RPW Support of Hymns

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Prove it.

Have you read Book III of John Gill's A Body of Practical Divinity. The relevant sections are:

Chapter 3. Of the Public Ministry of the Word.
Chapter 5. Of Public Prayer.
Chapter 6. Of the Lord's Prayer.
Chapter 7. Of Singing Psalms.

A relevant quote: "And singing musically with the voice, as a religious action, is distinct from all other religious acts and exercises. From prayer: James speaks of them as two distinct things in the place before quoted; and so the apostle Paul, when he says, “I will pray with the Spirit, and I will sing with the Spirit also;” or if he means the same, he must be guilty of a very great tautology (1 Cor. 14:15). Paul and Silas in prison, both prayed and sung praises, which are evidently two distinct exercises (Acts 16:25)."

Incidently The LBC of 1689 which you say you adhere to also makes this distinction:

22. 3 - Prayer, with thanksgiving, being one part of natural worship, is by God required of all men. But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to his will; with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance; and when with others, in a known tongue.
( Psalms 95:1-7; Psalms 65:2; John 14:13, 14; Romans 8:26; 1 John 5:14; 1 Corinthians 14:16, 17 )

22.5 - The reading of the Scriptures, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord; as also the administration of baptism, and the Lord's supper, are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience to him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear; moreover, solemn humiliation, with fastings, and thanksgivings, upon special occasions, ought to be used in an holy and religious manner.
( 1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:2; Luke 8:18; Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19; Matthew 28:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 11:26; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:12; Exodus 15:1-19, Psalms 107 )​

No one is denying that there is a distinction in the elements of a worship service - what I asked specifically for is any biblical evidence that they are regulated differently. And even more specifically for any evidence whatsoever that there is a narrower criteria for songs then for the other elements of a service.

If you acknowledge the RPW and don't deny that there are distinctions in elements of worship, then you should not be asking for biblical evidence that the elements are regulated differently. The very nature of the RPW demands that each element be regulated differently. A positive command for one element can't, according to the RPW, apply to anything but the thing included in that command.
 
There are some huge leaps of logic made in this type of argument.

I think this could equally be said for the EP position.

Singing Psalms will undoubtedly teach but that does not mean that the minister is to sing his sermon.

The verse addresses all believers not the minister in how he is to teach. So your take is a red herring.

Furthermore, whilst some of the prayers have their sitz im leben as a prayer they were compilled into the Psalter which in its current form was the hymnbook of the second temple.

Prove it from the Bible.

Those prayers included in the Psalter were inspired by God and were included under the inspiration of God to be used as songs.

Pure conjecture!

This does not give any warrant to sing prayers of human composition. There is also a confusion of elements, prayer and song are different elements of worship and so are regulated differently.

There are huge leaps in your logic to arrive at this conclusion. ;)
 
If you acknowledge the RPW and don't deny that there are distinctions in elements of worship, then you should not be asking for biblical evidence that the elements are regulated differently. The very nature of the RPW demands that each element be regulated differently. A positive command for one element can't, according to the RPW, apply to anything but the thing included in that command.

There is nothing inherent in the RPW that says that they should be regulated differently. If you insist on this then you had better show me from the Bible that this is the case rather than presuppose it.
 
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The verse addresses all believers not the minister in how he is to teach. So your take is a red herring.

Your point being what precisely?

Prove it from the Bible.

This is a strange form of biblicism indeed. We know that the Psalter was used as a hymnbook of the second temple from the titles of the individual psalms, from internal evidence, and from Jewish writings.

Try: The Psalms and the Cult, The Compilation of the Book of Psalms and A Form-Critical Classification of the Psalms.

We need to be quite thoughtful about this. The Psalter as we know it took a while to come about. It is also interesting to note that whilst the psalms contained in the psalter may not have been sung in their original setting (e.g. prayers) they were compiled in the psalter and so sung later on. It can get somewhat complex but I would suggest you read The Psalms. By the time you have read and digested these I will have finished my assignments and have some free time. :)

Pure conjecture!

What are you refering to here. The statement (a) Those prayers included in the Psalter were inspired by God or (b) and were included under the inspiration of God to be used as songs.
 
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