For all the saints who from their labours rest
For All the Saints
- Metre
- 10.10.10.4
- Written
- 1864
- Copyright
- Public domain
Lyrics
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesu, be for ever blest:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might;
thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou in the darkness still their one true light:
Alleluia, alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine.
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine:
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,
singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, alleluia!
History
William Walsham How's great hymn of the communion of saints was first published in 1864, in eleven stanzas, in Earl Nelson's collection of hymns for saints' days. Its original heading, 'Saints' Day Hymn. A Cloud of Witnesses. Heb. 12:1', points to its theme: thanksgiving for all who 'from their labours rest', the fellowship that binds the Church on earth to the saints in glory, and a vision of the countless host gathering singing 'to Father, Son and Holy Ghost'. Hymnary.org counts it in more than six hundred hymnals and notes that editors usually keep six to eight of the eleven stanzas. Tunes listed there include SINE NOMINE and SARUM.
How was born at Shrewsbury in December 1823 and educated at Shrewsbury School and Wadham College, Oxford. After curacies at Kidderminster and Shrewsbury he became Rector of Whittington, in the Diocese of St Asaph, in 1851, and an honorary canon of its cathedral in 1860. In 1879 he was made suffragan bishop for East London under the title of Bishop of Bedford, and in 1888 he became Bishop of Wakefield. He compiled Psalms and Hymns (1854) with Thomas Baker Morrell and was a joint editor of Church Hymns (1871). Among his other hymns are 'O Word of God incarnate' and 'We give Thee but Thine own'. He died in Ireland, at Leenane, County Mayo, in August 1897.
Performance
This recording by St Martin's Voices runs to just under three and a half minutes: a short organ introduction leads into five verses, closing with a brief organ postlude.
Sources: hymnary.org · St Martin's Voices recording and Words book (Words_for_3rd_Sunday_after_Trinity_Year_A.docx): 'William W How (1823-1897)'
About St Martin's Voices
The recording on this page is sung by St Martin's Voices, the professional vocal ensemble based at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the church on Trafalgar Square in London. One of the UK's most versatile professional choirs, they sing for services, concerts and broadcasts — including on BBC radio and Classic FM — and have released a number of acclaimed recordings.
Their hymn recordings are made freely available to Anglican parishes through the Church of England's A Church Near You Resource Hub, produced by Andrew Earis, Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in collaboration with the Royal School of Church Music.