The living spirit of any religion shines through most clearly in its hymns. The Psalter is
the hymnal of ancient Israel, compiled from older collections of lyrics for use in the temple of Zerubbabel. Most of the psalms were probably composed to accompany acts of worship in the temple and may be classified as follows: Hymns (acts of praise suitable for any occasion and including the sub-types Enthronement Hymns, celebrating the Lord’s kingship, and Songs of Zion, expressing devotion to the Holy City); Laments (in which an individual seeks deliverane from illness or false accusation, or the nation asks for help in time of distress); Songs of Trust (in which an individual expresses his gratitude for deliverance); Thanksgiving (in which an individual expresses his gratitude for deliverance); Royal Psalms… Wisdom Psalms… Wisdom Psalms… and Liturgies.
…The ascription of nearly half of the psalms to David is testimony to the regard in which the great singer of Israel was held.
The book of Psalms reflects many aspects of the religious experience of Israel. Its
intrinsic spiritual depth and beauty have made it from earliest times a treasury of resources for
public and private devotion.

Notes on Psalm 23:
This type of Psalm is called a song of trust. It is an expression of confidence in God’s protection. The Lord is compared to a shepherd. The word "soul" means vitality, life. "Paths of righteousness" or "of rightness," that is, right paths which suits the context better.
"Shadow of death" is the reading of the scribes, but "deep darkness" is the better rendenng from the Hebrew. The Lord is compared to a gracious host. "Dwell in the house of the Lord" means to worship in the temple. "Forever" Hebrew for "length of days," meaning "as long as I live"

Notes on The Gospel According to Matthew (in which to find "The Lord’s Prayer"):

The Gospel according to Matthew is a manual of Christian teaching in which Jesus Christ, Lord of the new-yet-old community, the church, is described particularly as the fulfiller and fulfilment of God’s will disclosed in the Old Testament…

The accounts of Jesus’ deeds and words, drawn from Christian sources both oral and written, are arranged in generally biographical order: chs. 1-2 Birth of Jesus; 3.1-12, Activity of John the Baptist; 3.13-4.1 1, Baptism and temptation of Jesus; 4.12-18.35, Jesus’ preaching and teaching in Galilee; chs. 19-20, Journey to Jerusalem; chs. 21-27, The last week, concluding with Jesus’ crucifixion and burial; ch. 28, the resurrection; Jesus’ commission to his disciples.

Within this natural framework the accounts of what Jesus said or did are grouped by common subject matter. The five discourses of Jesus, a noteworthy feature of this Gospel are collections of teachings on specific themes: chs. 5 – 7, The Sermon of the Mount (including The Lord’s Prayer); ch. 10 Instructions for missionary disciples; ch. 13 The parables of the kingdom of God; ch. 18, On sincere discipleship; chs. 24 – 25, On the end of this age.

This gospel is anonymous. The unknown Christian teacher who prepared it during the last third of the first century may have used as one of his sources a collection of Jesus’ sayings that the apostle Matthew is said to have made. In time a title containing Matthew’s name, and signifying apostolic authority, came to identify the whole.

Notes on the Lord’s Prayer:

The Lord’s Prayer (compare Lk.11.2-4) falls into hvo parts relating to God and to man; after the opening invocation, there are three petitions concerning God’s glory, followed by those concerning our needs… On the basis of David’s prayer (I Chr.29. 1 1-13) the early church added an appropriate concluding doxology…For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Why teach these prayers?
They are part of our culture. We want our children to be culturally literate. Psalm 23 is still very much requested as part of memorial services in our faith.

We are taught by the joke about UU youth:

Two UU youth are arguing about who knows more about the bible.

"Ya, and I bet you don’t even know the "Lord’s Prayer" says one.

"Do, to!"

"Prove it then! Betcha $5.00 you can’t say it."

" OK you are on!…The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…etc" and he recites Psalm Twenty Three.

"Well," says the other, " That’s it allright. Guess I owe you $5.00."