Singing and Making Melody

Singing and Making Melody

Shelby G. Floyd

October, 2008

According to the Lord Jesus Christ, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24.) This simple statement declares that only God has the right to decide how he is to be worshipped. Worship must above all else please God. And what pleases God in worship should please man. And notice that Jesus said those who worship God “must” worship him (1) in spirit; and (2) in truth. This means acceptable worship must be spiritual—issuing from the spirit of the worshipper and in truth—as God directs in his word.

This particular study will focus on the Greek verb [yallv--psallo]. It is found five times in the New Testament. It is translated in every case by the English verb “sing,” except in Ephesians 5:19, where it is translated by the participle “making melody.” Let us give an induction of these occurrences of the verb psallo.

Romans 15:9: “and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: ‘For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing [yallv] to Your name.’”

1 Corinthians 14:15: “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing [yallv] with the spirit, and I will also sing [yallv] with the understanding.”

James 5:13: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing [yallv] psalms.”

Ephesians 5:19: “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing [adv] and making melody [yallv] in your heart to the Lord.”

Dear reader, please observe that in each verse the verb psallo is translated by the English verb sing, except in Ephesians 5:19. In this case there are two verbs—(1) ado, translated sing; and (2) psallo, translated “making melody.”

Those who want instrumental music in worship to God, maintain that instrumental music is included in the verb psallo. This they do in spite of the fact that it is translated “sing” four out of the five times it is found in the New Testament. And the only reason it is translated “making melody” in the fifth instance is because it is used in a figurative statement. Ephesians 5:19 could very well be translated “singing and chanting in your heart to the Lord.” But in a figurative sense the participle “making melody” is a beautiful expression of the singing that is to be carried out in the heart (inner man) to the Lord. The “heart strings” produce the beautiful praise to God from the “vocal cords” that we call singing.

But now let us make a close examination of the doctrine taught in the context of Ephesians 5:17-21 in both the English translation and the original Greek text:

Ephesians 5:17-21

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

NKJV

First, we notice that the wise can understand what the will of the Lord is: “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17.) That is what we are seeking in this essay—the will of God, not the will of man. Man can understand God’s will that he has vouchsafed to us in the word.

Second, it is God’s will that we not be filled, dissipated and drunk with wine and strong drink: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation…” (Ephesians 5:18.) There is no case that a Christian can make for drinking the “fiery liquid.”

Third, the main verb in the next sentence is “be filled.” Instead of being filled with wine, the child of God is commanded to “be filled with the Spirit.” Following this main verb “be filled,” there are five (5) participles that indicate the resulting action from the Spirit filled child of God. The word of God is filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus said that the words that he spoke were spirit and life: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63, NIV.) Ephesians 5:19 has a parallel passage in Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16, NIV.) Therefore, let us examine the five participle actions resulting when the child of God is filled with the Spirit.

Five Participles

1. Speaking

Paul commands, “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” (Ephesians 5:18.) “Speaking” is from:

Speaking (laloúntes, pres. act. part. nom. plur. masc. fr. laleo). “5. to use words in order to declare one’s mind and disclose one’s thoughts; to speak: to speak to, i.e. converse with one: heautois (dat. of pers.) psalmois kai humnois (dat. of instrument), Eph. 5:19.” —Thayer, pp. 368-369.

When we sing we are speaking words to declare the thoughts of our mind or heart. An instrument of music can do a lot of things and someone said the violin is the nearest thing to duplicating the human voice, but it cannot speak words to communicate praise to God. Actually this speaking is another synonym for singing.

This speaking is a reciprocal action used with the dative of person—“speaking to one another,” or “to yourselves.”

“To yourselves,” (heautois, dat. plur. masc. 2nd pers. plur. fr. heautou). “Reflexive pronoun of the 3rd pers. It is used 3. It is used frequently in the plural for the reciprocal pronoun allalon, allalois, allalous, reciprocally, mutually, one another: Col. 3:13, 16 etc.” —Thayer, p. 163

This speaking is done with the dative of instrument—“in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” We have here three species of singing. There is only a slight difference as we shall notice between “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”

Psalms

“Psalms,” ( pneumatikais, dat. plur. masc. fr. psalmos ), “a striking, twanging; (Eur., al.); spec. a striking the cords of a musical instrument (Pind., Aeschyl., al.); hence a pious song, a psalm, Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; the phrase echein psalmon is used of one who has it in his heart to sing or recite a song of the sort, 1 Cor. 14:26.” —Thayer, p. 675

Hymns

“Hymns,” (humnois, dat. plur. masc. fr. humnos), in Grk. writing fr. Hom. down, a song in praise of gods, heroes, conquerors, but in the scriptures of God; a sacred song, hymn: plur., Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16.” —Thayer, p. 637.

Spiritual Songs

“Spiritual,” (pneumatikais, dat. plur. fem. fr. Pneumatikos ). “in the N. T. 3. belonging to the Divine Spirit; a. in reference to things; emanating from the Divine Spirit, or exhibiting its effects and so its character: oodai, divinely inspired, and so redolent of the Holy Spirit, Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19.” —Thayer, 523.

“Songs,” ( oodais, dat. plur. fem. fr. Oodai ), “a song, lay, ode; in the Scriptures a song in praise of God or Christ: Rev. 5:9; 14:3; Mouseos k. tou arniou, the song which Moses and Christ taught them to sing, Rev. 15:3; plur. with the epthet pneumatikai, Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16.” —Thayer, p. 679

Therefore, this “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” is definitive of the next participle—singing.

2. Singing

“Singing” is the second participle related to the leading verb “be filled.” Let us define the participle “singing:”

“Singing,” (adontes, pres. part. nom. plur. masc. fr. ado), “to sing, chant; 1.intrans.: tini, to the praise of anyone (Judith 16:1-2), Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16, (in both passages of the lyrical emotion of a devout and grateful soul).” —Thayer, p. 13.

Participles are verbal adjectives. As such, the leading tense of the participle is the same as the leading verb in the context. The action of the present participle is at the same time as the action denoted by the leading verb. This is the case whether the tense of the leading verb is past, present or future. The leading verb is “be filled” in Ephesians 5:18, and is translated from [plhrov--plaroo], second person plural, present passive imperative. Therefore, the “singing” action is taking place at the same time as the “be filled” action. In this case, at the same time the worshipper is singing, he is also being filled with the Spirit. What is true in reference to “singing,” is also true of all the other four participles, because they are all in the present tense. This being true, let us look at the next participle—“making melody.”

3. Making Melody

Paul commanded the Ephesians to “…but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:18-19.) As stated previously, “making melody” from [psallo--yallv], is translated in every instance by “sing” except in the present case. Those who want to bring into the worship the human innovation of “instrumental music,” since they cannot find any straight talk in the New Testament scriptures for the unauthorized practice, seek to find it in the words “making melody” in Ephesians 5:19. Many of the on-line definitions of psallo are too brief and do not adequately and accurately give the etymology and true meaning of the word as it was used in New Testament times.

Therefore, let us look at the truth concerning psallo:

“Making melody,” (psallontes, pres. part. nom. plur. masc. fr. psallo). “(fr. psao, to rub, wipe; to handle, touch); a. to pluck off, pull out: etheiran, the hair, Aeschyl. Pers. 1062. b. to cause to vibrate by touching, to twang: toxon neuras cheiri, Eur. Bacch. 784; spec. chordan, to touch or strike the chord, to twang the strings of a musical instrument so that they gently vibrate (Aristot.,); and absol. to play on a stringed instrument, to play the harp, etc.: Aristot., Plut., Arat.; to sing to the music of the harp; in the N. T. to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song, Jas. 5:13; [R. V. sing praise] to kurio, to onomati autou, (often so in Sept.), in honor of God, Eph. 5:19; Rom.15:9; psalo to pneumati, psalo de kai to noi, ‘I will sing God’s praises indeed with my whole soul stirred and borne away by the Holy Spirit, but I will also follow reason as my guide, so that what I sing may be understood alike by myself and by the listeners,’ 1 Cor. 14:15.” —Thayer, p. 675

Notice that the root meaning of psallo is to rub, wipe, handle and touch. Therefore, down through the ages of development psallo had several definitions, with the root meaning always present. Let us notice these changing uses of the word that is translated “sing” in the New Testament usage.

1. In the days of Aeschylus psallo was used with the idea of pulling or plucking the hair.

2. And in this same sense, psallo was used to express the action of the archer in twanging or plucking the bowstring.

3. Next, in the developing connotation of psallo, we find that in the days of Euripides, the verb means to cause to vibrate by touching, to twang; to touch or strike the chord, to twang the strings of a musical instrument so that they gently vibrate. And in the days of Aristotle and Plutarch psallo absolutely means to play on a stringed instrument, to play the harp, etc.; and to sing to the music of the harp. Notice again the root meaning of rub and touch is involved in the evolving meaning of this verb.

4. But the advocates of instrumental music fail to mention that by the times of the New Testament, the verb psallo had come to mean exclusively to sing or chant. Notice the last definition given by J. H. Thayer:

“in the N. T. to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song, Jas. 5:13; [R. V. sing praise] to kurio, to onomati autou, (often so in Sept.), in honor of God, Eph. 5:19; Rom.15:9; psalo to pneumati, psalo de kai to noi, ‘I will sing God’s praises indeed with my whole soul stirred and borne away by the Holy Spirit, but I will also follow reason as my guide, so that what I sing may be understood alike by myself and by the listeners,’ 1 Cor. 14:15.” —Thayer, p. 675

But even in the instance of the word meaning to “sing,” the root idea of psallo is still present, because when a person sings, the vocal cords vibrate to produce the melodious sounds. And in Ephesians 5:19, in the only instance where psallo is translated “making melody,” it coveys the idea of figuratively chanting in the human heart (inner man).

What is the Bible heart where this “making melody” is to be active?

“In your heart,” (tee kardia humoon, dat. sing. fem. fr. kardia), “the heart; 2. univ. kardia denotes the seat and centre of all physical and spiritual life; and b. the centre and seat of spiritual life, the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors (so in Eng. heart, inner man, etc.);” a. univ. Eph. 5:19. —Thayer, p. 325.

Therefore, there is no case that can be made for instrumental music in worship to God, based on the verb psallo. The worship music of the New Testament church was and is singing—a cappella—in the style of the church. Another important element in the New Testament worship was to come before God with a grateful heart, which is our next participle.

4. Giving Thanks

“Giving thanks” is our next participle in the developing context we are considering. God especially loves those who approach him with thankful hearts. Gratitude is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. Paul taught the Ephesian church,

“…but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:18-20.)

“Giving thanks” is a nom., plural, masc. present participle from [eucaristev--eucharisteo], and means to give thanks because “through Christ i.e. by Christ’s help (because both the favors for which thanks are given and the gratitude which prompts the thanks are due to Christ),” with the addition of in the name of Christ etc. –Thayer, p. 263. Like all the other present participles, the “giving thanks” is being done at the same time the Christian is to “be full of the Spirit,” the leading verb of the context. In our worship let us always be thankful to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Submitting

Our last participle relating back to the leading verb is “submitting.” In this last verse of this context Paul said,

“…submitting to one another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21.)

“Submitting” is from [upotassv--upotasso], a nom., plural, masc., present middle participle. The middle voice means that we are “to subject one’s self, to obey; to submit to one’s control; to yield to one’s admonition or advice.” –Thayer, p. 645.

“Submitting” therefore is an action commensurate with the action of the leading verb, to “be filled” with the Spirit. Submitting is difficult for many people today—especially when we live in a free society. Yet this same word is used to instruct us to:

Submit to the governing power. (Romans 13:1, 5);
Children are to submit to their parents as did Jesus. (Luke 2:51);
Wives are to submit to their husbands. (Colossians 3:18); and
All are to submit to God. (James 4:7.)

Exhortation

We have made a detailed study of this context of Ephesians 5:17-21 concerning the music of the church—singing without instrumental accompaniment. Let us all seek to worship God in spirit and truth, for that is how true worshippers must worship. God seeks such to worship him. Let all men avoid false worship which God rejects. There are several types of worship God rejects:

1. God Rejects Vain Worship

God rejects worship that is just based on the traditions of men: “They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" (Matthew 15:9, NIV.)

2. God Rejects Ignorant Worship

There is no excuse for ignorant worship today. God winked at such in the past, “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” (Acts 17:22-23.)

3. God Rejects Will Worship

This kind of worship is also rejected by God. It is worship based on man’s desire to please himself and to have his own way or will rather than God’s will. It was expressed to the Colossian Christians in this way:

Colossians 2:20-23

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

KJV

Will worship is based on the commandments and doctrines of men instead of the word and will of God. Remember when we started this study, Paul’s opening exhortation was “be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17.)