And a simple doxology:—
"God is my hope,
Christ is my refuge,
The Holy Spirit is my vesture.
Holy Trinity, glory to thee!"
The first name of a hymn-writer which has reached us is that of Clement of Alexandria, who lived toward. the close of the second century. One of his hymns is called, Hymn of the Saviour. But it is recorded by St. Basil that a hymn was well known in the first and second centuries, called, Hail, Gladdening Light! which was sung in the churches at the lighting of the lamps:—
"Hail, Jesus Christ! hail, gladdening light
Of the immortal father's glory bright!
Blessed of all saints beneath the sky,
And of the heavenly company!
"Now, while the sun is setting,
Now, while the light grows dim,
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
We raise our evening hymn.
"Worthy thou, while time shall dure,
To be hymned by voices pure.
Son of God, of life the giver,
Thee the world shall praise forever!"
There were several Syriac hymns at this period. Ephraim Syrus, a [{819}] monk, and deacon of Mesopotamia. wrote, The Children in Paradise, On Palm Sunday, The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, and another, called, The Lament of a Father on the death of his Son, which used to be sung at the funerals of children. Gregory of Nazianzen is the best known of the Greek hymn-writers. There are two hymns to Christ extant by him, and an evening hymn. In one of the hymns to Christ the following passage occurs:—
"Unfruitful, sinful, bearing weeds and thorns,
Fruits of the curse—ah! whither shall I flee?
O Christ, most blessed! bid my fleeting days
Flow heavenward, Christ, sole fount of hope to me!
"The enemy is near—to thee I cling!
Strengthen, oh! strengthen me by might divine;
Let not the trembling bird be from thine altar driven—
Save me—it is thy will, O Christ!—save me, for I am thine."
Gregory's life was spent in a continual conflict with Arianism. At the age of fifty he went to Constantinople, and as all the churches were in the hands of the Arians, he preached in the house of a relative. He was soon subject to persecution, was pelted in the streets, arrested, tried, and with much difficulty acquitted. Ultimately he succeeded; the Arian heresy passed away; the house where he had so faithfully preached became the Church of "Anastasia;" the truth had risen there. But time, though it brought success, had left him a sad, lonely old man. He was made Patriarch of Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius; but he had lost all his dearest relatives, and he threw up his dignity and retired from the world. In that retirement he wrote a beautiful hymn, which sums up his life. We quote the first and last verses:—
"Where are the winged words? Lost in the air.
Where the fresh flower of youth and glory? Gone!
The strength of well-knit limbs? Brought low by care.
Wealth? Plundered. None possess but God alone.
Where those dear parents who my life first gave,
And where that holy twain, brother and sister? In the grave.
"This as thou wilt, the Day will all unite,
Wherever scattered, when thy word is said;
Rivers of fire; abysses without light,
Thy great tribunal, these alone are dread.
And thou, O Christ my King, art fatherland to me—
Strength, wealth, eternal rest, yea all, I find in thee." [Footnote 229]
[Footnote 229: These extracts from translations of Greek hymns are quoted from The Christian Life in Song, where the full versions may be seen.]
St. Andrew of Crete, St. John of Damascus, St. Cosmas, Bishop of Maiuma, and Chrysostom, were amongst the Greek hymn-writers. Their productions are characterized by the greatest simplicity and fervor, reliance upon Christ and love to God being the most prominent topics. We now come to the period of Latin hymns, and we begin with the first or Ambrosian division. The principal writers are Ambrose, Hilary, and St. Prudentius. Augustine, in his Confessions, quotes one of Ambrose's hymns, as having repeated it when lying awake in bed, "Atque ut eram in lecto meo solus, recordatus sum veridicos versus Ambrosii tui: Tu es enim. [Footnote 230 ]