Who Wrote the Doxology? Thomas Ken!
So who wrote the doxology? It was written by a man named Thomas Ken, who was an Anglican bishop in the late 17th century and whose life was characterized by a refusal to compromise what he believed.
Born in England in 1637, Thomas Ken was orphaned at a young age and grew up living with his married sister. He was ordained around 1662, and in 1680, he was appointed royal chaplain to King Charles II.
Ken took a number of bold stands because of his beliefs. These included refusing to surrender his residence for the king’s mistress, refusing to publish documents in support of Roman Catholicism (for which he was imprisoned), and refusing to support the reign of William and Mary. For this last decision, Ken was punished by losing his bishopric. He died in poverty in 1711.
When it come to the question of who wrote the doxology, accounts say that Ken wrote the song, and that was the source of “The Doxology” in 1674, publishing it later, making final revisions to it in 1709. This song is called “Awake, my soul, and with the sun.” The very last stanza is what eventually became the brief but powerful hymn of praise to the triune God of all creation.
