Description
Listen to the beginner piano arrangement of Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (Doxology).
This hymn was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, a priest in the Church of England. This hymn was originally the final verse of two longer hymns entitled Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun, and Glory to thee, my God, this night, written by Ken for morning and evening worship, respectively. It is usually sung to the tune Old One Hundredth. Ken wrote this hymn at a time when the established church believed only Scripture should be sung as hymns, with an emphasis on the Psalms. Some considered it sinful and blasphemous to write new lyrics for church music, akin to adding to the Scriptures. In that atmosphere, Ken wrote this and several other hymns for the boys at Winchester College, with strict instructions that they use them only in their rooms, for private devotions. Ironically, the last stanza has come into widespread use as the Doxology, perhaps the most frequently used piece of music in public worship. At Ken’s request, the hymn was sung at his funeral, fittingly held at sunrise.
