For All Your Saints, O Lord, ELW 427
1 For all your saints, O Lord,
Who strove in you to live,
Who followed you, obeyed adored,
Our grateful hymn receive.
2 For all your saints, O Lord,
Who strove in you to die,
Who counted you their great reward,
Accept our thankful cry.
3 They all in life and death,
With you, their Lord, in view,
Learned form your Holy Spirit’s breath
To suffer and to do.
4 For this your name we bless
And humbly pray anew
That we like them in holiness
May live and die in you.
5 To God, the Father, Son,
And Spirit, ever blest,
The One in Three, the Three in One,
Be endless praise addressed.
Devotion
With this hymn, we give thanks “for all your saints, O Lord, who strove in you to live” (v. 1). Our gratitude includes the larger-than-life biblical figures of faith. It includes the martyrs of the church, the ultimate witnesses to Christ. It also includes those whose witness was not so dramatic, and whose faithful service was known only to a few.
For most of God’s saints, “following, obeying, and adoring” (v. 1) looks more ordinary than heroic. It’s a series of little things that make life easier for others, all done “with you, their Lord, in view” (v. 3). And it is never perfect. But it is the work of the “Holy Spirit’s breath” (v. 3), which bestows faith in Christ and leads God’s people to live the gospel.
So we celebrate all who “counted [God] their great reward” (v. 2) and pray that the Holy Spirit will so create and animate our faith that we too may be faithful witnesses who live and die in Christ.
Prayer
Lord God, our heavenly Father, we give thanks for all who have gone before us in faith. Encourage us by their example and inspire us with your Spirit, so we can live out the good news of your saving love. Amen.