We who sing the Psalms in America are conscious of our brothers and sisters who sing the Psalms in other branches of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, but it is refreshing to be reminded that the biblical hymns are still the property of the whole church and to see other branches of the church singing them.

I just read a fascinating paper on psalm singing in contemporary Pakistan. The paper is by a Pakistani minister named Mahboob Masih. Mahboob and I were fellow “foreigners” studying together in Scotland, and we were in a number of courses together in Glasgow. The Book of Psalms was a favorite topic of discussion for us. Mahboob completed his masters dissertation, which I’ve just read, on the use of penitential psalms in present-day Pakistan.

Since Pakistan is so often in the news and the Christian church in that Muslim land is both small and persecuted, it seemed worthwhile to publish a few points from Mr. Masih’s paper. Perhaps giving other psalm singers a glimpse into some of the psalm-singing practices of our brothers and sisters in Pakistan will help us to be more conscious of them (and prayerful for them) as we literally unite in the same praises together every Lord’s Day.

According to my scholar-friend’s review of Pakistani church history, it is traditionally believed that the Apostle Thomas first brought the gospel to the lands now known as Pakistan. Although the early history is sketchy, the church seems to have continued its witness there at least into the 8th Century. There was, however, no Christian church in the land by the time 18th Century missionaries again brought the gospel.

Among the early missionaries to those territories of India that later became Pakistan were missionaries from Scotland. In 1857, John Lowery, Thomas Hunter, and Andrew Gordon brought the Scriptures and saw Christ plant churches through their labors. Naturally, the churches were psalm singing as were the pastoring missionaries.

The first Pakistani Psalter was completed in 1842. Although used for several decades, this psalter (and its revisions) was in Urdu—“a language of the rich and of scholars.” The Psalms were set to Western melodies. These factors proved to limit their usefulness. Nevertheless, the Urdu Psalter served for several decades as the hymnal of Pakistan.

In 1895, the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan decided that a Punjabi translation would make the Psalms more accessible to the common people, and they began a new translation. By 1916, all 150 psalms were in Punjabi and set to native, Pakistani tunes. According to my friend’s research, “the Punjabi translation of psalms played a significant role in [bringing about a] spiritual awakening and revival in [Pakistan in] the 19th century…. Many [Hindu and Muslim] people embraced Christian faith [through] the Punjabi psalms.” To this day, not only in Pakistan, but “South Asian…diasporas all over the world use the Punjabi translation in their worship. It is [held as the] common heritage of all the churches in Pakistan.”

Apparently, very few churches in Pakistan today are exclusive psalm singers. From the denominations surveyed in Masih’s recent research, five percent of those in the Presbyterian Church and 29 percent of those surveyed in the Church of Pakistan believe in exclusive psalmody. Nevertheless, across denominational lines, Pakistani ministers and Christians expressed their love for prominent psalm singing.

Among the reasons Pakistani Christians today say that they love to sing the psalms: “they are divinely inspired”; “they express human emotion more appropriately”; “no danger of theological errors”; “[they are] full of joy”; “people receive consolation.”

The last reason is particularly interesting, since Pakistan is a Muslim nation. Christians there know suffering for their faith in a way not familiar to most Americans. According to Mr. Masih’s study, over 80 percent of Pakistani Christians turn to psalms of lament in their times of adversity, and penitential psalms are also used frequently in worship services (“frequently” by 73 percent and “occasionally” by 27 percent).

Despite this momentum of strong commitment to the psalms, the current Punjabi Psalter is outdated. There have been some recent Urdu translations; nonetheless, the younger generation of Christians, Mr. Masih found, is increasingly inclined toward modern hymns and songs with newer tunes and more upto- date clarity. Also, pastors in Pakistan today are not well instructed in how to use certain kinds of psalms in certain circumstances. In other words, while Pakistan possesses a long and rich heritage of psalm singing—and a vibrant use of psalms today—the future of the psalter’s prominence in worship is unclear.

Among the reasons for a new generation’s uncertainty about psalm singing, which ministers and laity gave Mr. Masih in his research: “New songs are sensational and enthusiastic”; “lack of teaching about psalms”; “people do not realize the value and need of psalms”; “people do not want to hear negative teaching or pronouncements”; “attractive new tunes of new songs”; “people neither know the old tunes of most of [the] psalms nor can they relate to them.”

Despite the questions these statements raise about the future, psalms continue to be used today by Pakistani Christians both in private meditation and corporate prayer and praise. And, according to Mr. Masih’s findings, the cross-denominational singing of the Psalms lends a sense of “common heritage” among the Pakistani churches. “[Pakistani] churches have a special attachment to the Psalms in this regard, perhaps differently from the other parts of the world.”

As a Christian living in one of those “other parts of the world,” where a “special attachment to the Psalms in this regard [i.e., their singing]” is shared, I found it refreshing to read this research. It is an encouragement to see a living testimony to the ongoing blessing of psalm singing in a branch of the church as culturally removed from us as Pakistan.

Notwithstanding the new questions facing psalmody in that land and our own lands, it is a blessing to rise each Lord’s Day to sing the Psalms knowing that brothers and sisters all over the world—including in Pakistan—are singing the same praises shoulder-to-shoulder with us. Certainly such unified praise is not the only reason for singing psalms as we do, but it is a part of their unique blessing.

What a delight it is when the church sings from her ecumenical hymnal! Let us remember, and pray for, our brothers and sisters in Pakistan.

This article is based on original research by Mahboob Masih. Dr. Michael LeFebvre is pastor of Christ Church (Indianapolis, Ind.) RPC.