Singing of Psalms the Duty of Christians

by Thomas Ford, Therese B. McMahon (Editor), C. Matthew McMahon (Editor)

Thomas Ford (1598–1674) was a Calvinistic, Reformed nonconformist divine, who sat on the Westminster Assembly as an active member. The Puritans believed in Exclusive Psalmody – and the Westminster Confession demonstrates their position. However, there are few works that were written as a whole explaining why this is so. This work by Thomas Ford does just that. As a member of the Assembly his views demonstrate the majority view in Christendom up and until his era, and he sits in company with the best theologians and preachers through church history on the subject. He covers, 1. That we must sing. 2. What we must sing. 3. How we must sing. And, 4. Why we must sing. His main text is Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…” This is an extremely valuable treatise dealing with the worship of the Living God – something Christians should take seriously so that their worship is true, regulated and taught to them by God. This is not a scan or facsimile, and has been updated in modern English for easy reading. It also has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Genres: Theology

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the form of five sermons, Ford seeks to show that Christian’s have a duty to sing Psalms in worship. He breaks this sentence down to prove that we must sing, rather than simply read or chant the psalms. Ford writes that if we are to say otherwise, it is to “Wreck and rack the Scripture, so that it may speak what men have a mind to.” We are to sing the Psalms because the Apostle Paul calls us to do it by “Singing and making melody.” Ford states that “We must sing in a form, or not at all.” Why are prayers not subject to this same criteria? Ford responds that “There is a difference in this, that the Lord did not prescribe unto his people set forms of prayer… God gave them a psalm-book, but not a prayer-book.”

This leads to his next point that because we are commanded to sing, we are also commanded what to sing. Ford writes that “Singing of Psalms is a duty, wherein there is a word of admonition and instruction to wicked men, and it is a moral duty which every man is bound to do; to praise the great God that made heaven and earth.” There are practical benefits to singing the psalms as we are commanded, as Ford points out that “Thus there is Spiritual communion with God in hearing the word as well as in praying and singing of Psalms.”

Ford in multiple places makes room for the composing of spiritual songs. Ford writes“But I return to answer the former objection concerning singing of psalms composed by an ordinary and common gift, as God in his providence gives occasion. And to this I say that I am not so much against composing, as imposing; when men set up their own new songs, and shut out David's psalms.” Ford continues “I will not say it is unlawful to conceive and compose a psalm on occasion. But I say again there is no reason that our conceived psalms should shut out David's.” In his final sermon, Ford concludes that we should “Sing none but spiritual songs, such as David's psalms are, and others composed by holy men of God, who spake as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. These are altogether spiritual for the author, for the matter, and for the end and use of them.”

Ford prioritized Psalms above any other songs, but did allow for other spiritual songs - so far as they were not used to displace the use of Psalms in the church. Ford at no point decries Scripture songs nor states that the use of hymns is sinful, again, so far as they not used to usher out Psalm singing which is an important point in the ongoing discussion of Exclusive Psalmody, a point that I will explore further in my personal writing/reading.

[Josiah Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid defense of exclusive psalm-singing as well as an edifying explanation of the practical uses and benefits of psalm-singing from a Westminster Divine.