At the threshold of Christianity the student crosses from the literary
environment of the Old Testament into that of the New. But in actual
practice the Hebrew psalms were never given up, and to this day are
treasured in every branch of the faith. In the early centuries they
formed the bulk of Christian hymnody. References to their use appear
throughout the New Testament and are familiar to all. And, moreover, the
influence of the Hebrew psalms upon the composition of new hymns is
apparent even in the Gospels.
Keeping these important facts in mind regarding the psalms, the student
may pass on to other hymnic sources in the Old Testament. Many striking
lyrical passages in the Hebrew scriptures, uttered or perhaps repeated in
moments of emotional fervor, were used by later worshippers to express a
similar attitude toward the Divine.[5] Among these may be cited the Songs
of Moses,
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously (_Ex.
15:1-19_),
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words
of my mouth (_Deut. 32:1-43_);
Hannah's Song of Thanksgiving,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord (_I Sam. 2:1-10_);
the great hymns in the Book of Isaiah,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts (_Isa. 6:3_),
We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and
bulwarks (_Isa. 26:1-21_),
the second part of which begins,
With my soul have I desired thee in the night (_Isa. 26:9-21_);
Jonah's Song,