Ephesians 5:19

19. (Col 3:16). to yourselves--"to one another." Hence soon arose the antiphonal or responsive chanting of which Pliny writes to Trajan: "They are wont on a fixed day to meet before daylight [to avoid persecution] and to recite a hymn among themselves by turns, to Christ, as if being God." The Spirit gives true eloquence; wine, a spurious eloquence. psalms--generally accompanied by an instrument. hymns--in direct praise to God (compare Ac 16:25; 1Co 14:26; Jas 5:13). songs--the general term for lyric pieces; "spiritual" is added to mark their being here restricted to sacred subjects, though not merely to direct praises of God, but also containing exhortations, prophecies, &c. Contrast the drunken "songs," Am 8:10. making melody--Greek, "playing and singing with an instrument." in your heart--not merely with the tongue; but the serious feeling of the heart accompanying the singing of the lips (compare 1Co 14:15; Psa 47:7). The contrast is between the heathen and the Christian practice, "Let your songs be not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart" [Conybeare and Howson]. to the Lord--See Pliny's letter quoted above: "To Christ as God."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Verse 19. Speaking to yourselves. Speaking among yourselves, that is, endeavouring to edify one another, and to promote purity of heart by songs of praise. This has the force of a command, and it is a matter of obligation on Christians. From the beginning, praise was an important part of public worship, and is designed to be to the end of the world. 1Cor 14:16. Nothing is more clear than that it was practised by the Saviour himself and the apostles, Mt 26:30, and by the primitive church, as well as by the great body of Christians in all ages.

In psalms. The Psalms of David were sung by the Jews at the temple, and by the early Christians, Mt 26:30, and the singing of those Psalms has constituted a delightful part of public worship in all ages. They speak the language of devotion at all times, and a large part of them are as well fitted to the services of the sanctuary now as they were when first composed.

And hymns. It is not easy to determine precisely what is the difference in the meaning of the words here used, or to designate the kind of compositions which were used in the early churches. A hymn is properly a song or ode in honour of God. Among the heathen it was a song in honour of some deity. With us now it denotes a short poem, composed for religious service, and sung in praise to God. Such brief poems were common among the heathen, and it was natural that Christians should early introduce and adopt them. Whether any of them were composed by the apostles it is impossible now to determine, though the presumption is very strong that, if they had been, they would have been preserved with as much care as their epistles, or as the Psalms. One thing is proved clearly by this passage, that there were other compositions used in the praise of God than the Psalms of David; and if it was right then to make use of such compositions, it is now. They were not merely "psalms" that were sung, but there were hymns and odes.

Spiritual songs. Spiritual odes--ωδαις. Odes or songs relating to spiritual things in contradistinction from those which were sung in places of festivity and revelry. An ode is properly a short poem or song adapted to be set to music, or to be sung; a lyric poem. In what way these were sung it is now vain to conjecture. Whether with or without instrumental accompaniment; whether by a choir or by the assembly; whether by an individual only, or whether they were by responses, it is not possible to decide from anything in the New Testament. It is probable that it would be done in the most simple manner possible. Yet, as music constituted so important a part of the worship of the temple, it is evident that the early Christians would be by no means indifferent to the nature of the music which they had in their churches. And as it was so important a part of the worship of the heathen gods, and contributed so much to maintain the influence of heathenism, it is not unlikely that the early Christians would feel the importance of making their music attractive, and of making it tributary to the support of religion. If there is attractive music at the banquet and in the theatre, contributing to the maintenance of amusements where God is forgotten, assuredly the music of the sanctuary should not be such as to disgust those of pure and refined taste.

Singing. αδοντες. The prevailing character of music in the worship of God should be vocal. If instruments are employed. they should be so subordinate that the service maybe characterized as singing.

And making melody. Melody is an agreeable succession of sounds; a succession so regulated and modulated as to please the ear. It differs from harmony, inasmuch as melody is an agreeable succession of sounds by a single voice; harmony consists in the accordance of different sounds. It is not certain, however, that the apostle here had reference to what is properly called melody. The word which he uses--ψαλλω means to touch, twitch, pluck as the hair, the beard; and then to twitch a string--to twang it --as the string of a bow, and then the string of an instrument of music. It is most frequently used in the sense of touching or playing a lyre, or a harp; and then it denotes to make music in general, to sing--perhaps usually with the idea of being accompanied with a lyre or harp. It is used, in the New Testament, only in Rom 15:9, 1Cor 14:15, where it is translated sing; in Jas 5:13, where it is rendered sing psalms, and in the place before us. The idea here is that of singing in the heart, or praising God from the heart. The psalms, and hymns, and songs were to be sung so that the heart should be engaged, and not so as to be mere music, or a mere external performance. On the phrase "in the heart," 1Cor 14:15.

To the Lord. In praise of the Lord, or addressed to him. Singing, as here meant, is a direct and solemn act of worship, and should be considered such as really as prayer. In singing we should regard ourselves as speaking directly to God, and the words, therefore, should be spoken with a solemnity and awe becoming such a direct address to the great JEHOVAH. So Pliny says of the early Christians, Carmenque Christo quasi Dee dicere secure invieem--" and they sang among themselves hymns to Christ as God." If this be the true nature and design of public psalmody, then it follows

(1.) that all should regard it as an act of solemn worship in which they should engage--in heart at least, if they cannot themselves sing.

(2.) Public psalmody should not be entrusted wholly to the light and gay --to the trifling and careless part of a congregation.

(3.) They who conduct this part of public worship ought to be pious. The leader ought to be a Christian; and they who join in it ought also to give their hearts to the Redeemer. Perhaps it would not be proper to say absolutely that no one who is not a professor of religion should take part in the exercises of a choir in a church; but there can be no error in saying that such persons ought to give themselves to Christ, and to sing from the heart. Their voices would be none the less sweet; their music no less pure and beautiful; nor could their own pleasure in the service be lessened. A choir of sweet singers in a church-- united in the same praises here--ought to be prepared to join in the same praises around the throne of God.

(a) "psalms" Col 3:16 (b) "singing" Ps 147:7 (c) "heart" Ps 57:7,8

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Verse 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms - We can scarcely say what is the exact difference between these three expressions. Psalms, ψαλμοι, may probably mean those of David. Hymns - Ὑμνοις· Extemporaneous effusions in praise of God, uttered under the influence of the Divine Spirit, or a sense of his especial goodness. See Act 16:25. Songs - Ωιδαις· Odes; premeditated and regular poetic compositions; but, in whatever form they were composed, we learn that they were all πνευματικα, spiritual - tending to magnify God and edify men. Singing and making melody in your heart - The heart always going with the lips. It is a shocking profanation of Divine worship to draw nigh to God with the lips, while the heart is far from him. It is too often the case that, in public worship, men are carried off from the sense of the words by the sounds that are put to them. And how few choirs of singers are there in the universe whose hearts ever accompany them in what they call singing the praises of God!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain