The hymn From all that dwell below the skies, a paraphrasing of Psalm 117 by Isaac Watts with the Doxology as the final verse, is commonly sung to the tune. The melody can be used for any hymn text in long meter, that is, with four lines of eight syllables in iambic feet. Modernized versions of that text are also widely used.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow The original lyrics set to this tune in the Genevan Psalter are a paraphrase of Psalm 134: Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong during church services, but harmonized versions were provided for singing at home. The final version of this psalter was completed in 1562. Calvinist musicians including Bourgeois supplied many new melodies and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. This contrasted with the prevailing Catholic practice at the time in which sacred texts were chanted in Latin by the clergy only. The Genevan Psalter was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss city of Geneva, a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation, in response to the teaching of John Calvin that communal singing of psalms in the vernacular language is a foundational aspect of church life. In that latter respect it was used by Johann Sebastian Bach as a cantus firmus in his chorale cantata Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (BWV 130). The melody is also sung to various other lyrics, including the Common Doxology and various German Lutheran chorales. 1560).Īlthough the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, the melody receives its current name from an association with the 100th Psalm, in a translation by William Kethe entitled 'All People that on Earth do Dwell'. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Louis Bourgeois ( c. It is one of the best known melodies in many occidental Christian musical traditions. ' Old 100th' or ' Old Hundredth' (also known as ' Old Hundred') is a hymn tune in long metre, from the second edition of the Genevan Psalter.

Praise god from whom all blessings flow