A Blessed All Saints Day to You
One of my favorite hymns has become For All the Saints, and has become more powerfully meaningful to me after my father died a few years ago. For whatever reason, and don’t laugh, I can’t help but think of the Lord of the Rings and the imagery in those books and movies, as fitting appropriately with this hymn. LOR is a long extended allegory of the great themes of Good v. Evil, with Gandalf as the Christ figure. Forgive this excursion, but I thought I would mention that. Here then, in observance of All Saints, are the words of “For All the Saints” sung, of course, to the powerful melody: “Sine Nomine” – which means, “Without name.”
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Pr McCain, those stanzas about the Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs were beautiful. I’ve never seen them in any of our hymnals. Where’d they come from?
I appreciate LSB’s “downdating” the language of this hymn. “For all are one within your great design” just doesn’t have the impact of “for all are one in Thee for all are Thine.” Same for a few of the other phrases as well.
I love that hymn. I also love LOtR. My father told me that Frodo was the Christ figure in the story, because he bore the great burden of the ring like Christ bore our sins. Gandalf makes sense, too.
Hah, I just recently learned this hymn because it is on my son’s Sunday School CD that we listen to on the way to and from school.
Not to get too far off topic, but there are actually three Christ figures in LotR. Gandalf, who rises from the dead to save the people, Frodo, who bears the great burden of the world, and Aragorn, the long-awaited King who comes to claim the throne long thought vacant.
Tokien thought it was a bit too simplistic to have one blatant Christ figure, as his friend C.S. Lewis had Aslan, so he incorporated Christ-like characteristics in his three main characters.
Don’t forget Samwise!
This was sung today at the funeral today of one of the departed saints of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Nashville, TN. Absolutely wonderful and very, very moving. What comfort to know that this great lady is finally at rest with our great Triune God.