The recesses of Reformed Presbyterianism are filled with debates that make little sense to "normal" people. If the common man were to overhear two Presbyterians theologically duking it out in a Pub (or typing it out in the Pub), he/she would probably be surprised that a) anyone cares that much, and/or b) that anyone has thought that much about whatever the given issue might be. That being said, one such perpetual debate occurs over what has been labeled Exclusive Psalmody, known to frequenters of internet forums simply as EP. EP is the view that only the Psalms are to be sung in public worship. The underlying principle--that we should only sing inspired words from God--allows for other portions of Scripture to be sung in worship, though, in my experience, that is rarely practiced, even if EP proponents allow for it. As with every view, EP has many shades and renditions. I hope I have fairly represented their view.
As the title to this post implies, I was raised in an EP church. My father, who was the pastor of said church for over a decade, still holds firmly to it, though he now attends a church that has a more modern worship style. I mention this not only to give context to what I will say, but also to give some weight to it. I know EP first-hand. In fact, I have argued vehemently in favor of it. Over the last few years, however, I have begun to view the issue in a new light. Here is my reasoning for spurning EP.
Let me begin by saying that I respect those who do hold to EP. Some have accused them of pride, but that is not my intention here. Generally speaking, they hold to EP because they love the Word of God and they wish to align everything that they do to its mandates. Let me also clarify that I am pro-Psalm. My church sings several Psalms every week. I believe that they are extremely edifying and that the Church should continue to sing them for all eternity. To allow for hymns, choruses, etc. is not to be anti-Psalms.
The logic of EP is pretty basic. God only wants us to do what He commands in worship. He has commanded us to sing Psalms. He has not commanded us to sing anything else. Therefore, we must only sing Psalms. Unfortunately, there are some holes in this logic. To begin with, this logic presupposes the RPW, that it, is assumes that we are not allowed to do anything else in worship than what God has commanded by command or example in Scripture. The RPW is a discussion for another day. Even if we assume that the RPW is Biblical, we still have issues getting to EP, in principle and in practice. Here are a few:
Firstly, no one, or hardly anyone, actually practices EP in the way that they claim (to be fair, there are those who chant or sing words directly from English translations). Almost every Psalter available has put the Psalms to melodies, many of them familiar tunes (quite ironically), which requires the Psalms to be modified. Most of the time the Psalms are actually made to rhyme, which requires pretty significant changes in the wording of Psalms. It is beyond me how an EP advocate could hold that this "counts," if you will. How is a modified Psalm any different than a hymn that is largely based on a Psalm? It's not. Certainly we would allow for rearranging phrases and uses translations from the Hebrew that facilitate rhyming, but changing words/wording to fit a rhyme or a tune is something more. My EP friends, if you are singing out of the Psalms for Singing, you are not singing only the inspired words of God. You simply are not.
Secondly, God tells us to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. He does so in two places: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. The EPers will insist that these three terms are headings of the Psalms in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament the Apostles would've used. That is a possible interpretation, but there are two problems with it. It is not the only, nor the most natural, way of understanding the three words Paul used. Given the context and the audience, the weight lies on the EP crowd to prove that Paul meant three types of songs found within the Psalter. The other issue is that psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs leaves out the fourth heading (wisdom or understanding) of songs within the Psalter. To be consistent, we would have to say that God has not commanded us to sing that type. At any rate, if we take the Greek terms in their natural sense, God tells us through Paul to sing three different types of songs, one of which is Psalms. God has not restricted us to the Psalter.
Thirdly, singing is a form of prayer. There are few, if any, who restrict prayer to the words of Scripture. There are none, so far as I know, who restrict preaching to the precise words of Scripture. Now, using explicit Scripture in both of these is wise. It is fair to say that Scripture should pervade our praying and preaching. No one, however, would ever dare tell the preacher that he needs to restrict his sermon to the words of the Bible. After all, he is explaining the revelation of God--not giving it. Why is singing different from preaching and praying? I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer to that question.
Fourthly, EP fails to proclaim the Gospel sufficiently through song. Paul tells us in Colossians 3 that we are to teach each other in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Song is a qualitatively unique learning medium. It accesses our brains in different ways. God wants us to utilize this gift as a way to learn about and glorify Him. We cannot properly communicate the truths of God through song if we only sing only Old Testament Psalms. You cannot, after all, even sing the name of our Savior if you hold to EP. What a loss! You can certainly sing about Jesus, but only in typical terms. What would happen if your preacher only preached from the Old Testament? Would you present the Gospel to someone using only the prophecies about Christ? Then why is song any different? How can we teach through song without declaring the fulfilled Gospel? Simply put, we can't.
Fifthly, redemption demands a response in song. Many misunderstand how the Psalms were written. EPers will say things like, "God gave us a Psalter of 150 songs to sing" and "the Psalter is the hymnal of the Old Testament Church." The Psalter was produced in a far more progressive, organic way, however. The example we see throughout the Old Testament is that new songs were written whenever new deliverance (or problems) were encountered. What happened when the Israelites were rescued at the Red Sea? They sang a song. What happened when David was delivered from Saul, the Philistines, etc.? He wrote a song. We see this before and after David's time, and we see it in the New Testament as well. It's no wonder that Christians have authored so many hymns in the Christian era. They were all responding to God in song, which is the most natural response possible. We even see this before the throne of God in the book of Revelation! Revelation 5:9 says that they sang a new song! Time and time again we find this phase throughout the Bible, especially in the Psalter: "Sing a new song!" We are not only told to sing the songs of those who have gone before, but we are instructed to compose our own songs, as well.
Sixthly, the New Testament recognizes no distinction between life and corporate worship, at least so far as what we can and cannot do. We never see the Apostles allowing certain things in personal/family/unorganized worship that they won't allow in the corporate gathering of the church. The Old Testament economy certainly had a complex system of rituals with very rigid regulations, but the New Testament has brought the era of worshiping in spirit and in truth. Remember, the early Church in Jerusalem lived together communally. They didn't just worship on Sundays, but every day! There are those who would allow hymn singing during informal gatherings on weekdays, but insist that corporate worship on Sunday has different rules. Once again, I have yet to see a Biblical defense of such a distinction. The number of Christians gathering and the day of the week do not affect what we are/are not allowed to do in worship.
Seventhly, EP is motivated ultimately by fear. To reiterate what I said in the beginning, I love and respect my EP brethren. I recognize that their consciences are bound by what they view as God's will and I respect their desire to abide by it. From my own experience, however, I have seen a common theme: fear of human nature run amuck. Hymn singing is a foot in the door, so to speak. Once you start singing hymns, then you'll be playing guitars and dancing (Heaven forbid!). You might even start singing Amy Grant songs! Where will the madness end! This desire to have everything black-and-white is an implicit denial of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying grace and guidance over the Church. The elders have a role. It is to make sure that the foot in the door doesn't lead to disgraceful music being played in corporate worship. You don't have to make it impossible to make a mistake. Liberty does not always lead to abuse. The same logic is why some Christians (cough cough--Baptists) don't like alcohol. They just don't see how humans can avoiding messing things up. The answer to all these questions is the Holy Spirit within us. He is our self-control. He is our guide. He is our worship leader. Certainly we are not to tempt the Spirit, but we also should not deny His existence!
I really want to stress this final point. It is the ultimate reason I have left the EP camp. So much of what we do is dictated by fear. I have heard people say things like, "If the RPW didn't exist, people could just have sex during worship!" This shows the fear that underlies the issue. Many EP proponents have come from more liberal origins. The abuse of liberty, particularly in worship, left them so disgusted that they flocked to something that seemed concrete and fool-proof. I'm here to tell you that nothing is fool-proof. A fool can sing the Psalms and still not glorify God! God is worried about the heart, ultimately. Yes, we should strive for theological accuracy and musical excellence, but God is not going to be dishonored by a group of Christians singing a song that has slightly incorrect theological wording. Once again, it is the role of the elders to ensure that their congregations are singing God-honoring music. What we should do is use the Word of God and basic common sense to ensure that we do not stray from God's truth in our songs, as well as in all of our worship. What we should not do is take the easy way out by discounting everything that is not found in the book of Psalms. That is simply sacrificing too much edification for the price of safety. I have learned that the safest way is rarely the most beneficial way.
As the title to this post implies, I was raised in an EP church. My father, who was the pastor of said church for over a decade, still holds firmly to it, though he now attends a church that has a more modern worship style. I mention this not only to give context to what I will say, but also to give some weight to it. I know EP first-hand. In fact, I have argued vehemently in favor of it. Over the last few years, however, I have begun to view the issue in a new light. Here is my reasoning for spurning EP.
Let me begin by saying that I respect those who do hold to EP. Some have accused them of pride, but that is not my intention here. Generally speaking, they hold to EP because they love the Word of God and they wish to align everything that they do to its mandates. Let me also clarify that I am pro-Psalm. My church sings several Psalms every week. I believe that they are extremely edifying and that the Church should continue to sing them for all eternity. To allow for hymns, choruses, etc. is not to be anti-Psalms.
The logic of EP is pretty basic. God only wants us to do what He commands in worship. He has commanded us to sing Psalms. He has not commanded us to sing anything else. Therefore, we must only sing Psalms. Unfortunately, there are some holes in this logic. To begin with, this logic presupposes the RPW, that it, is assumes that we are not allowed to do anything else in worship than what God has commanded by command or example in Scripture. The RPW is a discussion for another day. Even if we assume that the RPW is Biblical, we still have issues getting to EP, in principle and in practice. Here are a few:
Firstly, no one, or hardly anyone, actually practices EP in the way that they claim (to be fair, there are those who chant or sing words directly from English translations). Almost every Psalter available has put the Psalms to melodies, many of them familiar tunes (quite ironically), which requires the Psalms to be modified. Most of the time the Psalms are actually made to rhyme, which requires pretty significant changes in the wording of Psalms. It is beyond me how an EP advocate could hold that this "counts," if you will. How is a modified Psalm any different than a hymn that is largely based on a Psalm? It's not. Certainly we would allow for rearranging phrases and uses translations from the Hebrew that facilitate rhyming, but changing words/wording to fit a rhyme or a tune is something more. My EP friends, if you are singing out of the Psalms for Singing, you are not singing only the inspired words of God. You simply are not.
Secondly, God tells us to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. He does so in two places: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. The EPers will insist that these three terms are headings of the Psalms in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament the Apostles would've used. That is a possible interpretation, but there are two problems with it. It is not the only, nor the most natural, way of understanding the three words Paul used. Given the context and the audience, the weight lies on the EP crowd to prove that Paul meant three types of songs found within the Psalter. The other issue is that psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs leaves out the fourth heading (wisdom or understanding) of songs within the Psalter. To be consistent, we would have to say that God has not commanded us to sing that type. At any rate, if we take the Greek terms in their natural sense, God tells us through Paul to sing three different types of songs, one of which is Psalms. God has not restricted us to the Psalter.
Thirdly, singing is a form of prayer. There are few, if any, who restrict prayer to the words of Scripture. There are none, so far as I know, who restrict preaching to the precise words of Scripture. Now, using explicit Scripture in both of these is wise. It is fair to say that Scripture should pervade our praying and preaching. No one, however, would ever dare tell the preacher that he needs to restrict his sermon to the words of the Bible. After all, he is explaining the revelation of God--not giving it. Why is singing different from preaching and praying? I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer to that question.
Fourthly, EP fails to proclaim the Gospel sufficiently through song. Paul tells us in Colossians 3 that we are to teach each other in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Song is a qualitatively unique learning medium. It accesses our brains in different ways. God wants us to utilize this gift as a way to learn about and glorify Him. We cannot properly communicate the truths of God through song if we only sing only Old Testament Psalms. You cannot, after all, even sing the name of our Savior if you hold to EP. What a loss! You can certainly sing about Jesus, but only in typical terms. What would happen if your preacher only preached from the Old Testament? Would you present the Gospel to someone using only the prophecies about Christ? Then why is song any different? How can we teach through song without declaring the fulfilled Gospel? Simply put, we can't.
Fifthly, redemption demands a response in song. Many misunderstand how the Psalms were written. EPers will say things like, "God gave us a Psalter of 150 songs to sing" and "the Psalter is the hymnal of the Old Testament Church." The Psalter was produced in a far more progressive, organic way, however. The example we see throughout the Old Testament is that new songs were written whenever new deliverance (or problems) were encountered. What happened when the Israelites were rescued at the Red Sea? They sang a song. What happened when David was delivered from Saul, the Philistines, etc.? He wrote a song. We see this before and after David's time, and we see it in the New Testament as well. It's no wonder that Christians have authored so many hymns in the Christian era. They were all responding to God in song, which is the most natural response possible. We even see this before the throne of God in the book of Revelation! Revelation 5:9 says that they sang a new song! Time and time again we find this phase throughout the Bible, especially in the Psalter: "Sing a new song!" We are not only told to sing the songs of those who have gone before, but we are instructed to compose our own songs, as well.
Sixthly, the New Testament recognizes no distinction between life and corporate worship, at least so far as what we can and cannot do. We never see the Apostles allowing certain things in personal/family/unorganized worship that they won't allow in the corporate gathering of the church. The Old Testament economy certainly had a complex system of rituals with very rigid regulations, but the New Testament has brought the era of worshiping in spirit and in truth. Remember, the early Church in Jerusalem lived together communally. They didn't just worship on Sundays, but every day! There are those who would allow hymn singing during informal gatherings on weekdays, but insist that corporate worship on Sunday has different rules. Once again, I have yet to see a Biblical defense of such a distinction. The number of Christians gathering and the day of the week do not affect what we are/are not allowed to do in worship.
Seventhly, EP is motivated ultimately by fear. To reiterate what I said in the beginning, I love and respect my EP brethren. I recognize that their consciences are bound by what they view as God's will and I respect their desire to abide by it. From my own experience, however, I have seen a common theme: fear of human nature run amuck. Hymn singing is a foot in the door, so to speak. Once you start singing hymns, then you'll be playing guitars and dancing (Heaven forbid!). You might even start singing Amy Grant songs! Where will the madness end! This desire to have everything black-and-white is an implicit denial of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying grace and guidance over the Church. The elders have a role. It is to make sure that the foot in the door doesn't lead to disgraceful music being played in corporate worship. You don't have to make it impossible to make a mistake. Liberty does not always lead to abuse. The same logic is why some Christians (cough cough--Baptists) don't like alcohol. They just don't see how humans can avoiding messing things up. The answer to all these questions is the Holy Spirit within us. He is our self-control. He is our guide. He is our worship leader. Certainly we are not to tempt the Spirit, but we also should not deny His existence!
I really want to stress this final point. It is the ultimate reason I have left the EP camp. So much of what we do is dictated by fear. I have heard people say things like, "If the RPW didn't exist, people could just have sex during worship!" This shows the fear that underlies the issue. Many EP proponents have come from more liberal origins. The abuse of liberty, particularly in worship, left them so disgusted that they flocked to something that seemed concrete and fool-proof. I'm here to tell you that nothing is fool-proof. A fool can sing the Psalms and still not glorify God! God is worried about the heart, ultimately. Yes, we should strive for theological accuracy and musical excellence, but God is not going to be dishonored by a group of Christians singing a song that has slightly incorrect theological wording. Once again, it is the role of the elders to ensure that their congregations are singing God-honoring music. What we should do is use the Word of God and basic common sense to ensure that we do not stray from God's truth in our songs, as well as in all of our worship. What we should not do is take the easy way out by discounting everything that is not found in the book of Psalms. That is simply sacrificing too much edification for the price of safety. I have learned that the safest way is rarely the most beneficial way.
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