INSTRUMENTS WERE USED WITH N. T. SINGING-part 4

INSTRUMENTS WERE USED WITH N. T. SINGING-part 4 

 

             Jesus mentioned the Book of Psalms in Luke 20:42 where he used the words biblos psalmos (976, 5568).  Jesus knew what these words meant, and he also knew of the ancient Hebrew tradition of singing the psalms with instrumental accompaniment.  The word psalmos is also mentioned in Acts 1:20, 13:33 and 35 as well as in the two famous Scriptures in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.  This is noteworthy since Ephesians 5:19 is used by some authors as the proof text for the New Testament prohibition of instrumental music.  It seems risky to use either Scripture as a prohibition of instrumental music since they both command the New Testament Christian to sing psalms.

            In light of the long tradition of singing the Psalms with instrumental accompaniment, St. Paul would have had to specifically  say "Do not use instruments when you sing" in order for his Epistles to the Ephesian and Colossian churches to  have not been misunderstood if he was condemning the use of instruments with Psalm singing.  Since the Hebrew traditions were carefully handed down from generation to generation, every Hebrew knew how the psalms had been performed for thousands of years.  We have no Biblical or extra Biblical evidence to believe that the psalm singing tradition had been superseded by the New Covenant.  Furthermore, there is no Scripture in the New Testament that even vaguely prohibits the use of instruments in public worship.  There is also no scriptural proof whatsoever that the word psalmos had a different meaning in the New Testament.  As a matter of fact, in I Corinthians 14:26 Paul attests to the continued tradition of psalm singing by the New Testament church at Corinth.  In verse twenty-six he warns the Corinthian church that everyone cannot expect his favorite psalm to be sung in the church but rather that everything must be done in order when he said, "Let all things be done unto edifying."

 

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