In 1991, as the iron curtain was crumbling, I joined an exploratory missions trip into the Soviet Union. Driving across a heavily armed border and passing under the shadow of heroic Soviet statues, it felt like I was crossing into a different world. For a child of the Cold War, stepping off the bus in Leningrad seemed like landing on the moon.
On the day after we arrived, a local contact led us to a Christian worship gathering. Still marveling at the surrealism of it all, I entered an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces speaking another language. But then the service began, and it began with a familiar hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Instantly strangers became family, and our hearts united in our shared recitation of love for Christ.
That moment was a vivid, personal experience of what is actually a common benefit all Christians receive through singing in worship. Singing fosters the experience of Christian communion.
Singing as Communion
Singing praise has many purposes, such as giving glory to God and instilling the doctrines of our faith. But one of the often overlooked reasons for singing is simply (yet profoundly) social. Worship songs are an important glue that practically realize the communion of the saints, even uniting our hearts across different worlds.
This social benefit of song is experienced in many realms of life, not only in worship. Citizens are invited to set aside political differences when they sing the national anthem together. A family can rise above their tensions (at least for the moment) when the strains of “Happy Birthday” unify them in a shared celebration. Singing together fosters harmony, both vocally and communally, around those core yearnings we share and sing about. Christian hymnody brings that experienced harmony into the communion of the saints.
Of course, singing does not, on its own, erase all differences to ignite harmony of hearts. But it does create a tangible dynamic of the unity that ought to be, and it facilitates an experience of that harmony that can contribute to greater fruits. Singing from the same page is really an important factor in the wholesome pursuit of ecumenicity.
The social value of “singing from the same songbook” is one reason why new songs should never completely eclipse the use of old, widely known hymns. Even when Christians gather in separate congregations around the world, singing the same hymns brings a sense of heritage and connection beyond the local gathering. Singing a global hymn of the church like “Amazing Grace,” for example, brings an experience of shared faith then enfolds the couple just down the pew as well as saints around the world. Furthermore, a historic hymn like “Amazing Grace” can evoke ones sense of faith-connection with a grandparent who sang it, a sense of connection with the humility and story of its author John Newton, and an awareness of our belonging to a vast choir of saints who share the same marvel expressed in those lines.
New compositions have their place in the growing catalog of Christian praise. But retaining the old songs that have become part of broader church heritage is important. One reason to sing the old songs of faith is social and experiential. And this is especially relevant for the oldest and most ecumenical collection of Christian hymns: the Book of Psalms.
The Ecumenical Hymnal
The biblical Psalms are the oldest and most ecumenical hymns of all. They are eminently singable, and have been translated into numerous languages and musical settings.[1] Hebrew poetry seems designed for effective translation across languages, since it is built around rhyming images (called “parallelism”) and does not depend upon rhyming sounds. Furthermore, the Psalms are the only truly ecumenical hymns of the church universal. As a book of hymns canonized within the Bible, the Psalms belong to the hymnic heritage of every single branch and twig of the ecclesiastical family tree. The Psalms can uniquely unite hearts and voices across all theological traditions and all nations. And perhaps most importantly of all, the Book of Psalms has the deepest history of any hymn collection.
The 150 Psalms preserved in the canon are a special selection of ancient Israel’s hymns. There were more songs used in the Jerusalem Temple beyond the 150 in the Book of Psalms (e.g., Isa. 38:2). But at some point during the post-exilic restoration, the Holy Spirit inspired the curation of this selection of 150 Psalms as a hymnal of persevering hope in the coming Son of David.[2]
At least one of the hymns preserved in this collection is ascribed to Moses and the worship of the Tabernacle era (Psalm 90). Most of the Psalms are tied to the wrestlings and faith of King David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2Sam. 23:1) and founder of the dynasty from which the Messiah would come. Still other Psalms are identified with the worship assemblies of the First Temple (e.g., Psalm 127) and the Second Temple (e.g., Psalm 126) in their persevering hope in the Son of David.
When the New Testament Apostles saw Jesus, they recognized in him the embodiment of the Psalms (e.g., Jn. 2:17). Therefore they continued to sing the Psalms, praising the Christ who fulfills them (e.g., Acts 4:24-26). As the church expanded from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, the Psalms formed the backbone of church hymnody. Kings and paupers in many lands, from Palestine and North Africa to Europe and Asia, learned to sing the Psalms of David in celebration of his Greater Son. As the church took root in the New World with settlers crossing the Atlantic, the first book published in the Americas was the Bay Psalter.
No other collection of hymns is woven into the heritage and unity of the whole church like the Book of Psalms.
Psalmody as Experiential Communion
That impressive breadth of usage is more than history, it is communion. Christians who sing the Psalms today join the same choir as the Israelites in the wilderness, festival congregations in Jerusalem, the Apostles in their missionary adventures, the early martyrs, the Church Fathers, the Reformers, and saints all through church history. The Psalms are truly the universal songs of the whole church. And unlike any other songs, the Psalms facilitate our entrance into an experience of the harmony of the church universal.
In fact, when we sing the Psalms, we join our voices with Christ himself. Jesus led his disciples in singing the Psalms (e.g., Matthew 26:30; Hebrews 2:12). And throughout the New Testament, the Apostles regularly ascribe the words of the Psalms to the lips of David’s Son as his songs.[3] When we sing the Psalms, we literally join the choir of the universal church with Jesus himself as our song leader. There is experiential power in that realization.
There is a real, mystical connection that Psalm singing makes tangibly available to us. When we sing them with awareness of their heritage, Psalmody fosters an experience of our participation in the church universal. And if there is one thing the church needs today, it is greater harmony.
Singing from the Same Page, Again
Sadly, however, Psalm singing has fallen on hard times in recent generations—especially in the English speaking church. Over the last two centuries, the Psalms have been eclipsed by newer compositions. We read the Psalms devotionally and preach the Psalms, all of which is good. But the Psalms were composed for congregational singing. The Old Testament saints sang them in hope of the Son of David, and the New Testament church sang them in praise of his coming. Our neglect to continue this heritage today is to be regretted.
The Psalms are theologically rich. They are also emotionally powerful—and healing. There are many reasons to sing the Psalms. But one simple reason to sing the Psalms—and a reason that is often overlooked—is social. When we sing the Psalms, we get a tiny taste of our participation in the choir of the universal church. Psalmody facilitates an experience of the communion of the saints, and with Christ our lead Psalm singer.
This resource is part of the series Made Like Him: Reflections on Formation and Gathered Worship. Click Here to explore more resources from this series.
Notes:
1. For an introduction to Psalmody resources: John D. Witvliet, The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship: A Brief Introduction and Guide to Resources (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007).
2. On the development of the canonical Psalter: Michael LeFebvre, “The Hymns of Christ: The Old Testament Formation of the New Testament Hymnal,” in Joel R. Beeke and Anthony T. Selvaggio, Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2010), 92-110.
3. Richard B. Hays, “Christ Prays the Psalms: Paul’s Use of an Early Christian Exegetical Convention,” in Abraham J. Malherbe and Wayne A. Meeks, eds., The Future of Christology: Essays in Honor of Leander E. Keck (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 122-36.
Michael LeFebvre (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is a fellow of the St. John Fellowship with the Center for Pastor Theologians. He is the author of Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms.
