All Ye Who on This Earth do Dwell

All Ye Who on This Earth do Dwell is a hymn text by William Kethe (1561) in C.M. meter. Found in lbw 245, lw 370, tlh 581. Sung to OLD HUNDREDTH.

The hymn embodies Reformed and Lutheran emphasis on God's sovereignty, steadfast mercy, and the proper response of human worship and obedience. It reflects the Reformation principle that all people are called to praise God directly through congregational song.

History & Background

William Kethe's metrical rendering of Psalm 100 was published in the Scottish Psalter of 1561 as part of the Reformed Protestant tradition's commitment to congregational psalmody. It became one of the most widely used Protestant hymns, paired with the tune Old Hundredth.

Hymnal Appearances

• Lutheran Book of Worship — 245
• Lutheran Worship — 370
• The Lutheran Hymnal — 581

Bulletin Note

Written by Scottish Reformed minister William Kethe in 1561, this psalm paraphrase became a cornerstone of Protestant worship, sung to the ancient tune Old Hundredth and expressing the Reformation principle of universal congregational praise.

Preaching Connection

This hymn embodies the Reformation's central conviction: God's sovereign goodness demands not fearful obligation but the joyful, free response of all God's people in worship and obedience.

Stanza Arc

The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Universal call to worship → Recognition of God's sovereignty and care → Liturgical entry into God's presence → Affirmation of God's eternal goodness and faithfulness

Background Research

TLH 581. "Nun danket all und bringet Ehr" by Paul Gerhardt, written at about age 40 in 1647, the last year of the Thirty Years' War. First printed in Crüger's Praxis pietatis melica (1647 edition, now lost); the 1653 edition added Crüger's melody (Gräfenberg/NUN DANKET ALL, close to Genevan Ps 75/97 tunes, in 173 hymnals). Nine 4-line stanzas on Sirach 50:22–24, the same passage behind Rinckart's "Nun danket alle Gott" (1630). It was sung in Leipzig in 1763 to close the celebrations for the Peace of Hubertusburg. Bach used stanza 1 in the wedding cantata BWV 195. Still in the German EG (322) and Catholic Gotteslob (403); Distler wrote a chorale cantata on it (Wikipedia). English by Alfred Ramsey (1926), alt.

Overview

Paul Gerhardt's thanksgiving hymn on Sirach 50:22-24, the same passage behind Rinkart's 'Now Thank We All Our God.' All who live on earth: give thanks (st. 1). God is himself the best gift and upholds great and small (st. 2). He has kept us since our life began and helped us when human strength failed (st. 3). Though we try his patience, he sets his anger aside in grace (st. 4). He revives us and drives back waves of trouble (st. 5). The hymn prays for peace and blessed labor (st. 6) and ends: 'Our saving Health is He… May He our portion be!' (st. 7).

Central theme: Universal thanks to God, the best Gift, who preserves life, sets aside his anger in grace and is our portion forever

Structure

Seven common-meter quatrains. Call to thanks (1); God the best Gift (2); preservation (3); grace over anger (4); help in trouble (5); peace and labor (6); our portion (7).

Law & Gospel Shape

Law: 'we His patience try / And well deserve His frown'; 'man's strength was vanity' (3-4). Gospel: 'In grace He lays His anger by'; 'Our saving Health is He' (4, 7).

Confessional Connections

Ecclus. 50:22-24 (TLH's text). The Lutheran Confessions treat the Apocrypha as edifying but not as a source of doctrine. Gerhardt uses the passage the same way Rinkart does (TLH 36). St. 2: God 'Himself best Gift of all' (LC First Commandment: God as the one from whom we expect all good). St. 4: 'In grace He lays His anger by'; God's wrath is turned aside because of Christ's propitiation (Ap IV; Mic 7:18). St. 7: 'Our saving Health is He' (Ps 42:11 KJV, 'the health of my countenance') and 'our portion' (Ps 73:26) turn First Article thanks toward salvation.

Liturgical Use (Study Notes)

Thanksgiving Day; harvest; New Year; national days.

Historical Notes

Gerhardt (1607-1676); the hymn first appeared in Crüger's Praxis pietatis melica (1647). Alfred Ramsey's 1926 translation is used in altered form.

About the Tune

NUN DANKET ALL' UND BRINGET EHR' (Johann Crüger, 1653).

Scripture References

Sir 50:22-24 Ps 100:1-4 Isa 6:3 Jas 1:17 Ps 36:6 Ps 139:13-16 Ps 121:1-2 Ps 103:8-10 Mic 7:18 Isa 40:29-31 Ps 93:3-4 Ps 147:14 Ps 90:17 Ps 42:11 Ps 73:26 Lam 3:24

Stanza by Stanza

Themes

God's sovereignty Praise and worship God's steadfast love Obedience to God

Look Further

• Search Hymnary.org for "All Ye Who on This Earth do Dwell" ↗
• Search IMSLP for public-domain scores of "OLD HUNDREDTH" ↗