By Daniel Johnson (Read Part 1)
Hymns
Defining hymns and spiritual songs as Paul intended is a bit more complex. The main challenge is that in Western music, a hymn has come to mean a specific form or, more loosely, a particular style of musical expression. The books that have sat in the back of evangelical Christian pews for generations are called hymnals, and consequently, the songs within them are considered hymns.
The style (or form) of most songs in these classic hymnals consists of multiple metrically-similar stanzas followed by a repeated refrain or chorus. Since Paul was not referring to the style and form of music found in 19th and 20th-century hymnals, we need to examine more closely what he meant by the term.
The word for hymn in the original language means “a song in the praise of gods, heroes, conquerors.” Many songs in our classic hymnals match this description. “How Great Thou Art” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” are two that immediately come to mind. These songs are vertical in nature; that is, the primary focus is heavenward, and personal pronouns are often used to speak directly to God (e.g., “O Lord, my God” and “O God, my Father” in the two hymns mentioned above). By this definition, some songs that we have historically called “praise choruses” or that have not been labeled as hymns could also fit into this category. The once-popular Laurie Klein praise chorus, “I Love You Lord” from the 1980s, is a good example: “I love You Lord and I lift my voice to worship You, O my soul rejoice…”
Spiritual Songs
The word for song in “spiritual songs” is ōdē. This term should look familiar. The word “ode” has been defined throughout history as a song or poem in praise of, or about, something or someone. In the New Testament, this word is used only three other times (Rev 5:9, 14:3, 15:3), but these instances lack the qualifier “spiritual” that Paul uses in Colossians and Ephesians. Throughout all of Scripture, it is only in these epistles that we find the exhortation to sing spiritual odes—songs about spiritual matters. Classic evangelical hymnals are filled with songs that fit this definition. Most of the “camp meeting” songs from early twentieth-century hymnals are in this vein (“Victory in Jesus,” “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder,” “Are You Washed in the Blood?” etc.). Interestingly, using this definition, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” one of the oldest surviving songs in the form of a modern hymn, defined by Western music nomenclature, might more accurately be called a spiritual song by the apostle Paul. Think of these songs as more horizontal in nature. These are songs we sing to and with each other about God and things that are spiritual in nature.
A balanced and well-thought-out order of worship should give the gathered family of believers the opportunity to “admonish one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”
Throughout Scripture, it is also clear that we should give our congregations the opportunity to sing both new and old songs. Congregations often bristle at the introduction of new songs, but there is no way around the command and example of singing new songs.
- Ps 33:3 – Sing to Him a new song…
- Ps 40:3 – He put a new song in my mouth…
- Ps 96:1 – Sing to Yahweh a new song…
- Ps 144:1 – O God, I will sing a new song to you…
- Ps 149:1 – Sing to Yahweh a new song…
- Isa 42:10 – Sing to Yahweh a new song…
- Rev 5:9 – And they sang a new song saying…
- Rev 14:3 – And they sang a new song before the throne…
Singing new songs is something the psalmist both commands us to do and provides examples of himself doing, and the apostle John tells us that even in glory, around the throne, we will be singing new songs.
Conversely, despite our proclivities and preferences, you will not find anywhere in Scripture where we are commanded to sing old songs, at least not in the way we are commanded to sing new songs. Neither does the Bible forbid it either. However, there are a few instances where we find examples of old songs being sung.
When Paul encourages the churches in the passages from Colossians and Ephesians discussed earlier in this article to sing psalms, he is referring to the book of Psalms, which were, by definition, old at the time he was urging them to sing them. Even though the specific tunes are lost to history now, it is possible that the old tunes described in the superscriptions were still remembered and known in first-century Israel.
In Psalm 137, the psalmist speaks of the Babylonian captivity and recalls a time when the Hebrews were mocked for their old songs:
“For there our captors asked us about the words of a song, And our tormentors asked joyfully, saying, ‘Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.’ How can we sing a song of Yahweh in a foreign land?” (Ps 137:3-4, LSB)
You can imagine the Israelites beaten down and discouraged, all the while being mocked by their captors to “sing us one of those old songs from Zion about how your great God is going to come and save you.”
The last place that we see encouragement to sing an old song is back in Revelation.
And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev 15:3-4, ESV)
I love these verses because they are the only place in Scripture where we find direct evidence that some songs stand the test of time. The song Moses wrote and sang millennia earlier, first recorded in Exodus 32, was being sung around the throne, and the apostle John recognized the song! How else would he have known what to call it when, in his vision, he heard it being sung? What an amazing and awesome thing it will be to learn that old song!
Selecting music for our congregations to sing with these guidelines in mind will lead to what is now commonly called “blended worship.” It’s jokingly said, “Blended worship just means you have a congregation where nobody is happy.” This sentiment suggests that the older generation prefers music from their era, while the younger generation favors music from theirs. When both new and old music are used in the same service, it often leaves both groups unhappy.
It seems that the apostle Paul may have anticipated that situation in the Ephesian church when he finishes his sentence about singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with the phrase: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (v. 21). When we intergenerationally submit to one another, with reverence for Christ, our personal pride and preference issues fade into the background as we consider others as better than ourselves.
When choosing songs for use in our worship gatherings:
- We need songs that are theologically accurate within the boundaries of the established doctrines of our local assembly.
- We need songs that utilize the poetry and power of the Psalms.
- We need vertically oriented hymns. Songs of praise are sung directly to God
- We need horizontally oriented spiritual songs. Songs sung to and with each other about God and spiritual things.
- We need new songs. Songs that are fresh and unused. Songs that force us to sing together praises that remind us that God’s mercies are new every morning and that He will be faithful in times to come.
- We need old songs. Songs that remind us of days past and remind us that God was faithful in days gone by.
Selecting music for our congregations to sing is a serious responsibility. It involves more than flipping through an old songbook and choosing a couple of songs we haven’t sung in a while. Be diligent and purposeful as you consider songs that reflect the musical life of your local church.
Daniel Johnson serves as Pastor of Worship and Education at South County Bible Church in St Louis, MO. He serves on the IFCA National Youth Council and is President of the Greater St Louis Region.
