New Testament singing

New Testament singing: Why the New Covenant revelation should be included in hymning the Lamb

I advocate “New Testament singing” – singing that recognizes the entire word of God (all 66 books from Genesis to Revelation) as inspired and teaches from the whole counsel of God.

Colossians 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

1. New Testament singing emphasizes that God has spoken to us by His Son. That God in these last days has spoken to us by His Son demands due consideration.

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds...

The constant refrain of the book of Hebrews is that the substance is better than the types and shadows, that the New Covenant is better than the Old, that Jesus the mediator of the new covenant and His blood “speaketh better things.” Under the Exclusive Psalmody doctrine the very words spoken by Jesus Christ Himself are rejected as an appropriate singing subject matter for the New Testament churches.

2. New Testament singing teaches the whole counsel of God. The teaching aspect of singing requires including New Testament revelation in our songs. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are unequivocal. Inherent in the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is “teaching and admonishing one another.” If we shun to teach the full New Covenant revelation, we shun to teach the whole counsel of God. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples, baptizing and “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Singing only the 150 Psalms of the Old Testament is not teaching “all things” Jesus commanded. We are taught that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).” To sing only the Psalms and exclude the New Covenant revelation implies that “all scripture” is not profitable “for instruction in righteousness.”

If we are to faithfully teach Christ and Him crucified in our singing, and we should – “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28)” – we must faithfully sing the words of the New Testament as well as the Old! New Testament singing speaks in words that communicate the entire teaching of Scripture and is not conscribed to teaching less than 10% of Scripture.

3. New Testament singing obeys the command to speak, teach and admonish in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Mountains have been piled upon molehills to prove that God has commanded New Covenant Christians to sing exclusively from the Old Testament book of Psalms. Blood, sweat and pious pedantry have been enlisted to prove the point. But when all the smoke has cleared and the vapor has vanished away, the commands of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 have never said and still do not say “sing the book of Psalms”! This command specifies that we sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Babes and simple believers can see it even if the scholar cannot.*

Should we be surprised that the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments use the words that can be translated “psalms” or “hymns” or “songs” in the book of Psalms? Of course not, since these are “psalms” and “hymns” and “songs”! It is no surprise that in a book about God, most of the references to songs and singing are in the context of praise to God – whether in the book of Psalms or elsewhere. Neither should we be surprised that words for uninspired songs in the Bible are the same as words for inspired songs – just as a modern Westerner could use “song” to describe the products of Led Zeppelin, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or “Amazing Grace” lined in a Baptist Church.

Scott Sanborn explains it this way: “We are suggesting that Exclusive Psalmists make a category error. They do not recognize that these terms refer to the Psalter simply because it is one species of the broader genus “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” In other words, as a set of terms referring to a genus, these terms refer to all the species within that genus just as “cat” refers to both lions and house cats. As everyone knows, just because “cats” refers to house cats that does not necessarily mean it refers to them alone. So also, just because “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” refer to the Psalter, this does not necessarily mean that they refer to the Psalter alone.” -- From Inclusive Psalmody: Why ‘psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs’ Refers to More Than the Old Testament Psalter

There is no disagreement whether the terms “psalms,” “hymns” or “spiritual songs” can refer to the songs in the book of Psalms. What remains unproven is that they refer exclusively to the book of Psalms. In the end, the Old Testament words argument cuts both ways. It proves that these words are used for the songs in the Psalms, but it also proves that elsewhere there are psalms, hymns and songs that are not part of the book of Psalms. Rather than teaching it, the command to sing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” actually excludes Exclusive Psalmody. Exclusively singing the 150 Psalms disobeys the singing commands of the New Testament.**

In addition to these 3 main points, I think the two following peripheral issues could be enlightening.

4. Old Testament singing indicates that Exclusive Psalmody was never the command or rule under the Old Covenant. Songs not in the book of Psalms were sung in public assembly. It seems strange that God would not limit Old Covenant singers to the book of Psalms, but then limit New Covenant singers to the book of Psalms.

5. The comparison and contrast of James 5:13 implies the use of appropriate and timely non-inspired text.

James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

The afflicted are to pray and the merry are to sing. Though this only suggests and does not prove, to compose or sing an appropriate hymn that speaks to the specific occasion of happiness could be as likely as composing a prayer that speaks to one’s specific affliction.

The regulative principle teaches us to follow in worship what God has commanded. Exclusive Psalmody limits what God has commanded – psalms, hymns and spiritual songs – to what the Exclusive Psalmist demands – the book of Psalms only. 

* In fairness we must admit that scholars who are not Exclusive Psalmists have also written complicated tomes on psalmody and hymnody.
** Curiously, we could ask why Isaiah’s inspired song in Chapter 5 or the inspired Song of Solomon are not spiritual songs?!