ears the commission presented its labors in the form of a first
draft. However, it did not meet with universal favor, nor was Wallin
himself satisfied with the result. By this time Wallin's genius had been
revealed so clearly that the commission was moved to charge him with the
entire task of completing the "Psalm-book." He gladly undertook the work
and on November 28, 1816, he was able to report that he had finished his
labors. A few minor changes were subsequently made, but on January 29,
1819, the new hymn-book was officially authorized by King Karl XIV. It
has remained in use until the present day.

Unfortunately, Wallin's hymns have not become generally known outside of
his own native land. It is only in recent years that a number have been
translated into English. One of these is his famous Christmas hymn, which
for more than a century has been sung in every sanctuary in Sweden as a
greeting to the dawn of Christmas day. The first stanza reflects
something of the glory of the Christmas evangel itself:

All hail to thee, O blessed morn!
To tidings long by prophets borne
Hast thou fulfilment given.
O sacred and immortal day,
When unto earth, in glorious ray,
Descends the grace of heaven!
Singing,
Ringing
Sounds are blending,
Praises sending
Unto heaven
For the Saviour to us given.

Although Wallin reverenced the old traditional hymns of the Church in
spite of their many defects in form and language, he was unrelenting in
his demand that every new hymn adopted by the Church should be tested by
the severest classical standards. "A new hymn," he declared, "aside from
the spiritual considerations which should never be compromised in any
way, should be so correct, simple and lyrical in form, and so free from
inversions and other imperfections in style, that after the lapse of a
hundred years a father may be able to say to his son, 'Read the
Psalm-book, my boy, and you will learn your mother tongue!'"

The profound influence which Wallin's hymns have exerted over the Swedish
language and literature for more than a century is an eloquent testimony,
not only to his poetic genius, but also to the faithfulness with which he
adhered to the high standards he cherished.

The charge has sometimes been made that a number of Wallin's hymns are
tinged by the spirit of rationalism. It is true that in his earlier years
the great Swedish hymni