ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the place given to the psalms in the proclamation of the Church. It looks at the particular issues that arise in relation to preaching from the psalms. The Church has consistently found ways to say the psalms in prayer, song, and liturgy. The reluctance of some to preach on the psalms or to see them as texts for preaching is often based on the special nature of the psalms. The continued development of the cathedral tradition of singing the psalms may have overshadowed the development of the tradition of listening to the psalms in the development of lectionaries for Sunday services. The constructors of the lectionaries have frequently expressed the view that the psalm fulfils a different role to the other readings. However, in spite of the stated aims of the lectionaries, in practice some preachers on occasion do find themselves drawn to the psalms.
