This hymn is the earliest Christian one extant. It appeared in a book of philosophy, written in Greek, entitled The Tutor. The author was Titus Flavius Clemens (c. 170-c. 220), known as Clement of Alexandria. Born in Athens, he had a very inquiring mind and seriously studied Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish sources in order to discover truth. He moved to Alexandria and, after studying the writings of the early Christian fathers, was converted to Christianity. He became a teacher and later the principal in the Christian school in Alexandria. The purpose of his book was to present Jesus Christ as the perfect tutor and to erect a bulwark against the inroads of paganism. Under the persecution of Christians during the reign of the emperor Lucius Septimius Severus, c. A.D. 203, Clemens fled; he is presumed to have died about the year A.D. 220.

The Tutor included two poems, this one entitled “A Hymn of the Savior.” The complete hymn presents many types of Christ, some of them not found in the Scriptures, for example: Bridle of colts untamed, Wing of wandering birds, Rudder of youth unbending, Shepherd with wisdom tending, Curb of the stubborn steed, Helm for the ships. The four stanzas of the SDAH hymn present Him as King, Lord, Word, High Priest, Guide, Shepherd, and the Christ. The hymn was translated freely from the Greek in 1846 by Henry Martyn Dexter for use in his sermon based on Deuteronomy 32:7: “Remember the days of old,” in which he preached on some prominent characteristics of early Christians.

Dexter was born in Plympton, Massachusetts, on August 13, 1821, and educated at Yale and Andover Theological Seminary. In 1844 he was ordained as a Congregational minister and appointed to Manchester, New Hampshire. He moved to Boston in 1848 and ministered there until 1867, when he became editor of The Congregationalist. His hymn had appeared in this magazine on December 21, 1849. Dexter died in 1890.

KIRBY BEDON, which means “the church near Bedon,” a village near Norwich, Norfolk, England, was composed in 1887 by Edward Bunnett. He was born on June 26, 1834, in Norfolk. He was a chorister in the Norwich Cathedral, then he worked as a deputy organist there, with Zechariah Buck, for 22 years. A good singer also, he sang “Lift Thine Eyes” with the famous Jenny Lind and a Miss Dolby in 1849. For some years he was organist at St. Peter Mancroft, conducted the Norwich Musical Union, and was organist for the Norwich Musical Festivals. He wrote cantatas, hymn tunes, carols, anthems, part-songs, service music, and organ pieces. He died January 5, 1923.

The melody shows an interesting structure-phrases 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 each have a quarter note followed by two eighth notes. Furthermore, phrase 2 is exactly one tone above phrase 1, and phrase 4 is exactly one tone above 5. Then in contrast, phrase 6 ascends, whereas the other phrases mentioned descend. Each one of the four parts has an interesting melody of its own.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.