5:19

psalms, praises to God, and spiritual songs: First-century Christians continued to use the inspired psalms in praising Jehovah. The Greek word for “psalm” (psal·mosʹ), also used at Lu 20:42; 24:44; and Ac 13:33, refers to Hebrew Scripture Psalms. Additionally, there appear to have been Christian compositions​—“praises to God,” or hymns, and “spiritual songs,” that is, songs with spiritual lyrics. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul mentions that Christians teach and encourage one another by means of “psalms, praises to God, spiritual songs.”​—Col 3:16.

singing . . . to Jehovah: This and similar expressions, which occur often in the Hebrew Scriptures, convey the idea of praising Jehovah with song. (Ex 15:1; 1Ch 16:23; Ps 13:6; 96:1; 104:33; 149:1; Jer 20:13) About one tenth of the entire Bible is made up of songs related to the worship of Jehovah; the foremost examples are Psalms, The Song of Solomon, and Lamentations. Singing praises to God seems to have been a custom of God’s servants in Jesus’ time as well. (See study note on Mt 26:30.) Paul’s statement at 1Co 14:15 indicates that singing was a regular feature of Christian worship.​—Ac 16:25; Col 3:16; for the use of the divine name in this verse, see App. C3 introduction; Eph 5:19.

accompanying yourselves with music: Or “making music.” The Greek verb used here (psalʹlo) originally meant “to play a stringed instrument.” It is often used in the Septuagint to correspond to a Hebrew term meaning “to make music” or “to sing praises,” whether to the accompaniment of an instrument (Ps 33:2; 98:5) or not (Ps 7:17; 9:11; 108:3). In the Christian Greek Scriptures, this verb also appears at Ro 15:9; 1Co 14:15 (“sing praise”); and Jas 5:13 (“sing psalms”). One lexicon defines the expression as “in accordance [with Old Testament] usage, to sing songs of praise, with or without instrumental accompaniment.”

in your hearts: In the Bible, the term “heart” when used in a figurative way generally refers to the inner person, including all thoughts, intentions, qualities, feelings, and emotions. (Compare Ps 103:1, 2, 22.) The Greek expression used here and at Col 3:16 is broad in meaning and could be understood to include the idea of singing within oneself, silently. In other words, one’s heart and mind are filled with the spiritual sentiments expressed in songs of praise to God, along with the accompanying melodies. The Greek expression could also be rendered “with your hearts,” which would include the idea of singing in a heartfelt way, with the right heart attitude.