When I was a child, I thought like a child. Sadly, I can’t remember wondering what Jesus sang when He was on earth. The Bible version I used said that at the conclusion of the Last Supper Jesus sang a hymn. I suppose at some point I heard a preacher say that the hymn was one of the Psalms, but to my discredit the thought never registered with me.

There are a lot of children, and plenty of adults, who have never considered what Jesus sang. Some of them know the fact that worshipers like Jesus would have sung the Psalms of Ascent around the time of the Passover, but many people have not meditated on the subject beyond that.

Thank the Lord for saints like Edmund Clowney, who presented the thought to a national audience: Christ sang the Psalms, and we have to be in awe of that! Dr. Clowney encouraged people to stop and ponder that, and to consider the implications for the world and for us.

Dr. Clowney was a member of two of our sister denominations that encourage use of the Psalms in worship. Neither of those denominations sings psalms exclusively by requirement; though there are some churches who do so by conviction, and many others who sing psalms frequently with an understanding that there is nothing better or more blessed.

In our work we have had the privilege of talking with hundreds of psalm singers across many denominations who represent many thousands of church members who sing the Psalms each week with understanding and enthusiasm. In publications of these denominations, we have seen articles that encourage the use of the Psalms in worship.

We’re thankful for those men and women who seek to bless the churches by pointing to the Psalms. In our observations, there is nothing that commends psalmody as much as singing them in worship, and nothing that leads to a conviction of exclusive psalmody like singing them often. The Psalms have a power of their own that needs no additive from us. Clowney writes, “Christ’s songs carry us through the valley of the shadow of death.”

A couple of years ago at the meeting of the RPCNA Synod, some veteran pastors spoke of a need to revisit the doctrine of Christ’s kingship. While that doctrine has figured prominently in our history, they felt that younger generations had not heard the doctrine as well as they should. We at the Reformed Presbyterian Witness felt that we could play a role in sending out the message again, and in stirring thought about how the doctrine applies to our fluid world situation.

For a year and a half De Regno Christi has sought to bring these things to the fore. Pastor Bill Chellis and Pastor Bill Edgar have rendered the magazine and the RPCNA a great service with the monthly features. Perhaps a greater impact has come from the correlary web site, DeRegnoChristi.org. Even as the series in the Witness comes to a close with the next issue, the web site will continue; and that web site has caught the interest of tens of thousands of people for consideration of this important doctrine.