And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. 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 113:1-9, Psalms 114:1-8, 115, 116, Psalms 117:1-2, and 118, termed by the Jews הלל halel, from הללו־יה halelu-yah, the first word in Psalms 113:1-9. 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, etc.
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, etc.
See Schoettgen, Hor. Hebr. p. 231, and my Discourse on the nature and design of the Eucharist, 8vo. Lond. 1808.