The Bible gives us an inspired book of praise, the book of Psalms, containing 150 perfect songs about God, His works and His people. This was the hymn book used by the Old Testament church and the Jewish Synagogue, Jesus, the Apostles and the early church exclusively for the first seven centuries after Christ’s resurrection. The Protestant Reformation, especially that part centered in Geneva, France, Holland and Scotland, returned to the exclusive singing of the Psalms translated into metrical form. There can be no doubt that the Bible teaches and God commands biblical Psalms to be included in our worship of Him.
It is true that the words sung from the Psalms may be jarring to our modern sensibilities. This happens in part because many Christians today are not accustomed to hearing that our God is a Holy God of righteousness and justice.
Our society and our hearts are sinful; and we see things through the distortions of our culture; even the culture of the church is imperfect and tainted by the sinful world in which we live. God tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, proving what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2). One way of allowing our minds to be challenged, stretched, and transformed, by the will of God, is to sing His word. The Psalms help us think God’s thoughts after Him, to become more and more like Jesus, singing the very hymns he sang. We pray that through worshiping with us, your faith will be nourished and strengthened as God’s word is heard, prayed, read, sung, and faithfully proclaimed.
