The First Hymn – Chris Tomlin

In the 1890s, a pair of British archaeologists began digging in an ancient rubbish heap in Egypt, looking for a glimpse into the countries past.

They eventually found tens of thousands of documents, written on papyrus and preserved in the desert for centuries, including a fragment containing the music and lyrics to one of the oldest Christian hymns ever found. The song is filled with Christian imagery, with worshippers telling the stars and wind to be silent as they praise God, the giver of all good things. One interesting theological fact   is that it’s a song to the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, pre-dating by a  century  the Nicene Creed,, which among other things established the triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as official Christian doctrine.  

There was also notation found for the lyrics but the melody is hard to today’s church goers to sing.  It’s not the kind of song that would  turn up in a megachurch worship service! However that changed when  a new tune was added by Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding, two of the most popular modern worship songwriters

The song comes from a time when Christians were under persecution in the Roman Empire. Yet they sang with joy about their faith, something that hopefully will inspire modern listeners to stay committed to their faith.