The Story of Our Hymns

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Title: The Story of Our Hymns

Author: Ernest Edwin Ryden

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Language: English

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The

Story of Our Hymns

by

ERNEST EDWIN RYDEN

PASTOR OF GLORIA DEI LUTHERAN CHURCH

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

AUGUSTANA BOOK CONCERN

ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS

Copyright 1930

by

Augustana Book Concern

First Edition, December, 1930

Second Edition, April, 1931

AUGUSTANA BOOK CONCERN

ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS

[4]

To the Sweet Memory

of Our Bonnie Boy

Richard Edward Ryden

Who at the Age of Ten Years Went

Home to Sing with the

Angels.

He is not dead: he only sleeps,

Safe in the arms of Him who keeps

His lambs secure from earth’s alarm,

From grief and sin and foes that harm.

He is not dead: he is at rest,

Content upon his Saviour’s breast;

Dear little child, we loved you so,

But Jesus loved you more, we know.

He is not dead: the Shepherd came

To call His little lamb by name;

The gentle Shepherd watch will keep,

While His beloved child doth sleep.

He is not dead: by angel bands

Now welcomed to the heavenly lands,

With theirs a childish voice shall sing

Hosannas to the children’s King.

He is not dead: though tears may flow,

Faith whispers: It is better so.

With joy we’ll meet on that fair shore,

Where God’s own children weep no more.

[5]

FOREWORD

The hymn lore of the Christian Church offers a fascinating field for profitable research and study. To know the hymns of the Church is to know something of the spiritual strivings and achievements of the people of God throughout the centuries. Henry Ward Beecher has well said: Hymns are the jewels which the Church has worn, the pearls, the diamonds, the precious stones, formed into amulets more potent against sorrow and sadness than the most famous charm of the wizard or the magician. And he who knows the way that hymns flowed, knows where the blood of true piety ran, and can trace its veins and arteries to the very heart.

This volume has been inspired by a desire on the part of the author to create deeper love for the great lyrics of the Christian Church. In pursuing this purpose an effort has been made to present such facts and circumstances surrounding their authorship and composition as will result in a better understanding and appreciation of the hymns themselves.

A hymn is a child of the age in which it was written. For this reason the author has followed a chronological arrangement in an endeavor, not only to set forth the historical background of the hymns, but also to trace the spiritual movements within the Church that gave them birth.

The materials contained in this volume have been gathered from sources too numerous to mention here. The author feels a special sense of gratitude for information drawn from David R. Breed’s The History and Use of Hymns and Hymn-Tunes, Edward S. Ninde’s "The Story of the American [6] Hymn, and John Julian’s monumental work, Dictionary of Hymnology." No claim is made to originality, except in the manner of presentation and interpretation. A popular style has been adopted in order to appeal to the lay reader.

Thus we send forth this book with the earnest prayer that it may inspire many hearts to sing with greater devotion the praises of Him who redeemed us with His blood and made us to be kings and priests unto God.

Ernest Edwin Ryden.

St. Paul, Minnesota, November 14, 1930.

[7]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: EARLY CHRISTIAN HYMNODY The Early Christian Chants 13 Greek and Syriac Hymns 19 The Rise of Latin Hymnody 25 An Ancient Singer Who Glorified the Cross 31 The Golden Age of Latin Hymnody 35 PART II: GERMAN HYMNODY Martin Luther, Father of Evangelical Hymnody 43 The Hymn-Writers of the Reformation 53 Hymnody of the Controversial Period 59 The King and Queen of Chorales 65 Hymns of the Thirty Years’ War 69 A Hymn Made Famous on a Battle Field 77 The Lutheran Te Deum 81 Paul Gerhardt, Prince of Lutheran Hymnists 85 Joachim Neander, the Paul Gerhardt of the Calvinists 93 A Roman Mystic and Hymn-writer 99 Hymn-writers of the Pietist School 103 The Württemberg Hymn-writers 111 How a Great Organist Inspired Two Hymnists 117 Gerhard Tersteegen, Hymn-writer and Mystic 123 Zinzendorf and Moravian Hymnody 127 Two Famous Hymns and some Legends 131 Hymnody in the Age of Rationalism 135 Hymns of the Spiritual Renaissance 141 PART III: SCANDINAVIAN HYMNODY The Swedish Reformers and Their Hymns 149 A Hymn-Book That Failed 155 David’s Harp in the Northland 161 The Golden Age of Swedish Hymnody 169 The Fanny Crosby of Sweden and the Pietists 177 Kingo, the Poet of Easter-Tide 185 Brorson, the Poet of Christmas 191 Grundtvig, the Poet of Whitsuntide 197 Landstad, a Bard of the Frozen Fjords 203 PART IV: ENGLISH HYMNODY The Dawn of Hymnody in England 209 Isaac Watts, Father of English Hymnody 215 Doddridge: Preacher, Teacher, and Hymnist 221 Wesley, The Sweet Bard of Methodism 225 A Great Hymn that Grew out of a Quarrel 233 The Bird of a Single Song 239 England’s First Woman Hymnist 245 A Slave-trader Who Wrote Christian Lyrics 249 An Afflicted Poet Who Glorified God 253 An Irish Poet and His Hymns 259 The Hymn Legacy of an English Editor 263 Heber, Missionary Bishop and Hymnist 269 An Invalid Who Blessed the World 275 How Hymns Helped Build a Church 279 A Famous Hymn by a Proselyte of Rome 285 Henry Francis Lyte and His Swan Song 291 Sarah Adams and the Rise of Women Hymn-writers 297 A Hymn Written in a Stage-coach 301 An Archbishop’s Wife Who Wrote Hymns 305 Bonar, the Sweet Singer of Scotland 311 Two Famous Translators of Ancient Hymns 317 Baring-Gould and His Noted Hymn 323 Frances Ridley Havergal, the Consecration Poet 327 A Unitarian Who Gloried in the Cross 333 A Model Hymn by a Model Minister 337 Matheson and His Song in the Night 341 Part V: AMERICAN HYMNODY The Beginning of Hymnody in America 347 America’s First Woman Hymnist 353 Thomas Hastings, Poet and Musician 359 Francis Scott Key, Patriot and Hymnist 363 America’s First Poet and His Hymns 367 The Hymn-writer of the Muhlenbergs 371 The Lyrics of Bishop Doane 375 The Quaker Poet as a Hymn-writer 379 America’s Greatest Hymn and Its Author 383 Samuel Smith, a Patriotic Hymn-writer 389 Two Famous Christmas Hymns and Their Author 395 Harriet Beecher Stowe and Her Hymns 399 A Hymn Written on Two Shores 407 A Hymn That Grew out of Suffering 411 A Famous Hymn Written for Sailors 415 A Tragedy That Inspired a Great Hymn 419 Anna Warner and Her Beautiful Hymns 423 Phillips Brooks and His Carols 427 Women Who Wrote Hymns for Children 431 Fanny Crosby, America’s Blind Poet 435 One of America’s Earliest Gospel Singers 441 The Lyrist of Chautauqua 445 Gladden’s Hymn of Christian Service 449 A Hymn with a Modern Message 453 A Lutheran Psalmist of Today 457 Survey of American Lutheran Hymnody 463 Index of Notable Hymns 471 Alphabetical Index of Hymns and Sources 477 Authors’ and General Index 493 Bibliography 503

[11]

PART I

Early Christian Hymnody

[12]

The Angelic Hymn

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

[13]

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHANTS

The first Christians sang hymns. The Saviour went to His passion with a song on His lips. Matthew and Mark agree that the last act of worship in the Upper Room was the singing of a hymn. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives.

How we wish that the words of that hymn might have been preserved! Perhaps they have. Many Biblical scholars believe that they may be found in the so-called Hallel series in the Psaltery, consisting of Psalms 113 to 118 inclusive. It was a practice among the Jews to chant these holy songs at the paschal table. Fraught as they were with Messianic hope, it was fitting that such a hymn should ascend to the skies in the hour when God’s Paschal Lamb was about to be offered.

The Christian Church followed the example of Jesus and His disciples by singing from the Psaltery at its worship. Paul admonished his converts not to neglect the gift of song. To the Ephesians he wrote: Be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. And his exhortation to the Colossians rings like an echo: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.

The praying and singing of Paul and Silas in the midnight gloom of the Philippian dungeon, their feet being made [14] fast in the stocks, also is a revelation of the large place occupied by song in the lives of the early Christians.

The double reference of the Apostle to psalms, hymns and spiritual songs would indicate that the Christian Church very early began to use chants and hymns other than those taken from the Psaltery. The younger Pliny, in 112 A.D., wrote to Emperor Trajan from Bithynia that the Christians came together before daylight and sang hymns alternately (invicem) to Christ as God.

These distinctively Christian chants were the Gloria in Excelsis, or the Angelic Hymn, so called because its opening lines are taken from the song of the angels at Jesus’ birth; the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise; the Benedictus, the song of Zacharias, father of John the Baptist; and the Nunc Dimittis, the prayer of the aged Simeon when he held the Christ-child in his arms. Other chants that were used very early in the Christian Church included the Ter Sanctus, based on the thrice holy of Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8; the Gloria Patri, or Lesser Doxology; the Benedicite, the Song of the Three Hebrew Children, from the Apocrypha; and the Te Deum Laudamus, which is sometimes regarded as a later Latin chant, but which undoubtedly was derived from a very ancient hymn of praise.

Eminent Biblical scholars believe that fragments of other primitive Christian hymns have been preserved in the Epistles of Paul and in other portions of the New Testament. Such a fragment is believed to be recorded in 1 Timothy 3:16:

[15]

He who was manifested in the flesh,

Justified in the spirit,

Seen of angels,

Preached among the nations,

Believed on in the world,

Received up in glory.

The faithful saying to which Paul refers in 2 Timothy 2:11 also is believed to be a quotation from one of these hymns so dear to the Christians:

If we died with Him,

We shall also live with Him:

If we endure,

We shall also reign with Him:

If we shall deny Him,

He will also deny us:

If we are faithless,

He abideth faithful;

For He cannot deny Himself.

It will be noted how well these passages adapt themselves to responsive, or antiphonal, chanting, which was the character of the ancient Christian songs. Other passages that are believed to be fragments of ancient hymns are Ephesians 5:14; 1 Timothy 6:15, 16; James 1:17, and Revelation 1:5-7.

There are strong evidences to support the claim that responsive singing in the churches of Asia Minor was introduced during the latter part of the first century by Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, a pupil of the Apostle John. The Gloria in Excelsis was used in matin services about this time, while the Magnificat was sung at vespers. Ignatius suffered martyrdom about 107 A.D. by being torn to pieces by lions in the circus as a despiser of the gods.

[16]

Liturgies also were employed very early in the worship of the Christian Church. An ancient service known as the Jerusalem liturgy was ascribed to the Apostle James, while the so-called Alexandrian liturgy claimed as its author Mark, fellow laborer of Paul and companion of Peter. There is much uncertainty surrounding these claims, however.

Both Tertullian and Origen record the fact that there was a rich use of song in family life as well as in public worship.

The singing of the early Christians was simple and artless. Augustine describes the singing at Alexandria under Athanasius as more like speaking than singing. Musical instruments were not used. The pipe, tabret, and harp were associated so intimately with the sensuous heathen cults, as well as with the wild revelries and shameless performances of the degenerate theatre and circus, that it is easy to understand the prejudice against their use in the Christian worship.

A Christian maiden, says Jerome, ought not even to know what a lyre or a flute is, or what it is used for. Clement of Alexandria writes: Only one instrument do we use, viz., the word of peace wherewith we honor God, no longer the old psaltery, trumpet, drum, and flute. Chrysostom expresses himself in like vein: David formerly sang in psalms, also we sing today with him; he had a lyre with lifeless strings, the Church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre, with a different tone, indeed, but with a more accordant piety.

The language of the first Christian hymns, like the language of the New Testament, was Greek. The Syriac tongue was also used in some regions, but Greek gradually attained ascendancy.

[17]

The hymns of the Eastern Church are rich in adoration and the spirit of worship. Because of their exalted character and Scriptural language they have found an imperishable place in the liturgical forms of the Christian Church. As types of true hymnody, they have never been surpassed.

[18]

The Oldest Christian Hymn

Shepherd of tender youth,

Guiding in love and truth

Through devious ways;

Christ, our triumphant King,

We come Thy Name to sing,

And here our children bring

To join Thy praise.

Thou art our holy Lord,

O all-subduing Word,

Healer of strife:

Thou didst Thyself abase,

That from sin’s deep disgrace

Thou mightest save our race,

And give us life.

Ever be near our side,

Our Shepherd and our Guide,

Our staff and song:

Jesus, Thou Christ of God,

By Thine enduring Word,

Lead us where Thou hast trod;

Our faith make strong.

So now, and till we die,

Sound we Thy praises high,

And joyful sing:

Let all the holy throng

Who to Thy Church belong

Unite to swell the song

To Christ our King!

Clement of Alexandria

, about 200 A.D.

[19]

GREEK AND SYRIAC HYMNS

Very soon the early Christians began to use hymns other than the Psalms and Scriptural chants. In other words, they began to sing the praises of the Lord in their own words. Eusebius informs us that in the first half of the third century there existed a large number of sacred songs. Some of these have come down to us, but the authorship of only one is known with any degree of certainty. It is the beautiful children’s hymn, Shepherd of Tender Youth.

Just how old this hymn is cannot be stated with certainty. However, it is found appended to a very ancient Christian work entitled The Tutor, written in Greek by Clement of Alexandria.

Clement, whose real name was Titus Flavius Clemens, was born about 170 A.D. He was one of the first great scholars in the Christian Church. An eager seeker after truth, he studied the religions and philosophical systems of the Greeks, the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Jews.

In the course of time he entered the Catechetical School conducted by Pantaenus at Alexandria, Egypt, and there he became a convert to Christianity. Some years later Clement himself became the head of the institution, which was the first Christian school of its kind in the world. Among the students who received instruction from Clement was the famous Origen, who became the greatest scholar in the ancient Christian church. Another of his pupils was Alexander, afterwards Bishop of Jerusalem, and still later Bishop of Cappadocia.

[20]

One of Clement’s most celebrated works was The Tutor. It was in three volumes. The first book described the Tutor, who is Christ Himself; the second book contained sundry directions concerning the daily life and conduct; and the third, after dwelling on the nature of true beauty, condemned extravagance in dress, on the part of both men and women.

Two poems are appended to this work, the first of which is entitled, A Hymn to the Saviour. This is the hymn known as Shepherd of tender youth.

The Hymn to the Saviour in all the manuscripts in which it is found is attributed to Clement himself, but some critics believe that he was merely quoting it, and that it was written by a still earlier poet. Be that as it may, we do know that, aside from the hymns derived from the Bible, it is the oldest Christian hymn in existence, and it has always been referred to as Clement’s hymn.

Clement was driven from Alexandria during the persecution of Severus in 202 A.D. Of his subsequent history practically nothing is known. It is believed he died about 220 A.D.

A number of other beautiful Greek hymns have come down to us from the same period, but their date and authorship remain in doubt. Longfellow has given us an exquisite translation of one of these in The Golden Legend:

O Gladsome Light

Of the Father immortal,

And of the celestial

Sacred and blessed

Jesus, our Saviour!

Now to the sunset

Again hast Thou brought us;

And seeing the evening

Twilight, we bless Thee,

[21]

Praise Thee, adore Thee,

Father omnipotent!

Son, the Life-giver!

Spirit, the Comforter!

Worthy at all times

Of worship and wonder!

An inspiring little doxology, also by an unknown author, reads:

My hope is God,

My refuge is the Lord,

My shelter is the Holy Ghost;

Be Thou, O Holy Three, adored!

Doctrinal controversies gave the first real impetus to hymn writing in the Eastern church. As early as the second century, Bardesanes, a Gnostic teacher, had beguiled many to adopt his heresy by the charm of his hymns and melodies. His son, Harmonius, followed in the father’s footsteps. Their hymns were written in the Syriac language, and only a few fragments have been preserved.

The Arians and other heretical teachers also seized upon the same method to spread their doctrines. It was not until the fourth century, apparently, that any effort was made by orthodox Christians to meet them with their own weapons. Ephrem Syrus, who has been called the cithern of the Holy Spirit, was the greatest teacher of his time in the Syrian Church, as well as her most gifted hymnist. This unusual man was born in northern Mesopotamia about 307 A.D. His zeal for orthodox Christianity was no doubt kindled by his presence at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., and thenceforth he was ever an eager champion of the faith. Not only did he write hymns and chants, but he trained large choirs to sing them. He exerted a profound influence over the [22] entire Syrian Church, and even today his hymns are used by the Maronite Christians.

The greatest name among the Greek hymnists of this period is Gregory Nazianzen. Born in 325 A.D., the son of a bishop, he was compelled by his father to enter the priesthood at the age of thirty-six years. He labored with much zeal, however, and eventually was enthroned by the Emperor’s own hand as Patriarch of Constantinople. Through the machinations of the Arians he was later compelled to abdicate his office, whereupon he retired to his birthplace. Here he spent the last years of his life in writing sacred poetry of singular beauty and lofty spirit.

Another of the important writers of the early Greek period was Anatolius. Concerning this man very little is known except that he lived in the seventh or eighth century. He has left about one hundred hymns, among them, at least three that are still in common use, Fierce was the wild billow, The day is past and over, and A great and mighty wonder. This last is a little Christmas hymn of unusual charm. His description of the storm of Galilee is one of the classics of Greek hymnology:

Fierce was the wild billow,

Dark was the night;

Oars labored heavily,

Foam glimmered white;

Trembled the mariners,

Peril was nigh;

Then said the God of God,

Peace! It is I.

To John of Damascus, who died about 780 A.D., we are indebted for two of the most popular Easter hymns in use [23] today, namely, The day of resurrection and Come, ye faithful, raise the strain. Further reference to these will be found in the chapter on the great translator of Greek and Latin hymns, John Mason Neale.

When John of Damascus forsook the world and left behind him a brilliant career to enter a monastery founded in 520 A.D., by St. Sabas, he took with him his ten-year-old nephew, Stephen. The boy grew up within the walls of this cloister, which is situated in one of the deep gorges of the brook Kedron, near Bethlehem, overlooking the Dead Sea. Stephen, who came to be known as the Sabaite, was likewise a gifted hymnist, and it is he who has given us the hymn made famous by Neale’s translation: Art thou weary, art thou languid? Stephen died in 794 A.D.

The last name of importance among the great hymn-writers of the Greek Church is that of Joseph the Hymnographer, who lived at Constantinople in the ninth century. It is he who wrote the hymn on angels for St. Michael’s Day:

Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright,

Filled with celestial resplendence and light,

These that, where night never followeth day,

Raise the Thrice Holy, Lord! ever and aye.

As early as the fourth century the Council of Laodicea had decreed that besides the appointed singers, who mount the ambo, and sing from the book, others shall not sing in the church. How far this rule may have discouraged or suppressed congregational singing is a subject of dispute among historians. However, it is a matter of record that hymnody suffered a gradual decline in the Eastern division of the Christian Church and eventually assumed more of a liturgical character.

[24]

An Ambrosian Advent Hymn

Come, Thou Saviour of our race,

Choicest Gift of heavenly grace!

O Thou blessed Virgin’s Son,

Be Thy race on earth begun.

Not of mortal blood or birth,

He descends from heaven to earth:

By the Holy Ghost conceived,

God and man by us believed.

Wondrous birth! O wondrous child

Of the virgin undefiled!

Though by all the world disowned,

Still to be in heaven enthroned.

From the Father forth He came,

And returneth to the same;

Captive leading death and hell—

High the song of triumph swell!

Equal to the Father now,

Though to dust Thou once didst bow,

Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;

When shall we its glories see?

Brightly doth Thy manger shine!

Glorious in its light divine:

Let not sin o’ercloud this light,

Ever be our faith thus bright.

Aurelius Ambrose

(340-397 A.D.)

[25]

THE RISE OF LATIN HYMNODY

The first hymns and canticles used in the Western churches came from the East. They were sung in their original Greek form. It was not until the beginning of the fourth century that any record of Latin hymns is found. Isadore of Seville, who died in the year 636 A.D., tells us that Hilary of Gaul, bishop of Poitiers, was the first who flourished in composing hymns in verse. Hilary, who died in the year 368, himself records the fact that he brought some of them from the East. His most famous Latin hymn is Lucis largitor splendide.

The father of Latin hymnody, however, was the great church father, Aurelius Ambrose, bishop of Milan. It was he who taught the Western Church to glorify God in song. Concerning this remarkable bishop, Mabillon writes:

St. Ambrose took care that, after the manner of the Eastern Fathers, psalms and hymns should be sung by the people also, when previously they had only been recited by individuals singly, and among the Italians by clerks only.

The father of Ambrose was prefect of the Gauls, and it is believed that the future bishop was born at Treves about 340 A.D. The youthful Ambrose, like his father, was trained for government service, and in 374 A.D. he was appointed Consular of Liguria and Aemilia. During the election of a bishop in Milan, a bitter conflict raged between the orthodox Christians and the Arians, and Ambrose found it necessary to attend the church where the election was taking place in order to calm the excited assembly.

[26]

According to tradition, a child’s voice was heard to cry out in the church, Ambrosius! This was accepted at once by the multitude as an act of divine guidance and the whole assembly began shouting, Ambrose shall be our bishop! Ambrose had been attracted to the Christian religion but as yet had not received baptism. He therefore protested his election and immediately fled from the city. He was induced to return, however, was baptized, and accepted the high office for which he had been chosen.

The story of his subsequent life is one of the most remarkable chapters in the annals of the early Christian Church. Selling all his possessions, he entered upon the duties of his bishopric with such fervent zeal and untiring devotion that his fame spread far and wide. He early recognized the value of music in church worship and immediately took steps to introduce congregational singing. He was the author of a new kind of church music, which, because of its rhythmical accent, rich modulation, and musical flow, made a powerful appeal to the emotions. Withal, because it was combined with such artless simplicity, it was easily mastered by the common people and instantly sprang into great popularity. By the introduction of responsive singing he also succeeded in securing the active participation of the congregation in the worship.

Empress Justina favored the Arians and sought to induce Ambrose to open the church of Milan for their use. When Ambrose replied with dignity that it did not behoove the state to interfere in matters of doctrine, soldiers were sent to enforce the imperial will. The people of Milan, however, rallied around their beloved bishop, and, when the soldiers surrounded the church, Ambrose and his congregation were singing and praying. So tremendous was [27] the effect of the song that the soldiers outside the church finally joined in the anthems. The effort to compel Ambrose to yield proved fruitless, and the empress abandoned her plan.

Augustine, who later became the most famous convert of Ambrose, tells of the great impression made on his soul when he heard the singing of Ambrose and his congregation. In his Confessions he writes: How mightily I was moved by the overwhelming tones of Thy Church, my God! Thy voices flooded my ears, Thy truth melted my heart, the sacred fires of worship were kindled in my soul, my tears flowed, and a foretaste of the joy of salvation was given me. Ambrose himself has left us this testimony: They say that people are transported by the singing of my hymns, and I confess that it is true.

Ambrose was no respecter of persons. Although he was a warm friend of the Emperor Theodosius, he denounced the latter’s cruel massacre of the people of Thessalonica, and, when Theodosius came to the church of Ambrose to worship, he was met at the door by the brave bishop and denied admittance.

Do you, he cried, who have been guilty of shedding innocent blood, dare to enter the sanctuary?

The emperor for eight months refrained from communion; then he applied for absolution, which was granted him after he had done public penance. He also promised in the future never to execute a death sentence within thirty days of its pronouncement.

It was at Milan that the pious Monica experienced the joy of seeing her tears and prayers answered in the conversion of her famous son, Augustine. The latter, who had come to Milan in the year 384 as a teacher of oratory, [28] was attracted at first by the eloquence of Ambrose’s preaching. It was not long, however, before the Word of God began to grip the heart of the skeptical, sensual youth. At length he was induced to begin anew the study of the Scripture, and his conversion followed. It was on Easter Sunday, 387 A.D., that he received the rite of holy baptism at the hands of Bishop Ambrose. There is a beautiful tradition that the Te Deum Laudamus was composed under inspiration and recited alternately by Ambrose and Augustine immediately after the latter had been baptized. However, there is little to substantiate this legend, and it is more likely that the magnificent hymn of praise was a compilation of a later date, based on a very ancient Greek version.

As Athanasius was the defender of the doctrine of the Trinity in the East, so Ambrose was its champion in the West. It is natural, therefore, that many of the hymns of Ambrose center around the deity of Christ. There are at least twelve Latin hymns that can be ascribed with certainty to him. Perhaps his best hymn is Veni, Redemptor gentium, which Luther prized very highly and which was one of the first he translated into German. The English translation, Come, Thou Saviour of our race, is by William R. Reynolds. Another Advent hymn, Now hail we our Redeemer, is sometimes ascribed to Ambrose.

The beloved bishop, whose life had been so stormy, passed peacefully to rest on Easter evening, 397 A.D. Thus was seemingly granted beautiful fulfilment to the prayer Ambrose utters in one of his hymns:

Grant to life’s day a calm unclouded ending,

An eve untouched by shadows of decay,

The brightness of a holy deathbed blending

With dawning glories of the eternal day.

[29]

While Ambrose was defending the faith and inditing sacred songs at Milan, another richly-endowed poet was writing sublime Latin verse far to the West. He was Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, the great Spanish hymnist. Of his personal history we know little except that he was born 348 A.D. in northern Spain, probably at Saragossa.

In early life he occupied important positions of state, but in his latter years he retired to a monastery. Here he exercised his high poetic gifts in writing a series of sacred Latin poems. He was preeminently the poet of the martyrs, never ceasing to extol their Christian faith and fortitude. Bentley called Prudentius the Horace of the Christians. Rudelbach declared that his poetry is like gold set with precious stones, and Luther expressed the desire that the works of Prudentius should be studied in the schools.

The finest funeral hymn ever written has come to us from the pen of this early Spanish bard. It consists of forty-four verses, and begins with the line, Deus ignee fons animarum. It is sometimes referred to as the song of the catacombs. Archbishop Trench of England called this hymn the crowning glory of the poetry of Prudentius, and another archbishop, Johan Olof Wallin, the great hymnist of Sweden, made four different attempts at translating it before he produced the hymn now regarded as one of the choicest gems in the Psalm-book of his native land.

An English version, derived from the longer poem, begins with the stanza:

Despair not, O heart, in thy sorrow,

But hope from God’s promises borrow;

Beware, in thy sorrow, of sinning,

For death is of life the beginning.

[30]

A Prophetic Easter Hymn

Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say,

Hell today is vanquished, heaven is won today.

Lo, the Dead is living, God for evermore!

Him, their true Creator, all His works adore.

Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say.

Maker and Redeemer, Life and Health of all,

Thou from heaven beholding human nature’s fall,

Thou of God the Father, true and only Son,

Manhood to deliver, manhood didst put on.

Hell today is vanquished; heaven is won today!

Thou, of life the Author, death didst undergo,

Tread the path of darkness, saving strength to show;

Come then, True and Faithful, now fulfil Thy word;

’Tis Thine own third morning: rise, O buried Lord!

Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say.

Loose the souls long prisoned, bound with Satan’s chain;

All that now is fallen raise to life again;

Show Thy face in brightness, bid the nations see;

Bring again our daylight; day returns with Thee!

Welcome, happy morning! Heaven is won today!

Venantius Fortunatus

(530-609 A.D.)

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AN ANCIENT SINGER WHO GLORIFIED THE CROSS

The joyous, rhythmical church-song introduced by Bishop Ambrose made triumphant progress throughout the Western Church. For three centuries it seems to have completely dominated the worship. Its rich melodies and native freshness made a strong appeal to the human emotions, and therefore proved very popular with the people.

However, when Gregory the Great in 590 A.D. ascended the papal chair a reaction had set in. Many of the Ambrosian hymns and chants had become corrupted and secularized and therefore had lost their ecclesiastical dignity. Gregory, to whose severe, ascetic nature the bright and lively style of Ambrosian singing must have seemed almost an abomination, immediately took steps to reform the church music.

A school of music was founded in Rome where the new Gregorian liturgical style, known as Cantus Romanus, was taught. The Gregorian music was sung in unison. It was slow, uniform and measured, without rhythm and beat, and thus it approached the old recitative method of psalm singing. While it is true that it raised the church music to a higher, nobler and