Some groups of Christians hold to exclusive psalmody, that is, they believe that the only songs that may be sung in public worship must come from the canonical Book of Psalms. These Christians have to deal with two passages in particular that on at least a cursory reading seem to command singing more than just the Psalms: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. The latter of these reads:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. [ESV]
In response, the common argument made by exclusive psalmodists is that this entire phrase refers only to the Book of Psalms; for example, by Brian Schwertley.
When we examine the Septuagint, we find that the terms psalm (psalmos), hymn (humnos), and song (odee) used by Paul clearly refers to the Old Testament book of Psalms and not ancient or modern uninspired hymns or songs. ("Exclusive Psalmody: A Biblical Defense," 10–14; see also Michael Bushell, The Songs of Zion)
Psalms have been used exclusively or primarily in worship by some groups since the early church, so I wonder – who was the first Christian writer to make the argument that Paul, in referring to "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," was referring only to the Book of Psalms?