Wednesday, March 20, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor”

Refrain

All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!

To thee, before thy passion,
they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted,
our melody we raise. Refrain

Thou didst accept their praises;
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King! Refrain

by Theodulph of Orleans (c. 760–821)
Hymn 196, Glory to God
verses 3–4

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Reflection

We have yet a few more days of “sweet hosannas” ringing in our ears before we receive what will be our last supper with Jesus the next evening in the upper room, when our Lord is whisked away from us in the garden, and our lips become frozen in fear and dread and the journey to the cross intensifies.

As we draw our reflections on this particular hymn to a close, I am moved by an overwhelming theme in the last two stanzas: unity in praise of Christ. The juxtapositions of the “they”/“our” phrases make this clear: verse three’s “to thee before thy passion, they sang their hymns of praise;” and verse four’s “Thou didst accept their praises” serve as points to which “to thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise” (verse 3), and “accept the prayers we bring” (verse 4) are counterpoints.

The ancients who surrounded Jesus with shouts of loud hosannas formed the community of faith that we today join as we offer prayer and praise to our Messiah. Across time and space, our praises ring. Community was present in praise of Christ, as the hymn celebrates, before he faced agony on the cross and is present over two millennia after his death and resurrection.

Amid so much brokenness everywhere, may we find comfort in the solidary of spirit, as we lift our songs of praise that transcends time and space. Such spirit expands our sense of who “we” are; shouts of “hosanna” unite “they” into “we” — thanks be to God!

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Prayer
Almighty God, even as we encounter the looming shadow of the cross, we lift our songs of praise to the One who will take on the sins of the world. May the harmonious swelling of our voices — past, present, and future — be pleasing and acceptable to you, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

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Written by Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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