174. For All the Saints

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 Information
First Line: For all the saints, who from their labors rest
Title: For All the Saints
Author: William W. How, 1823-1897 (alt.)
Meter: 10 10 10 and alleluias
Language: English
Publication Date: 1978
Topic: Lesser Festivals; All Saints' Day; Burial
Tune Information
Name: SINE NOMINE
Composer: R. Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958
Meter: 10 10 10 and alleluias
Key: G Major
Source: The English Hymnal
Copyright: By permission of Oxford University Press
Notes: Now Public Domain in US



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