Old One Hundredth

This is our 100th entry. Upon saying those words, I began to hum, as President Lincoln's Treasury Secretary Salmon Portland Chase was known to do, a tune from my Christian upbringing. Our one hundredth entry recalls the tune I first learned as a young child when I attended church services at the Thixton Lane Baptist Church, a member of the Long Run Association of Baptist Churches and an adherant congregation of the Southern Baptist Convention. I attended Thixton Lane for several years and it was there, at the age of thirteen, where I walked down the aisle and made my profession of faith accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Those last thirteen words (in italics) act as a formulary. They are in certain circles especially among fundamentalists, more often than not all said together as one word, much as when I was a kid and in some obvious mischief, my grandmother would call me not by the simple "Jeff" but rather by the entire name given at birth "Jeffrey Thomas Noble" typically followed by "Get in here and explain to me . . . . ." But, I digress.

The tune I began to hum is often called simply "Doxology" or in other hymnals, "Old 100th" as it is based on the words of the 100th Psalm of David in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. It is a much heard tune and sung song. It was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a recent visitor here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606, at her coronation on June 2, 1953. It is often heard not only in Baptist services but Episcopal ones as well.

It is a small milestone for me to cross, having written (or in two cases largely copied) one hundred entries, and I happily do so. While I have given up the practice of recording the many different places from which readers access my blog, I can report we are approaching our 1700th visitor, visitors who have accessed nearly 2500 pages. For that I am grateful. I hope you continue to read and offer comments or suggestions. Thanks.

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OLD ONE HUNDREDTH

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.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,
Praise Him all People Here Below
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551)
The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois (c.1510 – c.1560).