Hymns (5215) (humnos/hymnos) refers to a song of praise, a song in honor of God or generally to a song with religious content. It also came to mean praise to men. Whereas a psalm is the story of man's deliverance or a commemoration of mercies received, a hymn is a magnificat, a declaration of how great someone or something is (Lu 1:46-55, 67-79; Acts 4:24; 16:25). It is a direct address of praise and glory to God. The only other NT uses of humnos is in Colossians 3:16 (note). Humnos/hymnos - 16 uses in the Septuagint (LXX)- 2Chr. 7:6; Neh 12:46; Ps 6:1; 40:3; 54:1; 55:1; 61:1; 65:1; 67:1; 72:20; 76:1; 100:4; 119:171; 137:3; 148:14; Isa 42:10 NIDNTT explains that... hymnos (is) of uncertain origin, is something sung, a song. The word appears from Homer onwards in secular Greek. There is no one particular metrical form. Rather, hymnos is a general word used to include the most varied poetical forms. All along, the word hymnos is used for recited as well as for sung poetry. The secular sense is not always clearly distinguished from cultic. The following meanings of hymneo may be mentioned: (1) to sing of, celebrate, in poetry or prose; (2) to discuss, tell repeatedly, recite; (3) (pass.) ring (in one’s ears). Various formations occur, including the following after 300 B.C.: hymnos, lauding or praising, hymn or song-recital, or collection of songs; hymnagores, singer of hymns or songs; hymnologia, hymn-singing, songs. They are in part examples of late linguistic usages, which found hymneo too weak a word, and used it to mean to write or sing a song. In general, hymnos refers to songs to the gods, particularly a song in praise of the divinity, as distinct perhaps from epainos, praise given to men. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan or Computer version) Eadie writes that hymns... These are also sacred poetical compositions, the primary purpose of which is to praise, as may be seen in those instances in which the verb occurs, Acts 16:25; Heb 2:12.(Ephesians 5 Commentary - in depth - goto page 398 - somewhat technical but with excellent insights) According to Augustine a hymn has three characteristics: It must be sung; it must be praise; it must be to God. The word "hymn" nowhere occurs in the writings of the apostolic fathers possibly because it was used as a praise to heathen deities and thus the early Christians instinctively shrank from it. Obviously our English words "psalms" and "hymns" are transliterations from the Greek words. Spiritual (4152) (pneumatikos from pneúma = spirit. + suffix = "-ikos" on the end of an adjective signifies “-like”) means something like pertaining to the (divine) spirit, “belonging to the spirit", "of the nature of the spirit", and thus "pertaining to that which is spiritual". There are 26 uses of pneumatikos in the NT - Ro 1:11 (referring to spiritual gift); Ro 7:14 (referring to the law); Ro 15:27 (referring to blessings); 1Co. 2:13, 15; 3:1; 9:11; 10:3, 4; 12:1; 14:1, 37; 15:44, 46; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:3; 5:19; 6:12; Col. 1:9; 3:16; 1Pe 2:5 Eadie comments that... in all other passages where (pneumatikos) is used to qualify Christian men, or Christian blessings, its ruling reference is plainly to the Holy Spirit. Thus—spiritual gifts, Ro 1:11; a special endowment of the Spirit, 1Cor. 12:1, 14:1, etc.; spiritual men, that is, men enjoying in an eminent degree the Spirit, 1Cor. 2:15, 14:37; and also in Gal. 6:1; Ro 7:14; Ep 5:19; Col. 3:16; and in 1Cor. 2:13, “spiritual” means produced by or belonging to the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5 Commentary - in depth - goto page 398 - somewhat technical but with excellent insights) Songs (5603) (oide from aido = to sing, always signifying praise to God) is a generic term for any words sung or for songs in general, thus needing modification by "spiritual" in this context. The qualifier of "spiritual" was important because of the fact that the original use of singing among both believers and idolaters was in the confessions and praises of the respective gods. Ode by itself might mean any kind of song, as of battle, harvest, festal, whereas psalm, from its Hebrew use, and hymn, from its Gr. use, did not require any such qualification. Eadie writes that song or... ode is a general term, and denotes the natural outburst of an excited bosom—the language of the sudden impulses of an Oriental temperament. Such odes as were allowed to Christians are termed “spiritual,” that is, prompted by the Spirit which filled them. But the psalms and hymns are already marked out as consecrated, and needed no such additional epithet. For the prevailing meaning of the adjective. Odes of this nature are found in Scripture, as that of Hannah (1Sa 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) at her boy's consecration, that of the Mary, and that of Zachariah on the birth of his son. (Ephesians 5 Commentary - in depth - goto page 398 - somewhat technical but with excellent insights) John MacArthur has an interesting comment noting that... For over a thousand dark years of its history (c. 500—1500) the church in general did not sing. From shortly after New Testament times until the Reformation, what music the church had was usually performed by professional musicians. The music they presented could not be understood or appreciated by the average church member. In any case, they could only sit and listen, unable to participate. But when the Bible came back into the church during the Reformation, singing came with it. Martin Luther and some of the other Reformation leaders are among the greatest hymn writers of church history. Where the true gospel is known and believed, music is loved and sung. God’s Spirit in the heart puts music in the heart...In his great allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan pictured the pilgrim, Christian, falling into the slough of despond, straying into doubting castle, and enduring many other hardships, frustrations, and failures. And though the expression “filled with the Spirit” is not used in the story, each time Christian is delivered we see him going on his way singing. Every time he came back under the Spirit’s control he had a song in his heart. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press) Charles Hodge explains that... A psalm was a hymn, and a hymn a song. Still there was a distinction between them, as there is still. A “psalm” was, as its etymology shows, a song designed to be sung with the accompaniment of instrumental music. It was one of the sacred poems contained in the book of Psalms, as in Acts 13:33, “in the second Psalm,” and Acts 1:20, “in the book of Psalms.” It could also be any sacred poem formed on the model of the Old Testament Psalms, as in 1 Corinthians 14:26, where “psalm,” kjv appears to mean such a song given by divine inspiration, and not one of the psalms of David. A “hymn” was a song of praise to God, a divine song. Psalms and hymns then, as now, were religious songs; songs were religious or secular, and therefore those intended here are described as spiritual. The word may mean either “inspired”—i.e., derived from the Spirit—or expressing spiritual thoughts and feelings. The latter is the more probable, as it is not only inspired people who are said to be filled with the Spirit, but all those who in their ordinary thoughts and feelings are governed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:3-20) Harry Ironside commenting on speaking to one another in psalms, etc writes... The world considers that a man who talks to himself is a bit queer, but that is not always the case. It is well sometimes for us to sit down and talk to ourselves about things in our lives. What the apostle is saying here is really, "Speaking to one another, to the entire company." How? "In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." As we meet with one another, greeting each other in a glad, happy way, the praises of the Lord bubble up in our souls. Psalms were the vehicle of expression in the congregation of God in olden times. The book of Psalms was the hymn-book of the congregation of the Lord in ancient times, and there are wonderful expressions there that suit every mood of the human heart. While we do not rise to the height of the Christian's privilege in the book of Psalms yet we can find something to express every state and condition of our souls as we come into the presence of God. A hymn is an ascription of praise addressed directly to the Deity. (Ephesians - Expository Commentary) "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our songs shall rise to Thee." Reginald Heber, (Play Hymn) How the Christian heart naturally goes out to God in hymns of worship and adoration. No more worldly songs for the Christian. The day is gone, or should be, when he can sing the worldly songs. I always think a Christian has dropped from the high level on which he belongs when I hear him singing such songs, because he has something better, he has spiritual songs, songs that tell of the love of Christ, of what grace hath wrought, that tell of redemption by the precious blood of Jesus. Who would sing the old songs when we have learned the new? "We will sing of the Shepherd that died, That died for the sake of the flock, His love to the utmost was tried, But firmly endured as a rock; We will sing of such subjects alone, None others our tongues shall employ, Till fully His love becomes known, In yonder bright regions of joy." One reason that the spirituality of the Church is at such a low ebb today is because people are so careless about matters of this kind, so ready to drop down from the high and holy state that should characterize those that are filled with the Spirit of God. (Ephesians - Expository Commentary) R Kent Hughes rightly observes that... Spirit-filled people overflow in song! This has been attested again and again in times of great spiritual blessing. That is the way it was in the awakening under St. Francis, the Troubadour of God. In the Reformation, Martin Luther brought hymn singing to the Church. During the Wesleyan Revival, Charles Wesley wrote 6,000 hymns. When Charles Simeon (audio by John Piper) preached in Holy Trinity in Cambridge and there was that great outpouring of blessing among his enthusiastic people at the beginning of the evangelical movement, another disapproving church in Cambridge hung a new bell in its tower with the inscription, "Glory to the Church and damnation to the enthusiasts."[John A. Mackay, God's Order (New York: Macmillan, 1953), p. 181]. One wonders whose damnation it rang. Think of the music which came with Moody and Sankey, and more recently during the spiritual harvest of the late 1960s. There is a sense in which when people are born again, music is "born again" in their souls. And if they remain full of the Spirit, life brings an ongoing symphony of soul. (Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Preaching the Word -Preaching the Word 1990) SINGING AND MAKING MELODY WITH YOUR HEART TO THE LORD: adontes (PAPMPN) kai psallontes (PAPMPN) te kardia humon to kurio: (Psalms 95:2; 105:2; Matthew 26:30) Phillips paraphrase says... making music in your hearts for the ears of God! Singing (103) (aido) means to sing, always of praise to God. Note that in this section, the singing is not ‘to one another’ but ‘to the Lord’. I like the way Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it... If it were possible to put the Holy Spirit into a textbook of pharmacology I would put Him under the stimulants, for that is where He belongs. Jamieson writes that in your heart means... not merely with the tongue; but the serious feeling of the heart accompanying the singing of the lips (compare 1Co 14:15 Ps 47:7). The contrast is between the heathen and the Christian practice, "Let your songs be not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart" [Conybeare and Howson]. John Stott has an interesting comment on making melody with your heart to the Lord ... writing that this is ... an instruction from which unmusical people unable to sing in tune have always derived much comfort. In this case it may be silent worship, although at the same time inwardly joyful and melodious. Without doubt Spirit-filled Christians have a song of joy in their hearts, and Spirit-filled public worship is a joyful celebration of God’s mighty acts, though J. Armitage Robinson suggests that Paul ‘contrasts the merriment of wine with the sober gladness of sacred psalmody’. (Ibid) Making Melody (5567) (psallo from psao = to rub or touch the surface, to touch lightly, twang or snap) means to play a stringed instrument or to sing a hymn. Musicians who play upon an instrument were said to pluck the strings. Psallo came to signify the making of music in any fashion. Because stringed instruments were commonly used both by believers and heathen in singing praises to their respective gods, it meant to sing, sing praises or psalms to God whether with or without instruments Ephesians 5:19-22 illustrates what the Spirit-filled life should look like. This verse applies not so much to congregational singing, as to "melody in your heart." Such a life will be fruitful (Ephesians 5:9), active (Ephesians 5:16), understanding (Ephesians 5:17), joyful (Ephesians 5:19), thankful (Ephesians 5:20), and submissive (Ephesians 5:21). It will also be bold in witnessing (Acts 4:31). An excellent illustration of Spirit filled singing is found in Acts 16, welling up from the dungeons sometime around midnight, Luke recording... But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27 And when the jailer had been roused out of sleep and had seen the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!" 29 And he called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:25-31) Comment: And what the result of their Spirit filled praying and singing? Salvation for the jailer and his household! Wiersbe writes that... Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Christian joy is not a shallow emotion that, like a thermometer, rises and falls with the changing atmosphere of the home. Rather, Christian joy is a deep experience of adequacy and confidence in spite of the circumstances around us. The Christian can be joyful even in the midst of pain and suffering. This kind of joy is not a thermometer but a thermostat. Instead of rising and falling with the circumstances, it determines the spiritual temperature of the circumstances. Paul put it beautifully when he wrote, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (See note Philippians 4:11). (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) In your heart - Stedman writes that this phrase refers to... that inward bubbling that means that no matter how bad things are outside, inside they are wonderful. You know God is in control and he is working things out and you cannot be troubled even though they are all wrong on the outside. (Ephesians 5:15-20: Watch How You Walk) Eadie comments on making melody in your heart... Theodoret comes nearer our view when he says—“He sings with his heart who not only moves his tongue, but also excites his mind to the understanding of the sentiments repeated"... Now this silent playing in the heart will be that sincere and genuine emotion, which ought to accompany sacred song. The heart pulsates in unison with the melody. Mere music is but an empty sound; for compass of voice, graceful execution, and thrilling notes are a vain offering in themselves. The Fathers complained sometimes that the mere melody of the church service took away attention from the spirit and meaning of the exercise. Thus Jerome says justly on this passage—“Let young men hear this: let those hear it who have the office of singing in the church, that they sing not with their voice, but with their heart, to the Lord; not like tragedians physically preparing their throat and mouth, that they may sing after the fashion of the theatre in the church. He that has but an ill voice, if he has good works, is a sweet singer before God.” . . . “Let the servant of Christ so order his singing, that the words which are read may please more than the voice of the singer; that the spirit which was in Saul may be cast out of them who are possessed with it, and not find admittance in those who have turned the house of God into a stage and theatre of the people.” (Ephesians 5 Commentary - in depth - goto page 398 - somewhat technical but with excellent insights) Moule writes that... The sounds were but to express the praising souls. And all this was to be done, not as "music-worship," (God forbid,) but as worship full of music, paid to the remembered, adored, loved, present Lord. Such singing—and no other—is audible upon the Throne. (Ephesian Studies: Expository Readings on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians)