How to Use psalm in a Sentence

psalm

noun
  • Monks would be getting up at 1 in the morning to sing the psalms.
    Randy Dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Nov. 2019
  • Books of Hours are breviaries, or a selection of prayers and psalms taken from long prayer books used by monks.
    Brian T. Allen, National Review, 28 Jan. 2020
  • Each of the three movements includes a full psalm along with contrasting parts of another.
    Mark Swed, latimes.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • No worries – following along with psalms on an iPhone is the norm (and selfies in the bathroom are cool, too).
    Maria Tallarico, Cosmopolitan, 31 Aug. 2017
  • Tutivillus, who totted up all the mistakes clergymen made when singing hymns or reciting psalms.
    JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The Salvadoran migrant has held onto Jill Biden’s words like a psalm.
    Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2020
  • Inside the nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ thundered back to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies.
    Thomas Adamson and John Leicester, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
  • The more psalm-like accompaniments outweigh the purpler prose.
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2021
  • David was also reputed to be a talented harpist and the author of many psalms, or devotional songs.
    V.m. Braganza, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
  • The lyrics of this song, which is based on a psalm, were originally written by a minister named Isaac Watts.
    Elizabeth Berry, Woman's Day, 2 Dec. 2022
  • As the Dean of Windsor recites a final psalm, the whole platform will descend into the royal vault.
    Ruby Mellen, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2022
  • In it, the rapper looks at a shifting America through fresh eyes and emerges with a manifesto of sorts; these are trap-psalms for the forgotten.
    Juan Vidal, Billboard, 19 June 2018
  • Each cross had been decorated with a victim's name and photo as well as balloons, American flags, flowers and psalms.
    Rose Velazquez, USA TODAY, 2 June 2019
  • The service includes prayers, remarks from family, eulogies from the rabbi and friends and family and a reading of psalms and prayers.
    USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2020
  • The temple will also hold singing, psalms, Torah study, healing services, office hours, and story time for children through Zoom calls.
    David Tarrant, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2020
  • Revered by all three Abrahamic religions, the psalms were often recited, read, and sung in routine worship.
    Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Like a typical Catholic Mass, scriptures, psalms and gospels will be read and the Holy Communion will be given.
    Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Kunstadt cut out pages from two 19th-century books of psalms and cut and glued them to create delicate constructions, often enhanced with gold leaf.
    Susan Dunne, courant.com, 10 July 2017
  • A little less than half these psalms are attributed to King David, about a third are anonymous, and the rest are attributed to a variety of authors.
    Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2023
  • Changing keys requires retying them all—impossible for monks who must not only pray a half-dozen times a day but constantly rotate through the twelve canonical psalm tones.
    Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022
  • Mourners sang psalms as the space filled — not near the plot where Goldberg-Polin would be buried, as initially planned, but in the main parking lot to accommodate the crowds.
    Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 5 Sep. 2024
  • And there’s Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus again, and with no knob to turn or button to press for silence, the psalm’s exquisite ache unfurls.
    Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2023
  • Muir read a psalm for protection and remarked on how journalists write the first draft of history while often covering trying events within the community.
    Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 19 Nov. 2025
  • Across town, as the sun began to set, hundreds of community members gathered at a baseball diamond to light candles, recite psalms, and share memories of the victims.
    Steven Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2023
  • But those words were eventually rendered invisible in the 11th century when the text was written over with Christian psalms.
    Julissa Treviño, Smithsonian, 15 Mar. 2018
  • Back then, the Presbyterian church permitted only more modest music — psalms only.
    Christina Tkacik, baltimoresun.com, 7 May 2018
  • The great organ's 8,000 pipes, which were covered in toxic dust after the fire and have been disassembled, cleaned and retuned, will also play a psalm as the doors re-open.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
  • After all, audiences may be captivated by the psalm singing itself, but then can also find more things that capture their imagination in the observational doc.
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Each song presents a lyrical tapestry that carries messages from God, frequently drawing upon references to biblical psalms.
    Ingrid Fajardo, Billboard, 26 Nov. 2025
  • And in a heartening choral number, a traditional Hebrew prayer for peace entwines with a Christian psalm and acts of Muslim devotion.
    Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 16 Oct. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'psalm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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