Or “Did God really say we should sing the psalms?”
The Bible has a very brief and simple checklist for what we are to sing as the Church. Just one explicit command, and it’s given to us twice:
“addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” ~ Ephesians 5:19 (ESV, my emphasis)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” ~ Colossians 3:16 (ESV, my emphasis)
In both cases, God instructs us to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. The word “psalms” almost certainly refers to the book of Psalms which the Jews (including Jesus) would have known and sung regularly. The meaning of the words “hymns and spiritual songs” can be debated, as some believe this is part of a grouping term also referring to the psalms1. Nevertheless, it would seem that God intends for his people to at least sing the psalms.
Why then is it that singing a psalm is almost an anomaly – if not unheard of – in many churches today? Here is a list of reasons which I believe are contributing to this:
- Psalms are not popular in modern Christian music. The most popular modern Christian songs are created in America, where many are probably placed under the constraint of being palatable to “Becky”, a persona created to help Christian radio decide whether or not to put a song on their playlist2. For artists influenced by this, it surely is just much easier to use lyrics that appeal more to the modern mind than those that are mostly written by a Jewish monarch thousands of years ago.
- The psalms require a lot of work to be put into song, they don’t rhyme like modern songs or have regular stanzas that fit into modern music.
- Much of the existing psalters use melodies and meters that are archaic and hard to sing for the modern churchgoer.
- The content of the psalms generally would not be deemed appropriate in a very seeker-sensitive context, since the psalms contain themes like God’s wrath and the destruction of the wicked, themes which might be uncomfortable to an unbeliever or even a young believer.
- There isn’t an appreciation for the relevance of the psalms for Christians today.
Someone might ask, “Is it not sufficient that we sing hymns and spiritual songs?” My answer would be that though there are good modern songs, much of what we have today under the categories of ‘hymns’ and ‘spiritual songs’ do not cover nearly enough of the breadth of the revelation of God as the Psalms do. The psalms would therefore be a helpful tool to disciple congregants into a fuller understanding of God.
However, I would also then ask, “Why stop short of completing the full instruction”? Partial obedience never leaves a good taste, as I’m sure most people experience when they read the stories of Israelite kings that did what was right in the eyes of the LORD (e.g. 2 Kings 10:30-31, 15:4)? Would it not be better to have the attitude of king David’s men, who risked their lives for what their lord expressed only as a wish (2 Samuel 23:15-16)?
Finally, here are a few more reasons on why I believe we should sing the Psalms:
- It is the songs that Jesus sang, therefore as His disciples we would do well to follow in His example.
- It gives expression to the width and breadth of human emotion, from lament to joy and indignation to repentance, helping us to process those emotions as a people after God’s own heart.
- It’s an extremely effective way of storing God’s Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11).
Though it might be difficult to swim against the current stream, I think it’s worth bringing the psalms back, even if only to please God through a fuller obedience.