There was a morning hymn; an evening hymn, and a third to be
sung at midnight if sleep didn’t come. All three hymns ended with a common
stanza: “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.”
Ken was born in Little Berkhampstead on the fringes of
greater London. His father was Thomas Ken of Furnival's Inn, an Inn of Chancery, in Somerset; his
mother was the daughter of English poet, John Chalkhill. When his parents died, he was raised by his half sister and her
husband, who enrolled him in Winchester College, an historic boy’s school.
Ken was later ordained to the ministry and returned to Winchester
College as a chaplain. Ken held various church and academic positions. He even
served as chaplain to Princess Mary until he stood firmly against her in “a
case of immorality at the Court.”
In 1646 Ken's stepsister, Anne, married Izaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler, a connection which brought
Ken under the influence of this gentle and devout man.
Ken was a man of conscience and independent mind who did not
avoid conflicts with royalty. In 1680, Ken was appointed chaplain to England’s
King Charles II. It was a thankless job, as Charles kept a variety of
mistresses. Once the king asked to lodge
a mistress in the chaplain’s residence. Thomas rebuked him, saying: “Not for
the King’s Kingdom!” Afterward the king referred to him as “that little man who
refused lodging to poor Nellie.”
Ken’s hymns have by no means been lost today. However, it is
his final verse — our beloved “Doxology” — that has endured. So well-known is
it that it needs no placeholder in our hymnbooks. Christians the world over
simply know it, almost without fail — both Ken’s timeless words and the tune.
Ken did not write the tune, called Old One-Hundredth,
originally designed to accompany the singing of Psalm 134, and later Psalm 100.
It first appeared in the Geneva Psalter in 1551 and was written by Louis
Bourgeois (1510–1561), who served as head of choirs and music, alongside famous
pastor and theologian John Calvin.
A story is told by Bishop McCabe. He said that while the
prisoners of the Union Army during the Civil War were incarcerated in Libby
Prison, day after day they saw comrades passing away and their numbers
increased by living recruits. One night, about ten o’clock, through the
darkness they heard the tramp of feet that soon stopped before the prison door,
until arrangements could be made inside. In the company was a young Baptist
minister, whose heart almost fainted when he looked on those cold walls and
thought of the suffering inside. Tired and weary, he sat down, put his face in
his hands, and wept.
Just then a lone voice sang out from an upper window, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”; a dozen joined in the second line, more than a score in the third line, and the words, “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” were sung by nearly all the prisoners.
Despite its brevity, the Doxology beautifully declares the
glory of the Trinity: This God, utterly complete in goodness and power, has
revealed Himself to His people. He is one and three — one God, three persons,
working in history to redeem and restore His people from their sin and
rebellion. He is a God three times for us in a great salvation, which is
arranged by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Spirit.
For one, our God is indeed the one from whom all genuine
blessings flow. He Himself is the Blessed One, the only One in whom is fullness
of joy and pleasures forever . . . God delights to give, to overflow with joy,
to bless his creatures and share His own happiness in them. He is the giver of
“every good gift and every perfect gift.”
This blessed God is also sovereign over all. He is both the singular source of all true good, and He is the Almighty. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all nature, and all the heavenly hosts above, and “all creatures here below.” Here and there, above and below, He is God and “does all that He pleases.” As the great humbled king of Babylon learned to declare in his own doxology, our God “does according to His Will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand.”
“God is glorified in our heartfelt expression of praise. God made us for praise. He made us for doxology.”
Here are the first, second and third verses of Thomas Ken’s “Morning Hymn,” which originally contained fourteen stanzas:
“Awake, my Soul, and with the Sun, Thy daily stage of duty run, Shake off dull sloth, and early rise, To pay thy Morning Sacrifice.”
“Lord, I my vows to Thee renew, Disperse my sins as morning dew; Guard my first springs of thought and will; And with Thyself my spirit fill.”
“Direct, control, suggest, this day, All I design or do or say, That all my pow'rs, with all their might, In Thy sole glory may unite.”
Next are the first, second and third verses of the Evening Hymn:
“All praise to You, my God, this night, For all the blessings of the light. Keep me, O keep me, King of kings, Beneath the shelter of Your wings.”
“Forgive me, Lord, for this I pray, The wrong that I have done this day. May peace with God and neighbor be, Before I sleep restored to me.”
“Lord, may I be at rest in You, And sweetly sleep the whole night thro'. Refresh my strength, for Your own sake, So I may serve You when I wake.”
And these are the first, second and third verses of the Midnight hymn:
“My God, I now from sleep awake, The sole possession of me take; From midnight terrors me secure, And guard my heart from thoughts impure.”
“Blest angels, while we silent lie, Your hallelujahs sing on high; You joyful hymn the ever-blest, Before the throne, and never rest.”
“I with your choir celestial join, In offering up a hymn divine; With you in Heav’n I hope to dwell, And bid the night and world farewell.”
Enduringword.com, David Guzik: Paul called for a blessing upon the Father (in the sense of recognizing His glory and honor and goodness), because the Father has already blessed the believer with every spiritual blessing. Moule wrote that the idea behind blessed is, “Praised with worshipping love.” This blessing is ours. God’s resources are there for us always. This speaks of an attitude of certainty and assurance.
Studylight.org, Bridgeway Bible Commentary: Paul reminds his
readers that they are saints, God’s holy people, who live their lives in union
with Jesus Christ . . . God’s blessings, which believers receive because of
their union with Christ, are not limited to the things of this world. They lift
the lives of believers above everyday things so that now, in the present world,
they can enjoy the spiritual blessings of the heavenly world. God planned His
purposes for His people before the universe was created. In His love He chose
them to be His children, His aim being that they should be holy and blameless,
and so bring praise to Him.
Enduringword.com, David Guzik: David began the psalm by telling his own soul to bless the Lord, but he knew the praise and honor to God should go beyond what he could give. It should extend all the way to the angels, who excel in strength, who do His Word: The angels are strong and obedient, but even they should bless the LORD, giving Him praise and honor. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts: The angels also make up God’s hosts: His heavenly army under His command who do His pleasure. As God’s soldiers, they should give Him the honor and praise due to Him.
Our Joy, His Glory. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The “Doxology” has served as a ready-made form, and occasion, for Christians to connect the very purposes of God in all He does with our heart’s deepest desire. God made our hearts to ache for happiness. And He made the world, and us, to glorify Him. And in this act of praise (which the “Doxology” directs and assists), our souls both rejoice and go public in expressing their delight in Him.
God is glorified in our heartfelt expression of praise. God
made us for praise. He made us for doxology. He made the world that He might be
praised. And these simple yet profound words serve that simple yet most
profound human act of devotion — and all the more when we join our voices and
sing together.