Nearer, My God, to Thee: Why I Sing Only Psalms in Worship

J. Gresham Machen, a hymn singing Presbyterian, is best known for his battle for orthodoxy in the early twentieth century Presbyterian Church. Machen wrote concerning “Nearer, My God, to Thee” and noted that the hymn centered more on the human experience of suffering than on the redemption provided in Christ. He said, “It means that our trials may be a discipline to bring us nearer to God…But many persons have the impression, because the word "cross" is found in the hymn, that there is something specifically Christian about it, and that it has something to do with the gospel. This impression is entirely false.” 

Hymn singing, although it has its place in the Christian experience, is an unsuitable substitute for God’s own book of praise found in the middle of your Bible. There are several reasons for maintaining the biblical tradition of singing Psalms exclusively that are worth meditating on. Exclusive Psalmody ought to be held, not merely as a tradition of our churches, but as a biblical imperative designed for you growth as a Christian. 

Professor RJ George, a 19th century practical theologian from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) wrote:  "In 1838, the Presbyterian General Assembly, appointed a committee to revise their hymn book. In their report they say, "On a critical examination are found many hymns deficient in literary merit, some incorrect in doctrine, and many altogether unsuitable for the sanctuary." What an indictment to bring against the book which their own church had substituted for God's book of praise!"

If hymns brought such difficulty within their own assemblies, what rationale can the Psalm singing Christian give for maintaining this practice of exclusive Psalm singing? I will provide you with four reasons that are worth meditating upon. 

Exegetical 

Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 instruct the Christian to sing “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” The Christian church is not commanded anywhere in the Bible to create her own songs for public worship—God has given us his songs. 

The Heidelberg Catechism reminds its readers that “We are not to make an image of God in any way, nor to worship Him in any other manner than He has commanded in His Word.” (Q&A 96). God has instructed the church to sing Psalms—this is worship as he has commanded. 

The three-fold division of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are divisions that are found in the superscriptions of the Psalms themselves as well as expressing a hendiatris. A hendiatris is a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea. 

Exclusive Psalm singing is exegetically defensible and therefore biblical. 

Historical 

The American evangelical and reformed communities seem to be obsessed with innovation. Christianity is not an innovative religion, but a historical one. Historically the church has sung Psalms exclusively in public worship. Hymn singing is a very late innovation and reached its crescendo during the revivals of the 19th century. Exclusive Psalmody is the majority practice of the reformed and presbyterian tradition even through the revivals of the Second Great Awakening. In 1640, the first book published in the New World was a Psalter called the Bay Book of Psalms. The English, Scots, and Dutch all brought Psalmody with them to the New World and that continued in many of our churches despite the rise of hymn singing. 

This primacy of psalmody is not only true within our own tradition, but the history of Christianity is immersed in Psalm singing—from the apostolic age through the late medieval period through the time of the Reformation; exclusive Psalmody was the norm within Christianity. 

Christological 

In Luke 24:44 the Lord Jesus tell us: “It is written in the Psalms concerning me…” The Psalms speak of Christ and need to be interpreted Christologically and be seen as Christ-centered praise. 

Jesus is everywhere in the Psalter. His kingly office is in Psalm 45:6; 110; 2; and 72. His agony is in Psalm 22 and his betrayal is in Psalm 41.9. The singer finds the trial of Jesus in Psalm 35 and his rejection in Psalm 118 and 22. Our Lord is crucified in Psalm 69 and the 22nd Psalm recounts his emotional experiences and words on the cross. The sixteenth Psalm assures the Lord of his burial and resurrection and he is ascended in the 47th Psalm. Psalm 50 speaks of his second coming. The Psalms are a compendium of teaching on the life, ministry, and atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Experiential 

Psalm singing is not only biblical and theologically sound; but it also is experientially superior. The Psalms, as the Word of God, speak to the heart of man in a way that hymns and praise songs never could. God is in the midst of them. The Spirit of God fills the praises of his people through the singing of Psalms. Luther said that the Psalms contain everything the Bible has “beautifully and briefly.” 

The Psalms allow the worshiper to wrestle with God and to commune with him like no other medium. The Psalms revive the heart and soul as the church loudly sings God’s praise. Jonathan Edwards bears witness to this fact: “One of the most observable features of the work [of revival] was the singular delight which all the awakened appears to take in singing psalms. In houses, in the field, in the woods, alone and together, they spake forth the praises of their King; and even little children and aged persons that have never before learned to sing, came to sing praises with solemnity and sweetness.” 

Conclusion 

As Christians bring praise to our Triune God from week to week, the grace-filled heart must come to terms with the overwhelming fact that we sing praise to a great God who has redeemed us through Christ. He gives us an identity—son or daughter, redeemed, loved, made holy, Spirit-filled—all with hearts that ought to overflow with grace.

Singing Psalms exclusively in public worship may seem foreign to many worshipers today in our climate of professional Contemporary Christian Music. Others sing the old hymns that are often rich in theological truth. But the simplicity of singing God’s praise using God’s Word alone has been a feature of Christian worship as long as the church has existed. 

All of the Psalms are spiritual, meaning they were composed by the Holy Spirit and given to the church for our praises unto God. The Psalms are also called “the words of Christ” (Colossians 3:16) which bring us into the experience of the Lord Jesus as we sing—we think his thoughts after him, and we have the fulness of the life and ministry of Jesus in this God-authored songbook. What a glorious privilege that we can sing back the songs that God has given to us for our praise. 

This question of singing Psalms was not controversial in the life of the church for many centuries. If the church’s principle of worship has been to stay close to the Bible, there’s no way of being closer than singing the words of the Bible in our public worship. There is no other way of growing in rich, close, and sweet communion with our God.  Nearer, My God, to Thee can be the cry of the Psalm singer as he or she lifts up praise in the assembly great. 

The above article originally appeared in the Sept-Oct 2024 edition of The Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, a bimonthly magazine published by the Heritage Reformed Churches denomination.