Biblical Songs

Biblical songs for corporate singing are to be found throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The earliest recorded song is the Song of Moses (Exod. 15:1-18), and the last song is found in the book of Revelation (Rev. 19:18). This article lists the most important biblical songs, which are sometimes called canticles, and notes how these biblical songs are sung in the contemporary church. The Old Testament repertoire includes the Song of Hannah (1 Sam. 1:1-10), the Song of Jonah (Jonah 2:29), the First Song of Isaiah (12:26), the Second Song of Isaiah (26:9-21), and the Song of Habakkuk (Hab. 3:2-19), as well as the Psalter and other poetic passages. The Psalter itself is made up of texts that are sung corporately by all of God's people. These one hundred and fifty selections probably represent many other unrecorded psalms which were sung responsively by a leader and the congregation or antiphonally by two groups of singers. Thus, from Old Testament times singing was a part of the…