Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; To yourselves. (Colossians 3:16) Hence, arose the antiphonal or responsive chanting of which Pliny writes to Trains: 'They are wont on a fixed day to meet before daylight (to avoid persecution) and to recite a hymn among themselves by turns, to Christ as if God.' The Spirit gives true wine a spurious eloquence.
Psalms - generally accompanied by an instrument [Hebrew, mizmowr (H4210)]: carefully arranged.
Hymns, х tªhilliym (H8416)] - in direct praise to God (cf. Acts 16:25; James 5:13). These are not restricted to church-worship, but are to exhilarate Christians in social meetings.
Songs, х oodais (G5603): shir, joyous] - the generic term for lyric pieces: "spiritual" marks their being restricted to sacred subjects, praises of God, exhortations, prophecies, etc. Contrast the "songs," Amos 8:10.
Making melody, х psallontes (G5567)] - 'playing and singing,' with an instrument.
In your heart - not merely with the lips (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:15; Psalms 47:7). The contrast is between the pagan and the Christian practice. Not the drinking gongs of pagan feasts, but psalms and hymns; their accompaniment, not the lyre, but the melody of the heart.
To the Lord. See, Pliny's letter, quoted above: 'to Christ as God.'