25. Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thomas Ken, 1637-1711
Taken from a Manual of Prayers, which Bishop Ken wrote for Winchester College students in 1674. It appeared as the “Morning Hymn.” The preface of the book admonished the boys “to be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymn in your chamber devoutly.” Both the Morning and Evening Hymn ([33]) had for the closing stanza the famous doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow,” now sung by the whole Christian church. The original poem had fourteen stanzas. According to Julian, this hymn is one of four at the head of all hymns in the English language.
Thomas Ken was an English poet and clergyman and had considerable musical talent. He was a man unafraid to declare his convictions. He once refused to read, at the king’s command, a certain document to his parishioners, and was imprisoned for his defiance. He finally lost his bishopric because he refused to swear allegiance to Mary and William of Orange when they became rulers of England. Ken was known for his saintly character, his great ability and eloquence as a preacher, and his pioneering in the art of hymn writing.
That all hymns must be written in the third person, as is sometimes asserted, is disproved by this great hymn in its use of “I” and “my.”
MUSIC. For comments on Francois H. Barthélémon, composer of the tune, MORNING HYMN, see [Hymn 2].