We have in our books to-day a song which the Crusaders sang on their way to the Holy Land. Here is the translation of the first stanza. It is beautiful in its simplicity:

"Fairest Lord Jesus

Ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son!

Thee will I cherish,

Thee will I honor,

Thee my soul's glory, joy and crown."

Marching through the forests and fields of Europe, the army must have appreciated the imagery of the second stanza:

Fair are the woodlands,

Fair are the meadows,

Clothed in the blooming garb of spring;

Jesus is fairer,

Jesus is purer,

Who makes the woeful heart to sing."

To the thirteenth century belongs the Dies Iræ, "the sublimest Latin hymn of the Church."

All during the Middle Ages Christ's second coming was expected at any time. In the year 1000 the belief that His advent would be soon was so general that men sold their property and gave up their business. This being the case, it was no wonder that the monks dwelt upon it in

their meditations, and made it the subject of some of their hymns. This one calls the Judgment the "Day of Wrath," and pictures the terror with which the day will be attended for the wicked:

"What the fear, what the quaking,
When the Judge His way is taking,
Strictest search in all things making!"

A translator, Dr. Coles, says, "Every line weeps. Under every word and syllable a living heart throbs and pulsates." A large part of the poem is a plea for mercy in view of that day:

"Vengeance, Lord, be then Thy mission;
Now of sin grant free remission
Ere that day of inquisition!”

Dr. Samuel Johnson could not read the hymn without bursting into tears. Hardened sinners have been deeply affected by it. "Indeed it stands alone in its power over the mind." There is another Latin hymn on the Judgment which calls it a day of light, and describes the joys of the righeous. It begins:

"Lo, the day, the day of life,

Day of unimagined light."

There are several hymns which are so ancient that their origin and authorship are lost.

Among these is the "Te Deum Laudamus." Some one has beautifully said, "The Te Deum is the shrine round which the Church has sung her joys for centuries." The ritual of the Roman Catholic Church requires that it be used in the three supreme acts of solemn worship,-the consecration of a bishop, the coronation of a king, and the consecration of a virgin. Three-fourths of the words are Scripture, which gives it more the form of an anthem than of a hymn for congregational singing.

The "Gloria in Excelsis" is the most ancient doxology of the Church. It may have been the angels' song originally, to which the prayer was added. In this form it has been used for agesperhaps since the first century. The English poet Bede tells us that it has been used by the Oriental, Latin, and Anglican Churches, and that it was introduced into the Latin Church as early as the reign of Hadrian. It is now used in nearly all the Churches in the communion service.

Another hymn deserves mention, and that is the "Veni Creator Spiritus." Who wrote it no one knows. Some authorities claim that it is the work of Gregory the Great; others favor Charlemagne as the author. Whoever wrote it, all agree that it is a great hymn. It was the earliest Pentecostal hymn of the Church, and as such marks the beginning of her worship of the Holy

Spirit as God, after a long contest. "But that battle had rolled away; not even its most distant echoes are heard in the hymn; and the 'Veni Creator Spiritus' is not a battle-song, not even one of victory, but of praise and triumph in the enjoyment of the fruits of victory."

A striking characteristic of the earliest hymns of the Church is that they are songs of Christ. To their writers Christ seems to have been a living person, whom they knew and loved, in whose companionship they delighted, and whose face they could almost see.

CHAPTER II.

Hymns of the Reformation.

THE fate of Protestantism was hanging in the balance. Charles V had come to the throne with the avowed purpose of rooting out the heresy. Before his coronation he sent forth a letter summoning the States of Germany to a Diet at Augsburg. The language of this letter was very conciliatory, as will be seen by the following extract:

"Let us put an end to all discord. Let us renounce our antipathies. Let us offer to our Savior the sacrifice of all our errors. Let us make it our business to comprehend and weigh with meekness the opinions of others. Let us annihilate all that has been said on both sides contrary to right, and let us seek after Christian truth."

The Protestants were not deceived, however; they knew that, little by little, they would be forced to surrender their faith. To prevent this and to strengthen their position, the four great