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The psalm usually appointed for penitential acts, being the 50th psalm in the Latin version. It commences with the word miserere.

o entitle a party to the benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the fifty-first Psalm, "Miserere mei," etc. Sir W. Scott. (b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which decides one's fate; a shibboleth. These words, "bread and cheese," were their neck verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all pronoun…

One of the portions into which the Psalter was divided, each consisting of nine psalms, designed to be used at a night service. Hook.

r's words are not so strictly followed as his sense. Dryden. Excellent paraphrases of the Psalms of David. I. Disraeli. His sermons a living paraphrase upon his practice. Sowth. The Targums are also called the Chaldaic or Aramaic Paraphrases. Shipley.

ression of sorrow; lamentation; complaint; hence, a mournful song; a lament. Chaucer."The Psalmist's mournful plaint." Wordsworth.

The Book of Psalms; -- often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed.

orth, or out; as, to roll forth some one's praises; to roll out sentences. Who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies. Tennyson.

Psalm. [Obs.] Piers plowman.

A word of doubtful meaning, occuring frequently in the Psalms; by some, supposed to signify silence or a pause in the musical performance of the song. Beyond the fact that Selach is a musical term, we know absolutely nothing about it. Dr. W. Smith (Bib. Dict.)

To give a pitch to, as a tune; to start by fixing the keynote; as, to set a psalm. Fielding.

. -- To stand out. (a) To project; to be prominent. "Their eyes stand out with fatness." Psalm lxxiii. 7. (b) To persist in opposition or resistance; not to yield or comply; not to give way or recede. His spirit is come in, That so stood out against the holy church. Shak. -- To stand to. (a) To ply; to urge; to persev…

ing parts in harmony; a melody; an air; as, a merry tune; a mournful tune; a slow tune; a psalm tune. See Air.

The 95th Psalm, which is said or sung regularly in the public worship of many churches. Also, a musical composition adapted to this Psalm.

public worship by the priest or minister, and followed by a response from the people. The psalms were in number fifteen, . . . being digested into versicles. Strype.

sses in verse the ideas of another written in prose; as, Dr. Watts was a versifier of the Psalms.

To turn into verse; to render into metrical form; as, to versify the Psalms. Chaucer.