Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

by Hiram Hutto

 

That Christians are to engage in "teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" is obvious (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). But what are "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" and what is the difference, if any, between them?

It is generally agreed that a hymn is a song of praise to God, while a song is a more comprehensive term embracing not only praise but additional subjects as well, limited by the term "spiritual." What controversy there is centers around the question: What is a psalm?

The Catholic Encyclopedia has this intriguing note, "PSALMOS in classical Greek means the twang of the strings of a musical instrument; its Hebrew equivalent (from ZAMAR 'to trim') means a poem of 'trimmed' and measured form." Some claim that a psalm always retained its etymological meaning, i.e., a song sung to musical accompaniment. In this they are mistaken, for based strictly on etymology, the word psalm meant the sound produced by the twanging or plucking of a string, and only later acquired the idea of accompanied singing (and finally singing, without the instrument inhering in the word).

Relying on such scholars as Trench and Lightfoot, some claim that the "ecclesiastical definitions" of early "church fathers" include the instrument. A more careful reading of the original contexts of these "definitions" has led some later researchers to state that such are not ecclesiastical definitions of a practice contemporary with these leaders, but their effort to explain the superscriptions of many of the Old Testament psalms. These leaders were actually using this, not literally for church music, but allegorically for godly conduct by Christians. Most lexicons define a psalm in the New Testament by such terms as a song or a sacred song without mentioning an instrument.

If a psalm is not a song sung to musical accompaniment, what is its difference from hymns and spiritual songs? In their commentary on Ephesians, F. F. Bruce and E. K. Simpson state, "these designations of sacred songs differ but little from one another," and 'Trench (NT Synonyms) has elaborated the lines of distinction perhaps beyond warrant." In A Cappella Music, Everett Ferguson concludes that the three terms are used in the New Testament without any precise distinction (p. 14). Our thesis is: psalms would be songs with the general character of the Old Testament psalms, though not limited to them (so Thayer). The Content of the OT Psalms The psalms deal with a variety of subjects, but most of these are included in two dominant ones. The Hebrew title for the book means "Book of Praises," and even though only two psalms (100 and 145) bear that superscription, no less than twenty are songs of praise, and seventy-five or more mention praise in some form. Here, God in all His attributes of love, power, goodness, providence, faithfulness, creation, righteousness, protection, is vividly set forth, and as a consequence praise is due Him, and His people worship and magnify Him thereby. Examples of such psalms are: Psalms 8, 19, 29, 146-150.

While praise is expressed in most psalms, almost as many are prayers. While those express the majesty of God, these express man's awareness of his utter dependence on God. In these, the psalmist describes his trust in God, his thanksgiving for all His benefits whether spiritual or physical, confession of guilt and unworthiness, entreaties for forgiveness, and requests for help, protection, and guidance, confident of God's ability and willingness to provide what is asked for. Like praises, these grow out of Israel's national history and especially the experiences of the individual psalmists. Examples are: Psalms 17, 20, 72, 86, 90, 102, 142.

The OT Psalms' Influence on NT Worship

Christians are to sing psalms, but certainly not all Old Testament psalms are suitable for our worship —for example, those songs that encourage animal sacrifices (20:2-3; 51:18-19; 66:13-15), or those which endorse actions incompatible with the conduct of Christians (58:6-10; 137:7-9; 139:21-22; 149:6-7). What principles of the psalms should influence our singing?

Since a hymn is a song of praise to God, and since most of the psalms involve His praise (thus of the three types of song we are told to sing, two of them involve God's praise), should not this say something about the number of songs which praise God that we use when we worship?

Three qualities of the psalms are impressive: 1. They are intensely emotional; that is, virtually every emotion of man is expressed in the psalms: fear and trust, despair and hope, joy and sorrow, guilt and penitence. Singing expresses emotion. 2. They are preeminently religious. All the expressions, whether of emotion or history, worship or daily life, lofty or mundane, are expressed in their relation to God. 3. They are always reverent. The God of the psalms is the high and lofty One. Holy and reverend is His name. They never seek to "commonize" Him so as to bring Him down to man's level. Instead they seek to lift man up, to encourage him to aspire to be like God. Even psalms of joy are expressed in noble and dignified words. Should our singing do less?

 

 

  Other Articles by Hiram Hutto
Fathers, Principle Trainers of Children
Respectable Worldliness
Is the Faithful Saint Continually Cleansed by the Blood?
Does Repentance Precede Faith?
What Saith the Authorities?
Differences in Bible Miracles and Modern Miracle