speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and praising the Lord in your hearts;
5:19 — “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and praising the Lord in your hearts.” Those who are full of wine sing worldly songs but he who is full of the Spirit praises God. The “psalms” give praise to God, exalting his name, power, attributes and works of him, like the psalms of David. The “hymns” give praise to God, with thanksgiving and supplications, expressing our dependence on God. “Spiritual songs” give expression to a wide variety of spiritual themes, based on the words revealed by the Holy Spirit. “God is Spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (Joh 4:24); therefore, the hymns and songs must be based on spiritual teachings and thoughts, so that in them our spirits can have communion with God. The hymns we sing must be in perfect harmony with the word of God. We must be strict in what we preach and teach, and we must be strict in what we sing. It is not convenient to sing what we cannot teach in the pulpit. — “talking among yourselves”. Singing is speaking a message, giving a teaching. It is for the Lord, and for the church. Singing is not to amuse people. It is an act of worship, and it is not merely to introduce worship. Many brothers arrive late to the service and do not participate in the first song (or in the first songs). Some enter during this part of the service and disrupt the worship of others. (Latecomers should wait at the entrance until the singing or prayer is finished; if they arrive during the sermon, they should take the back seats, to cause less disturbance.) But the point is that the songs are messages, and not pure rite or ceremony. — “singing and praising the Lord in your hearts”. Some of those who use musical instruments in worship say that the word “psallontes,” translated “praising,” means to sing with instruments. It is true that under the Old Testament instruments were played with the songs; and it is true that in the Septuagint version (Greek version of the Old Testament), the word “psallo” was used to indicate both playing and singing. (But remember that the Israelites used the instruments by God’s command, 2Ch 29:25; and that there is no such commandment for the church). This verb (psallo) is found in Romans 15:9 (“I will sing”); 1Co 14:15 (“I will sing”) Jas 5:13 (“sing praises”); and in Eph 5:19 (“praising”). There is no version that translates the verb “psallo” as “touch” in the New Testament. By the first century the word “psallo” had already lost the meaning of playing and singing, and simply meant singing. Pablo does name some instrument, but what is it? The heart (“praising the Lord in your hearts). The radical meaning of the word “psallo” is to ring, and it was applied to all the sounds produced by the vibration of the strings of any instrument. It is very reasonable that it was used, then, with reference to the human voice, which is the sound that comes out of the lungs and the mouth of man, having passed through the vocal cords. “The human voice is the most complicated, delicate and perfect musical instrument known to man. It is the perfection of the Creator’s handiwork as a musical instrument, and is capable of producing far sweeter and more varied musical combinations and harmony than any man-made instrument, even more than those invented by David” (David Lipscomb). Evangelical churches are very inconsistent. They denounce the many practices of the Roman Catholic Church that lack biblical support (such as the rosary, the Mass, burning incense, invoking Mary and the “saints,” etc.), but stick with musical instruments. During the first six centuries musical instruments were not used in the church. It is another Catholic invention. — “in your hearts.” It is not enough to denounce the use of mechanical instruments in worship. If we don’t use the right instrument, our singing won’t be acceptable either. How easy it is to sing without thinking about what we say! and especially when we sing the same hymns in each meeting. They are known by heart and can be sung without any concentration on the lyrics. If we sing without meditating on the message of the hymn to praise God from the heart (as well as to exhort our brother), our service follows the Catholic routine of praying the “Our Father”, a service that is not acceptable to God.
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
talking to each other. Ac 16:25; 1Co 14:26; Col 3:16; Jas 5:13.
with psalms. Psalms, ψαλμοι, from ������, to play or play on a musical instrument, appropriately denotes such sacred songs or poems as are sung on stringed instruments, and may here refer to those of David; hymns, υμνοι, from ����, to sing, celebrate, praise, means songs in honor of God; and songs ���� , from αειδω, to sing, denotes any regular poetic composition adapted to singing, and here restricted to those that are spiritual. Ps 95:2; Ps 105:2; Matt 26:30.
singing and praising the Lord. Ps 47:7, Ps 47:8; Ps 62:8; Ps 86:12; Ps 105:3; Ps 147:7; Isaiah 65:14; Matt 15:8; Joh 4:23, Joh 4:24.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
As a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit a believer can be singing and praising the Lord. There are those who consider that the three types of song that Paul mentions refer to the different parts of the book of Psalms. Most believers think that these words refer to three broad categories:
(1) the 150 psalms from the Psalter plus other similar poems throughout the Scriptures;
(two) hymnsthat is, those compositions addressed directly to God such as the modern tune “How great is He”;
(3) spiritual chantsthat is, those hymns that describe the Christian’s experience as “Amazing Grace.”
Source: New Illustrated Caribbean Bible Commentary
SINGING…TO THE LORD. All spiritual songs, in church and in private, must first of all be addressed to God as prayers of praise or petition (cf. Ps 40:3; Ps 77:6).
(1) Praise songs, or any spiritual song, can be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18-20; 1Co 14:15).
(2) Spiritual songs are for edification, teaching, thanksgiving and prayer (Col 3:16).
(3) Christian singing is an expression of joy (Eph 5:19).
(4) The purpose of singing hymns or spiritual songs is not the entertainment or aggrandizement of any person, but the worship and praise of God (Romans 15:9-11; Rev 5:9-10).
Source: Full Life Study Bible
talking to each other. This must be done in public (Hebrews 2:12). cop. Ps 33:1; Ps 40:3; Ps 96:1-2; Ps 149:1; Ac 16:25; Rev 14:3. psalms. These are the OT psalms sung with melody and rhythm, but the term is also applied to choral music in general. The early church sang the biblical psalms in unison. hymns. They may be praise songs that were distinguished from the psalms because they focused more on the Lord Jesus Christ. spiritual songs. It is likely that they were personal expressions of testimony extolling the truths of grace and salvation in Christ. singing. The literal meaning has to do with plucking a stringed instrument, so it could refer to instrumental music that also includes vocals. the Lord in your hearts. Not only in public expression, but also in private. The Lord Himself is both the source and the object of the believer’s heart full of song and praise. That kind of musical expression pleases the Lord and can be seen in the account of the dedication of the temple, when the song of praise so honored the Lord that his glory descended (2Ch 5:12; 2Ch 5:14).
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
These verses summarize the immediate personal consequences of obeying the command to be filled with the Spirit: praise with singing, thanksgiving, and humble submission to others. The remainder of the epistle includes apostolic instruction based on obedience to this command.
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
5:19 — “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” Those who are full of wine sing worldly songs but he who is full of the Spirit praises God.
The “psalms” give praise to God, exalting his name, power, attributes and works, like the psalms of David.
The “hymns” give praise to God, with thanksgiving and supplications, expressing our dependence on God.
“Spiritual songs” give expression to a wide variety of spiritual themes, based on the words revealed by the Holy Spirit. “God is Spirit; and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (Joh 4:24); therefore, the hymns and songs must be based on spiritual teachings and thoughts, so that in them our spirits can have communion with God. The hymns we sing must be in perfect harmony with the word of God. We must be strict in what we preach and teach, and we must be strict in what we sing. It is not convenient to sing what we cannot teach in the pulpit.
— “talking among yourselves”. Singing is speaking a message, giving a teaching. It is for the Lord, and for the church. Singing is not to amuse people. It is an act of worship, and it is not merely to introduce worship. Many brothers arrive late to the service and do not participate in the first song (or in the first songs). Some enter during this part of the service and disrupt the worship of others. (Latecomers should wait at the entrance until the singing or prayer is finished; if they arrive during the sermon, they should take the back seats, to cause less disturbance.) But the point is that the songs are messages, and not pure rite or ceremony.
— “singing and praising the Lord in your hearts”. Some of those who use musical instruments in worship say that the word “psallontes,” translated “praising,” means to sing with instruments. It is true that under the Old Testament instruments were played with the songs; and it is true that in the Septuagint version (Greek version of the Old Testament), the word “psallo” was used to indicate both playing and singing. (But remember that the Israelites used the instruments by God’s command, 2Ch 29:25; and that there is no such command for the church).
This verb (psallo) is found in Rom 15:9 (“I will sing”); 1Co 14:15 (“I will sing”) Jas 5:13 (“sing praises”); and in Eph 5:19 (“praising”). There is no version that translates the verb “psallo” as “touch” in the New Testament. By the first century the word “psallo” had already…