Friday, November 1, 2019

A great cloud of witnesses



A hymn most appropriate for All Saints' Day sung to Ralph Vaughan Williams's SINE NOMINE ["without name"], perhaps referring to all those saints whose names are not remembered on earth:

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, 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!

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,
Singing to God, the Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

John Mark Reynolds, after the death of his great aunt, wrote:
.... Many suffered and all died, but none were forgotten by God. All of them passed from the horrible moment of death to His presence. They struggled and gasped and then they were at rest forever...not the cold unfeeling rest of physical death, but the vibrant life of souls awaiting a second life and a new body. They throb with the music of the spheres and the future triumph of King Jesus is obvious to them.

There is no doubt in one dead man that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We struggle in this life and we strive and we hope and we plan...and we exhaust ourselves in politics, business, and religious activity, but an end will come. Our striving is often lonely, but we are never alone. ....

Death is a reminder that for a Christian there is a community formed that is indifferent to time. We are surrounded by an ever growing multitude of those who know, who have set aside all doubt, and who rejoice in an imminent victory that they can see.

I am not alone.

You are not alone.

There is hope, because someone, some hundreds of thousands probably, have faced worse and gone on to victory. God’s grace is sufficient and the ever growing band of victorious Christians is to His glory and honor. We never are alone in our struggle, because millions of brothers and sisters are done with their labor and wait for us to join them.

Glory to God! .... [more]
Never Alone: All Saints » Evangel | A First Things Blog

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