Reflections on spiritual themes (and a few other things).

Tag: Hymns

Doxology

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, 1674

These lyrics are from perhaps the most ubiquitous of all English language hymns. The title is sometimes listed as its first line, “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,” and sometimes as “Doxology.” 

It was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, a bishop in the Church of England. It was apparently part of his Manual of Prayers for Winchester Scholars. According to Hymnary.org, the song has appeared in over 1200 hymnals. 

Its appeal is obvious. It’s an invitation for all sentient creatures in heaven and on earth to praise God for his innumerable blessings. This doxological hymn accomplishes this simply and effectively.

Thinking about this doxology reminded me of Paul’s doxology in Ephesians 3.20-21 (NASB95): “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

Rather than discuss or analyze this text, I want to show how Paul builds upon a single idea to help us appreciate God’s resources and generosity. I’ll do this by building this doxology thought by thought. This isn’t an attempt at grammatical analysis, but rather an attempt to unfold Paul’s thinking about God’s blessings upon us.

  • He [God] is able.
  • He is able to do.
  • He is able to do what we ask.
  • He is able to do what we ask or think.
  • He is able to do all that we ask or think.
  • He is able to do beyond all that we ask or think.
  • He is able to do abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
  • He is able to do more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
  • He is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory in the church.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever.
  • To him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

We can’t out-ask God. We can’t out-think God. We can only be grateful and glorify him.

Amen!

The Word of God

While sorting through some of my father’s old papers, I came across this poem. At first, I thought it was a poem that he wrote. However, I discovered it to be lyrics of an old song, with slight adaptation. In either case, the sentiments are wonderful.

This Book unfolds Jehovah’s mind,
This Voice salutes in accents kind,
This Fountain has its source on high*,
This Friend will all your need supply.
This Mine affords us boundless wealth,
This Good Physician gives us health,
This Sun renews and warms the soul,
This Sword both wounds and makes us whole.
This Letter shows our sins forgiven,
This Guide conducts us safe to heaven,
This Charter has been sealed with blood;
This Volume is the Word of God.

*Dad transposed the 3rd & 4th lines of verse 1 in the original (first “Friend”, then “Fountain”). He also reworded the line about the Fountain. The original text was, “This Fountain sends forth streams of joy.”

According www.Hymnary.org, the original lyrics appeared in two hymnals — Crowning Joy and The Mission Band Hymnal.

I couldn’t find any information about Crowning Joy, but I did find a digital copy of The Mission Band Hymnal on Archive.org. This hymnal was published by Emilie S Coles in 1878, and printed in 1879. The song was #20 in the hymnal. Hymnary.org also said that either the lyrics or the tune were attributed to J B Coats (who wrote “Where Could I Go?”). However, he was born in 1901, so he couldn’t have written the lyrics. He may have written a tune for it, but if he did, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

The Mission Band Hymnal gave two metric notations for the song — “Gratitude” and “LM” (Long Meter). Two hymnals listed “Gratitude” as the tune for the hymn “Purer in Heart.” It will work with these lyrics, but only by stretching the 4th syllable of each line.

A better fit was “LM” (Long Meter or 8.8.8.8.) — that is, lines or stanzas consisting of 8 syllables each. There are quite a few familiar songs that use this meter, a number of which work well with these lyrics. They include:

  • “Doxology (‘Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow’)”
  • “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee”
  • “Sun of My Soul”
  • “Awake My Tongue, Thy Tribute Bring”
  • “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
  • “Father of Mercies” — the fourth line of each stanza must be repeated
  • “Just as I Am” — the fourth verse of each stanza is a bit wobbly

Enjoy!

Now Thank We All Our God

The “Thirty Years’ War” (1618-1648) was a devastating European conflict centered in what’s now Germany. It began as a power struggle between Protestant and Catholic forces within the Holy Roman Empire, but spread among various factions throughout Europe, eventually drawing in much of Central Europe, including Spanish, Swedish, French, Dutch, Croatian, Hungarian, Prussian and other forces. Entire regions were destroyed when marauding armies looted and plundered the villages they conquered, and in the process, consumed and destroyed land, crops and cattle. 

The human toll was staggering. It’s estimated that half the male population of Germany died, as well as 15-30% of the total population. Some areas lost between half and three-quarters of their populations. Thousands of castles and towns were destroyed, as well as tens of thousands of villages. Some towns took a century to recover from their losses; others disappeared forever. Disease aggravated all of this. Epidemics of bubonic plague, scurvy, dysentery, and typhus killed thousands, perhaps millions.

From this miasma of death, disease, and destruction emerged Martin Rinkart (1586-1649), a German clergyman. Rinkart spent most of his life in Eilenburg, Saxony (near modern Leipzig in eastern Germany). The son of a poor cooper, he attended the Latin School in Eilenburg. At 15, he became a scholar and chorister at St Thomas’ School in Leipzig, which enabled him to study theology at the University of Leipzig beginning in 1602. In 1610 he became master of the gymnasium in Eisleben and cantor of St Nicholas Church. In 1611 he became Deacon of St Anne’s Church where he remained for two years. From 1613-1617 he was pastor at Erdeborn and Lyttichendorf (Lütjendorf), near Eisleben, after which he moved to Eilenburg, where he remained until his death in 1649. 

He was appointed Archdeacon in 1617, and was one of four pastors in Eilenburg at the beginning of 1637. As a walled city, Eilenburg was frequently the destination for refugees in the region. It suffered greatly during the Thirty Years’ War, but, to make matters worse, the Plague swept through the region and city in 1637. One pastor, the superintendent, left for healthier climes. Rinkart officiated at the funerals of the other two. His wife died in May of that year. At times, 30-40 people could be seen in the streets of the city fighting over dead cats and crows in hopes of finding food. About 8,000 people died from the plague, mostly that year, and Rinkart officiated at the funerals of over 4,000 of them, sometimes for as many as 40-50 people per day. By the end of the year, they simply dug trenches and buried people en masse with no funeral services. 

In 1638, a wave of marriages swept over the town, as citizens attempted to rebuild their lives. Rinkart officiated most of these, and he himself remarried in June. Soon afterward, a severe drought struck the area, which strained Rinkart’s own resources. During this same time span, Rinkart was able to spare the city from attacks by Swiss forces in 1637 and again in 1639. Despite his extraordinary service, he was harassed in his final years by local officials who had little appreciation for all he had done. 

Rinkart was a prolific hymnist and around this time, probably in 1636, he wrote what became his most well-known hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God.” Regardless of when it was written, it dates to this general period of war and disease. Some think it began as a table prayer he used with his family at mealtime. The words are humble and thoughtful, especially in view of what we know of Rinkart and his times.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

It’s difficult to imagine the level of hardship that a man such as Rinkart endured. It’s equally hard to read the lyrics of this simple hymn and fully grasp the contentment and gratitude it expresses. 

The truest measure of gratitude comes not when our pantries, plates, wallets, bank accounts, and garages are full, but when they’re empty. Can we be grateful and content when we lack these things? “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6.8). I once heard a church member comment on this text saying, “Well, I just think it would be a whole lot easier to be content if a person was rich.” 

May God help me be less like that and more like Rinkart.