For a while now, I’ve been chewing on the idea of incorporating Psalm singing into our worship services.  I’ve introduced a couple of Psalms settings by singing them as we gather before the service starts. You might be wondering, why sing Psalms?  While it is practiced in some churches—and there are even some churches that only sing Psalms—most churches today do not regularly sing the Psalms.  So, here are three reasons why I think Psalm singing can be beneficial.

First, The Bible tells us to! Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:18-19 both include Psalms in the kinds of songs the church should sing. What’s more, those verses link Psalm singing with being “filled with the Spirit” and letting “the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” The Bible tell us to sing Psalms, because it is good for us.

Second, the Psalms help us learn Scripture. Despite some necessary paraphrasing to make them singable to modern tunes, when we sing the Psalms we are singing the Word of God. Singing the Psalms can help us learn and meditate on the words of Scripture.  It can also force us to become better students of the Bible. When I first started thinking about singing Psalms, I was concerned that some Psalms can be difficult to understand. But I think this can actually be an advantage, if it drives us to seek a clearer understanding of God’s Word.

Third, the Psalms teach us how to worship. Compared to the Psalms, we tend to express in worship a pretty narrow range of thoughts and emotions. The Psalms, by contrast, show us a picture of emotionally honest, authentic worship. The Psalm writers display joy and sorrow, fear and faith, anger and peace—sometimes all in the same Psalm! The Psalms teach us that worship is not about putting on a happy, worshipful face. Rather, in worship we proclaim the absolute worth of our Creator and Redeemer by confessing the depth of our need for His matchless grace.

Finally, the Psalms are about Jesus. In Luke 24:44, Jesus told His disciples that his work was the fulfillment of what was written in “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” As Holy Scripture, the Psalms testify to the person and work of Christ. Before the reformer Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door, his understanding of the gospel of grace was shaped by his understanding that the Psalms are not primarily about us, but about Jesus. I hope and pray that singing the psalms helps bring reformation and renewal to our hearts as we seek to put Christ first in our worship.