Hymn Guide: For All The Saints
Long before I thought about its lyrics, I loved to sing “For All the Saints.” The marching rhythm, the majestic tune, the repeated Alleluias: these would stir in my heart and inspire devotion to God. How wonderful, then, to discover that the hymn is also deeply theological, offering a profound reflection on the meaning of sainthood and the hope that we have in Christ. You might even call this hymn a sung commentary on the communion of the saints.
Anglican clergyman (and future bishop) Walsham How wrote the hymn for All Saints Day in 1864. In 1906, Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the glorious tune we still sing today. The tune title, SINE NOMINE, is a Latin phrase meaning “without name,” which points to the expansive communion of saints across time and place. Because the hymn celebrates both the church militant and the church triumphant, it is appropriate for confirmations and funerals, and, of course, indispensable for All Saints Day.
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Verse by Verse
The original text had eleven verses, but the 1906 hymnal reduced it to eight by removing verses on the apostles, evangelists, and martyrs. Many editions further reduce the text, often at the cost of losing the deeper theology.
Verse 1
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!
Immediately after identifying the saints as the subject of the hymn, the first verse pivots to addressing and blessing Christ. This is a characteristically Anglican theological move. We celebrate the saints, but we don’t pray to them. Instead, the faith and witness of the saints deepen our devotion to Christ.
Verse 2
Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might
Thou, Lord, their Captain, in the well-fought fight
Thou in the darkness, drear the one true light
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The second verse continues the logic of the first, allowing the trials of the saints to refocus on Christ. This is the same logic that we see in Hebrews 12:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…
Hebrews 12:1-2
Notice that the great cloud of witnesses, the heroes of the faith, are intended to inspire us in our journey and to draw us ever closer to Christ.
Verse 3
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!
The third verse shifts its focus from the saints of old to the saints on earth, from the church triumphant to the church militant. In other words, if the first two verses were characterized by remembrance and praise, this verse is more focused on contemporary application and practical petition.
Performance idea: This is a great verse to introduce trumpets or other accenting instrumentation.
Verse 4
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The fourth verse draws out the contrast between the church militant and the church triumphant, between those who struggle on earth while the departed saints rest and shine. But though this contrast might seem demoralizing, the communion of saints actually offers us great hope, because we are all one in Christ. In other words, the church militant already participates in the church triumphant! Through Christ, we already have a foretaste of their triumphant rest.
Verse 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!
Because the church militant participates in the church triumphant, as one body in Christ, we glean strength and encouragement from them by the Holy Spirit.
This is analogous to Christ’s gift of the Holy Spirit after his Ascension. Because Christ entered into heaven, yet remained one with his people by faith, he could send the Holy Spirit upon them in a uniquely powerful way. Likewise, the church militant receives real encouragement from being united with the church triumphant in heaven. When we remember this and hear “the distant triumphant song,” then our “hearts are brave again and arms are strong.”
Performance idea: It can be effective to take this verse and the next at a slower pace.
Verse 6
The golden evening brighten in the west
Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Now shifting to the end of earthly life, the hymn points to the hope we have in Jesus Christ. For the church militant, death is not the end, but rather a change into the church triumphant. As we say in the proper preface of the burial service:
For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens.
BCP 2019, 156
Verse 7
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!
The seventh verse imagines the Day of the Lord, in which the church triumphant now rises once again, in their resurrected bodies. The scripture in the background here is 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul discusses the glory of the resurrection body. On that note, this is a great verse to bring back trumpets in the instrumentation!
Verse 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!
The final verse effectively sums up and even transfigures the whole hymn. The first two lines reflect the image of the heavenly crowd in Revelation:
…a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…
Revelation 7:9
But the most profound idea is the very last line, which depicts this church triumphant singing to God. And what are they singing? They are singing the very Alleluias we have been singing the entire hymn!
In other words, as we sing the final lines, we find ourselves a part of the church triumphant. For a moment, the veil between this world and the next becomes thin, and in the final Alleluias, we catch a glimpse of heaven.
On Video
The first video features an English youth choir and an organ. The second rendition comes from Vox Anima Choir in Nigeria, sung at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama.
Image: Saints in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican. Photo by KonstantinMaslak from Getty Images, courtesy of Canva. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.
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