Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs

[Beck]

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.


Whats the difference between them?

[krazeeboi]

Interesting topic; I never really thought about the distinctions between each, but here's what I've found:

The Importance of Psalms

The Book of Psalms was written for worship. Its initial purpose was to provide Israel with a hymnal. Nothing like it exists in the New Testament; it remains the only collection of inspired hymns. We should not be surprised that Paul wanted the churches to sing Psalms. They are filled with exactly the type of worship God requires, and as such they serve as an excellent template for all other worship music. The church which regularly sings Psalms will not tolerate poor hymns; the Psalms set too high a standard.

Consider the very things we have already learned about worship music. While some of the Psalms are long, their language is simple and accessible. They were developed with participation in mind. A whole section of the Psalter was written for traveling worshipers to sing together on their way to the temple. The Psalms also describe the very attitude towards God which He demands. Reverence and awe permeate the Psalter, regardless of whether the dominant emotion is joy or sorrow. The Psalms also instruct. In them we learn of the nature of God, the history of His dealings with His people, and the importance of loving and serving Him. The Psalms constitute the most doctrinally complex set of hymns ever produced, and at the same time they challenge singers to live according to God’s perfect standards.

An approach to worship music which excludes Psalms is not an option. Rather, singing the Psalms should be a priority. It will radically revise the way we look at all other hymns.

Songs of Worship

Beyond the Psalms, Paul authorized the church to use “hymns and spiritual songs.” Again, these words must be understood as Paul would have used them in the first century.

By specifying “hymns” he certainly meant that our songs should focus on the praise of God. Just as a significant portion of the Psalms exist for no reason but to praise God, so our hymnals must reflect the same worshipful emphasis. Furthermore, songs of praise ought not to be mere repetitions of the word “praise,” nor should they be sappy love songs addressed to God. Such songs do not follow the pattern established in the Psalms. Instead, hymns of praise must intelligently and joyfully explore the attributes and acts of God, using each as an occasion to magnify His greatness.

By the phrase “spiritual songs” Paul indicated that we are free to utilize songs which, while they are not exactly focused on praise, expound on appropriate spiritual topics. In other words, any biblical subject is legitimate fodder for worship music. Remember, we are to instruct and admonish one another as we sing. Just as the psalms explore many topics, so the music of the church may range far over the field of biblical theology and practice.

Paul’s three categories establish a comprehensive approach to worship music. The first category of songs set the pattern of the rest: we must sing Psalms to learn what our songs are to look like. The second category establishes a focus: our worship is to abound with praise for God. The third and final category delineates the scope of our music: any topic is valid so long as it is spiritual, which is to say, biblical.

[krazeeboi]

Another source:

PSALMS, HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS

A careful study of Revelations 14: 1-5, Colossians 3: 16, and Ephesians 5: 19 help us to reach a deeper understanding about worship in the New Testament.

The Greek word for psalms is psalmos. This word means a sacred ode, accompanied with the voice, harp, or other instruments, the book of psalms, a set piece of music. Therefore we find that the word psalm doesn’t only mean The Book of Psalms, although it does include it.

The Greek word for hymns is hymnos or humneo. This word means, to sing a religious ode. To celebrate in song. Somewhere along the line the church world got the idea that a hymn was a those hymns are hard to play, hard to sing, and hard to pronounce some of the words. Others are really awesome songs that are scriptural and useful in this day. There are modern day songs which are not considered hymns that are actually just that.

The Greek word for the words spiritual songs is pneumatikos and ode, meaning non-carnal, ethereal, supernatural, regenerate, religious. Ode means a chant, ode, term for any words sung, a religious metrical composition, a Hebrew cantillation, song. A cantillation is a chant.

The Greek word for new song is kainos meaning new, freshness, and ode as is above.

The Hebrew word for new song as used in the Old Testament is chadash meaning a fresh new thing, and shiyrah meaning a song.

Now that we see the song defined, let us seek to understand how this song is to come forth. How does the Bible teach us that our worship and praise life is to come forth in the Spirit? How do we worship Him in Spirit and truth? God is a Spirit, and truth is the Word of God. (John 4: 24). Everything that is truth has a counterfeit which is a perversion of the real thing. Only God can create, the flesh and satan cannot. They can only pervert what God created.

As a young Christian wife many years ago, I wanted so much to please my husband! I saw a sign that said, “WE BUY USED BATTERIES!” I began to save batteries out of tape players and other household items in a drawers in our kitchen. My husband opened the drawer one day looking for a kitchen utensil. He asked me, “What in the world are all these old batteries for?” I very happily told him that I was trying to save money. I explained that I was going to bring them to the used battery store. He very compassionately explained my ignorance to me. The used battery store was for car batteries, not household ones! This story became a very valuable lesson to me about truth. I had based my actions on what I believed to be true. Preconceived understandings and traditions can cloud our understanding of truth. We may interpret what we see and hear according to past experiences instead of according to Spirit and Truth. This way of thinking may spill over into our way of worship. An example of this is the term “Dance in the Spirit”. This expression has been described as an action in which the Lord and the Spirit takes over the feet and one just start moving in a trance like fashion. While this may very well be possible, the scriptures teach that the Kingdom of God works by faith. I never in my life lifted my hands to God because the Spirit just took over my hands and lifted them. I have lifted them on my own might by faith and have experienced the awesome touch of the Holy Spirit. I have moved my feet in faith and had the Spirit take over. I have provided the opportunity by faith to sing the Spirit Song and starting in faith, the Holy Spirit took over causing something wonderful to happen between me and Jesus.

The ode or chant that is spoken of is a VEHICLE for something really spectacular in the Lord to occur in the body of Christ. It is a vehicle in the sense that it has the ability to take us somewhere. Music has no power in and of itself. As soon as we, as the redeemed of God, begin to flow in the songs of the Kingdom, we begin to travel into the awesome presence of God. A sinner may use the music of the world to travel into emotional sadness, happiness, or even through the door of the demonic.

Some may say, “Who? Us chant? This is the civilized world! That sounds like something the devil worshipers do!!!!!!” Yes, they do. It is the devil’s counterfeit for the real thing. Chanting speaks of monotonous tones in music and repetition. We must open our hearts to break traditions that are man made, and adhere to the traditions of the Word of God only. We miss so much because we interrupt the Word through our own understanding and background. We take away the liberty of the Spirit and choke out the Lord.

There is historical evidence that the early church was a church that chanted, and sang spontaneous songs of the Spirit. LaMar Boschman says in his book, The Prophetic Song, “We know that the singing of Scripture, probably in the form of a chant or Hebrew cantillation, occurred in both the temple and the synagogues. Christianity entered into an inheritance of an already established pattern of worship in both the Temple ritual and the synagogue liturgy.” Boschman later says, “There was a distinct difference between the traditional hymns everyone knew and sang in the early church, and the prophetic songs which were new and spontaneous.” Boschman goes on to say, “’Spiritual Songs’ are ‘snatches of spontaneous praise which the inspiring Spirit placed on the the lips of the enraptured worshiper, as 1 Corinthians 14:15 implies.’ Apparently, Spirit-breathed songs were not uncommon in the worship of the first century believers.” Revelations 14:1- 5 clearly states who can sing this song. They must be redeemed, and follow the Lamb wherever He went. They must be virgins toward God, undefiled, without fault, and with no guile found in their mouth. We can only be this way by the blood and by the Spirit. A bride prepared for her bride-groom, singing the wedding song of all wedding songs! The spiritual song is being birthed in these last days in order that the end-time ministry of the Holy Spirit can come forth. The Spiritual song is the final song that the bridegroom will sing as the last days are ushered in. Men and women will sing and play by the Spirit. The redeemed will begin to sing and play in a new way. These psalmist and minstrels will play and sing songs they have not rehearsed! The Lord Jesus will be the orchestrater. Worship and praise will play a vital role in the preparation of the church for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory!

[Beck]

Some good stuff K.G.M!

BTW..K.G.M means Krazee Global Mod!!

[krazeeboi]

Thanks doc!