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!
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!
–William W. How
“We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.” I love those words, I love that hymn. I want I sung at my funeral. Thanks for the reminder Kristen. Allelulia!
(I love Vaughn William’s music, too.)
I love that hymn. We sang it at our wedding, and as Carol says, I’d love to have it sung at my funeral.
I could hear that in Dan Haseltine’s voice as I read it. ;)
I really like a lot of the Indelible Grace style hymns, but you can’t top Ralph Vaugh Williams — the original is so much more robust and triumphant and fits the words much better!
i miss that hymn…
OK, Kristen, be a teacher again… What do you mean by the Indelible Grace style hymns? I’ve never heard that phrase. Thanks.
I was referring to hymns reworked with new tunes for acoustic guitars. Dan Haseltine (from Jars of Clay) attends church with the folks that worked on those projects (www.igracemusic.com) so the new Jars of Clay hymn CD uses those tunes and style. There are a lot of arguments for and against comtemporizing hymns. I am not married to old tunes but I do demand that the tunes (whether old or new) suit the lyrics and also work well for congregational singing.
And here I thought it was a musical period from the eighteenth century that I didn’t know about!!
I’m in total harmony with your last sentence, Kristen. It’s like the remakes of classic movies.
But how, tell me, how, can one improve on Vaughn Williams?
I totally agree! The tunes need to complement the lyrics and be conducive to worship, if sung there (or not!). For All The Saints is a wonderful hymn, and I like both IG’s version and the old “Sine Nomine” tune.