Daily Devotional | Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs

Over the history of the church, there have been many different types of songs of faith. From chant and organum, where one or more voices are added to a plainchant melody, to chorales, from hymns to modern songs, the church has different genres to identify styles and eras of songs.

Today, we will focus on one verse in which Paul designates three types of songs for God’s people: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (also in Col. 3:16). Much has been made about what these mean and what they meant for the early church. In short, no one knows for sure. But one thing is for certain: the psalms are psalms. Meaning, the early Christians (including Paul) knew that the psalms were part of God’s Word along with the writings of Moses (the Torah), the prophets, and other books in our Old Testament today.

When we see a call to sing and address one another with psalms, we can be sure that it is indeed a call for our local churches to sing lyrics straight from or based on the psalms. And when we do, what a blessing it can be! The resurrected Jesus told His disciples that “everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). When we sing the psalms, we sing Christ and the Word.

What about hymns and spiritual songs? The Greek word for hymns refers to a song of praise or ode to a god. If so, hymns can be seen as song lyrics that give praise and honor to God, honor to Christ. Spiritual songs may imply more personal songs of the human spirit connecting to a divine power. And the psalms contain both: songs praising who God is and giving Him honor with personal emotions and language directed to Him.