A Christian Hymn by a Pagan Author. the Oldest Christian Hymn

The hymn beginning "Vital spark of heavenly flame," was composed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, or Adrian (76 to 138 A.D.). It was afterward paraphrased by Alexander Pope (1688-1744). Adrian was not only a pagan, but a persecutor of the Christians; yet he was a wise and able ruler, and did much to improve the condition of the people and to elevate the character of the Roman army. Among the great buildings erected by him was a magnificent villa near Tibur, now Tivoli, also his own mausoleum, now the Castle of St. Angelo, in Rome. A true hymn, according to Augustine, must be praise to God in the form of song. The word hymn occurs four times in the New Testament: St. Matt. XXVI., 30; St. Mark XIV., 26; Eph. V., 19; Col. III., 16.

Pliny, in his famous letter to Trajan, 106 or 107 A.D., speaks of hymns being sung to Christ. St. Jerome, three centuries later, says that hymns were sung everywhere, by the plowman in the field and by the workman at the bench. Tertullian (200 A.D.), says: "As every one is able he is invited to sing in public to God out of the Scriptures, or from his own composition," and it was not until the Council of Laodicea, 730 A.D., that the use of these private productions in public worship was forbidden. The "Gloria in Excelsis" and the "Te Deum" are the most illustrious of the many early hymns produced in every language wherein Christian worship was conducted. There is an ancient tradition concerning the origin of the Te Deum. According to this account, that sublimest of hymns was vouchsafed to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, who were inspired to chant it antiphonally, at the very hour when the former, having brought the latter to embrace the true faith, was administering baptism to him in the church at Milan.

At the Reformation a great impulse was given to hymnody, chiefly in Germany, where, under Luther's leadership, many valuable hymns were produced.

But the making and using of hymns on a large scale began with Dr. Isaac Watts, whose "Horae Lyricae" appeared 1705-9; his hymns in 1707, and his psalms in 1719. He is still the largest contributor to every Calvinistic hymn book. The next important era in hymnody opened with Charles Wesley (1708-88), a most fluent and gifted writer of sacred lyrics; he is preeminently "the poet of Methodism." Toplady (1759-76) wrote the hymn "Rock of Ages." The tender and faithful friendship between Newton and Cowper produced the famous "Olney Hymns" (1779). There were many followers of Watts and of Wesley in the eighteenth century, and by them were furnished the materials which supplied the hymnals of that time. The nineteenth century is rich in sacred lyric poetry. The Hymnal now used in the Episcopal Church contains 542 hymns. It appeared in 1871, and was revised in 1874. Probably, properly speaking, the oldest Christian hymn is the one sung by the heavenly host, "Glory to GOD in the Highest" (Luke II., 14), and of which Jeremy Taylor says: "As soon as the blessed Choristers had sung their Christmas carol and taught the Church a hymn to be put into her offices forever on the anniversary of this festivity, the Angels returned into heaven."