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Ken Thomas was born in July 1637 at Little Berkhampstead. He was the son of Thomas Ken of Furnival's Inn, who belonged to an ancient stock, -that of the Kens of Ken Place, in Somersetshire; his mother was a daughter of the now forgotten poet, John Chalkhill, who is called by Walton an " acquaintant and friend of Edmund Spenser. "
In 1652 Ken entered Winchester College, and in 1656 became a student of Hart Hall, Oxford.
He was for some time tutor of his college;
He gained a fellowship at New College in 1657, and proceeded B. A. in 1661 and M. A. in 1664.
Ordained in 1662, he successively held the livings of Little Easton in Essex, Brighstone (sometimes called Brixton) in the Isle of Wight, and East Wood- hay in Hampshire; in 1672 he resigned the last of these, and returned to Winchester, being by this time a prebendary of the cathedral, and chaplain to the bishop, as well as a fellow of Winchester College.
He remained there for several years, acting as curate in one of the lowest districts, preparing his Manual of Prayers for the use of the Scholars of Winchester College (first published in 1674), and composing hymns.
It was at this time that he wrote, primarily for the same body as his prayers, his morning, evening and midnight hymns, the first two of which, beginning " Awake, my soul, and with the sun " and " Glory to Thee, my God, this night, " are now household words wherever the English tongue is spoken.
The latter is often made to begin with the line " All praise to Thee, my God, this night, " but in the earlier editions over which Ken had control, the line is as first given.
In August of this same year he accompanied Lord Dartmouth to Tangier as chaplain to the fleet, and Pepys, who was one of the company, has left on record some quaint and kindly reminiscences of him and of his services on board.
It is said that, upon the occurrence of the vacancy, Charles, mindful of the spirit he had shown at Winchester, exclaimed, " Where is the good little man that refused his lodging to poor Nell? "
and determined that no other should be bishop.
In this year he published his Exposition on the Church Catechism, perhaps better known by its sub-title, The Practice of Divine Love.
In 1679 he was appointed by Charles II chaplain to the Princess Mary, wife of William of Orange.
In 1688, when James reissued his "Declaration of Indulgence, " Ken was one of the " seven bishops " who refused to publish it.
As one of the seven bishops petitioning James II to withdraw the Declaration of Indulgence he was imprisoned in the Tower (1688), but acquitted.
Nevertheless, a man of conscience, he refused to recognize James's abdication or William's accession, was deprived of his see (April 1691).
He was probably influenced by two considerations: first, by his profound aversion from Roman Catholicism, to which he felt he would be giving some episcopal recognition by compliance; but, second and more especially, by the feeling that James was compromising the spiritual freedom of the church.
With the revolution which speedily followed this impolitic trial, new troubles encountered Ken; for, having sworn allegiance to James, he thought himself thereby precluded from taking the oath to William of Orange.
Accordingly, he took his place among the non-jurors, and, as he stood firm to his refusal, he was, in August 1691, superseded in his bishopric by Dr Kidder, dean of Peterborough.
From this time he lived mostly in retirement, finding a congenial home with Lord Weymouth, his friend from college days, at Longleat in Wiltshire; and though pressed to resume his diocese in 1703, upon the death of Bishop Kidder, he declined, partly on the ground of growing weakness, but partly no doubt from his love for the quiet life of devotion which he was able to lead at Longleat.
Although Ken wrote much poetry, besides his hymns, he cannot be called a great poet; but he had that fine combination of spiritual insight and feeling with poetic taste which marks all great hymn- writers.
As a hymn-writer he has had few equals in England; it can scarcely be said that even Keble, though possessed of much rarer poetic gifts, surpassed him in his own sphere.
He lives in history, apart from his three hymns, mainly as a man of unstained purity and invincible fidelity to conscience, weak only in a certain narrowness of view which is a frequent attribute of the intense character which he possessed.
As an ecclesiastic he was a High Churchman of the old school. Ken's poetical works were published in collected form in four volumes by W. Hawkins, his relative and executor, in 1721; his proseworks were issued in 1838 in one volume, under the editorship of J. T. Round.
(Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating bac...)
(This book was digitized and reprinted from the collection...)
Ken's step-sister, Anne, was married to Izaak Walton in 1646, a connexion which brought Ken from his boyhood under the refining influence of this gentle and devout man
