaced by hymns in church services. However, the Psalms are popular for private devotion among many Protestants and still used in many churches for traditional worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepsalmssung.org/ |title=The Psalms of David – Sung a cappella |publisher=Thepsalmssung.org |access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref> There exists in some circles a custom of reading one Psalm and one chapter of [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] a day, corresponding to the day of the month.

Metrical psalms are still widely sung in many [[Calvinism|Reformed]] congregations.