2 Chronicles 29:30: “Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.”
Eph. 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Col. 3:16 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.
C. Matthew McMahon writes:
“Luke 20:42; 24:44; Acts 1:20; 13:33:
yalmos is being used to introduce the Book of Psalms.
Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26:
Hallel Psalms 113-118.
Acts 16:25 umnoun
Paul and Silas sang hymns, of the Psalter. They sang something together, in unison.
James 5:13 yalletw
Sing praises or psalms, the title for the Book of the Psalms.
1 Cor. 14:14-26 yalw tw pneumati yalw de kai tw noi and ekastos yalmon exei
But I don’t think any of us would see this as anything other than a charismatic utterance, which would not be inconsistent with singin the inspired Psalter. But, since interpreation woudl have had to occure, these woudl not have been used again and again. Soemone woudl have to have the gift to interpret, which is pointed out by “by the spirit” through the passage. It does not have any bearing on the argument.
Philo uses a partial combination to refer to the psalms in “words and songs and hymns” (Sobr., 58). And in other places explaisn the same things of the Psalter as psalms and hymns and songs; Fug., 59; Conf. Ling., 52; Migr. Abr., 157.
Justin uses the three terms exatly the way Paul does to refer to the Psalms in Epist. as Zenam et Serenum, 9, but leaves out the word “spiritual.” For him the Psalter is “psalms and hymns and songs.”
Clement defines yalmos as a “spiritual song”. Paed. 2, 4 (PG VIII. 443).
Jospehus says David composed “songs to God and hymns”, rendering the same words (Ant. Jud. 3, 3; 7, 4, 2 and 12, 3; 12, 7, 7)
Obviously the LXX headings uses these terms over and over.”
As well,
“1) It was what Paul was raised on, having sung the Psalter from his youth. (That is a three hour conversation on temple worship and the synagogue of the OT and intertestamental eras.)
2) The whole jail heard them sing, so they must have known what they were singing together.
3) It would be strange to “come up with” a new song, and then put it to music, memorize it, and then sing it together. (In one night?)
5) There were no use at the time other than the Psalter for “hymn praying.”
4) The Greek is being what it is, is “hymn praying” which points to the same usage in other OT and NT texts about Psalm singing. (cf. Matthew 26:30).
5) Luke wrote it and he was specific with word usage, the same as in other places.
6) What they were singing they knew by heart.”