The God of Abraham Praise
Revisiting the Hebrew Foundations of Christian Hymnody
by Bruce Gleason, Ph.D.

The roots of contemporary Christian worship lie not only in the first century Church, but in both the temple and synagogue service that pre-date it by hundreds of years. Many elements of the synagogue, including the use of prayer, the pulpit, the use of candles and light in general, vestments, and the title of "elders," have found their way into Christian sanctuaries. Also stemming from Judaic tradition are the terms, "Amen," and "Hallelujah," as well as the incorporation of scripture within chanting, singing, and preaching. Consequently, the Christian service that evolved into the Mass, and later into Protestant services, contains elements much older than Christianity.

The words "Jew," and "Judaism," stem from the Hebrew word Yehudah (praise), indicating a strong basis for establishing that the people of God are a people of praise by their very origin. The Apostle Paul reminds believers in Romans 11: 17-24 that Christianity does not supplant Judaism, but rather that Gentile believers are branches grafted into the olive tree, Israel. Therefore, the Jewish practice of song and worship took on this same importance for early believers. Like their Jewish predecessors, early believers did not always have the written word available, so they encouraged scripture memorization through chanting and singing.

Gatherings of early believers and the Jewish form of worship on which they were based, used songs and chants to instruct people theologically. The aspect of singing within Christian worship services stems from the Jewish practice of singing Psalms (from the Hebrew, Tehillim, meaning "Praises") which were the "hymnal" of the early church. Other Old Testament passages set to music included the Song of Moses (Exodus 15) and the Song of Deborah (Judges 5). Because the complete corpus of New Testament books was not circulated until well into the fourth century, services, including the music, were rich in Old Testament scripture, teaching and imagery.

Like twentieth century Church services, today’s Jewish services continue to use music for instruction. One of these chants, The Yigdal (Hebrew for "may he be magnified"), the traditional Hebrew Doxology, is sung at the opening of the morning and the close of the evening service in the synagogue and is based on the Thirteen Articles of Faith set forth in the twelfth-century by Moses Maimonides. A Jewish scholar from Spain, skilled as a philosopher, theologian and physician, Maimonides was perhaps the most influential Jewish scholar of Medieval Europe. The Yigdal was later paraphrased by Daniel ben Judah Dayyam–completing it in 1404. The Yigdal is probably the closest statement to a universal agreement that the Jewish world has affirmed.

Most of Christian hymnody has not had a direct connection to Jewish singing since Gregorian chant, a form which stems from Jewish chant. One exception, however, is the hymn, "The God of Abraham Praise," which is an adaption of the Yigdal for use in Christian worship by Thomas Olivers (1725-1799).

Born in Wales and orphaned at age 4, Olivers was apprenticed to a shoemaker in 1743 and was converted to Christianity through the preaching of George Whitefield at the age of eighteen in Bristol after being driven from his hometown of Tregynon for his "ungodliness." He soon joined the Methodist Society at Bradford-on-Avon and became an evangelist under John Wesley in 1753, traveling 100,000 miles over twenty years and serving for more than a decade as co-editor of Wesley’s Arminian Magazine.

Olivers, like many Londoners–Jewish and Gentiles alike–was drawn to the singing of opera vocalist Meyer Lyon (d. 1796), who was also the cantor at the Great Synagogue, Duke’s Place, London. In 1770, Olivers made a visit to a Sabbath worship service in 1770 to hear Lyon and was so moved by the singing of the Yigdal that he approached the great singer after the service. Lyon graciously provided Olivers with the tune "Leoni" (Latinized name of Lyon) to which Olivers soon adapted the Yigdal text with a Christian emphasis, keeping in tact the focus of the ancient Judaic message.1

By using this ancient melody, Olivers connects modern worshippers not only with their Christian forbearers, but with their Jewish predecessors as well. When the Church separated from the Synagogue, it began a process of being de-Judaized, by adding Western elements including Western musical style. The plaintive eastern modes and chants began to be replaced by hymns in the major mode–the mode of most Western Christian hymns. Consequently, because of its ancient minor-mode Leoni melody, "The God of Abraham Praise" reflects music of the Eastern world and immediately takes Western worshippers to a different time and place. It is not only the text and tradition that connect Christians with their Jewish heritage, it is the flavor of the music itself.

The hymn and tune were originally published soon after their completion as a leaflet with the title, "A Hymn to the God of Abraham," which, after eight editions, was printed in The Gospel Magazine of April, 1775. It has remained a mainstay in Methodist hymnals since 1785 when it was published in The Pocket Hymnal and has since appeared in many Protestant and Catholic hymnals alike.2

In true eighteenth century style, Olivers’ original hymn had twelve stanzas. The stanzas printed here are four that are typically printed in contemporary hymnals. Olivers’ goal in adapting the Hebrew Doxology for Christian worship was to show the connection between the Law and the Gospel–a connection that the Apostle Paul describes in Galatians 3:29: "And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." Olivers portrays this especially in the fourth stanza: "The whole triumphant host give thanks to God on high; / ‘Hail, Father, Son and Holy Ghost!’ They ever cry. / Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays; /All might and majesty are Thine, And endless praise."

By incorporating an ancient melody and text with the Wesleyan love of both Old and New Testament scripture, Olivers reminds us that we continue to worship the God of the Hebrews, and that the message of joy found through Christ and disseminated through the apostles finds its beginnings in the original promise to Father Abraham.

1. Some scholars believe that the melody is an arrangement of an old folk motive common to Jewish, Spanish-Basque, and Russian song and was the basis for Bedrich Smetana’s "The Moldau" in the symphonic tone poem, Ma Vlast. McCutchan, Robert Guy. Our Hymnody, A Manual of the Methodist Hymnal. New York: Abingdon Press, 1937.

2. Another hymn based on the Yigdal, "Praise to the Living God," was adapted by Newton Mann (1836-1926) and Max Landberg (1845-1928) using the same tune and appears in the Union Hymnal for Jewish Worship. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1914, and The Methodist Hymnal. Nashville: The Methodist Publishing Company, 1966.

Additional Resources: Miller, Joseph. Singers and Songs of the Church. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1869; Routley, Erik. A Panorama of Christian Hymnody. Chicago: G.I.A. Publications, Inc. 1979; Smith, James D. 111. "The Hymn Born in a Synagogue." Christian History. 10, 3. 1991; Stulken, Marilyn Kay & Salika, Catherine. Hymnal Companion to Worship–Third Edition.Chicago: GIA Publications, 1998; Rothkoff, Aaron. "Yigdal." Encyclopedia Judaica. Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem. New York: The Macmillan Company. Vol. 16,. p. 832-835. 1971; Wilson, Marvin. Our Father Abraham. Grand Rapids, Mich: W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1989.

Dr. Bruce Gleason is an Assistant Professor of Music Education and Music History at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, and a colleague of Dr. Marvin Wilson, one of the leading pioneers in research into the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Dr. Gleason understands and teaches the historical and theological connections between Christian worship and its foundations in the worship experiences of the ancient Jewish synagogue and temple.

Dr. Gleason may be contacted at: Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Rd., Wenham, MA01984. (978) 927-2300, ext. 4818 bgleason@faith.gordonc.edu

This article was originally published in February, 1999, in Christianity and the Arts magazine, an excellent journal that celebrates the revelation of God through the arts and promotes excellent Christian expression. You may subscribe to Christianity and the Arts ($21/yr) at: P. O. Box 118088, Chicago, IL 60611 (312-642-8606).

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