Matthew 26:30

Verse 30. And when they had sung a hymn] υμνησαντες means, probably, no more than a kind of recitative reading or chanting. As to the hymn itself, we know, from the universal consent of Jewish antiquity, that it was composed of Psalms 113, Psalms 114, Psalms 115, Psalms 116, Psalms 117, and Psalms 118, termed by the Jews הלל halel, from הללו־יה halelu-yah, the first word in Psalms 113. These six Psalms were always sung at every paschal solemnity. They sung this great hillel on account of the five great benefits referred to in it; viz.

1. The Exodus from Egypt, Psalms 114:1.

When Israel went out of Egypt, c.

2. The miraculous division of the Red Sea, Psalms 114:3.

The sea saw it and fled.

3. The promulgation of the law, Psalms 114:4.

The mountains skipped like lambs.

4. The resurrection of the dead, Psalms 116:9.

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

5. The passion of the Messiah, Psalms 115:1.

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, c.

See Schoettgen, Hor. Hebr. p. 231, and my Discource on the nature and design of the Eucharist, 8vo. Lond. 1808.