Jay -- Thank you for this good word, brother. In olden times, people knew the psalms by heart. This may have been a matter of necessity where some lacked Bibles or sufficient access thereto, or not, but it provided the means whereby those imprisoned for their faith, along with martyrs at their execution, could recite or sing psalms without relying on Bibles and Psalters because they carried the words in their hearts.

Ps. 119.11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart

I am thinking of (among others):

Jesus on the Cross (Ps. 22)
Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16.25)
Jean Ribault (Ps. 132)
Margaret Wilson (Ps. 25)
John Huss (Ps. 30)
John Rogers (Ps. 51)
Lady Jane Grey (Ps. 51)

stories related to psalms

__________________
Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole