Two Early Hymns

https://www.thefirsthymnmovie.com/

There has been a great deal of excitement recently about an early Christian hymn dated circa the third century AD. My immediate impression was that it must be a relatively new discovery. However, upon further reading I realized that the discovery was not so new. Nevertheless, it was quite fascinating.
 
Here are some brief thoughts on the discovery of what has been coined The First Hymn.

The actual document was found in an archeological dig at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, in 1918. The document was made public in 1922. While scholars did know of it before now, its discovery is now being elevated by a documentary and a reworking of the hymn into a contemporary piece of music.[1]
 
The original document is made of papyrus, and, as the picture below indicates, it is actually a small fragment of a larger piece of papyrus. Its official designation is P. Oxy. XV 1786.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:POxy_1786.jpg

For an impressive and highly technical analysis of the text, see Charles H. Cosgrove, An Ancient Christian Hymn with Musical Notation: Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1786: Text and Commentary (Mohr Siebeck, 2011).[2]
 
A technical rendering of the text can be seen here:[3]
 
A modern rendering of the ancient hymn by Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding reads:
 
Let all be silent, the shining stars not sound forth,
All rushing rivers be stilled
As we sing our hymn to the Father, Son, the Holy Spirit,
As all powers cry out in answer:
Amen, Amen, might, praise, and glory forever
To our God, the only giver of all good gifts.
Amen. Amen.[4]
 
What I find most interesting is that it is a fragment of a Christian hymn written in Greek for an Egyptian Christian community. And what is even more interesting for some is the praise rendered to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Of course, the doctrine of the Trinity would be more formally developed, defined, and defended in subsequent councils. Yet before those councils ever existed there were formulations such as this that pointed to a Triune God.
 
While the current interest may be overstating the significance of the find, there is no doubt that such a discovery of a century ago is a welcome addition to our knowledge of the church's worship and liturgy, its theological formulations, and spread of the faith in Egypt.

• A Second Early Hymn

 
While we are on the subject of early hymns, another early Christian hymn that is not too far off in dating from P. Oxy. XV 1786 is in the Apostolic Constitutions (c.380 AD). That ancient document was filled with wide-ranging instructions for the church and its leaders but also included a hymn that is still used today.
 
The hymn is called Phos Hilaron and is to be sung in the evening.[5] In fact, its usage is widespread among Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches. Here is one rendering, but there are many more – see here.
 
O Light gladsome of the holy glory of the Immortal Father,
having come upon the setting of the sun, having seen the light of the evening,
Worthy it is at all times to praise you in joyful voices,

This too has been put to music, for instance see this beautiful rendering.[6]

[1] https://www.thefirsthymnmovie.com
[2] https://books.google.ca/books?id=t9eWOhrG4qMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyrhynchus_hymn
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTyJu9lyVk
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phos_Hilaron
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlemfvr_GaY