Exclusive psalmody

[greatbar]

I believe in the doctrine of the regulative principle regarding worship on the Sabbath. Bearing that in mind, I'm interested in the thoughts of others regarding exclusive psalmody.

Is there a place for man-made hymns to be sung in Sabbath worship when God has given us His own song book?

 

[A New Dawn]

TBH, I have to question your use of the words "man-made". I believe that there are quite a few, highly inspired, praise songs that we use in worship all the time. (I'll grant that many aren't, but the ones that are, I feel are just as inspired as the psalms.) This I see is one of the problems with the idea of using only Biblical psalms for worship. A psalm is a praise to the Lord, and who is to say some are inspired while others aren't.

If that is something that you feel God led you to do, that is fine, but I believe that the scriptures are silent on the matter. Or rather, they can seem to have conflicting admonition on the subject. I would put this issue under adiaphora.

 

[JM]

I believe in the doctrine of the regulative principle regarding worship on the Sabbath. Bearing that in mind, I'm interested in the thoughts of others regarding exclusive psalmody.

Is there a place for man-made hymns to be sung in Sabbath worship when God has given us His own song book?

Would it not be against the regulative principle to baptize infants during a morning worship service...since it is not stated in scripture to do so?

 

[mothcorrupteth]

The typical argument from Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16 has never sounded very convincing to me, nor do I find helpful the slippery-slope argument that "man-made" hymns will inevitably plunge us into the semi-Pelagian madness of skits and incense.

I suppose it's possible that Paul was making a specific reference to the Psalms by the phrase "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" and that the Christians at Ephesus and Colossus didn't need further explanation because they understood the reference. However, none of the arguments I hear ever present evidence that Ephesian and Colossian Greeks would have understood those specific words to mean the Psalms.

Moreover, there's a fine biblical line between "man-made" hymns and pageantry. "Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" may be ambiguous as to whether it includes "man-made" compositions, but it's in the Bible. Clown communion and passion plays are not.

 

[bliz5]

I live surrounded by Reformed Presbyterians who translate "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" as "psalms, psalms, and psalms." The Psalms are wonderful and I own my own Psalter, but I doubt the call for exclusivity. Paul was a well educated writer, and if he used three different words, I believe he intended three different meanings.

 

[greatbar]

Thank you for your responses. I do appreciate them, and must say how nice it is to be involved in discussion with like-minded believers.

It seems to me a lot of this discussion will revolve around "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs". Understandably so. I will come back to this another time (have to be at work in half and hour and haven't left home yet). The answers to exegetically discussing this are quite theological.

There is no doubt there are very inspirational and beautiful hymns that do glorify God. But is there a place for them in worship? They are not written by God Himself, and as such must be man-made.

I do feel that including hymns in worship, in a roundabout way, says that the psalmbook of God is insufficient.

 

[A New Dawn]

Thank you for your responses. I do appreciate them, and must say how nice it is to be involved in discussion with like-minded believers.

It seems to me a lot of this discussion will revolve around "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs". Understandably so. I will come back to this another time (have to be at work in half and hour and haven't left home yet). The answers to exegetically discussing this are quite theological.

There is no doubt there are very inspirational and beautiful hymns that do glorify God. But is there a place for them in worship? They are not written by God Himself, and as such must be man-made.

I do feel that including hymns in worship, in a roundabout way, says that the psalmbook of God is insufficient.

I guess my question is -- How do you know that they are not written by God, himself? Does God not inspire people anymore?

 

[bliz5]

There is no doubt there are very inspirational and beautiful hymns that do glorify God.

There are absolutely dreadful and insipid hymns...

But is there a place for them in worship? They are not written by God Himself, and as such must be man-made.

I do feel that including hymns in worship, in a roundabout way, says that the psalmbook of God is insufficient.

Are we to only use God's inspired words in worship?

 

[ReformedChapin]

I like Psalms only. I think it's a more consistant form of the regulative form of worship relying only on God's word. I don't buy the argument for using hymms since it opens open doors to any kind of genre of music as well. How do we know what "hymm" , "music" or whatever is good? Or glorifies God? God's word glorifies him everything else is at best a second rate representation of it.

 

[GrinningDwarf]

I dunno...God has given us perfectly good words all throughout the Scriptures. Why should the pastor bring his own man-made interpretation to any of them? Shouldn't he just be reading Scripture from the pulpit? (Oh, wait. Are pulpits even mentioned in Scripture? To the burn-pile! And I question air-conditioning, too. Scriptural support for air-conditioning? And cars. I think the apostles all walked to church.)



FYI...I also agree that most contemporary 'worship' music is dreadful. Even quite a bit that people consider 'classic' today that were written by Unitarians and purveyors of other false gospels. And if people want to sing only psalms, that's fine, too. I just think to require the same for everybody violates Romans 14.

Addendum...

I like Michael Horton's paraphrase of Calvin on the issue of Christian Liberty:

Don't think Christian liberty is a trivial subject. It is an appendix to justification. You can believe the doctrine of justification, but actually experience judgement of works if you don't acknowledge Christian liberty...The weaker brother may stumble when he sees you doing something; the pharisee never will stumble, but will judge you for indulging your liberty. So for the weaker brother we carefully at times suspend our liberty, but for the pharisee...never.

 

[JSGuitarist]

I'm in favor of the use of hymns. It seems that to tighten "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" down to just the the Psalms is to tighten down the bolts down to something that wasn't mean to be there; that is, it's not specific enough to convince me that only the Psalms were intended.

 

[GrinningDwarf]

...I will come back to this another time (have to be at work in half and hour and haven't left home yet). The answers to exegetically discussing this are quite theological.

Hmmm...I was looking forward to reading greatbar's case.

 

[RefCath]

Is there a place for man-made hymns to be sung in Sabbath worship when God has given us His own song book?

I would say that there is indeed a place for us to use songs other than the psalms in public worship and I would also say that Eph. 5:19 is refering to psalms.

 

[RefCath]

I'm in favor of the use of hymns. It seems that to tighten "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" down to just the the Psalms is to tighten down the bolts down to something that wasn't mean to be there; that is, it's not specific enough to convince me that only the Psalms were intended.

The Greek words used in the sentence "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" all appear in the Greek translation of the psalms in their titles, e.g. the title of Psalm 76 is "A psalm of Asaph. A song." Some have just one of the terms, others two, and one has all three though I can't recall which it is off the top of my head.But we can go elsewhere to justify the use of songs other than psalms.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I live surrounded by Reformed Presbyterians who translate "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" as "psalms, psalms, and psalms." The Psalms are wonderful and I own my own Psalter, but I doubt the call for exclusivity. Paul was a well educated writer, and if he used three different words, I believe he intended three different meanings.

I could not have said it better myself.

 

[greatbar]

Hmmm...I was looking forward to reading greatbar's case.

My apologies. Here is an exert from an unknown author I took from my church website. I presume a fairly aged article given the language used.

"No doubt, one may compose spiritual hymns for his own and others' religious recreation; but to admit forms of human composure into the stated and public worship of God, appears to me very improper.

(1.) It is extremely dangerous. Heresies and errors by this means may be, and often have been, insensibly introduced into churches, congregations, or families.

(2.) There is no need of it. The Holy Ghost hath, in the Psalms of David, and other scriptural songs, furnished us with a rich collection of Gospel doctrines and precious promises; an extensive fund of solid experiences; an exhaustless mine of Gospel grace and truth; an endless variety to suit every state or condition, in which either our own soul, or the church of Christ, can be upon earth. These were all framed by HIM who searcheth the hearts, and knows the deep things of God; and hence must be better adapted to the case of souls or societies, than any private composition whatever.

(3.) Though the Holy Ghost never saw meet to leave us a liturgy of prayers; yet, from the poetical composition thereof, it is plain he intended these psalms and songs for a standing form of praise in the church. It is certain, they were used in this manner under the Old Testament. The Holy Ghost hath, under the New, plainly directed us to the use thereof, Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19. The PSALMS, HYMNS, and spiritual SONGS, there recommended, are plainly the same with the MISMORIM, TEHILLIM, and SHIRIM, mentioned in the Hebrew titles of David's Psalms 3, 4, 5, etc.; 145, 120, 134."

The full article can be found here if interested: Edit: oops, I don't have enough posts to share a link. Just google "epc purity of worship" and click on the top link.

 

[JSGuitarist]

Concerning the terms of songs, hymns and spiritual songs, even if there is a correspondence with the term headings in the Psalms, where in the verses do we find that the Psalms are the exclusive reference here? You can certainly gather that the Psalms are included, I wouldn't doubt that, but I can't see in there that hymns and human compositions are excluded, and the verses seem to at least to me imply the freedom to do this.

I think too that to restrain the meanings of those verses restrains the intention of the verses altogether. Colossians 3:16 tells to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us, to teach and admonish one another, yet how could you entirely fill that mandate if you restrain someone to the Old Testament, especially when the New Testament is the explicit unveiling of the Old Testament mysteries? To command only the use of Psalms, really, restrains our ability to teach the Word of God to one book. Even in Ephesians 5:19, it tells us to speak to each other using these, but are we really only going to do that using songs, and never building up one another in song form using the explicit language and teachings of the New Testament? That seems entirely contrary in a book where Paul has spent the first three chapters just unveiling the grand purposes of God in language that lifts the heart just in its reading.

That would also be my answer to the concept that heresy might be introduced through hymns, and I agree, but we also have the mandates in these very verses on how to use hymns: Teaching, admonition, enhancing the rich indwelling word of Christ, giving thankfulness unto God, making melody unto the Lord. Truthfully, none of these commands are unfitting for public worship. If men will write their own psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to these ends, and do it with the heart and spirit contained in these verses, they will avoid heresy, and will prove a rich channel for the teaching of the Word.

PS - A little late, but welcome to the forums!