For All the Saints
(A Hymn/Bible Study)
Hebrews 12:1–3; Revelation 2:10; 14:13; 17:14
(Lutheran Service Book 677)
Background
“For All the Saints” is a great old hymn by William W. How (1823-1897) that we will be using as our sermon hymn this coming Sunday. We will sing all eight verses. This is possible because, for us, this is a non-communion Sunday. I would guess that, in our sister congregations that celebrate the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, this treasure gathers dust, being brought out maybe on All Saints’ Sunday or perhaps at a funeral.
How wrote 56 hymns, of which five are in our hymnal (“O Word of God Incarnate” LSB 523, “We Give Thee But Thine Own” LSB 781, “From All That Dwell Below the Skies” LSB 816, “Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love” LSB 900, and of course “For All the Saints”). These hymns were also in The Lutheran Hymnal and Lutheran Worship.
How was a minister in the Church of England. Like many pastors, he served in various parishes though out his ministry. By his choice those parishes tended to be rural or poor city locations. “The children’s bishop” was only one of How’s nicknames. Many of his hymns were written for children, whom he held especially dear.
After his consecration by Queen Victoria in 1879 as Bishop of Bedford (which diocese covered the slums of East London), he devoted himself so completely to his work among the poverty-stricken residents that he became known as “the poor man’s bishop.” Others called him “the omnibus bishop,” because he, unlike most bishops, lived among his people and rode in buses rather than carriages.
Totally lacking in personal ambition, How refused the bishopric of Manchester and later the bishopric of Durham, both prestigious and lucrative positions, without even mentioning the offers to his wife. In 1889 he became the first bishop of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, working with the factory and mill workers of the West Riding.
He falls within that group of clergymen known as “Broad Anglicans.” In 1887 he preached a sermon on “The Bible and Science” in which he reconciled biblical Creation with the theory of evolution. His arguments were so convincing that scientist Thomas Huxley, a devoted Darwinian, made room in his theories for Christianity; and thus How aided in keeping many evolutionists in the Anglican fold. As the evolutionary theory of today has almost nothing in common with the theories of Darwin and Huxley, I doubt How’s arguments would sway many today; but who knows.
“For All the Saints” was first published in 1864 with 11 Stanzas. The “customarily” omitted ones are verses 3, 4, and 5. In the hymn text below, I’m including them in brackets. As you will see, they deal with heroes of the faith who preceded us, specifically the Apostles, the writers of the Gospels and martyrs. Not only do the omitted verses ground the hymn as thinking more of heroes of the faith as apposed to just all Christians, but as the sermon is about Christian heroes and what makes them heroes, these verses relate also to my message.
The Hymn
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever 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 drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
[For the apostles’ glorious company
Who, bearing forth the cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to thee,
Alleluia! Alleluia!]
[For the evangelists, by whose pure word
Like fourfold stream, the garden of the Lord
Is fair and fruitful, be they name adored.
Alleluia! Alleluia!]
[For martyrs who with rapture-kindled eye
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky
And, dying, grasp it, thee we glorify.
Alleluia! Alleluia!]
Oh, 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!
Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
And when the fight 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 cometh rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.
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!
The Study
In Hebrews 11, we find an impressive list of saints who died in the faith. Some of them, like Able, died violently. Some, like Abraham, died peacefully. Some, like those in verses 35-37, died anonymously. As one might call this the heroes of the faith chapter, we find that these people lived through amazing times and witness amazing things, endured amazing persecution, and clung to Jesus through it all. After this impressive list, the writer of Hebrews goes on and says,
12:1 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, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1–3)
The writer of Hebrews has us first consider this great “cloud of witnesses.” Whether named or not, these saints are to inspire us in our Christian walk. The omitted verses in our hymn remind us of the Apostles and Evangelists (some overlap) as well as martyrs (again, some overlap), to provide us with the same inspiration. But what about these saints should inspire us? It can’t be in specifics because none of us can become an “apostle” (consider the requirements: Acts 1:21-22) and we can’t become an Evangelist in the sense the word is used here because the word refers to the four writers of the inspired Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
The answer lies in the second line of the hymn: “Who Thee by faith before the world confessed”. It is not the specific vocations that we are to emulate, nor even how they died (there is no need to aspire to being sawn in half (Hebrews 11:37)). Their faith in Jesus in both good times and bad is the shining example the saints leave us.
We are still running “the race that is set before us”. Hebrews encourages us to do so with endurance. The “race” is filled with trials, but we are God’s chosen people; He will lead us through the tribulations we face. So, while the list of former saints who clung to their faith in Jesus to the end, is impressive, Hebrews and our hymn focus us on a greater source to sustain us in our run, Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2 reads, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” This Jesus, to whom we look, endured the cross to make satisfaction for our sins. There are many words used to speak of this miracle in the Bible. Words like “justification” and “atonement” reveal different aspects of this miracle of all time.
We are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and His Gospel through which His Holy Spirit brings us to faith and keeps us in faith; this means clinging to our Baptism and treasuring the Lord’s Supper and the Scriptures. Through Word and Sacrament the Holy Spirit calls us to faith in Jesus and keeps us in that faith.
One thing we learn from the heroes of the faith, and indeed from our Lord Jesus himself, is that true faith in the Triune God is no guarantee of an easy life. Indeed, it is more a guarantee that the devil and the world will be our enemies. Consider what the Lord revealed to the Christians at Smyrna through the Apostle John.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10
Jesus tells the Church at Smyrna that trials were coming their way precisely because they were faithful. They should not fear these various trials, not only because they would last for only a relatively short time, but primarily because Jesus was ready to give them “the crown of life.” While the hymn uses many biblical images to refer to our heavenly destination, the crown of life is used in our verse 3 (verse 6 when you add the omitted verses). We can’t be perfect, but we can be faithful—repenting of our sins, knowing we have forgiveness through Christ, and clinging to the Gospel. As we are faithful to the end we can also be confident that we will receive the crown of life, that our destination is heaven
Therefore, those who die with this faith, faith in Jesus, the faith that heroes like Abraham and Matthew had, are truly blessed. They rest from their “labors.” So says Jesus:
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” Revelation 14:13
The hymn reminds us of this rest in words like: “Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest; Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.” These words of Jesus in Revelation also remind us that our deeds follow us into glory. In some way, what we have done in faith is remembered in heaven (Nehemiah 13:14; Matthew 10:42; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10). This in no way negates the foundational truth that we are saved by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE in Christ ALONE. Our works do not open the door of heaven. Our works do not merit our heavenly rest. Our works do not complete the work of Jesus. When Jesus said “It is finished,” he meant it (John 19:30)! When Paul wrote that we are saved by grace alone thorough faith alone, and specifically excluded any and all works on our part, he meant it (Ephesians 2:8-9)! But, once we step through those “gates of pearl,” in some way what we do out of love for our Lord is blessed in heaven. Our works are remembered.
Though it is a loosing cause, Satan and his minions battle on (1 Peter 5:8). John wrote:
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).
Satan and his followers end is sealed (Revelation 20:10). Jesus has won the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). Those who are with Jesus on that Last Day are called “chosen and faithful.” By the grace of God, that includes us. As Jesus said to the Christians in Smyrna, “Be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.”
So we return to that first verse of the hymn, where we sing:
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
May we also confess our faith in Christ in this world and, in the next, join all our brothers and sisters in the faith, heroes of the Christian Faith one and all.