All People That On Earth Do Dwell

All people that on earth do dwell,

Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;

Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell,

Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;

Without our aid He did us make;

We are His flock, He doth us feed,

And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise,

Approach with joy His courts unto;

Praise, laud, and bless His name always,

For it is seemly so to do.

For why? The Lord our God is good,

His mercy is forever sure;

His truth at all times firmly stood,

And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

The God whom heaven and earth adore,

From earth and from the angel host

Be praise and glory evermore.

WILLIAM KETHE (?–1593)

THIS IS OFTEN CALLED “The Old Hundredth” because it is based on Psalm 100. It is perhaps the oldest hymn of praise in the English language. William Kethe, a Scotsman, was a minister of the Church of England. But during the reign of Queen Mary (1553–1558), a reign of terror for many English Protestants, Kethe fled to Germany and then to Geneva, Switzerland, where he was influenced by John Calvin. He assisted in the translation of the Geneva Bible and helped to produce a complete English version of the metrical Psalms. From this psalter, more than four hundred years old, the Old Hundredth is taken. The hymn was first published in London in 1561, shortly after Queen Elizabeth came to the throne.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalm 100