I was in the Doxology mood today. Especially because we used to sing this in my late grandfather’s church when I was younger. It was usually at the beginning of the service as a part of the invocation. My mother’s church sings it at the end of worship. Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral sings it at the end as well. A lot of Protestant Churches for hundreds of years have made it a part of their worship.
Praise God, from Whom all things flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Evidently the Doxology is the last verse of two hymns written by Thomas Ken, an Anglican priest around 1674. The hymns “Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun” and “Glory to Thee, my God, This Night” was used as morning and evening worship in the Church of England. In Ken’s day, it was considered sin to sing hymns that were not found in the Scriptures. My how times have changed.
In some denominations, the traditional language is revised to be more “gender-neutral” in references to the Godhead. Yuck!
Anyway, I found this wonderful clip of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. signing the Doxology for it’s deaf congregants. The coolest thing is everybody is doing it.
