Previously we touched briefly on the experience of the Christian church, which began in the spirit of praise and victory, and for three and a half centuries was a singing movement. The church was going forward, although not all areas were in agreement theologically; that is, there were some places where different views on certain doctrines were stressed. We must remember that people did not have the travel facilities or the methods of communication we have today, and it was easy for groups isolated from one another to develop their own interpretation of things. The Christian church has never been completely united in every detail of its doctrine. The enemy of truth was constantly working to bring in heresies, especially in the areas of what we call Christology. Paul speaks of the "falling away," which would lead to the setting up of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 3).
Now, the falling away began even in the days of the apostles. When John wrote to the church probably sixty years after the crucifixion, he tells how one of the leaders of the church would not accept his letterDiotrephes was his name—because he wanted to "have the preeminence" (3 John 9). That strife for first place in the church became more prominent in the years that followed. So we find a definite falling away not only in doctrine but in the real concept and purpose of the church. In order to withstand the influence of heretical teachings as we have already noted, congregational singing was suppressed by actual church decree. As we well remember, the man of sin was ultimately set up, and he ruled for 1,260 years, from 538 to 1798. That brings us down to modern times. The church, of course, was existent all through these centuries, and loyal witnesses were giving their message to the world.
Another way the church sought to protect herself from worldliness was by the monastic movement. That began around the sixth century and became a very strong influence. Now, those were not bad men who separated themselves from their homes and their businesses. They were actually self-sacrificing, devout men who gave their all to the church. Living in the monastery was an isolated existence.
That isolation movement, however, defeated the objectives of the church. Instead of going out into the world to share their faith and win people by their testimony, the monks huddled together and pored over handwritten books. Many important manuscripts were preserved by this means, however, and some wonderful hymns were written by some of these monks. Turn to No. 135 in your Church Hymnal and you will find one of those hymns, written by John of Damascus. He wrote this, you will notice, away back about 750. I am glad that our hymnbook, this latest Church Hymnal, gives us the date when this hymn was written and also the date when the poem was written. John Damascus, as he is called in church history, was born in Damascus c. 700. He died in 754. During that time he made quite a contribution to the church. He had not always been a churchman. Previously he was an important businessman in the city of Damascus. His father was wealthy and was the secretary to the caliph. Later that honor came to John. But he had had enough of the world by that time, so he sought out his old slave tutor who had gone to one of the monasteries.
When John's father was seeking an educated man to become a tutor for his boy, who was at that time 23 years old, he saw in the slave market a fine-looking, educated young man. He bought him with the idea of giving him his freedom, but instead took him into his home, adopted him as his son, and employed him as a tutor. He was actually a Cicilian monk from Italy and was well prepared for such work. He lived in that home for many years, and of course became the foster brother of John. Years afterward he went to Mar Saba in southern Palestine where he spent the rest of his life. A monastery built there was like an eagle's nest on the side of a cliff high above the brook Kidron, about fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. Later, when John was tired of the world he gave away his possessions to the poor and became a poor man himself. He and his nephew, a boy about ten, made their way to this out-of-the-way place. It was there that he really wrote himself into fame. He became quite a theologian, and although we might not agree with all his theology, yet his hymns are beautiful. We have two of them in our book—numbers 135, 136. Notice the beauty and strength of his words. These hymns measure up to every standard of excellence and are among the finest hymns of the Christian church.
Now turn to No. 341. This one, too, comes out of that same monastery, and was written by Stephen, the boy of ten that John took with him to the monastery. Later in the monastery at Mar Saba this boy became the chorister, and he too wrote some fine hymns. This is the only one that has been preserved. For 1,100 years these hymns were locked up in the Greek language. They were on old manuscripts and brought over to England about 1860. About one hundred years ago a man named John Neale, a scholarly gentleman who gave his services to what we would call today a home for senior citizens, translated many hymns from the old manuscripts. Notice the monastic overtones of this hymn:
"Art thou weary, art thou languid, Art thou sore distressed?
'Come to Me,' saith One, 'and coming, Be at rest.'"
Just imagine the men tired of the world and trying to escape its corruption by going into a monastery. There was only one entrance and that was not by a gate—they had to be hauled up with ropes. Imagine one coming and asking for admission. And then from a high window a voice would peal forth. "Are you weary; do you want to find rest? Well, come inside. Rest awaits you here. Come and escape from the world." When you sing that hymn with that kind of background it has more meaning. And it is even richer when sung in an antiphonal arrangement. Let the women singers ask the question and the men give the answer. It is a magnificient hymn. We should sing it more often. The last stanza is a wonderful climax.
We should mention, however, in all fairness that John Neale's translation has actually enriched the poem. But it comes to us spanning twelve centuries, and is as rich as the day it was first written. Such hymns did much to preserve the truth of God during those somber centuries.
