Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

[Part 1]

These words occur together in two passages of Scripture that have long been recognised by commentators as being parallel with each other. So similar are the passages, that they have been a fruitful source for critics to allege that the writer of Ephesians (who is assumed to be not Paul, but 'a follower of Paul') has been 'dependant' on the epistle to the Colossians for his material. The passages that include these words are (in a more literal rendering):

• Be filled by the Spirit; speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praising with your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:18,19)
  
  
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom; teaching and warning each other in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16)

It would be necessary to read the wider context of these passages to appreciate just how similar these sections of Ephesians and Colossians are; for example they both deal, at some length, with the relationships between wives and husbands, children and parents and servants and masters. There are, however, some significant differences between even the short quotations given above, to enable us by comparing scripture with scripture, to understand better what the Holy Spirit is teaching us.

The most obvious difference is that Ephesians says, "Be filled by the Spirit", whereas Colossians has, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom". From a comparison of these words we can deduce that to be filled by the Spirit is to let the word of Christ dwell in you. The Holy Spirit, subject to our reception of it ("let"), fills us with the word of Christ. (The implications of this are dealt with more fully in the article entitled "Be Filled with The Spirit?"—see Search No. 114). What we are concerned with here is the outcome of that experience, as expressed in the words: psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs and Christian Worship
To today's casual observer, conversant to some degree with the forms of worship practised by different assemblies of Christians, the distinction between the three items may perhaps be seen something like the following:

Psalms	the Old Testament Psalms as sung for example in the Church of England
Hymns	written in verse form by Christians to sing together in church or other assemblies
Spiritual Songs	the more 'upbeat' modern charismatic songs, sung repetitively (sometimes with hand movements or clapping). They may include what used to be known as 'Negro spirituals'.

But does this modern observation in any way fit what Paul had in mind when he spoke of these three expressions of praise, and did he in fact intend us to see any difference between them? Archbishop Trench once complained that "some expositors refuse even to attempt to distinguish between them" and added that whilst "St. Paul had certainly no intention of giving a classification of Christian poetry", he would not have used "three words if one had served his turn" ( Synonyms of the New Testament 1865).

Those who believe that Paul's words are "words taught by the Spirit", have to agree with Trench. As with other apparent synonyms in Scripture, they come to mean different things, or set forth different facets of truth, when examined in depth. As we compare "spiritual truths in spiritual words" (1 Corinthians 2:13), so different aspects of truth come to light—there are no redundant words in the Scriptures. For those who believe that Ephesians and Colossians are particularly relevant for today, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs must be important and worthy of our time and study.

As I write these words I am conscious that the two verses in Ephesians and Colossians that speak of our praise, occur in the practical sections of those epistles. It is one thing to study their differences in meaning; it is another to make them part of our everyday lives. Being filled by the Spirit with the Word of Christ is an individual experience, as is also making music in your heart , but "teaching and warning each other " in song is evidently a corporate experience.

In a later article I will attempt to draw these two aspects together, so that whether by word of mouth or by lifting of the heart, all may resound to the glory of the Lord.