Puritan Sailor
Puritan Board Doctor
[quote:2e63d39dfe="Me Died Blue"]Patrick,
I think I'm getting where you're coming from. You seem to be saying that even though there is no explicit command in the Bible to do away with the already-existing songs at the Psalter's completion, there is also no explicit indication in the Bible that such songs were ever regularly used in a congregational setting before the Psalter's completion in the first place. Am I reading you right? [/quote:2e63d39dfe]
Maybe. What do you mean by "already-existing songs"?
[quote:2e63d39dfe] If that is indeed your intended point, I see its relevance to your argument that the Psalms are the only songs which we have an explicit command in the Bible to sing. Still, I'm somewhat unsure of that claim as a whole. I did a search in the ESV for the word "psalms," and it found seven verses, the only two of which relate to the singing of psalms being Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Earlier in this thread, I thought you gave good reasons for those commands being addressed to a people of Jewish mindset, but I also thought Fred gave good reasons for them being addressed to a people of Greek mindset. So at this point, I don't really know what to make of the phrase "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Are there any online articles you would recommend that explore the exegesis of that phrase from either side?[/quote:2e63d39dfe]
Yes, it does really seem to come down to those two verses and the right hermeneutic to use there. As for sources, Williamson's articel was already cited. He's always a good resource. Bushell's book is also a good place to start. But really, none of these resources have ever got as deep as this thread has that I can remember. This thread has been very helpful, at least to me.
I think I'm getting where you're coming from. You seem to be saying that even though there is no explicit command in the Bible to do away with the already-existing songs at the Psalter's completion, there is also no explicit indication in the Bible that such songs were ever regularly used in a congregational setting before the Psalter's completion in the first place. Am I reading you right? [/quote:2e63d39dfe]
Maybe. What do you mean by "already-existing songs"?
[quote:2e63d39dfe] If that is indeed your intended point, I see its relevance to your argument that the Psalms are the only songs which we have an explicit command in the Bible to sing. Still, I'm somewhat unsure of that claim as a whole. I did a search in the ESV for the word "psalms," and it found seven verses, the only two of which relate to the singing of psalms being Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. Earlier in this thread, I thought you gave good reasons for those commands being addressed to a people of Jewish mindset, but I also thought Fred gave good reasons for them being addressed to a people of Greek mindset. So at this point, I don't really know what to make of the phrase "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Are there any online articles you would recommend that explore the exegesis of that phrase from either side?[/quote:2e63d39dfe]
Yes, it does really seem to come down to those two verses and the right hermeneutic to use there. As for sources, Williamson's articel was already cited. He's always a good resource. Bushell's book is also a good place to start. But really, none of these resources have ever got as deep as this thread has that I can remember. This thread has been very helpful, at least to me.