Exegesis of the NT passages dealing with singing among Christians Bruce Hemphill, Fall, 2002

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1 1 Exegesis of the NT passages dealing with singing among Christians Bruce Hemphill, Fall, 2002 I will not give a full exegesis of the passages, only as they pertain to singing in the church. Initially we will examine the passages listed in the RP Testimony Col 3:16; Eph 5:19; Mark 14:26; 1 Cor 14:26; and James 5:13. We will look at these in order, and then we will add Heb 13:15 to the list. Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 are part of Letters which were to be read in the assembly (Col 4:16 and cf 1 Thes 5:27). Yet it is clear that very little of what is written in these Letters directly addresses the assembly setting. The immediate context in Eph 5, vv and vv 22-33, show that Paul's concern is focused on many life settings, especially the home. In the immediate context of Col 3, vv give instructions pertinent to all of life and v 17 expressly points outside the assembly, saying, " Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." 1 The context in both passages speaks to life settings beyond the assembly. Eph 5:19 says, " speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." This is part of a longer sentence, vv 18-21, whose primary verb is "be filled with the Spirit" in v 18b and which is followed by a series of four parallel participial phrases (all five participles are nom., pl., masc., present). The addition of the fourth phrase, "submitting to one another," which is a different sort of act from the previous three participles, suggests that these phrases are parallel (just stacked together), not sequential (as though built on each other), in their relationship to each other as they modify the main clause. Verse 19 contains the first two of the four participial phrases, and the singing is in the second phrase. The content, "with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs," modifies the "speaking" participial phrase and only by local proximity relates to the later "singing" participle. I see no grammatical reason to view the subsequent participial phrase, "singing and making melody," as dependant on or restricted by the prepositional phrase ("with psalms ") which belongs to the former participle. The indirect object for the "speaking" participle is the prepositional phrase, "to one another," 2 suggesting an informal or even a one-on-one setting as over against a formal setting of the public assemblies. 3 The grammar seems rather straight forward. Col 3:16 is more complex; it says, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within [or, among] you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." It is a sentence to itself, and it has six prepositional phrases to associate with the verb and its two participial phrases. This NASB,'95 rendering ties the phrase "with psalms " to the first participial phrase, "teaching and admonishing one another," and that gives this phrase two prepositional modifiers, one before and one after the participle. It also supplies two prepositional modifiers to the second participial phrase, which in the Greek text appear one before and one after the participle. This seems to be a reasonable interpretation of the grammar. The Nestle/Aland [26] Greek Text, however, presents a different punctuation. It ties the prepositional phrase, "with psalms " to the "singing" participle, giving the layout: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with grace singing in your hearts to God." This does not seem to be based on good analysis, except for tying the song nouns to the singing verb. Otherwise, it disrupts the cadence or pattern in the Greek text. The pattern is evident in the following observations. First, the first prepositional phrase, "in all wisdom," preceding and modifying the first participial phase, includes the preposition, " en." The 1 All Bible citations are from NASB,'95. 2 Greek, heautous (lit. "to yourselves), in both Eph 5:19 & Col 3:16, has essentially the same reciprocal reference as allçlous (to one another). 3 See Addendum #1, examining Murray and Young's 1947 "Minority Report" pertinent to this point. 1

2 2 prepositional phrase, "with the grace," which appears immediately before the second participle and modifies it, also includes the preposition, "en." Second, the first participial phrase is immediately followed by a prepositional phrase in the dative case without a preposition. The second participle is also immediately followed by a prepositional phrase in the dative case without a preposition, and this final phrase can only modify the second participle. This pattern sets the phrase, "psalms," to modify the first participial phrase. Third, the first participle has a direct object: "one another;" if (and this is speculative, but sound, I think) he had wanted to designate the "psalms, etc." as the content of the singing participle he could have made them its direct object by means of the accusative case and, parallel to the former participial phrase, set them immediately after the participle he wanted them to modify. Fourth, the prepositional phrase, "in all wisdom," which precedes and modifies the first participial phrase, does not designate content but method or manner. By comparison, if the phrase, "psalms, etc.," were meant to modify the second participle they would be designating content rather than method. These points together establish the above mentioned pattern and develop the sense that the phrase, "psalms, etc.," was meant grammatically to modify the first participial phrase. Finally, if we keep Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 beside each other, and bear in mind that Eph 5:19 offers no alternative interpretation, we will find the NASB,'95 grammatical structure of Col 3:16 confirmed, and the "psalms, etc." set grammatically with the "teaching and admonishing one another" phrase. We must analyze several issues with these passages. First, in the setting which is statedly informal (to one another) and not the formal setting of public assembly, why did the Apostle specify "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" as the content of the interpersonal teaching, admonishing, and speaking? Most of the commentaries suggest that stating "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" was not intended to be exclusive but suggestive of content for speaking, pointing to the wisdom of the OT. One author is explicit to conclude broadly, "The Scripture alone is trustworthy, and to protect the Ephesians and Colossians, Paul charges them to admonish and instruct each other in the Spirit with the Scriptures" (Ed Robson, in The Biblical Doctrine of Worship, 1974, p 202; his emphasis). 4 I have not found anyone who argues that these passages intend to teach that believers are limited to the words of the OT Psalms in their interpersonal fellowship; rather, they may assuredly use all of the Bible, and they may also speak to each other in their own words (instructed by the Scriptures, to be sure). Second, did Paul intend to refer explicitly to the OT Psalter in these verses? If Paul wanted to make an unambiguously explicit and clear reference to the OT Psalter he had the linguistic means available cf. Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20; and Acts 13:33. Factual evidence, however, shows that each of these words for song in Eph 5:19 & Col 3:16 is used in a wider circle of reference; see Delling article in T.D.N.T. (VIII, ). (a)the Greek word psalmos is used more widely in all types of literature, including the LXX, 5 than is its Hebrew counterpart mizmor which is used exclusively in the titles in the LXX Psalter. 6 (b)the six appearances of humnos in the titles in the LXX Psalter are different from the appearance of either psalmos or ode in those titles. These are both always nominative singular, and humnos is always dative plural and translates the Hebrew, 'al-b e nginoth, "on stringed instruments." It is 4 See Addendum #2, examining Robson's argument that the phrase "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" " does mean and can only mean, the Psalms of the OT book of Psalms, the Hymns of the OT Book of Psalms, and the Songs of the OT Book of Psalms." 5 Psalmos appears 81 times in the LXX; 67 in Psalm titles; 5 elsewhere in the Psalter; and 9 times outside the Psalter. In Zech 6:14 and Isa 66:20 there is no equivalent in the Hebrew/English versions. In 1 Sam 16:18; Psa 71:22; Psa 98:5; Job 21:12; Job 30:31; Amos 5:23 and Lam 5:14 it refers to the instrument, not the song, and in 2 Sam 1:23 it refers to the singer/writer not the song. In Lam 3:14 it refers to the mocking song of the wicked, in Job 21:12 to their music, and in Amos 5:23 it refers to the merry singing of the ungodly. 6 Mizmor never appears as the object of a singing verb. A related noun, zamir, does stand as the object of a singing verb in Psa 95:2, but it is also used in Exod 15:2 and Isa 12:2 referring to songs not in the Psalter. 2

3 3 never used in the Hebrew or LXX titles to call a psalm "a hymn." Allellouia and suneseis ("instructions," very appropriate for the context in the passages) both appear far more frequently in the titles and would more obviously point explicitly to the Psalter. (c)ode appears 36 times in the titles in the Psalter, and 21 of those are added beside "a psalm" as a second designation. 7 If its appearance in the titles was Paul's reason for using it here, why did he separate these two words which appear so predominately together? 8 The Bible exhibits, on the other hand, what I have come to call "a tradition of praise" in Israel which predates, runs parallel to, and post-dates the development of the Psalter. This line of material evidence about praise and song (Exod 15, Numb 21, Deut 30-32, Psa 90:14, Judg 5, 1 Sam 2, 2 Sam 1:17 & 2 Chr 35:25, Job 33:27-28, Isa 5, 12, 26, 27, & 38:9-20, Jer 31:7, Hos 2:15, Jon 2, Hab 3, Luk 1 & 2, Rom 15:9-12, 1 Cor 14:15 & 26, Heb 13:15, and Rev 4, 5, 11, 15, 19) runs clear through the Bible, touching all its sections and most of its periods of history. In light of this tradition of praise which stands alongside the Psalter, the terminology of praise does not obviously point only to the Psalter. The Psalter is just the major body of praise material referred to by the terminology of praise. 9 Third, why would Paul say that singing should be part of this interpersonal interaction? It might be suggested that in his thought process the reference to "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" immediately suggested singing. However, that seems to be an insufficient reason (it just popped into his mind?) to include it in both passages as a stated part of social fellowship. This is where one might get the idea that there is more in the writer's mind than simply interpersonal interaction. But how much more? It might refer to social fellowship settings where the saints have gathered but the activity is informal, in a circle perhaps, and singing together is another activity in the same setting. Still, there seems to be no way to go further and find reference here to formal worship settings, since the "one another" phrase is so close to the heart of both passages. A more feasible answer is suggested by the texts themselves. In Eph 5:19 the reference is not necessarily to vocal singing because the statement includes, " making melody in your heart to the Lord." Col 3:16 also says, " singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God," or more literally, " with thankfulness singing in your hearts to God." Thus, both passages may be read as referring to internal singing, a metaphorical reference to the joy that accompanies and results from the interpersonal interaction of the saints in the wisdom of the Spirit and by the Word of Christ. These passages exhibit a setting of informal social fellowship rather than a formal assembly setting. The phrase "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" is tied in both verses to the speaking and teaching participles rather than to the singing participles. The phrase "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" as an expression of the wisdom of the Spirit and of the Word of Christ points to the wisdom of the OT Scriptures, especially to the Psalms, for the content of the knowledge of the will of God and the saints' encouragement of each other in their pursuit of his will. In Mark 14:26 Jesus and the disciples sing before they leave the upper room to go to the Mt of Olives: "After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." The Greek text has simply humnçsantes, a participle without an object. 10 The NASB,'95 translation here and BAG [4] (1952, 844), add an interpretive object, "singing a hymn." The exegetical question is: does the verb imply the noun? BAG 7 The other 15 are the Songs of Assent. 8 I am only aware of one commentary which finds grounds for our Testimony's position on these phrases in the flow of Paul's argument in Colossians. Calvin, for instance, says "psalms" are Psalms and the other words refer to other types of praise songs. 9 A further exegetical issue which I do not have space to examine is: does the adjective "spiritual" which modifies the three song-words force us to view them as Scripture? In a word, No. "Spiritual" must not be confused with "inspired;" while related, they are not synonyms. See Paul Copeland's 1985 paper to St Lawrence Presbytery, pp Act 16:25 is related to Mar 14:26 in that it uses the verb humneô alone without an object. It says, literally, "Paul and Silas having prayed were singing to God." There is no evidence present about the content of their singing. 3

4 4 actually interprets the participle, " after they had sung the hymn (of the second part of the Hallel [Ps Heb.], sung at the close of the Passover meal)" (underline added). Acknowledging the historical probability that Pss , or part of it, was sung at the close of the Passover, one looks in vain to find either the verb (humneô) or the noun (humnos) in these Psalms. This raises the question if there was a reason for the choice of that particular singing verb. The exegete would have to say, "No;" only the historical evidence external to the passage establishes a connection with those Psalms. The other pertinent issue is to take note of the context and who sang in this setting. The Passover was a family based OT ritual, and this particular observance was in the privacy of the upper room. Yet, in the transition to the NT church's practice the Lord's Supper is extracted from the Passover to become a public assembly ceremony and some, but not all, of the Passover survives the transition. Does the singing? 11 We usually sing to approach the table and to leave but not as a part of the ritual itself. While the song sung is no doubt the Hallel, the verse does not directly describe the content of public assembly singing, only that of the family Passover ritual. 1 Cor 14:26 uses the word psalmos in a public assembly setting. It says: "What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." The context which includes v 15 shows that singing is part of the picture, but the primary issue is the controversial use of "tongues" as a spiritual gift. Verse 26 presents a verbal context in which it cannot be said that the word psalmos has reference to the OT Psalms. It is in parallel grammatical association with four other nouns, all of which have clear reference to new revelation. For the sake of the argument, none of these five nouns, as they relate to the practice of the assemblies in Corinth, has continuing significance as to form, but nothing has been lost as to revelational content. That is, while we possess in the NT all the new revelation needed for the NT age, none of it appears there in the same form as it appeared in the assemblies at Corinth. Rather, we have all the necessary content contained in the Letters to the churches, just not in the same form. Therefore, whatever they might have been like, it is clear that in this context psalmos refers to songs in addition to the OT Psalms which they no doubt had. The Holy Spirit gave them songs in addition to the OT Psalms, and, they were appropriate for the public assembly. That we do not have those songs in that form preserved in the NT is not as significant as the fact that we have the content. In the same way that we put the OT Psalms into a different form to sing them in our assemblies, so this verse would imply that we can put NT material into a different form for singing in our assemblies. The setting is in the public assembly, and the content of song goes beyond the OT Psalter. James 5:13 presents the same issue seen above in Mark 14:26; the verb, here psalô, stands alone without an object. Does the verb imply the content of the song? No historical evidence is available here, however, for this is a broad sweeping statement: "Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises." Here singing is recommended for expressing the emotional state of cheerfulness, and that is set in contrast with those who are suffering from evil. 12 In light of the relationship of the call to sing to the state of cheerfulness commentators equivocate on applying the verse explicitly, so as to say the afflicted should not sing and the cheerful should not pray. That seems only reasonable, and therefore the verse is not to be taken as an express intentional command. It is more of an aphorism to be observed than a command to be obeyed. Finally, it should also be noted that this passage is addressed to the individual in both its parts, the 11 Interestingly, I've never heard anyone argue that singing Pss must be part of the Lord's Supper. 12 See the extended discussion on this verse by Js. Manton, An Exposition of the Epistle of James. His point is not the necessity of Psalm singing but of the appropriateness of "singing scripture psalms." He approves other songs "if grave and pious, after good advice they may be received into the Church," and points similarly to Turtullian's Apology, but he says "the scripture psalms are fittest to be sung." 4

5 5 praying and the singing. Thus its application is not directly related to the assemblies of the saints. Yet, being more of an aphorism than a command we must conclude that it speaks indirectly to the saints also regarding their assemblies, but it does not designate the content of such singing. Hebrews 13:15 also speaks of the singing of Christians: "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." The phrases "sacrifice of praise" and "the fruit of the lips" have their roots in the OT and especially in the Psalms. The primary passages are: Psa 27:6; 50:14; 107:21-22; 116:17; 69:30-33; Isa 57:19 and Hos 14:2. These show the offering up of a special sacrifice in response to a specific event of deliverance or answer to prayer, which includes either telling the story or singing a song commemorating it. The phrase "the fruit of the lips giving thanks to his name" (cf Isa 57:19; LXX Hos 14:2) is thus not just general praise but also specific, eventresponse, story-telling praise. This event-specific material is seen in Psa 107:21-22: Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! [22] Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing. In Psa 107 with its many stories of deliverance the point is evident. Psa 69:30-33 shows not only the sacrifice of praise itself but also its effect on those who hear it. The last section, 32b-33, "You who seek God, let your heart revive. [33] For the Lord hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners," shows how the personal testimony of deliverance is turned toward the hearers as well as being offered up to God. The Messianic focus of Psa 69 makes this all the more significant in relation to the statement of Heb 13:15 with its focus on "his name." Once seen in the above passages in the Psalter, several other OT passages call attention to themselves. 1 Chr 16:8-36 is a compilation of parts of what we know in the Psaslter as Psalms 105, 96, 98, and 136, so that, supposing the history of the Chronicler is the original, it provides the event-setting for the origin of these Psalm-parts. Hannah's prayer in 1 Sam 2, reflecting in almost every line phrases and sentences found also in the Psalms and Deuteronomy, fits this same profile, a prayer-song written and sung on the occasion of God's gracious act toward to her. Deborah and Barak's song in Judg 5, Hezekiah's song in Isa 38:9-20 (see especially v 20), and Jonah's prayer 13 in ch 2, all fit this same profile, the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of the lips giving thanks to God for his deeds. In the NT, Mary's and Zacharias's poetic utterances in Luke 1 are very similar in form to Hannah's prayer and are occasioned by the intervention of God (visitation from on high) not only for themselves but for the whole world. Paul's bursting into doxology at Rom 11:33-36 and 1 Tim 1:17 result directly from his writing about the works of God, in general (Rom 11) and personal (1 Tim). I believe it is in this light that the songs of Revelation are best understood. They celebrate the work of God and of Christ at various points of history, the Creation, the Cross, and the Consummation. For example, the song in Rev 15:3-4 reflects phrases and clauses drawn from Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, and even 1 Tim 1:17, all sorted together and reworked for the new expression. These songs are all sung around the throne by the saints represented there by the elders. And if Heb 12:22-24 teaches us anything about earthly assemblies, it says we share in the heavenly activities, including their singing. Looked at in this manner Heb 13:15 opens the door for the use of NT materials about God's work in Christ for the praise and singing of the NT church. But it also opens the door for further testimonies about the continuing work of God in answer to our prayers. That the NT does not contain a collection of such songs is only evidence that such songs, while appropriate for the church's use, need not be collected and kept (similarly to the Scriptures) as permanent fixtures for the church's praise. Conclusions Of the above passages, only 1 Cor 14:26 in its context suggests an assembly setting. The others are either not specific (Heb 13:15 is unclear and Col 3:16 & Eph 5:19 both imply non-assembly settings), or 13 Delitzsch, on Psa 33, calls Jonah's prayer a "psalm," and Calvin calls it a "song," (see especially 2:9). 5

6 6 actually stipulate non-assembly settings (Mar 14:26: the Passover is a family setting, and Jam 5:13: the instructions are for individuals). Eph 5:19 & Col 3:16 only give implications about the content of singing; 1 Cor 14:26 and Heb 13:15 look beyond the Psalter for the content of song. Finally, the others use a singing verb by itself, giving no exegetical hint as to the content. It seems evident from this brief exegetical survey that the Holy Spirit in the NT was not intent on giving a clear picture to the church about what it should sing in its assemblies. The implications available here about the content of singing in public assemblies are both uncertain and inconclusive. Even under the umbrella of the RPW this exegetical survey finds no grounds to mandate the use of the OT Psalms in such a way as to exclude other Scripture-songs or songs drawn from the Scriptures. ************************************ Addendum #1, Examining a point in Murray and Young's "Minority Report" to the 1947 OPC General Assembly. Seeking to apply their exegesis of Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 to formal worship settings, Murray and Young say, [I]f Paul specifies psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs as the media through which believers may mutually promote the glory of God and one another's edification in those more generic Christian exercises, this fact has very close bearing upon the apostolically sanctioned and authorized media of praise to God in the more specific worship of the sanctuary. In other words, if the apostolically enjoined media or material of song in the more generic exercises of worship are psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs, then surely nothing inferior to psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs would be enjoined for use in the more specific exercises of worship in the assemblies of the church. If psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs are the limits of the materials of song in praise of God in less formal acts of worship, how much more are they the limits of the more formal acts of worship? The progression of this argument takes very large steps. Their first sentence is quite within the range of the passages: " the media through which believers may mutually promote the glory of God and one another's edification," for this "media" is given suggestively first for interpersonal speaking settings. They up the ante on two points, however, when they next say, "In other words, if the apostolically enjoined media or material of song in the more generic exercises of worship ", for the word "enjoined" usually means "commanded" (especially in an apostolical setting), and now the word "worship" is added as defining the setting for use of this media. These are not just "other words," this adds new meaning. Finally, they specifically state their intention, " psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs are the limits of the materials of song in praise of God in less formal acts of worship." This last statement is well outside the range of meaning for the passages. There is no sound argument which can establish the point that "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" are the limits of the materials for the speaking participles in these verses, and therefore there is no sound argument that can import that limiting meaning into the subsequent participial phrases. There is nothing in the verses or their contexts to suggest informal "acts of worship" any more than, for example, Col 3:17, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father," points to a worship setting. Since this trilogy of song words was introduced in each verse to modify the interpersonal speaking participles it cannot have a more restrictive meaning in respect to singing, formal or informal, than it has with respect to mutual edification settings. Murray and Young go far beyond the meaning of the passages to establish their relevancy to the question of the content of praise in public worship settings. 6

7 7 *************************************** Addendum #2: Examination of Ed Robson's syntactic argument in "An Exposition of the Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs of Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16," in The Biblical Doctrine of Worship, pp For several years after he presented this paper in 1973 it seemed to me that his argument carried the day. However, in more recent study I have found two major flaws in the argument. First, the examples he shows on p 200 are not identical to the syntactic structures of Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 as he claims. The obvious and significant difference is that all of his examples include the definite article with each noun in the trilogy, thus giving obvious definite significance to the nouns in all those cases. In neither Eph 5:19 nor Col 3:16 did Paul use the definite article with any of the words in the trilogy, thus effectively (by comparison) avoiding definite, titular significance for these cases. There is, of course, a rule of Greek grammar which says a definite article need not be used always when it is intended, but in light of the consistency in Robson's examples that would hardly seem a likely rule to use in this case either by Paul or by his interpreters. It would seem fair to ask if there are examples of trilogy phrases which do not use the definite article and at the same time obviously in their context intend a definite titular meaning. Second, on p 199 Robson quotes Blass, DeBrunner, Funk to the effect that a coordinating conjunction " places the things it coordinates in the same plane or gives the elements coordinated an equality relationship." Actually, BDBF, 438, states that coordinating conjunctions " connect elements in sentence structure which are on a par with each other." At first blush Robson's paraphrase does not seem far off. He then proceeds, however, on the assumption that the things coordinated by the conjunction kai must be equal in every way, explicitly, in their referential meaning. He states that if one is Scripture, "then all of the terms have the authority of Scripture, i.e. are the equal of Scripture;" and "...therefore hymns must be Scripture" (p.200, emphasis his). This simply does not follow from the definition stated, for his own interpretation only establishes that they have " an equality relationship" (my emphasis). In BDBF's definition the elements are on a par only with regard to their place in the sentence structure, not in terms of their referential meaning. The equality relationship between the terms in Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16 resides in that they are all the indirect objects of the participles. Even if one went further, with Robson, to look at referential meaning, the terms only point to song stuff, music, poetry, praise of God, for after all, these three words are the most common Greek words for song and praise. There is no necessity that the words be equal in any deeper way. In BDBF's terms, they need not be equal or on a par in any way except that they have the same role in the sentence structure. Robson makes the syntax prove far more than the definition of the coordinating conjunction will support. 7