A 3rd Century Song

 

 

Praise ye the Lord, ye servants of the Lord;

Praise ye His name; His lordly honor sing;

Thee we adore; to Thee glad homage bring;

Thee We acknowledge; God to be adored

For Thy great glory, Sovereign, Lord, and King.

Father of Christ - of Him whose work was done,

When by His death He took our sins away - 

To Thee belongeth worship, day by day,

Yea, holy Father, everlasting Son, 

And Holy Ghost, all praise be thine for aye!

-Hymn from the Apostolic Constitutions, translated by George Ratcliffe Woodward

This week I re-started a book called In The Year Of Our Lord by Sinclair Ferguson, which I've mentioned before.  In it, he goes through some significant people and events in the history of the church, covering the highlights of each century since Christ.  It's such an interesting book, and one that I'm in the mood to read especially leading up to Reformation Day!  I never finished it last year, so I'm hoping to make it all the way through by the end of October.

One thing I really appreciate about this book is how he includes writings from each century at the ends of the chapters, and this short song of praise was written in the 3rd century.  Reading this book always gives me a new appreciation for the richness and history of our faith, which I think Protestants can sometimes lose sight of.  When we fall into chasing everything that's current or trendy, we miss out on some of the depth that is to be found in those who came before.  New isn't better, and our God is unchanging - the same in the beginning, the 3rd century, right now, and forever.  I love how reading millennia-old songs of praise to our Lord, written by Christians that passed the faith down through the generations, reminds me of the faithfulness of God to His people.

Happy Sunday, friends!