Scripture Verse

I…heard the voice of many angels…ten thousand times ten thousand. Revelation 5:11

Introduction

portrait
John B. Dykes
1823–1876

Words: Hen­ry Al­ford, Year of Praise 1867 (vers­es 1–3) & The Lord’s Pray­er Il­lus­trat­ed 1870 (verse 4).

Music: Al­ford John B. Dykes, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1875 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Henry Alford
1810–1871

Background

The glor­ies of the fi­nal re­sur­rec­tion day per­haps have no­where else been so tri­umph­ant­ly sung as in this hymn. Most of our songs are for the saints mil­i­tant; this is for the saints tri­umph­ant.

The victory of the re­deemed is well des­cribed here by the great Eng­lish the­o­lo­gian. It is not ea­sy for a Chris­tian be­liev­er to read these lines witho­ut feel­ing a quick­en­ing heart­beat in an­ti­ci­pa­tion of the glor­ies that are to be re­vealed in the res­ur­rec­tion…

It was sung at the au­thor’s bur­ial, out in the church­yard, af­ter the so­lemn ob­se­quies had been con­clud­ed in the ca­thed­ral where he had so oft­en preached.

Nutter, p. 323

Lyrics

Ten thousand times ten thousand
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints
Throng up the steeps of light;
’Tis finished, all is finished,
Their fight with death and sin;
Fling open wide the golden gates,
And let the victors in.

What rush of alleluias
Fills all the earth and sky!
What ringing of a thousand harps
Bespeaks the triumph nigh!
O day, for which creation
And all its tribes were made;
O joy, for all its former woes
A thousandfold repaid!

O then what raptured greetings
On Canaan’s happy shore;
What knitting severed friendships up,
Where partings are no more!
Then eyes with joy shall sparkle,
That brimmed with tears of late;
Orphans no longer fatherless,
Nr widows desolate.

Bring near Thy great salvation,
Thou Lamb for sinners slain;
Fill up the roll of Thine elect,
Then take Thy power, and reign;
Appear, Desire of nations,
Thine exiles long for home;
Show in the heav’n Thy promised sign;
Thou Prince and Savior, come.