Lord’s Day, Vol. 9 No. 23
Doxology (1695)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
- Thomas Ken
Haeussler, in The Story of Our Hymns, describes hymn singing as “an organic part of public worship, and therefore couched in the language of prayer, praise, faith, and self-commitment …” For more than 200 years the four lines of praise quoted above have poured from the hearts and lips of innumerable Christians.
We are told in the book Who Wrote Our Hymns by Christopher Knapp that “the Doxology … has been the death song of martyrs and the paean of victorious armies. When peace was sealed at Appomattox, the Doxology rolled like the voice of mighty thunder from State to State and from ocean to ocean.”
Another writer has said, “It is the most famous and widely used doxologies in the English tongue, sung almost every Sunday in all churches, and on other occasions to give expression to great joy and triumph.” Whenever gratitude for blessing wells in the hearts of people, it seems to find spontaneous expression in this praise to the Trinity.
The word doxology comes from two Greek words – one meaning “opinion, praise, glory,” and the other meaning “to speak”.Although Ken wrote his Doxology as the closing stanza of each of three hymns (“Evening,” “Morning,” and “Midnight”) that he wrote for the devotions of Winchester College students, it has been given a far wider use.
Doxology (1695)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
- Thomas Ken
Haeussler, in The Story of Our Hymns, describes hymn singing as “an organic part of public worship, and therefore couched in the language of prayer, praise, faith, and self-commitment …” For more than 200 years the four lines of praise quoted above have poured from the hearts and lips of innumerable Christians.
We are told in the book Who Wrote Our Hymns by Christopher Knapp that “the Doxology … has been the death song of martyrs and the paean of victorious armies. When peace was sealed at Appomattox, the Doxology rolled like the voice of mighty thunder from State to State and from ocean to ocean.”
Another writer has said, “It is the most famous and widely used doxologies in the English tongue, sung almost every Sunday in all churches, and on other occasions to give expression to great joy and triumph.” Whenever gratitude for blessing wells in the hearts of people, it seems to find spontaneous expression in this praise to the Trinity.
The word doxology comes from two Greek words – one meaning “opinion, praise, glory,” and the other meaning “to speak”.Although Ken wrote his Doxology as the closing stanza of each of three hymns (“Evening,” “Morning,” and “Midnight”) that he wrote for the devotions of Winchester College students, it has been given a far wider use.
The tune to which the Doxology is almost
universally sung is OLD HUNTREDTH. The composer, or perhaps arranger, was Louis Bourgeois (1510-1561), a Frenchman who became a Protestant and moved to Geneva, Switzerland. He made a great contribution to congregational singing in the Reformed churches by composing this particular tune for the French version of Psalm 134 (1551), but we know it as OLD HUNDREDTH because of its with Kethe’s “All People That On Earth Do Dwell,” the paraphrase of Psalm 100 from the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561.
During the Civil War, men in certain prison saw hosts of their number die and be removed, and saw hosts of other men come in to replace them. One night a group of new prisoners arrived. One of them, a young minister, sat down outside; putting his face into his hands, he sobbed uncontrollably. Suddenly, from an upper window he heard a cheerful voice singing, “Praise God, from whom all blessing flow …” At the beginning of each new line, other voices joined in the singing, until finally the whole prison resounded with these heartening words. The young preacher took courage and began to sing, “Prisons would palaces prove/If Jesus would well with me there.” Another interesting story of this hymn regards a cotton famine in Lancashire, England. Unemployment had led to destitution. When a wagonload of cotton finally arrived, the men, in gratitude to the Lord for His goodness, unharnessed the horse, pulled the wagon through the streets, and with tears of joy streaming down their faces, fervently sang, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…”
Carl Price (More Hymn Stories) refers to a time when Charles Wesley was preaching in a tumbled-down house in Leeds. The floor gave way with a crash and threw the entire congregation of a hundred people to a room below. Dust and mortar covered the people, and several were injured. However, no lives were lost. Wesley called out, “The Lord is with us. Let us sing ‘Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.’” Another authority reports that in April 1936, newspapers in Canada and the United States had large headlines of an abandoned-mine disaster in Nova Scottia. Three men – a physician and a lawyer (who had purchased the rights to the mine) and a guide – were exploring the purchase. At the 141 – foot level, a cave-in occurred, cutting off all means of escape. The situation was further complicated by rising waters. Rescue squads managed to force down to the imprisoned men, a pipe through they sent food and a telephone line, and four Salvation Army men furnished food and spiritual encouragement.
These lines of such prolonged use were penned by a man of notable background. Thomas Ken was born in July 1637, at Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire, England. Orphaned early in life, he was reared by a sister, Ann, who was the second wife of Izaak Walton. Ken’s boyhood and conversion experience are passed over by biographers. It is simply noted that he was conscientious and godly. At fifteen, Ken entered Winchester College. Later, he attended Oxford and in 1666 was elected to a fellowship at Winchester College, where his name may still be seen carved on one of the stone pillars. By the time he was twenty-five, Ken launched a preaching career which soared to great heights but which nonetheless was beset by numerous trials.
During a period of service at Winchester Cathedral Ken had refused a request by his monarch. King Charles II was planning a visit to Winchester to check the progress of a new palace under construction. He was to be accompanied by his mistress, Nell Gwynne, and he asked that she be allowed to stay at Ken’s residence. Friends advised Ken to “go along” with the king’s request. Otherwise, they said, Ken might lose his head. But Ken stated firmly, “Not for the king’s kingdom will I do this horrible thing.” And to ensure that it would not happen, Ken called in a builder to repair his residence. The first thing the clever builder did was to take off the roof. When King Charles heard of Ken’s refusal, he marked in his mind, “This man Ken is a man of virtue.” In 1679, King Charles appointed Ken as chaplain to Princess Mary – (who later became the wife of William of Orange).
In 1684 when the sees (church offices) of Bath and Wells became vacant, the king surprised everyone by asking, “Where is the good little man who refused a lodging to poor Nell? I want to bestow upon him these sees.” Declining the usual coronation banquet, Ken gave the allotted money to charity. As chaplain to the king, Ken faithfully sought to lead the monarch to the Lord. Often after one of his deplorable revels, the king would say, “Now I must go and hear good Bishop Ken tell me my faults.” One day Ken preached on the theme of John the Baptist’s warning to Herod Antipas with regard to his sin on taking his brother’s wife. Then, looking directly at the king, Ken made this application: “So you, O king, are also guilty of violating God’s law by openly flaunting your immorality before the British people.” Ken was reminded by a friend that John the Baptist’s boldness cost him his head. Ken calmly replied, “And I would gladly lose mine if it would bring the king to his senses.” Eight days after Ken had become bishop, King Charles suffered a stroke. Immediately he sent for the chaplain. Although some authorities claim that Ken convinced the king to give up his mistress and beg his queen’s forgiveness and that the king “died in the faith”.
Ken’s piety is reflected in this oft-repeated prayer:
Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
He died in 1711, four months before his seventy-fourth birthday. Ken was buried at a simple service in a lowly tomb, his body being borne to the grave by twelve poor men. As a fitting eulogy to this fearless preacher, this benefactor of the poor, this outstanding educator, this famous hymn writer who gave us the most famous four lines in hymnody, it is written: It is something to follow the course of a good man who, amidst the strife parties, is faithful to himself and to his God; who desires not high position, yet accepts it when it falls to his lot, and when conscience forbids him to retain it, can leave it without a wistful look behind.
The next time you sing this great doxology, think of A. Haeussler’s challenge, “Let us put new vitality and spirit into our worship. Let us sing.” Amen.
[Extracted & Edited fromTreasury of Great Hymns and Other Stories – Guye Johnson]
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee