51-1. Praising God through the medium of music is a duty and a privilege. Therefore, the singing of hymns and psalms and the use of musical instruments should have an important part in public worship.

DIGEST: The current PCA text, in place since 1973, dates to the PCUS revision of 1929.

BACKGROUND AND COMPARISONS :
1. PCA 1973, Adopted text, DfW 4-1 [M1GA, Appendix, p. 156]
2. Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, Proposed text,
3. PCUS 1933, IV, § 312.
4. PCUS 1929, IV, § 312.
Praising God through the medium of music is a duty and a privilege. Therefore, the singing of hymns and psalms and the use of musical instruments should have an important part in public worship.

1. PCUS 1925, IV-1 [§ 314.]
2. PCUS 1894, IV-1
It is the duty of Christians to praise God by singing psalms or hymns publicly in the church, as also privately in the family.

PCUSA 1789, DfW, IV-1
It is the duty of Christians to praise God, by singing psalms, or hymns, publicly in the church, as also privately in the family.

PCUSA 1786, DfW, 2d draft
It is the duty of Christians to praise God, by singing psalms and hymns, publicly in the Church, as also privately in the family.

COMMENTARY:
Morton H. Smith, Commentary on the Book of Church Order, 6th edition, 2007, p. 415-416.
That music was used in the Old Testament in connection with the Temple worship is evident. There is not as clear evidence that it was a part of the synagogue worship, which underlies Christian worship in the New Testament. We do have the example of our Lord after he had instituted the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. In each of the gospels where it is mentioned, they are said to have sung a hymn. That it was the custom of the Jews to sing a Psalm (probably from Hallel, Psalms 115-118, or Psalm 136) is known. It is significant that the specific Psalms are not cited in either of the Gospels that refer to this incident. Alexander in his commentary on Mark says, "When they had sung a hymn, in Greek a single word, hymning (or having hymned), refereed no doubt to the series of psalms usually chanted at the Passover and known in the later Jewish ritual as the Great Hallel. There is of course no allusion to the modern distinction between psalms and hymns, nor to the modern use of meter, rhyme, and artificial melody and harmony, all which appear to have been wholly unknown to the ancient church, and have still less authority from scripture than the use of human compositions as an aid in worship, when these are agreeable to God's word in their sentiment and spirit. The original church-music was most probably the simplest kind of chanting, in which all could join without laborious instructions or the cumbersome machinery of choirs, music-master, singing-schools or instruments, though these appliances are not unlawful or at variance with the character of spiritual worship." [1]

Though we have a certain degree of assurance as to what Psalm would have been used by the Jews of that day, the gospel accounts leaves it open, and thus we are not forced only to sing what they sang. The Lord's Supper is a part of the New Testament Church worship, and thus we have the example of Jesus on the occasion of its institution using music to the praise of God. The Apostle speaks of our "Speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord."[2] Thus the New Testament teaches that it is our "duty and privilege" to praise God through music.

A controversy has existed among Reformed and Presbyterian people as to what the terms "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" mean. Those who argue for singing only the Psalms maintain that these three terms are used in the Bible only for the Psalter. John Murray in his defense of this position admits that these terms are not universally so used in the Bible. By this admission, it appears that the argument is not as absolute as some would argue.

The Book speaks of "the singing of hymns and psalms" as though they refer to different kinds of compositions. It also asserts that musical instruments is proper for the public worship service. This cannot be demonstrated from the Gospels, Acts or the Epistles. It is obvious that musical instruments were used in the worship of God in the Old Testament. It is also obvious that there will be such usage in heaven as seen in the book of Revelation. By good and necessary consequence the use of instruments to assist the congregation in singing is legitimate.

[1] J. A. Alexander, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, 14:26.
[2] Eph. 5:19. See also Col. 3:16.