Weekly beauty: "All People That on Earth Do Dwell"

One of my favorite hymns of late. We sang it at Holden and Dale when I was there in mid-June, and I was enchanted by the stunning poetry.

I'm all about communicating the gospel in ways that people can understand. I'm also a lover of language, and this is beautiful language, even if it isn't as easily accessible as more contemporary formulations.

Another thing I love about this hymn is its sense of the holiness and transcendence of God. It's a paraphrase of Psalm 100 (hence the name of the tune, Old Hundredth), and it's no surprise for the psalmist to speak this way. But it's a bold claim to say "without our aid he did us make," in a culture like ours, where we like to think we can handle everything just fine on our own, thankyouverymuch.

Here's a video from the BBC; the music starts 22 seconds into it. It's a magnificent arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams, originally for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.





I'm transcribing the verses below so you can enjoy the words even without watching the video. The Old Hundredth tune is very familiar (same as the doxology, "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow"), so perhaps you could even sing if you're so inclined.


All People That on Earth Do Dwell (ELW 883 or LBW 245)

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell;
Come ye before him and rejoice.

Know that the Lord 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.

Oh, 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 heav'n and earth adore,
From us and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.