New Testaments Hymns and Hymn Singing

Several passages from the New Testament mention hymn singing:

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

-- Matthew 26:30

And do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the holy spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

-- Ephesians 5:18-19

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

-- Colossians 3:16

One other passage from the New Testament (James, v. 13) mentions "singing praise" :

Is there one among you who is suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful: Let him sing praise.

[also see, Instances of 'hymn' and 'singing praises' in the Bible]

Listen to an example of ancient Jewish chant: Psalm 8

Listen to an example of early Christian (Mozarabic) chant: Pater Noster

Listen to an early Christian hymn: Oxyrhincus Hymn

Listen to an Ambrosian hymn: Veni Redemptor Gentium

Hymns and hymn fragments contained in the New Testament (which are not Psalms) are called CANTICLES.

The early Christians maintained the religious practices of their Jewish background. They continued to worship in the Temple and to gather for instruction and discussion in the Synagogue, but there was an increased emphasis upon the sacral meal - now a communal rather than family meal - frequently referred to as the “breaking of bread”. Meanwhile, the process of conversion was carried out in the synagogues and other public places, but the proper ritual gathering of the faithful was the communal meal, which was usually held in the home of some Christian prominent in a particular locality. It is not certain whether every mention in the New Testament of the “breaking of bread”, or of related terms such as “the Lord's supper” , refers to a eucharistic celebration, but certainly many of them do.

The process whereby the Eucharist came to be separated from the evening meal and was celebrated in the morning, preceded by a discrete service of instruction, cannot be traced; it is possible to observe only that this classic pattern is manifested in Justin Martyr's mid-2nd-century description of the Roman Eucharist.

As for the nature of [singing in these communal gatherings], it is generally believed that it consisted of newly created material rather than Old Testament psalms. For example, when Paul said to the Corinthians: “What then, brethren? When you come together each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation” (1 Corinthians xiv.26-7), it seems that he was referring to individual contributions of the congregation. The Corinthians, it is true, were notoriously individualistic in their style of worship, but they differed from other Christians in this respect only by a matter of degree. Many scholars find the New Testament to be permeated with fragments of liturgical hymns, and they consider the CANTICLES of Luke's Gospel (the Magnificat, the Benedictus and the Nunc dimittis) to be complete hymns that were sung in the liturgy of the time.

In addition to the singing of full-length hymns, which would probably have been performed by individuals, the entire congregation must have participated in short acclamations and responses. In the enthusiastic atmosphere of the time, one-word acclamations like “Amen”, “Alleluia” and “Maranatha” must have been common, as well as somewhat longer exclamations such as doxologies or perhaps favorite psalm verses. These were possibly chanted in response to prayers and readings, which themselves might have been declaimed rather than read.

[From New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians  (personal online subscription: $30.00 month.; $295.00 year.) This excellent general resource has several articles containing information on Music (particularly HYMNODY) of the Early Christian Church. Music Ref ML100.N48.]

Many early Christian hymns are actually part of what we now know as New Testament scripture and are so intricately woven with other scripture as to be virtually indistinguishable. Although it is not known exactly which scripture passages of the New Testament were in fact sung as hymns, the forms of these New Testament 'hymns' can be distinguished from other “regular” scripture by the character of the passages, for example Luke, chapters 1-2:

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

-- Luke 1:46-7 (“Magnificat”)

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for He hath visited and redeemed His people.

-- Luke 1: 68 (“Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel”)

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou has prepared before the face of all people:
a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

-- Luke 2: 29-32 (“Nuc Dimittis Servum Tuum”)

Other passages of scripture have a peculiar structure which might imply that they were actually sung:

Awake thou the sleepest and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.

-- Ephesians 5:14

Manifest in flesh,
justified in spirit,
visible to angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up into glory.

-- I Timothy: 3-16

-- The passage contains vocabulary which is different from that of the surrounding context.
-- The passage is written in poetic form, that is, it exhibits rhythmical patterns and careful structure.
-- The content of the passage interrupts the context.
-- The name of the deity is absent and is replaced by a relative clause or a participle.
-- Words are used in the passage which are found nowhere else in the New Testament.
-- The cosmic role of God or Christ is emphasized.
-- Theological concepts and christological doctrine are expressed in exalted and liturgical language.

[Christian D. von Dehsen, “Hymnic Forms in the New Testament,” Reformed Liturgy & Music, 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1984), p. 8.]

A logical question to ask at this point is “where did Luke, Paul, and other writers of the New Testament get these “hymns?” Did they compose them themselves or did they collect them from different sources?” Consider this description in I Corinthians:

What then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.

-- I Cor. 14:26

This passage of scripture implies that perhaps it was common for Christians in the New Testament church to compose or to spontaneously create hymns. It can be assumed that hymn singing was encouraged at all group gatherings. Any one who had a hymn to offer could bring it to the group. These “hymns” were probably not what we have come to know today but more like the joyous “exaltations” of the CANTICLES. The canticles and other early Christian hymns were natural creative expressions of the early Spirit filled Christians. Louis F. Benson calls it, “new-Psalm making.” The idea of a closed Psalter is a relatively new idea. For the early Christians it was natural to add new Psalms (hymns) to the existing body of the Psalms. A characteristic most peculiar of the primitive Christian song (and an overall attitude in general) was the gladness of the singerÕs heart. The predominance of praise. Benson concludes, therefore, that “composing and singing new hymns is not a trivial matter...but [an activity] central to the Christian life.” [from The Hymnody of the Christian Church by Louis F. Benson, New York: George H. Doran Co., 1927].

Also see:

Influence of . . . Jewish Tradition on Early Christian music. . .