Benedicite or "the song of the three Hebrew children," is a canticle appointed by the rubric of the Church of England to be said or sung at the morning service, instead of the hymn Te Deum, whenever the minister may think fit. It is a paraphrase of the forty-eighth Psalm. In the Book of Common Prayer published under the sanction of Edward VI, it was ordered that the Te Deum should be said daily throughout the year, except in Lent, when the Benedicite was to be used. The minister had no choice according to this appointment; but in the subsequent revision of the Prayer Book, the choice was left to the option of the minister to read the Te Deum or the Benedicite. This hymn was sung as early as the 3d century. Chrysostom speaks of it as sung in all places throughout the world. — Bingham, Orig. Eccles. bk. 14, ch. 11, § 6; Procter, On Common Prayer, p. 224.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More