The standard hymnal/songbook in the churches that still use one contains a striking feature: a near absence (if not complete absence) of psalms for use in corporate worship. This omission becomes more fascinating when one considers the command to sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." If the praise offered to the LORD is to include psalms, then why do so few churches today, among those who profess to be Bible-believing churches, give so little emphasis to the inspired psalter? Part 1 examines the development of the psalms in Old Testament worship, and begins a survey of the book of Psalms.