Home
>
Spirituality
>
Sing Psalms, Let Joy Resound: A Case For Exclusive Psalmody

Sing Psalms, Let Joy Resound: A Case For Exclusive Psalmody

Ephesians 4:4-6 indicates that Christians ought to practice one single faith. It reads: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

The apostolic notion of one, uniform faith clearly does NOT envision the smorgasbord of various worship practices -- from the faithful to the absurd and goofy -- that dots today's religious landscape in the name of Christendom. The apostles did not lay down different worship patterns at the various churches they established, as is obvious from such statement as: "If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice - nor do the churches of God" (1 Cor. 11:16). Likewise, God has told Moses, "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mount." Just so, after correcting many deviations from the God-given pattern, Paul the apostle told the Corinthians "The rest I will set in order when I come" (1 Cor. 11:34).

Moreover, those who care to look into it will find that the phrase "set in order" represents a technical liturgical term found three times at the end of Exodus as a summary for the refrain, "just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did." Exodus uses the phrase "set in order" specifically of those symbols clearly regarding the Church -- the table of showbread (representing the Lord's Supper), the lampstands or candlesticks (representing the churches themselves in Revelation 1-3) and the altar (representing the prayers and praise of the saints in the New Testament).

This order does not refer to "order in general" where orderliness sits opposed to chaotic worship, as many have falsely supposed. Rather, it has in mind the priestly order assigned to care for the worship of God to see that it proceeds precisely as God has commanded, without deviation or exception. In the New Testament, this means the priestly order of Melchizedek. Hence the saying of Paul, "Follow me as I follow Christ." The context tells us here that Paul was making a liturgical point, meaning "Following the apostlic pattern as we have delivered to you the teachings of Christ." The apostolic duty requires Paul to perform the liturgy of the churches just as Christ -- the head of the Church as High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek -- dictated by his words and deeds.

The now-heated question of just which songs Christians may properly sing in their worship services often bears the title, "the exclusive psalmody debate." Those who favor the exclusive singing of the biblical book of Psalms -- which group would include this author -- have a great many persons up in arms over the "strictness" of it all. And so the debate rages on. We believe, and wish to argue the point that the relevant passages from Ephesians 5, and especially from Colossians 3 (below) form the linchpin of the debate. Here, those who urge that we sing all manner of man-made songs falter and stumble. And, here, the Bible rules out their position, as we will now proceed to demonstrate.

Ephesians 5:18-20 reads, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ..."

Colossians 3:15-17 (King James Version) reads: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

Now we wish to focus special attention on the Colossian passage, asking just WHAT are these "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs"? EP advocates like us maintain that this forms a tri-fold reference to the Bible's psalter, using the three most common titles for them in the version of the Old Testament most often quoted by the apostles. If you open to the book of Psalms, and read the superscripts just above them (which introduce each Psalm), you will note that they often read this way: "A psalm of David, a hymn," or "A Psalm of David, a song."

Thus, just as Jesus commonly used triads to refer to one thing only -- as when "ask...seek...knock" refers to prayer, so Paul used "psalms, hymns and songs" to refer to those songs which his audience knew by those titles from the Septuagint. But we do not advocate this as some likely but unproven hypothesis. Let us proceed on then to the proof of it.

When judging the meaning of any one passage, those surrounding it immediately have first priority in aiding our understanding. As we say, "local context is king." And, interestingly, the book of Colossians yields a local parallel to the triadic passage in question just two chapters earlier. Our focus now turns to this text.

Colossians 1:27-28 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus ...." This text highlights some stark parallels with Colossians 3:15-17, just two chapters later. First, we learn that "the riches of glory" is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" -- which is a mystery among the Gentiles.

Paul was revealing this mystery -- salvation to the Gentiles -- that Christ might indwell them, bringing to them the hope that they too would be raised to life in glory at the resurrection. Paul calls this, "Christ [dwelling] in you, the hope of [future] glory." Paul thus refers to the gospel of Christ (the mystery he preaches), as "preaching" which activity he then subdivides into two participles connected by "and" -- "teaching and warning."

So "teaching and warning" means "preach the Gospel of Christ" in chapter 1. Now, when we come to chapter 3, we find the EXACT SAME pair.

The sentence in question reads from chapter 3: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Now the translators of most versions of the Bible have unfortunately missed this parallel. Yet, "teaching and warning" in chapter one displays the exact word pair in Greek as that found in chapter 3, "didaskountai kai nethetountai." [say "DID ASK OON TYE KYE NEH THET OON TYE"]

This either means "teaching and warning," or else "teaching and admonishing." But whichever one chooses, it should appear identically BOTH in chapter 1 AND in chapter 3, as it does in Koine Greek. So here is the obvious parallel:

[CH 1.] "preach Christ" [Christ who is dwelling in you] = teaching and warning [every man] in all wisdom [CH 3] "Let the word of Christ dwell in you" = teaching and warning [one another] in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

Thus, the phrase "in all wisdom" in chapter one matches the trifold expression, "in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" found in chapter 3. Now this wisdom is the wisdom of the gospel -- the word of Christ. The text says so plainly. Moreover, chapter 2 (v. 3) begins by saying that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Him [Christ]."

The parallel is unmistakable. Paul has called upon the Colossians to sing the divine wisdom, the Word of Christ, by singing "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." This can refer to nothing else but the canonical psalter, using the titles over the psalms which appear in the Septuagint, the most commonly used version of the Older Testament employed among the Christian communities and among the Diaspora Jews. Now a few further points remain. If one denies the parallel above, then Paul has refered to 3 things rather than just one.

It then remains incumbent upon the naysayer to show just exactly WHAT the three are, how each differs from each other, and how each can be named by the apostle "the word of Christ." To my knowledge no one has even attempted this. It is not sufficent to say "these three are not what exclusive psalmody advocates say." One must also show EXEGETICALLY and precisely what Paul meant by these three terms, if not the canonical psalms. Remember, whatever these are, all Christians have a command from God to sing them. So we must know what they mean.

Next, one should note that, when the apostles preach the gospel, the word of Christ, throughout the book of Acts, they most often quote from the book of Psalms when they quote the Bible. By their actions, they virtually equate the two. This shows that the parallel I have drawn out from the text, between Colossians 1 and 3 -- between preaching Christ and singing the psalms (the word of Christ) -- is native to Paul's mindset. Finally, note that the Ephesian parallel to Colossians 3 links singing the Psalms with "being filled with the Spirit." This link makes much better sense in understanding the triad to refer to the Psalms, since God identifies Himself with His written Word throughout the Bible.

Thus, since the Spirit of God inspired the written Word of God, to be filled with (or to let dwell in you richly) the word of Christ (Psalms) is also to be filled with the Spirit who inspired that Word. The idea that this triad somehow names man-made songs leaves us with the unanswered question: "How does being filled with the words of mere men" in any way lead to being "filled with the Spirit"? This seems like an oxymoron, especially given the Bible's teaching on what comes from the hearts of men (depravity).

What then? When Christians gather together, they ought to shun the singing of anything other than what God has given us. Only what God produces is good enough for God. And Christians must offer Him only the very best. Sing psalms, let joy resound. For they that worship Him must worship in Spirit and IN TRUTH.

Carson Day has written approximately 1.3 gazillion articles and essays, many with very insightful, if alternative, viewpoints. He presently writes for Ophir Gold Corporation, and specialized in the history of ideas in college. He has been quoted in the past as saying "What box?" and remains at large despite the best efforts of the civil authorities.

You can visit the Ophir Gold Corporation blogsites at http://scriberight.blogspot.com (Writing With Power), http://scriberight.blogspot.com (OGC's Free Web Traffic), or http://scriberight.blogspot.com (Church and State 101)

move in cleaning service Glencoe ..

In The News:

Fake airline texts claiming flight cancellations are targeting travelers with convincing scams. Learn how cybercriminals steal personal data and credit card info.

Discover how iOS 26's new Adaptive Power feature automatically extends iPhone battery life by learning your usage patterns and adjusting performance intelligently.

New TikTok malware campaign tricks users into running PowerShell commands that download Aura Stealer, which steals credentials and authentication tokens.

Gaia Family offers fixed upfront pricing for IVF cycles with unlimited embryo transfers and financial protection, partnering with over 100 U.S. fertility clinics.

The Jetsons Act aims to position Pennsylvania as a leader in advanced air mobility by establishing regulations for hybrid ground-air vehicles.

Fake Geek Squad invoice emails are targeting users with convincing charges and urgent phone numbers to steal personal information and money.

Fox News Digital's artificial intelligence newsletter digs into a robot in Russia that faceplanted, George Clooney's alarm and OpenAI's rivalry with the New York Times.

Major data breach at Conduent exposes personal information of 10+ million people. Government contractor hit by cyberattack affecting Medicaid, child support systems.

Texas startup Janta Power raises $5.5M for innovative vertical solar towers that generate 50% more energy than traditional panels while using just one-third the land.

NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft launched aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket Thursday afternoon from Cape Canaveral, beginning their journey to Mars with arrival expected in 2027.

Learn how to set email reminders on iPhone and Android so you never forget to reply again. Simple built-in features help you stay organized and on top of messages.

Discover how Apple's passkeys revolutionize Mac security by replacing vulnerable passwords with biometric authentication and encryption for ultimate protection.

New survey reveals 78% of parents fear AI scams targeting their kids, yet nearly half haven't discussed these threats. Learn why this dangerous gap exists.

Chrome now autofills passport and driver's license info automatically. Google's latest browser update adds official document support with encryption and user control.

Scammers impersonate Department of Veterans Affairs employees claiming veterans owe money, but real VA communications only direct to VA.gov or official channels.

The AltoVolo Sigma hybrid-electric aircraft flies 500 miles at 220 mph while operating 80% quieter than helicopters, featuring safety systems and compact design.

Google search scam alert: fake customer service numbers can give scammers remote control of your phone. Learn how to spot these traps and protect yourself.

Electric vehicles overtake gas cars in total CO2 savings after just two years of driving, with emissions benefits growing over time as power grids get cleaner.

Louvre Museum reportedly used "Louvre" as password for surveillance system during $100M jewel heist. Learn how weak passwords put even famous institutions at risk.

Bipartisan AI jobs bill from Sens. Hawley and Warner would require companies to report AI-related layoffs and hiring to Department of Labor quarterly.

Joe A. from Shelton, Connecticut, lost $228,000 to a ZAP Solutions cryptocurrency investment scam after his divorce, highlighting rising online fraud.

AI-powered autonomous trucks from Waabi and Volvo target U.S. freight driver shortage with Level 4 self-driving technology and NVIDIA computing platform integration.

Survive flight disruptions with expert travel tips: Book early morning flights, download airline apps and know your refund rights during service cuts.

Apple's iOS 26.1 update delivers major security fixes, performance boosts and enhanced privacy controls for your iPhone. Discover why updating now protects your data.

Russian hackers use fake CAPTCHA tests to spread dangerous malware targeting governments and journalists. Learn how to protect yourself from these deceptive attacks.

Sing Psalms, Let Joy Resound: A Case For Exclusive Psalmody

Spirituality