A Treatise On Exclusive Psalmody Part 4: Biblical Basis For Singing The Psalms

Here we have finally reached the crux of this treatise. Understand that it is imperative to know what preceded this section, as a foundation, to know why we should sing the Psalms in worship. In actuality, it is imperative to know all that is above in order to break from the heinous mold that most evangelical churches in our nation have fallen into and begin to not only desire to rightly worship God but also know how he wants it done. 

The Psalms were given to Israel and all Nations to sing

A natural question would be “where did we get the Psalms from?” Well, of course, we understand that the Psalms were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but other than being written by Him, where did we get them? In 1 Chronicles 16, we are met with the occasion of the ark of the covenant being brought back into Israel after it had been stolen by the Philistines (1 Samuel 5:17), and subsequently sent away to Kiriath-jearim for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:1-2). David, who was God’s appointed King as well as the “sweet Psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1), gave orders to the Levites under the leadership of Asaph to sing psalms, celebrate, and give thanks on this occasion as the inauguration of their use (1 Chronicles 16:4-36). On that day David had a selection of Psalms that were given for thanksgiving which was a composite from Psalm 96:1-13, 105:1-15, and 106:1, 47-48. However, it was not only David that could write these divinely inspired songs. Other temple musicians were prophets as well and could likewise write divinely inspired songs (1 Chronicles 25:1, 6-7).

The Hebrew title of the Psalms is not “Psalms.” Rather, it is translated as “Book of Praises,” “Book of Prayers,” or “Book of Hymns.” We get the name “Psalms” from the Greek and Latin versions of the scripture which is derived from the Greek word psalmos, which comes from the verb psallo, meaning “to sing Psalms” or “to sing hymns.” Although the book of Psalms contains much useful theologically for devotions and prayers, the book of Psalms is a book that is meant to be sung. “The Hebrew words for “sing” and “song” appear more than 180 times throughout the Psalms . . . so it is no surprise that when King Hezekiah restored the worship of Judah, he ‘commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer’ (2 Chronicles 29:30).’ [1]

However, the Psalms, just like the scripture and bending the knee to Christ, are not for Israel’s use exclusively. The Psalms summon all nations, all the Earth, to sing God’s praises using the Psalms. Psalm 96:1 says, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!” Psalm 100:1 says, “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!” There are many other Psalms that proclaim this same message including Psalm 67:4, Psalm 68:32, Psalm 117:1-2. The Psalms also have an evangelistic or missionary emphasis to them. Psalm 22:27 for instance, says, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you” (see also Psalm 66:4, Psalm 67:1-3, Psalm 86:9, and Psalm 96:3). 

When Paul commanded the singing of Psalms in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, and when we see him commenting on the Corinthians Psalm singing in worship in 1 Corinthians 14:15, 26, we conclude with no shadow of a doubt, that the Lord gave the Psalms to Israel, his new covenant people, and all the nations to be sung for his praises. 

The Psalms extol Christ 

There may be an objection to singing Psalms because they are for the Old Covenant, or that they do not reveal Christ adequately. This could not be further from reality. Case and point, the Psalms are approximately 40 percent of the Old Testament quotations found in the New Testament. As David Murray says, “The New Testament quotes from the Psalter more often than from any other Old Testament book. Of the 283 direct quotes of the Old Testament in the New, 116 (41 percent) are from the Psalms. The Psalms are used more than fifty times in the Gospels to allude to the person and work of Jesus Christ. When the author of Hebrews sought biblical proof that Jesus was God, at least seven of his citations were from the book of Psalms.”[2] In Luke 24:44, Jesus tells us plainly that the Psalms are about him saying, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (emphasis added). Furthermore, we know that the Old Testament is not obsolete because Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). Paul likewise says that the entire Old Testament was written for our instruction (Romans 15:4). 

Jesus tells his disciples what the Old Testament - Law, Prophets, and Psalms - teaches us when he says, “‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:46-47, emphasis mine). This statement is eye-opening and magnificent, revealing to us that the Old Testament proclaims Christ, his death, and triumphant resurrection! So, when we turn to the Psalms we should expect to find him there. For instance, in Psalm 2 God calls Jesus his “anointed” one. Also, Psalm 110 says “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” There are many Messianic Psalms quoted[3] directly in the New Testament that proclaim the life, ministry, and death of Christ. Psalm 22:1 is an excellent example saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”

Furthermore, it is not just in the Messianic Psalms that point to Christ. David Murray goes on to say that in the Psalms, we sing to Christ as we praise God as our rock, shield, king, and redeemer. Christ is the second person of the Trinity, and the mediator of God’s saving work and therefore he becomes all of these things to us. The Psalms also teach us to sing with Christ because in his human nature he grew up Jewish, an Israelite, and sang the Psalms as all Israelites did. Because David typified Christ[4] when we sing the Psalms David wrote we sing of Christ and his experiences.[5]

Christ and the New Testament Church Sang the Psalms

The entirety of the New Testament could be summed up with the command “follow me” given to us by Christ.[6] This means that it is not only what Christ said that we must learn, but it is also what Christ did that we must imitate. Therefore it is significant that Christ grew up singing the Psalms in the worship of God, and likewise, we see him singing the Psalms, at the Last Supper - at the inauguration of the New Covenant. Matthew 26:30 says, “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (emphasis added). The words “singing a hymn” is the Greek word humneō, which means to sing praise. It was customary on the Passover for the Jews to sing praises to God which would be the singing of paschal hymns, consisting of Psalms 113 - 118 and 136, which the Jews called the “Great Hallel.” And so it was, on the night before our Lord’s crucifixion he and his disciples were worshiping God through the singing of Psalms.

The practice of singing Psalms did not end with Christ, nor did it end with his disciples. As the gospel spread, we see the command for the church to continue to sing the Psalms. Ephesians 5:18-19 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (emphasis added). And again, in Colossians 3:16 which says, “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.” Additionally, the practice of singing Psalms in corporate worship was evidenced in Corinth when Paul said that each one of them has a Psalm and that they sing Psalms with their spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15, 26). 1 Corinthians 14 is - without any doubt - in the context of corporate worship, so when Paul says that each one has a Psalm, he is echoing the exact truth and practice we find commanded in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. So the churches of Christ were commanded to sing the Psalms as praises to God and they did so, just as Christ and his disciples did at the Last Supper.

[1] Beeke, Joel R. 2015. Why Should We Sing Psalms. N.p.: Reformation Heritage Books.

[2] Murray, David. 2013. “Jesus On Every Page: 10 Simple Ways To Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament.”

[3] Psalms 2,8,16,22,40,45,68,69,72,89,109,110,118,132.

[4] Compare Psalm 31:5 and Luke 23:46

[5] ibid

[6] Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 16:24, 19:21, Luke 9:59, John 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 21:19, 1 Cor 11:1