“As we come to the book of Psalms we find that God has placed a complete hymn book in the midst of the Scriptures, containing inspired songs which cover the whole scope of the person and work of Christ and touch upon every aspect of the life of the godly. It is this collection of inspired songs which the Church is commanded to sing in its corporate worship to the exclusion of all songs of human composition.”
The Psalms properly balance the themes of God’s worship (Ps. 89:14; 101:1)
“Give a child a choice between brussel sprouts and jelly beans. Which is he likely to pick? We have a natural tendency to choose those things which are most appealing to us. And yet, there are some things that we may not ordinarily choose which we most definitely need.
The same is true of the songs we sing in worship. There are some themes in the Bible in which we tend to take special delight. There are others which seem more difficult to swallow, but which are just as necessary for our growth in grace and in the knowledge of the whole counsel of God.
If left to our own devices, we might to sing songs in worship which focus almost exclusively upon the themes that we find most appealing (such as grace, love and salvation) while laying aside the themes which are less outwardly appealing (such as sin, judgment and condemnation of the wicked). A review of most modern hymnals will more than collaborate this point. Yet love and judgment are both important aspects of God’s dealings with mankind, and we are not free to neglect one in favor of the other.
In order to fully appreciate the character of God, we must consider and meditate upon all of His attributes…not just the ones that we find comforting. The book of Psalms presents many beautiful pictures of the grace, love and salvation offered by God through Christ, while not shying away from His righteous judgment and anger against sin. It is, therefore, a book of praise which keeps us anchored in the whole counsel of God, feeding our souls with both the ‘sweet’ and the ‘bitter’ meat of God’s Word.” (Comin, 191)
