William How
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.
Ephesians 2:19-22
For All the Saints LBW 174
1 For all the saints who from their labors rest, all who by faith before the world confessed,
your name, O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 You were their rock, their fortress and their might; you Lord their captain in the well-fought fight;
you, in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Oh, may your 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!
4 Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one within your great design. Alleluia! Alleluia!
5 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!
6 The golden evening brightens in the west; soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
sweet is the calm of paradise the blest. Alleluia! Alleluia!
7 But then there breaks a yet more glorious day: the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way. Alleluia! Alleluia!
8 From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the
countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Text: William W. How, 1823-1897, alt.
The text of this hymn was written by an Anglican Bishop, William How, as the processional hymn for All Saint’s Day in 1864. The words were later set to a tune by the incomparable Ralph Vaughn Williams called “Sine Nomine” – a Latin phrase meaning “without name”. Bishop How originally titled the hymn Hebrews 12:1, “We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…” but based its lyrics upon Hebrews 11, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible…”
We usually sing this hymn as the procession for All Saints Sunday. It grounds us in the history of witness that is the story of God’s people. We sing it because it is easy to get caught up in the woes of the present and forget the long journey of the faithful who brought us to this time and place . It is equally easy to forget our obligation to the generation newly born and yet to be born who will, in their own time, take their place in that long procession of the saints.
The words of this glorious hymn lift up and magnify the lives of saints, past and present, but it is the final verse that speaks so powerfully to our future. “From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! To which we, along with them, can only reply, “Alleluia! Alleluia!”
Prayer: God of history, we thank you for the procession of Saints who have come before us, for the opportunity to walk with them, and for the generations of Saints yet to come. Bring us all at the last to that day when the procession ends, and at the foot of your throne with the saints of every time and place, we worship in praise of your holy name. Amen.