I announced last week that I plan to preach through at least some portion of the Book of Psalms during the coming months. The question naturally arises, “Why preach through the Psalms?” The answer is that Paul instructed the believers at Colossae to participate in “teaching …one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” He wrote, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16, NKJV). At least part of the ‘teaching’ ministry of the church consists of ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.’ Therefore, it is imperative that we know exactly what these ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’ are: Psalms. The term ‘psalms’ refers to songs written under the direction of the Holy Spirit by ancient Jewish authors—David (73), Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (11), Heman (1), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Ethan (1), and Anonymous (49). Looking at these numbers, we can see that David wrote more Psalms than anyone else, but God used a wide range of talented musicians over hundreds of years to write these inspired lyrics for the spiritual benefit of His people. Paul alluded to the benefit of the ‘Psalms’ when he encouraged the believers at Ephesus to: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20, NIV). Authentic ‘Psalms’ are actually God’s Words set to music. They are Scripture! The ‘Psalms’ of the Old Testament are divided into FOUR Hymns. A ‘hymn’ is a song that gives praise, honor, or thanksgiving to God. They are usually written as if the singer is singing the lyrics to God Himself! Unlike the ‘psalms,’ the ‘hymns’ are not inspired by God. They are not God’s Words. They are the words of the ‘hymn’ writer. However, they are filled with rich Biblical truth. The church has been singing ‘hymns’ for centuries. Jesus and His disciples sang a ‘hymn’ at the conclusion of the first ‘Communion Service.’ Matthew wrote, “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Matthew 26:30, NIV). Spiritual Songs. The term ‘spiritual songs’ refers to songs about a spiritual experience in the life of the singer. An example of a ‘spiritual song’ is the song Moses composed after God used him to part the Red Sea. He and the Israelites sang, “…I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have covered them, they sank to the depths like a stone.” (Exodus 15:1b-5, NIV). By the way, that is only the first stanza! The entire song is recorded in Exodus 15:1b-18. Obviously, in addition to the singing of ‘hymns’ and ‘spiritual songs,’ the singing of ‘psalms’ is a valuable tool for use in ‘teaching’ believers the ways of God. However, singing a ‘psalm’ is quite pointless unless one understands the content of the ‘psalm.’ Therefore, we will study at least some of the ‘Psalms’ recorded in the Old Testament!