This magnificent old hymn is pure praise from start to finish, and is chock full of solid doctrine. Turn up your speakers and see His glory. The chord progressions are spectacular.
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 folk, 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 for ever 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 men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.
Hymn Story
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
In the Reformation, there was a difference of opinion between Luther and Calvin concerning music for congregational singing. Luther advocated the use of hymns and carols, and even wrote a number of those. Calvin was concerned that hymns not clearly based on scripture might introduce false doctrine into the church, and so he advocated the singing of Psalms. He said that there were “no better songs nor more appropriate to the purpose (of congregational singing) than the Psalms of David which the Holy Spirit made and spoke through him.”
Calvin, of course, was based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1551, a Psalter was published in Geneva that included a song based on Psalm 134 and set to a tune by Louis Bourgeois. In 1561, the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (an English-language Psalter) was published in Geneva that included “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” set to that earlier tune by Bourgeois.
The words to “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” were written by William Kethe, a Scottish clergyman who had fled the persecutions of Queen Mary. His exile took him first to Frankfurt, Germany and thence to Geneva. Kethe helped with the translation of the Geneva Bible in 1560 and contributed 25 psalms to the Anglo-Genevan Psalter.
Kethe left Geneva for England in 1561, and took a copy of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter with him –– thereby introducing this music to the English. A number of his psalms found their way into the English Psalter of 1562, which was published by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins. All of his psalms were included in the Scottish Psalter two years later.
“All People That on Earth Do Dwell” is based on Psalm 100. That Psalm is five verses in length, and the song is four verses. The first verse of the song is based on verses 1 and 2 of the psalm, and each of the subsequent verses of the song is based on one verse of the psalm. It is probably the oldest hymn in common use today.
The tune by Bourgeois is known today as “Old Hundredth,” and is one of the best-known tunes in modern hymnals –– in large measure because it is also sung to the Doxology, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”
Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
sage
p.s. I post this as part of my continuous effort to point up the dangers of CCM, and hope and pray that God’s people will wake up to the serpent in the singing. Can you see what is being lost as the old hymns are cast aside for simple lyrics and rhythmic melodies? CCM is now firmly in IFB churches everywhere.
The Vine Vigil 