Love those old hymns

I attended a class this evening, the first of a four part series, on the history of hymns.  Here are some facts I found interesting. The oldest hymn in our Presbyterian hymnal was written sometime in the 4th century ad, it's the earliest hymn that still exists "O Gladsome Light".  John Calvin believed that "music should be a funnel pouring God into our hearts." He also didn't approve of instrumental music in church. While Martin Luther, who used familiar folk melodies for some of his hymns, is supposed to have said "Why should the Devil have all the good tunes?"  Presbyterian hymnals have been published at pretty regular intervals from 1831 to 2013 (eight in all) and there are eight hymns that have been in all eight editions: "Abide with Me", "Come Ye Thankful People Come", "Holy, Holy, Holy', "Joy to the World", "Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing".  Oops, I didn't write fast enough to list the other two.