Are we instructed to sing the Psalms from the Old Testament in church?

Are we instructed to sing the Psalms from the Old Testament in church? 

Does Psalms mean the Psalms? 

Some Christians teach that the bible commands us to sing the Psalms from the Old Testament in our church services. There are verses in the New Testament that instruct us to sing Psalms. Such as Ephesians 5:19, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,” and its parallel text in Colossians 3:16, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Is Paul teaching and instructing the Ephesian and Colossian churches, and us, to sing the Psalms from the Old Testament? First, let me say that singing the Psalms is obviously an excellent thing. Throughout church history, churches have sung the Psalms, not only as they flourished but also as they were persecuted. 

In his excellent book, Worshiptainment, Dr Matthew Everhard gives three reasons for singing the Psalms in church. 

1. Proper doctrine. He says that if churches sing the Psalms, “you will never again have to worry about singing anything unfaithful as a congregation in terms of doctrine.” 

2. Christ Centered Singing. “The Psalms are entirely and expressly about Jesus.” 

3. Bible Memorisation. Dr Everhard states that congregants of all ages will naturally learn scripture by singing the Psalms. 

I absolutely and firmly agree with all of these points. Singing the Psalms is good and should be encouraged. But the question is, is it commanded, and then, by extension, are churches that do not sing the Psalms sinning by disobeying a biblical command?

The Greek word for psalm is ‘Psalmos’, which appears seven times in the New Testament. The ESV translates it as psalm or psalms six times and once as a hymn. Psalmos literally means a song of praise with a musical instrument. Biblical scholar Douglas Moo says this, “‘Psalm’ generally refers in Greek to a song that is sung to the ‘plucking’ (Gk. psallō) of the strings of an instrument (esp. a harp).”  This makes sense for the biblical authors to name the Old Testament book of Psalms as Psalms. Most of the Psalms were written by David, and no doubt he wrote them to be sung to the ‘plucking’ of his harp. 

The Greek lexicon BDAG indicates that the word "psalms" has two distinct meanings in the New Testament: one in which the actual psalms of the Old Testament are clearly referred to and one in which they are spoken of in a general sense. 

In Luke 20:42 Jesus is speaking to the Sadducees who are grilling him about whether he is the Christ. Jesus answers them by quoting the Psalms, “For David himself says in the Book of Psalms…….,” Note how Jesus refers to the ‘book of Psalms’, a clear reference to the actual book of Psalms in the Old Testament. 

In Luke 24:44, Jesus is speaking about how the scriptures speak of him, and he adds the definite article ‘the’ in front of the word. “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Italics mine). Jesus clearly refers to the book of Psalms from the Old Testament. 

In Acts 1:20, the Apostle Peter speaks to his fellow disciples about Judas's death, “For it is written in the book of Psalms….” Again, adding the phrase “the book” to the word “psalm” clearly indicates that he is referring to the Old Testament book of Psalms.

In Acts 13:33, the Apostle Paul is preaching in the synagogue and quotes from Psalm 2, “as also it is written in the second Psalm….” This is another clear reference to the Psalms of the Old Testament. 

The above examples are verses that show clearly that when authors and speakers in the New Testament (Paul, Peter and Jesus) wanted to refer to the Old Testament book of Psalms, that was made clear by using the phrase, “the Psalms” or “book of Psalms” or using an actual reference such as, “written in the second psalm.”

Now, we move to the other uses in the New Testament. There are three: 1 Corinthians 14:26, Ephesians 5:19, and Colossians 3:16. 

In 1 Corinthians 14:26, the Greek word psalmos is translated as hymns. “When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.” Paul here clearly does not refer to a “book of Hymns” or hymns from the Old Testament. There is no such thing. He is speaking of bringing a spiritual song to be sung by the Corinthians congregation. 

Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are almost identical parallel passages. We will discuss them together. Paul instructs both the Ephesian and Colossian churches about proper worship and how to worship when they come together; he says, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Note the general sense of the word. There is no definite article to indicate a specific set of psalms and no reference to the Book of Psalms. 

John Calvin, the great Reformation-era theologian and Pastor, who was well known for having his congregation sing from the book of Psalms, comments on this passage by saying, 

“it becomes you to make use of hymns and songs that sound forth God’s praise.” Farther, under these three terms he includes all kinds of songs. They are commonly distinguished in this way—that a psalm is that, in the singing of which some musical instrument besides the tongue is made use of: a hymn is properly a song of praise, whether it be sung simply with the voice or otherwise; while an ode contains not merely praises, but exhortations and other matters. 

Nowhere in Calvin’s commentary on this verse does he indicate that he believes that the Psalms spoken of here by Paul are the actual Psalms from the book of the Old Testament. In fact, he defines them the same way that the Greek Lexicon BDAG does, in a general sense, “that a psalm is that, in the singing of which some musical instrument besides the tongue is made use.”

Why, then, does Paul use three different words for the singing of songs? Psalms, Hymns and spiritual songs. Do we understand that these are to be read as three distinct types of worship songs? Biblical theologian F.F. Bruce doesn’t think so; however, he gives scope for the possibility without dogmatically saying that the psalms to be sung are those from the Old Testament book of Psalms.  

“It has been asked sometimes if a strict threefold classification of praise is signified in the mention of “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” It is unlikely that any sharply demarcated division is intended, although the “psalms” might be drawn from the OT Psalter (which has supplied a chief vehicle for Christian praise from primitive times), the “hymns”   might be Christian canticles (some of which are reproduced, in whole or in part, in the NT text), and the “spiritual songs” might be unpremeditated words sung “in the Spirit,” voicing holy aspirations.” 

So, how should we understand Paul's verses in Ephesians and Colossians? Should we interpret them as commands that we, as the church, sing the actual Psalms from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament? I would say no for the following reasons.

• The Greek word Psalm indicates a general sense of a song sung to music (usually a plucking instrument such as a harp) and not the specific 150 psalms from the Book of Psalms.  

• In Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, Paul does not use a definite article, as the New Testament does in other places, when explicitly referring to the book of Psalms. 

•There is no reason to think that Paul’s use of the three types of songs separately indicates that the Psalms mentioned are specifically those in the book of Psalms. In 1 Corinthians, the Greek word is translated as hymn, not psalms, differentiating it from the idea that Paul dogmatically suggests we sing from the book of Psalms. 

It is certainly a good idea for any church to sing the Psalms from the Book of Psalms; however, I do not believe that Scripture mandates this practice. What Scripture does mandate is that we sing songs that glorify God and contain sound theology, allowing the congregation to unite in worship.

Soli Deo Gloria