Is Psalm Singing Commanded?: Is Uninspired Hymn Singing Authorized?
The question regarding whether or not God’s church is required by God to sing the Psalms in public worship may seem absurd, yet there are Reformed pastors and scholars opposed to exclusive Psalmody who actually argue that singing the Psalms is not required.6 One pastor has argued that while the Scripture requires believers to sing praise, it does not require the singing of Psalms in worship. A Reformed Baptist scholar says that “since neither the Old nor the New Testament directly command the singing of Psalms by the congregation in the public worship of God, we can see that it is a privilege more than a duty.”7 The reason that opponents of exclusive Psalmody argue that Psalm singing is not commanded is that if the singing of uninspired songs is not by divine appointment, then one could argue that the content of praise is a circumstance of worship. Arguing that the Psalms are not commanded is an attempt to circumvent the regulative principle of worship. If it can be shown from Scriptur
