Everything Old is New Again

John Kennedy of Dingwall spoke at the 1872 General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland against uninspired hymnody and had this to say about the oft-cited (his day and ours) complaint against the Psalms (notwithstanding Luke 24.44) that the greater light of the New Testament has superseded the Psalter's sufficiency for the Church (quoted by Alexander Auld, The Life of John Kennedy, D.D. (1887), p. 137ff; and by Malcolm H. Watts, God's Hymnbook for the Christian Church (2003), p. 44):

The Lord gave a psalmody of old. True, it was given under the former dispensation; but could not the Lord give then what would be suitable in all ages? Can men uninspired do now better than He did then? Does not its completeness prove that it was not be superseded? What view of God's character is not unfolded in the Psalms? What aspect of His providence is not presented in them? What special dealing with His church, individually or collectively, is not celebrated? What phase of spiritual feeling, from the deepest groan of agony and helplessness to the highest ecstasy of triumphant joy, is not expressed? And have we not in the Psalms the grand facts of redemption in historic form? The coming, the death, the resurrection, the ascension of Christ, are set before us in the form it is meet the New Testament should sing of them. If we have this psalmody from the Lord's own hand, and if it be complete, and if it presents the materials for praise in the form best adapted to our circumstances, what more do we require? This sufficed for the Old Testament church, and with all the light of the New Testament shining upon its songs, it surely ought to suffice for us..."The New Testament has outgrown the Psalms," say some; "her further light puts them out of date." Have you that further light? If so bring it to the Psalms, and use it as a help to sing them with the understanding; and the more you do so, I venture to assure you that you will meet with depths that you cannot sound, and with heights of attainment in faith and feeling which you are weak to climb.

Worship God With Body and Soul

Malcolm H. Watts, "The Importance of Purity in Worship," in Malcolm H. Watts and David Silversides, The Worship of God, p. 8:

Body and Soul

So worship is response, but how exactly should we respond to divine revelation? The Law, in its First and Second Commandments, teaches that we should worship God with both our bodies and our souls (Exod. 20:3,4).

Elsewhere in Scripture, we read, 'Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's' (1 Cor. 6:20). The former will obviously include regular attendance, reverent posture, appropriate dress, orderly conduct, and prescribed activity (Matt 18:20; Mk 11:25; 1 Cor 11:1-16; 1 Tim 3:15; Heb 3:15 and Rev 2:7). The latter (without which the former will always be in vain, Mk 7:6) will involve inward devotion, expressed in thought, longing, trust, delight, and hope (Ps 48:9); 105:3,4; Is 26:1-3; Phil 3:3; Heb 3:6).

It cannot be sufficiently emphasised, however, that true worship is essentially internal. It concerns the spiritual exercise of our souls. Accordingly, we are told that God requires 'truth (sincere devotion) in the inward parts' and that the true worshippers worship him 'in spirit (that is, in spiritual communion)' (Ps 51:6; Jn 4:23; cf Hos 6:6; Eph 6:18). External acts of the body, while not unimportant, simply express what is being inwardly felt about God. Thus the Psalmist beings his song of praise with the words, 'My heart is inditing (literally, bubbling over [with]) a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the kind: my tongue is a pen of a ready writer' (Ps 45:1).

Sacred impressions upon our souls produce feelings of reverance and adoration. These are expressed before God in solemn, religious worship. Hence, the exhortation of David: 'Ye people, pour out your hearts before him' (Ps 65:8).