Ephesians 5:19-20

 

 

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Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: lalountes (PAPMPN) heautois [en] psalmois kai humnois kai odais pneumatikais, adontes (PAPMPN) kai psallontes (PAPMPN) te kardia humon to kurio,
Amplified: Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord,  (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT:  Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts.   (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips:  Express your joy in singing among yourselves psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making music in your hearts for the ears of God!  (
Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest:  speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, (
Erdmans
Young's Literal:  speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

REFERENCES

Paul Apple
Albert Barnes
Wayne Barber
Brian Bell
J M Boice
John Calvin
Rich Cathers
Thomas Constable
Bob Deffinbaugh
Explore the Bible
David Guzik
Charles Hodge
S Lewis Johnson
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
J Vernon McGee
F B Meyer
John Piper
John Piper
A T Robertson
C H Spurgeon
Ray Stedman
Marvin Vincent
Precept Ministries

Ephesians Outline/Commentary - 135 page Pdf
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:18-21: Be Filled With the Spirit - 2
Ephesians:5:1-21
Ephesians 5 Body Life (Audio)

Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-7; 8-14; 15-18; 18-20; 21-24; 25-27; 28-33
Ephesians Expository Notes

Ephesians 5:15-21 Walking Wisely

Ephesians 5:1-21: Imitate God
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:3-20 - Commentary
Ephesians 5:3-21 Purity in Christian Life (Audio)
Ephesians 5:18-19: Be Filled with the Spirit-2

Ephesians 5:18-19: Be Filled with the Spirit-2 Study Guide

Ephesians 5:19: Be Filled with the Spirit-3
Ephesians 5:19: Be Filled with the Spirit-3 Study Guide
Ephesians 5:20-21: Be Filled with the Spirit-4
Ephesians 5:20-21: Be Filled with the Spirit-4 Study Guide
Ephesians 5:18-22: God's Plan For Your Family God's vs the World's

Ephesians 5:18-22, 25; 6:1-2 A Plan for Your Family: God's vs. the World's

Ephesians 5:18-22: God's Pattern for Husbands-1
Ephesians - Thru the Bible Mp3 Audios

Ephesians 5:20 The Blessings of Thankfulness
Ephesians 5:15-20 Urgency And Gratitude 

Ephesians 5:17-20 Singing & Making Melody to Lord

Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:20 Always and For All Things - Pdf
Ephesians 5:15-20: Watch How You Walk

Ephesians 5
Ephesians Lesson 1 - 37 pages PDF

SPEAKING TO ONE ANOTHER IN PSALMS AND HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS: lalountes (PAPMPN) heautois [en] psalmois kai humnois kai odais pneumatikais:  (Acts 16:25; 1Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13)

Note: All verbs in bold red indicate commands, not suggestions! Also hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture which stays open and can be copied.

Literally this reads speaking with yourselves which refers to believers as a community.

Boice discussed how D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (in his famous 8 volume work on Ephesians) began a new book of sermons on Ephesians 5:18 and entitled it Life in the Spirit (Eph 5:18-6:9)...

It shows that in the writer's opinion the "Spirit-filled" life is not to be measured merely by one's private morality or even by one's private spiritual experience but by how one conducts himself or herself with other persons. In this epistle the apostle highlights three sets of relationships: that of wives to husbands and husbands to wives, that of children to parents and parents to children, and that of slaves (servants, employees) to masters.

Wuest adds the qualifying note regarding the literal translation writing that...

this translation is open to misinterpretation, namely, that of each Christian communing with himself, which is not the idea. Saints are to speak to one another. That is, in letting other saints know of their joy in salvation, they are to do so in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. They are to find expression to the Spirit-filled life in this way. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

John Calvin wrote that...

As the soul does not live idly in the body, but gives motion and vigour to every member and part, so the Spirit of God cannot dwell in us without manifesting Himself by the outward effects.

Oswald Chambers I think was correct when he wrote that...

There is one thing we cannot imitate; we cannot imitate being full of the Holy Ghost.

Frank Gaebelein was also correct when he wrote...

We may take it as a rule of the Christian life that the more we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more we shall glorify the Lord Jesus.

The Net Bible has an interesting note writing that...

In Eph 5:18 the author gives the command to be filled by means of the Holy Spirit. In Ep 5:19, 20, 21 there follows five participles: (1) speaking; (2) singing; (3) making music; (4) giving thanks; (5) submitting. These participles have been variously interpreted, but perhaps the two most likely interpretations are (1) the participles indicate the means by which one is filled by the Spirit; (2) the participles indicate the result of being filled by the Spirit. The fact that the participles are present tense and follow the command (i.e., “be filled”) would tend to support both of these options. But it seems out of Paul’s character to reduce the filling of the Spirit to a formula of some kind. To the extent that this is true, it is unlikely then that the author is here stating the means for being filled by the Spirit. Because it is in keeping with Pauline theology and has good grammatical support, it is better to take the participles as indicating certain results of being filled by the Spirit. (The NET Bible Notes. Biblical Studies Press)

John Stott wrote that...

People who are drunk give way to wild, dissolute and uncontrolled actions. They behave like animals, indeed worse than animals. The results of being filled with the Spirit are totally different. If excessive alcohol dehumanizes, turning a human being into a beast, the fullness of the Spirit makes us more human, for he makes us like Christ. (Stott, J. R. W. God's New Society : The Message of Ephesians . Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press)

Speaking (2980) (laleo) originally just of sounds like chatter of birds, prattling of children then used of the highest form of speech. It was also used for a grunting of animals when they made those animal sounds. In its most basic sense laleo simply means to use the voice to make a sound and in this context the sound is a song. The speaking is the singing and it the singing that makes the sound. The qualifier is that these sounds come from a Spirit-filled heart. The present tense indicates it is a Spirit filled believer's lifestyle. The sounds that please the Lord are the sounds that come from a Spirit-filled heart. Have you ever experienced the joy of singing with a group all of whom were genuinely Spirit filled? You cannot come much nearer to heaven's door!

Eadie comments that...

Under the relaxing influence of wine the tongue is loosened, and the unrestrained conversation too often passes into that species of language, the infamy of which the apostle has already exposed.

The apostle refers certainly to social intercourse, and in all probability also, and at the same time, to meetings for Divine service. The heathen festivals were noted for intemperate revelry and song, but the Christian congregation was to set an example of hallowed exhilaration and rapture. The pages of Clement of Alexandria throw some light on such ancient practices. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)

Vincent says that laleo is

"used of speaking, in contrast with or as a breaking of silence, voluntary or imposed. Thus the dumb man, after he was healed, spake (Mt 9:33 "And after the demon was cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled, saying (lego), "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel.") and Zacharias, when his tongue was loosed, began to speak (Lu 1:64 "And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God")  The use of the word laleo ...contemplates the fact rather than the substance of speech. Hence it is used of God (Heb 1:1), the point being, not what God said, but the fact that he spake to men. On the contrary, lego refers to the matter of speech. The verb originally means to pick out, and hence to use words selected as appropriate expressions of thought, and to put such words together in orderly discourse." (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament).

Kenneth Wuest adds that

"Laleo (was) used originally just of sounds like the chatter of birds, the prattling of children, (but was also used) of the most serious kind of speech. It takes note of the sound and the manner of speaking. One thinks of the words in the song In the Garden; “He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet, the birds hush their singing.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

As an example Wuest notes that when Jesus healed a deaf man who had difficultly speaking the multitude

"were utterly astonished, saying (lego), “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak (laleo).” (Mk 7:37).

Wuest explains that in this verse laleo is used to emphasize

"not the matter, but the fact of speech. The crowd was not interested in what the man was saying, but in the fact that he was able to express himself articulately." (Ibid)

Robertson says that laleo contrasts with the other NT word for speak (lego) in that laleo is

"rather an onomatopoetic word (laleo > la-la) with some emphasis on the sound and manner of speaking. The word is common in the vernacular papyri examples of social intercourse." (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

One another (1438) (heautou) is a reflexive pronoun in the third person =  in the singular, a reflexive reference to a person or thing spoken or written about, and in the plural, a reflexive reference to any and all persons or things involved as subjects of the clause (including first, second and third persons)—‘himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.’ Heautou can also be a marker of reciprocal relationship as in this verse and is translated each other or one another.

Jamieson commenting on one another writes...

Hence soon arose the antiphonal or responsive chanting of which PLINY writes to Trajan: "They are wont on a fixed day to meet before daylight [to avoid persecution] and to recite a hymn among themselves by turns, to Christ, as if being God." The Spirit gives true eloquence; wine, a spurious eloquence.

Tertullian, writing from North Africa toward the end of the same century, describes a Christian feast at which "Each is invited to sing to God in the presence of others from what he knows of the holy scripture or from his own heart."

Psalms (5568) (psalmos from psállo = to sing, chant - see TDNT note below) refers to a set piece of music, sacred ode (accompanied with voice, harp or other instrument; a "psalm"). Psalmos originally meant a touching, and then a touching of the harp or other stringed instruments with the finger or with the plectrum. Later it referred to the instrument itself, and finally psalmos became known as the song sung with musical accompaniment.

Eadie says that psalmos is from

This term, from psallein—to strike the lyre, is, according to its derivation, a sacred song chanted to the accompaniment of instrumental music... This specific idea was lost in course of time, and the word retained only the general sense of a sacred poetical composition  (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians).

TDNT writes that...

Psállo first seems to mean “to touch,” then it takes on the sense “to pluck” (a string), and finally it means “to play” (an instrument). Psállo occurs some 50 times for “to play a stringed instrument” (mostly in Psalms, 1 Samuel, and 2 Kings). The idea of a song of praise is often suggested. Psalmos means “plucking,” then “playing” (a stringed instrument). (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W.  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)

NIDNTT notes that...

In secular Greek psallo is used from Homer onwards, originally meaning to pluck (hair), to twang a bow-string, and then pluck a harp, or any other stringed instrument. The noun psalmos refers in general to the sound of the instrument, or the actual production of the sound. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan

Vine writes that psalmos...

primarily denoted “a striking or twitching with the fingers (on musical strings)”; then, “a sacred song, sung to musical accompaniment, a psalm.” It is used (a) of the OT book of “Psalms,” Luke 20:42; 24:44; Acts 1:20; (b) of a particular “psalm,” Acts 13:33 (cf. v. Acts 13:35); (c) of “psalms” in general, 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

There are 7 uses of psalmos in the NT - 

Luke 20:42 "For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my LORD, "Sit at My right hand, (Jesus quoting from Ps 110:1)

Luke 24:44  Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (Jesus explaining that the Psalms prophesied about Him and "must be fulfilled"; )

Acts 1:20 "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead be made desolate, And let no man dwell in it'; and, 'His office let another man take.' (Peter explained by quoting Ps 69:25, 109:8 that Judas' defection and the choice of a replacement were in God's purpose; )

Acts 13:33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'Thou art My Son; today I have begotten Thee.' (Paul quoting Psalm 2:7)

1 Corinthians 14:26  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. (ESV translates psalmos as "hymn" for reasons I cannot discern.) (Eadie writes that psalmos in this verse " signifies the improvised effusion of one who possessed some of the charismata, or gifts of the early church.")

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; (speaking to one another in psalms was one sign a person was filled with the Spirit)

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (as noted elsewhere this sign of being filled with the Spirit is also a sign of being filled with the Word of Christ.)

There are 80 uses of psalmos in the Septuagint (LXX)- 1Sa 16:18; 2Sa 23:1; Job 21:12; 30:31; Ps 3:1; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; 7:1; 8:1; 9:1; 11:1; 12:1; 13:1; 14:1; 15:1; 19:1; 20:1; 21:1; 22:1; 23:1; 24:1; 25:1; 29:1; 30:1; 31:1; 38:1; 40:1; 41:1; 43:1; 44:1; 46:1; 47:1; 48:1; 49:1; 50:1; 51:1; 62:1; 63:1; 64:1; 65:1; 66:1; 67:1; 68:1; 71:22; 73:1; 75:1; 76:1; 77:1; 79:1; 80:1; 81:1f; 82:1; 83:1; 84:1; 85:1; 87:1; 88:1; 92:1; 94:1; 95:2; 98:1, 5; 99:1; 100:1; 101:1; 108:1; 109:1; 110:1; 139:1; 140:1; 141:1; 143:1; 147:1; Is 66:20; La 3:14; 5:14; Amos 5:23; Zec 6:14

Vincent adds that psalmos which is...

noun psalm (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1Cor. 14:26), which is etymologically akin to this verb, is used in the New Testament of a religious song in general, having the character of an Old-Testament psalm. A psalm was originally a song accompanied by a stringed instrument. The idea of accompaniment passed away in usage, and the psalm, in New-Testament phraseology, is an Old-Testament psalm, or a composition having that character.

Hymns (5215) (humnos) refers to a song of praise, a song in honor of God or generally to a song with religious content. It also came to mean praise to men. Whereas a psalm is the story of man's deliverance or a commemoration of mercies received, a hymn is a magnificat, a declaration of how great someone or something is (Lu 1:46-55, 67-79; Acts 4:24; 16:25). It is a direct address of praise and glory to God.

The only other NT uses of humnos is in Colossians 3:16 (note). There are 16 uses in the Septuagint (LXX)- 2Chr. 7:6; Neh 12:46; Ps 6:1; 40:3; 54:1; 55:1; 61:1; 65:1; 67:1; 72:20; 76:1; 100:4; 119:171; 137:3; 148:14; Isa 42:10

NIDNTT explains that...

hymnos (is) of uncertain origin, is something sung, a song. The word appears from Homer onwards in secular Greek. There is no one particular metrical form. Rather, hymnos is a general word used to include the most varied poetical forms. All along, the word hymnos is used for recited as well as for sung poetry. The secular sense is not always clearly distinguished from cultic. The following meanings of hymneo may be mentioned: (1) to sing of, celebrate, in poetry or prose; (2) to discuss, tell repeatedly, recite; (3) (pass.) ring (in one’s ears).  Various formations occur, including the following after 300 B.C.: hymnos, lauding or praising, hymn or song-recital, or collection of songs; hymnagores, singer of hymns or songs; hymnologia, hymn-singing, songs. They are in part examples of late linguistic usages, which found hymneo too weak a word, and used it to mean to write or sing a song. In general, hymnos refers to songs to the gods, particularly a song in praise of the divinity, as distinct perhaps from epainos, praise given to men. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan

Eadie writes that hymns...

These are also sacred poetical compositions, the primary purpose of which is to praise, as may be seen in those instances in which the verb occurs, Acts 16:25; Heb 2:12. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)

According to Augustine a hymn has three characteristics: It must be sung; it must be praise; it must be to God.

The word "hymn" nowhere occurs in the writings of the apostolic fathers possibly because it was used as a praise to heathen deities and thus the early Christians instinctively shrank from it.

Obviously our English words "psalms" and "hymns" are transliterations from the Greek words.

Spiritual (4152) (pneumatikos from pneúma = spirit. + suffix = "-ikos" on the end of an adjective signifies “-like”) means something like pertaining to the (divine) spirit, “belonging to the spirit", "of the nature of the spirit", and thus  "pertaining to that which is spiritual".

There are 26 uses of pneumatikos in the NT - Ro 1:11 (referring to spiritual gift); Ro 7:14 (referring to the law); Ro 15:27 (referring to blessings); 1Co. 2:13, 15; 3:1; 9:11; 10:3, 4; 12:1; 14:1, 37; 15:44, 46; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:3; 5:19; 6:12; Col. 1:9; 3:16; 1Pe 2:5

Eadie comments that...

in all other passages where (pneumatikos) is used to qualify Christian men, or Christian blessings, its ruling reference is plainly to the Holy Spirit. Thus—spiritual gifts, Ro 1:11; a special endowment of the Spirit, 1Cor. 12:1, 14:1, etc.; spiritual men, that is, men enjoying in an eminent degree the Spirit, 1Cor. 2:15, 14:37; and also in Gal. 6:1; Ro 7:14; Ep 5:19; Col. 3:16; and in 1Cor. 2:13, “spiritual” means produced by or belonging to the Holy Spirit. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)

Songs (5603) (oide from aido = to sing, always signifying praise to God) is a generic term for any words sung or for songs in general, thus needing modification by "spiritual" in this context. The qualifier of "spiritual" was important because of the fact that the original use of singing among both believers and idolaters was in the confessions and praises of the respective gods.

Ode by itself might mean any kind of song, as of battle, harvest, festal, whereas psalm, from its Hebrew use, and hymn, from its Gr. use, did not require any such qualification.

Eadie writes that song or...

ode is a general term, and denotes the natural outburst of an excited bosom—the language of the sudden impulses of an Oriental temperament. Such odes as were allowed to Christians are termed “spiritual,” that is, prompted by the Spirit which filled them. But the psalms and hymns are already marked out as consecrated, and needed no such additional epithet. For the prevailing meaning of the adjective. Odes of this nature are found in Scripture, as that of Hannah (1Sa 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) at her boy's consecration, that of the Mary, and that of Zachariah on the birth of his son. (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)

John MacArthur has an interesting comment noting that...

For over a thousand dark years of its history (c. 500–1500) the church in general did not sing. From shortly after New Testament times until the Reformation, what music the church had was usually performed by professional musicians. The music they presented could not be understood or appreciated by the average church member. In any case, they could only sit and listen, unable to participate. But when the Bible came back into the church during the Reformation, singing came with it. Martin Luther and some of the other Reformation leaders are among the greatest hymn writers of church history. Where the true gospel is known and believed, music is loved and sung. God’s Spirit in the heart puts music in the heart...In his great allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan pictured the pilgrim, Christian, falling into the slough of despond, straying into doubting castle, and enduring many other hardships, frustrations, and failures. And though the expression “filled with the Spirit” is not used in the story, each time Christian is delivered we see him going on his way singing. Every time he came back under the Spirit’s control he had a song in his heart. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)

Charles Hodge explains that...

A psalm was a hymn, and a hymn a song. Still there was a distinction between them, as there is still. A “psalm” was, as its etymology shows, a song designed to be sung with the accompaniment of instrumental music. It was one of the sacred poems contained in the book of Psalms, as in Acts 13:33, “in the second Psalm,” and Acts 1:20, “in the book of Psalms.” It could also be any sacred poem formed on the model of the Old Testament Psalms, as in 1 Corinthians 14:26, where “psalm,” kjv appears to mean such a song given by divine inspiration, and not one of the psalms of David. A “hymn” was a song of praise to God, a divine song. Psalms and hymns then, as now, were religious songs; songs were religious or secular, and therefore those intended here are described as spiritual. The word may mean either “inspired”—i.e., derived from the Spirit—or expressing spiritual thoughts and feelings. The latter is the more probable, as it is not only inspired people who are said to be filled with the Spirit, but all those who in their ordinary thoughts and feelings are governed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:3-20)

Harry Ironside commenting on speaking to one another in psalms, etc writes...

The world considers that a man who talks to himself is a bit queer, but that is not always the case. It is well sometimes for us to sit down and talk to ourselves about things in our lives. What the apostle is saying here is really, "Speaking to one another, to the entire company." How? "In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." As we meet with one another, greeting each other in a glad, happy way, the praises of the Lord bubble up in our souls. Psalms were the vehicle of expression in the congregation of God in olden times. The book of Psalms was the hymn-book of the congregation of the Lord in ancient times, and there are wonderful expressions there that suit every mood of the human heart. While we do not rise to the height of the Christian's privilege in the book of Psalms yet we can find something to express every state and condition of our souls as we come into the presence of God. A hymn is an ascription of praise addressed directly to the Deity. (Ephesians - Expository Commentary)

"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our songs shall rise to Thee."
Reginald Heber
, (Play Hymn)

How the Christian heart naturally goes out to God in hymns of worship and adoration. No more worldly songs for the Christian. The day is gone, or should be, when he can sing the worldly songs. I always think a Christian has dropped from the high level on which he belongs when I hear him singing such songs, because he has something better, he has spiritual songs, songs that tell of the love of Christ, of what grace hath wrought, that tell of redemption by the precious blood of Jesus. Who would sing the old songs when we have learned the new?

"We will sing of the Shepherd that died,
That died for the sake of the flock,
His love to the utmost was tried,
But firmly endured as a rock;

We will sing of such subjects alone,
None others our tongues shall employ,
Till fully His love becomes known,
In yonder bright regions of joy."

One reason that the spirituality of the Church is at such a low ebb today is because people are so careless about matters of this kind, so ready to drop down from the high and holy state that should characterize those that are filled with the Spirit of God. (Ephesians - Expository Commentary)

R Kent Hughes rightly observes that...

Spirit-filled people overflow in song! This has been attested again and again in times of great spiritual blessing. That is the way it was in the awakening under St. Francis, the Troubadour of God. In the Reformation, Martin Luther brought hymn singing to the Church. During the Wesleyan Revival, Charles Wesley wrote 6,000 hymns. When Charles Simeon (audio by John Piper) preached in Holy Trinity in Cambridge and there was that great outpouring of blessing among his enthusiastic people at the beginning of the evangelical movement, another disapproving church in Cambridge hung a new bell in its tower with the inscription, "Glory to the Church and damnation to the enthusiasts."[John A. Mackay, God's Order (New York: Macmillan, 1953), p. 181]. One wonders whose damnation it rang. Think of the music which came with Moody and Sankey, and more recently during the spiritual harvest of the late 1960s. There is a sense in which when people are born again, music is "born again" in their souls. And if they remain full of the Spirit, life brings an ongoing symphony of soul. (Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Preaching the Word -Preaching the Word 1990)

SINGING AND MAKING MELODY WITH YOUR HEART TO THE LORD: adontes (PAPMPN) kai psallontes (PAPMPN) te kardia humon to kurio:  (Psalms 95:2; 105:2; Matthew 26:30)

Phillips paraphrase says...

making music in your hearts for the ears of God!

Singing (103) (aido) means to sing, always of praise to God. Note that in this section, the singing is not ‘to one another’ but ‘to the Lord’.

I like the way Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it...

If it were possible to put the Holy Spirit into a textbook of pharmacology I would put Him under the stimulants, for that is where He belongs.

Jamieson writes that in your heart  means...

not merely with the tongue; but the serious feeling of the heart accompanying the singing of the lips (compare 1Co 14:15 Ps 47:7). The contrast is between the heathen and the Christian practice, "Let your songs be not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart" [Conybeare and Howson].

John Stott has an interesting comment on making melody with your heart to the Lord ... writing that this is ...

an instruction from which unmusical people unable to sing in tune have always derived much comfort. In this case it may be silent worship, although at the same time inwardly joyful and melodious. Without doubt Spirit-filled Christians have a song of joy in their hearts, and Spirit-filled public worship is a joyful celebration of God’s mighty acts, though J. Armitage Robinson suggests that Paul ‘contrasts the merriment of wine with the sober gladness of sacred psalmody’. (Ibid)

Making Melody (5567) (psallo from psao =  to rub or touch the surface, to touch lightly, twang or snap) means to play a stringed instrument or to sing a hymn. Musicians who play upon an instrument were said to pluck the strings. Psallo came to signify the making of music in any fashion. Because stringed instruments were commonly used both by believers and heathen in singing praises to their respective gods, it meant to sing, sing praises or psalms to God whether with or without instruments

Ephesians 5:19-22 illustrates what the Spirit-filled life should look like. This verse applies not so much to congregational singing, as to "melody in your heart." Such a life will be fruitful (Ephesians 5:9), active (Ephesians 5:16), understanding (Ephesians 5:17), joyful (Ephesians 5:19), thankful (Ephesians 5:20), and submissive (Ephesians 5:21). It will also be bold in witnessing (Acts 4:31).

An excellent illustration of Spirit filled singing is found in Acts 16, welling up from the dungeons sometime around midnight, Luke recording...

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27 And when the jailer had been roused out of sleep and had seen the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!" 29 And he called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:25-31)

Comment: And what the result of their Spirit filled praying and singing? Salvation for the jailer and his household!

Wiersbe writes that...

Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Christian joy is not a shallow emotion that, like a thermometer, rises and falls with the changing atmosphere of the home. Rather, Christian joy is a deep experience of adequacy and confidence in spite of the circumstances around us. The Christian can be joyful even in the midst of pain and suffering. This kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat. Instead of rising and falling with the circumstances, it determines the spiritual temperature of the circumstances. Paul put it beautifully when he wrote, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (See note Philippians 4:11). (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

In your heart - Stedman writes that this phrase refers to...

 that inward bubbling that means that no matter how bad things are outside, inside they are wonderful. You know God is in control and he is working things out and you cannot be troubled even though they are all wrong on the outside. (Ephesians 5:15-20: Watch How You Walk)

Eadie comments on making melody in your heart...

Theodoret comes nearer our view when he says—“He sings with his heart who not only moves his tongue, but also excites his mind to the understanding of the sentiments repeated"... Now this silent playing in the heart will be that sincere and genuine emotion, which ought to accompany sacred song. The heart pulsates in unison with the melody. Mere music is but an empty sound; for compass of voice, graceful execution, and thrilling notes are a vain offering in themselves. The Fathers complained sometimes that the mere melody of the church service took away attention from the spirit and meaning of the exercise. Thus Jerome says justly on this passage—“Let young men hear this: let those hear it who have the office of singing in the church, that they sing not with their voice, but with their heart, to the Lord; not like tragedians physically preparing their throat and mouth, that they may sing after the fashion of the theatre in the church. He that has but an ill voice, if he has good works, is a sweet singer before God.” . . . “Let the servant of Christ so order his singing, that the words which are read may please more than the voice of the singer; that the spirit which was in Saul may be cast out of them who are possessed with it, and not find admittance in those who have turned the house of God into a stage and theatre of the people.” (John Eadie, D., LL.D. The Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians)

Moule writes that...

The sounds were but to express the praising souls. And all this was to be done, not as "music-worship," (God forbid,) but as worship full of music, paid to the remembered, adored, loved, present Lord. Such singing—and no other—is audible upon the Throne. (Ephesian Studies: Expository Readings on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians)

Heart (2588) (kardia) (Click  word study of kardia) does not refer to the physical organ but is always used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and center of human life. The heart is the center of the personality, and it controls the intellect, emotions, and will.  No outward obedience is of the slightest value unless the heart turns to God. The heart is the wellspring of man’s spiritual life.

While kardia does represent the inner person, the seat of motives and attitudes, the center of personality, in Scripture it represents much more than emotion, feelings. It also includes the thinking process and particularly the will. For example, in Proverbs we are told, “As (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Jesus asked a group of scribes, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4). The heart is the control center of mind and will as well as emotion.

Vine writes that kardia...

"...came to denote man’s entire mental and moral activities, and to stand figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life, and so here signifies the seat of thought and feeling." (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson )

MacArthur commenting on kardia writes that...

"While we often relate heart to the emotions (e.g., “He has a broken heart”), the Bible relates it primarily to the intellect (e.g., “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders,” Matt 15:19). That’s why you must “watch over your heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23). In a secondary way, however, heart relates to the will and emotions because they are influenced by the intellect. If you are committed to something, it will affect your will, which in turn will affect your emotions." (Drawing Near. Crossway Books) MacArthur adds that "In most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as the seat of emotions and feelings. But most ancients—Hebrews, Greeks, and many others—considered the heart to be the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. The New Testament also uses it in that way. The heart was considered to be the seat of the mind and will, and it could be taught what the brain could never know. Emotions and feelings were associated with the intestines, or bowels." (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. 1986. Chicago: Moody Press)

Lord (2962)  (kurios) signifies sovereign power and absolute authority. He is the one Who has absolute ownership and uncontested power.

Johann Sebastian Bach said,

“The aim of all music is the glory of God.”

John MacArthur rightly states that...

The words of every Christian song should be biblical—distinctly, clearly, and accurately reflecting the teaching of God’s Word. It is tragic that much music that goes under the name of Christian is a theological mishmash, often reflecting as much of the world’s philosophy as of God’s truth. Much is little more than personal sentimentality colored with Christian words. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press)

Wayne Barber writes that...

singing is a result of being filled with the Spirit of God...That’s a Spirit-filled life. What does that mean? That means a life where every room of the heart, where the Spirit lives, has been opened up. Jesus in His light and love and life has permeated those rooms. Out of that heart, that has been cleansed by His blood and filled with His presence, comes a song to the lips and to the mind. It is always there. Singing is just something that erupts in a person’s life who is filled with the Spirit of God. Something about the Holy Spirit produces that music in a person’s heart. That doesn’t mean you can carry a tune, it simply means that you can make a joyful noise. There is a song in your heart.

A person says, "Well, I have a great ability to sing. That must mean that I am filled with the Spirit." No. People who can’t carry a tune can make a joyful sound. It doesn’t mean that you can sing as well as other people. It means that you’ve got a song in your heart. It means that somehow music now fills up your life and there is something that makes sense in your life. There is just that song that erupts out of your heart. Psalm 40 says,

"I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear, And will trust in the LORD. How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned"  (Ps 40:1-4)

That is always the way it is. It is a new song, a fresh song. It is something that God puts within your soul.

 (
Ephesians 5:18-21)

John Wesley wrote the following interesting "Instructions in Singing"...

THAT this part of divine worship may be more acceptable to God, as well as more profitable to yourself and others, be careful to observe the following directions:

1. SING ALL - See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find a blessing.

 

2. SING LUSTILY AND WITH A GOOD COURAGE - Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being, heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.

 

3. SING MODESTLY - Do not bawl, so as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

 

4. SING IN TIME - Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, nor stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

 

5. ABOVE ALL, SING SPIRITUALLY - Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing; and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

 

DISCERNMENT IN REGARD
TO CHRISTIAN MUSIC


In the book "Fools Gold" in the section subtitled "Practicing Discernment in Your Local Church", Chapter 7 is called the "Solid Rock? What the Bible Says about Contemporary Worship Music". In this section John MacArthur gives an excellent critique on Christian music. Here is his introduction...

 

Sadly, Christians today need to exercise discernment in their local churches probably more than anywhere else. Whether due to poor preaching or a wrong philosophy of ministry, many local churches suffer because they lack the ability to distinguish sound doctrine from false teaching. To complicate matters, many believers have different opinions about preferential issues—sometimes causing unnecessary splits in the body of Christ. Discernment is needed for these situations as well, such that biblical principle and Christian grace may prevail. With this in mind, this chapter focuses on the often controversial topic of contemporary worship music. Should the church only sing hymns, should it only sing praise choruses, or should it land somewhere in the middle? And what are the biblical principles for determining these standards? This chapter addresses those very questions. 

 

Comment: The interested reader is encouraged to read Dr MacArthur's fairly lengthy treatise on Christian music, especially if you are having "music wars" in your congregation - at the end of the chapter there is a checklist for assessing music that is appropriate to church worship and it asks and discusses 10 questions including - Is the music God focused? Is it orderly? Is the content of the words sound doctrinally? Does the music promote unity? Is the music performed with excellence? Does the music prepare the congregation for the preaching of the Word? Does the music adorn the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does the music promote passionate