II. The Biblical Position

1. Psalm Singing Commanded

Singing praise to the Lord is a distinct element in the worship of God. Naturally the question has to be asked: What does the Lord require of His Church in this regard? What has He commanded? What has He provided? Does this matter? At least in one respect there does not seem to be any doubt about what the Lord has provided and commanded in the matter of His praise. The Psalms of Scripture are to be sung by His people. There is ample evidence for this in the Psalms themselves, but also and not least, in the New Testament. Let us briefly review the evidence here:

(1) There is the evidence from the Psalm titles. There is no reason to believe that these titles are not of considerable antiquity and perfectly authentic. It appears that they would have been included with the Psalms during the time the Old Testament was in the making.(1) Thirty-four Psalms in the Hebrew text do not have a title, though in the Septuagint or LXX, the Greek translation of the Old Testament which was completed about 180 B.C., only two lack titles. Whether or not these titles are to be considered part of the original inspired text is a matter of dispute, but as Edward Young points out, they "are to be regarded as trustworthy and of great value in determining the Psalm in question".(2) The New Testament writers would certainly have been familiar with the various Psalm titles. The fact that no fewer than 55 Psalms are addressed "to the Chief Musician" points eloquently to the purpose of the Psalms.

(2) There is the evidence from the poetic form of the Psalms. For the greater part the poetry of the Psalms is characterised by a parallelism and rhythm of sense, rather than by the type of rhyming metres distinctive of Western poetry. However, the rhythmical structure of the Psalms was no doubt designed to be consistent with an underlying musical form. As Derek Kidner puts it so effectively: ". . . the poetry of the Psalms has a broad simplicity of rhythm and imagery which survives transplanting into almost any soil. Above all, the fact that its parallelisms are those of sense rather than of sound allows it to reproduce its chief effects with very little loss of either force or beauty. It is well fitted by God's providence to invite 'all the earth' to 'sing the glory of his name'."(3) This is a point, incidentally, which answers the problem some people have with the translation of the Psalms into a metrical form for singing within our Western musical tradition.

(3) There is the evidence from direct statements in the Psalms, and also elsewhere in Scripture. In Psalm 95: "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to him with psalms" (v. 2). In Psalm 105: "Sing to him, sing psalms to him; talk of all his wondrous works" (v. 2). Besides this, in many Psalms there is encouragement to sing to the Lord with the words of the Psalms. Such encouragement is to be found in at least 37 Psalms.(4)

But even outside the Psalter there are clear enough indicators. In I Chronicles 16 we find Psalms being sung when David placed the Ark of God in the Tabernacle. In Nehemiah 12 Psalms of thanksgiving are sung after the restoration and rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. These Psalms are led by appointed singers (see vv. 8 and 27). In the New Testament, too, there are clear encouragements to sing Psalms (cf. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

(4) There is the evidence from New Testament Theology. The book of Psalms is frequently cited in the New Testament. To a significant degree New Testament theology and experience are derived from the Psalms. Jesus himself claimed this. He said when He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection: "all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me" (Luke 24:44). This is how it can be said with truth and conviction that Christ is in all the Scriptures. Of course Christ Himself did not just begin to exist at His conception in the womb of the virgin. He said of Himself: "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58; Colossians 1:16-18). Now, it is true that some Psalms more directly and explicitly point forward to the Messiah or are more specifically applicable to Him.(5) However, as Professor Edmund Clowney, formerly of Westminster Theological Seminary, reminds us: "In their theological depth the psalms are songs of God's covenant and of the hope of the covenant. Since God's great work of salvation will be accomplished by the Son of David, the psalms are explicitly messianic."(6)

There is no reasonable doubt that the Psalms are themselves essential Biblical praise — the song book of the Church, provided and inspired for that purpose. They were of course rich in their contemporary significance to Israel, as songs of inspiration and hope. But they are in a real sense even richer in Christological significance for the New Testament Church, which is, indeed, why they are so often quoted. They are songs to be sung by God's people in every age and it must be counted an unhappy situation that so many Christian Churches today fail to use these songs of Scripture in the worship of God.

2. Textual Evidence.

By textual evidence we mean those texts or verses of Scripture which have a bearing on this issue of Biblical praise. In looking at this evidence we have to enquire into which texts or verses are perceived to be relevant here, and why.

It must surely be agreed that the Lord has provided in the book of Psalms a song book, at the very least for the Church of the Old Testament, and that there is a command to sing Psalms. But then the question arises: Is there a command to sing songs of merely human composition? Is there divine authority to sing the hymns of Isaac Watts and John Newton and Horatius Bonar and Charles Wesley and so on?

Hopefully all advocates of non-canonical song will at least seek to find warrant for their songs somewhere in Scripture. Sure enough a number of passages are appealed to in support of the contention that it is fine for the Church to sing materials other than those of divine inspiration. In addition passages claimed as hymn fragments in the New Testament are cited. We shall look at the passages of Scripture considered to be directly significant in this matter of praise materials. Our chief concern will be to ask whether the passages claimed as warrant for the expansion of praise beyond the confines of the Holy Scriptures really do support that contention.

A word of caution before we start. There are several words in the Greek New Testament, the English translations of which can give rise to certain misunderstandings. Where a word is translated "hymn", for example, it must not be assumed that what is meant in the New Testament context is the same as what the word now conveys in terms of modern hymnody. The words in the Greek New Testament which have a bearing on the question of singing praises are the nouns psalmos, hymnos and ode, and the verbs hymneo and psallo. We proceed to look at the New Testament references in which these words or their derivatives appear.(7)

(i) Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26

The disciples are gathered with Jesus for the Last Supper in the Upper Room. It is the Jewish Passover. We read that when they had sung a hymn (hymnesantes) they went out to the Mount of Olives. Now, what was this "hymn"? Commentators agree that this would have been one of the Hallel Psalms, from that group of Psalms, 113 to 118, commonly sung at the Passover.(8) Hymnesantes is an aorist active participle here indicating simply an action in the past. In this case the meaning is, roughly, "having hymned". It is from the verb hymneo, which means simply "to sing a hymn" or "to sing praises". In this instance, how appropriate any of these Hallel Psalms would have been to Jesus on the threshold of His crucifixion. It is as if Jesus takes these words as His own prayer in the gathering storm of His final days and hours on earth. He pledges to keep His vows in the presence of all the people (Psalm 116:12-19); He calls upon the Gentiles to join in God's praises (Psalm 117); and He concludes with a song of triumph: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD" (Psalm 118:17). As William Lane comments: "When Jesus arose to go to Gethsemane, Ps. 118 was upon his lips. It provided an appropriate description of how God would guide his Messiah through distress and suffering to glory."(9) So here at least, this reference to "hymn", rather than pointing to any uninspired song of praise, points to the Psalter.

(ii) Acts 16:25; Hebrews 2:12

Paul and Silas have taken the gospel to Europe. There is encouragement (Acts 16:11-15). But there is also opposition. They are imprisoned in Philippi (vv. 16-24). Are they downcast? Not a bit of it! Didn't Jesus encourage rejoicing in just such situations? (Matthew 5:12). At midnight, their feet in the stocks in an inner prison, Paul and Silas are heard "praying and singing hymns (hymnoun) to God" (v.25). This word hymnoun is an imperfect of the verb, hymneo; indicating continuing action. What were they singing? We don't know for sure, of course. But the suggestion of Addison Alexander commends itself: "Praying, hymned (or sang to) God, seems to express, not two distinct acts . . . but the single act of lyrical worship, or praying . . . by singing or chanting, perhaps one or more of the passages in the Book of Psalms peculiarly adapted and intended for the use of prisoners and others under persecution."(10) Clearly whatever Paul and Silas sang that night was something they knew by heart. "The explanation doubtless is" says Professor William Binnie, "that they had been taught to say and sing the Psalms in their childhood; and that their habitual attendance in the Synagogue and participation in its services had prevented the early familiarity with 'the praises of Israel' from being lost or impaired."(11)

This understanding of hymnoun here is strengthened by the reference in Hebrews 2. This is the only other place in the New Testament where this verb is found. In Hebrews 2:12 it is in fact found in a quotation from a Psalm! Speaking of Jesus' brotherly relations with believers the writer quotes Psalm 22, verse 22: "I will declare your name to my brethren; In the midst of the congregation I will sing praise (hymneso) to you."

Notes
(1) D. Kidner, Psalms 1-72 (Leicester, England: 1973), pp. 32-33.
(2) E. J. Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament (London: 1964), p. 307.
(3) Kidner, Psalms 1-72, p. 4.
(4) See, for example, Psalms 9, 30, 47, 68, 75, 81, 96, 104, 108, 138, 147, i.e., all sections of the Psalter are represented.
(5) W. Binnie, The Psalms: Their History, Teachings, and Use (London: 1886), pp. 176ff., for a helpful discussion of the classification of the Messianic Psalms.
(6) E. P. Clowney, ''Preaching Christ from all the Scriptures", in S. T. Logan Jr., ed., Preaching (1986), pp. 188-89.
(7) Cf. G. W. Bromiley, trans.,Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Exeter, England: 1985), pp. 1225ff.
(8) Cf. R. V. G. Tasker, Matthew (London: 1961), p. 252; R. A. Cole, Mark (London: 1961), p. 216; R. T. France, Matthew (Leicester, England: 1985), p. 370; D. Hill, The Gospel of Matthew (London: 1972), p. 340; W. L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (London: 1974), p. 509.
(9) Lane, Gospel of Mark, p. 509.
(10) J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles (London: 1963), 2:121.
(11) Binnie, Psalms, p. 372.

Go to the next installment:
Sing the Lord's Song: Part IV