Hymn Story: An Evening Hymn

Thomas Ken was born in 1637 Hertfordshire, England. He studied a Winchester College and became ordained in the Church of England in 1662. He is said to be “a man of conscience and independent mind who did not shirk from confrontations with royalty.”

The story is told “when King Charles II came to visit Winchester, he took along his mistress, the famous actress Nell Gwynne. Ken was asked to provide lodging for her. The story is told that Ken quickly declared his house under repair and had a builder take off the roof!”

Thomas Ken

He wrote many hymns but is best known for his morning, evening and midnight hymns.

“Bishop Thomas Ken is best known for writing “Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow.” Before that doxology became famous standing alone, it was just the last stanza for this hymn.”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.