Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow is a hymn text by Thomas Ken (1674). Found in CW21 617, CW93 334, ELH 592, elw 884.

In four lines Ken accomplishes what elaborate texts require many stanzas to say: all good originates in God, all creatures are summoned to praise, the angelic host joins the earthly congregation, and the God so praised is Trinity. For Lutheran use this functions as a liturgical hinge — a moment of doxological pause between actions that re-grounds the assembly in the praise of the triune God. The phrase 'all blessings flow' is a compressed theology of grace: every good thing is gift, not achievement.

History & Background

Thomas Ken (1637-1711) wrote this doxology as the final stanza of both his Morning Hymn ('Awake My Soul and with the Sun') and his Evening Hymn ('All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night'), published in 1674 for the scholars of Winchester College. The single stanza, set to Bourgeois's OLD HUNDREDTH tune, became detached from its original hymns and gained independent use as a metrical doxology — a brief Trinitarian ascription of praise suitable as a congregational response at any point in the liturgy. The 'Old Hundredth Doxology' as it is commonly known is arguably the most sung piece of Christian text in the English-speaking world. It has been used to conclude collections, to mark the offertory, to punctuate liturgies, and to gather congregations in shared praise across every Protestant denomination. Its Trinitarian structure ('Father, Son, and Holy Ghost') and its call to 'all creatures' and the 'heavenly host' give it a cosmic scope in four lines.

Hymnal Appearances

Christian Worship: Hymnal — 617
Christian Worship — 334
Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 592
Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 884
Glory to God — 606
The Hymnal 1982 — 380
Lutheran Book of Worship — 564
Lift Up Your Hearts — 968
The Lutheran Hymnal — 644
United Methodist Hymnal — 94

Bulletin Note

Thomas Ken (1637-1711), 1674. Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH, Louis Bourgeois (1551). Originally the final stanza of Ken's Morning and Evening Hymns.

Preaching Connection

This single stanza encompasses the entire theology of worship: all blessings originate in God, all creation is called to respond, and the God addressed is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Background Research

AI-assisted draft This background note was researched with AI from published hymnal sources and has not yet been checked line by line. Please verify details such as dates before relying on them.

This is the shared final stanza of Thomas Ken's Morning, Evening and Midnight hymns, written for the scholars of Winchester College and first printed in his Manual of Prayers (1695 edition; earlier printings 1692/1694). The boys were told to sing a morning and evening hymn in their rooms, so the Doxology began as a schoolboys' close to morning and night prayers. It became perhaps the most-sung stanza in English. OLD 100TH (Genevan Psalter, 1551, Bourgeois) was first printed with it in The Federal Harmony, Part 2 (1790). It is trinitarian: all creatures, the heavenly host, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. See also TLH 536 and 558.

Sources: hymnologyarchive.com 'Three Hymns and a Doxology'.

In the Church Year

Suggested in the one-year series

Trinity 10 (1×)
Trinity 5 (1×)

From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.

AI-assisted draft These study notes were drafted with AI from the hymn text and have not yet been reviewed line by line. Treat them as a starting point and check them against the sources.

Overview

The Common Doxology, the closing stanza of Ken's morning and evening hymns for Winchester College, is probably the most frequently sung verse in English-speaking Christianity. In four lines it ascribes all blessings to God, calls all creation and the heavenly host to praise, and names the Trinity.

Central theme: Praise to the Triune God as the source of all blessings, from all creation

Structure

Single four-line stanza: source of blessing; earth; heaven; Trinity.

Law & Gospel Shape

Doxology.

Confessional Connections

First Article (all good gifts from God); Trinitarian confession.

Liturgical Use (Study Notes)

Offertory response; close of services, meals, and meetings; any occasion.

Historical Notes

Appeared in 1695 at the end of Ken's morning and evening hymns (see TLH 536 st. 6 and 558 st. 6).

About the Tune

OLD HUNDREDTH (Louis Bourgeois, 1551).

Scripture References

Jas 1:17 Ps 103:1-2, 20-22 Ps 148 Ps 150:6 Rev 5:13 Matt 28:19

Stanza by Stanza

1 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…

Praise God, the source of all blessings; praise him, all creatures on earth; praise him, heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Four lines, four movements. (1) The source: 'from whom all blessings flow' — Jas 1:17 ('every good gift… is from above'). Every blessing, natural and spiritual, comes from God; this is the First Article ('He richly and daily provides') and the Second ('every spiritual blessing in Christ,' Eph 1:3). (2) Earth: 'all creatures here below' (Ps 148:7-12; 150:6). (3) Heaven: 'ye heavenly host' (Ps 103:20-21; Rev 5:11-12). (4) The object named: 'Father, Son, and Holy Ghost' (Matt 28:19). The doxology unites creation, angels, and church in confessing the Triune God. Its brevity and universality explain its use as the church's most common act of praise.

Scripture: Jas 1:17, Eph 1:3, Ps 148:1-12, Ps 150:6, Ps 103:20-22, Rev 5:11-13, Matt 28:19
Imagery & language: Flowing blessings; creatures below; heavenly host.
Law / Gospel: Doxology.
Connection to previous: Single stanza.

Trinity praise creation angels

Themes

doxology Trinity praise blessing all creation offertory

Look Further

Search Hymnary.org for "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" ↗