Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rev. 5:9
st. 2 = John 14:18, Acts 1:9, Matt. 28:20
In 1866 William C. Dix (PHH 358) wrote this text for the celebration of the Lord's Supper at Ascension services. Originally entitled "Redemption by the Precious Blood," the five-stanza text, in which stanza 5 was a repeat of stanza 1, was published in Dix's Altar Songs, Verses on the Eucharist (1867). The original stanza 4 as well as the repeated stanza are omitted here. As in earlier editions of the Psalter Hymnal, stanza 3 changes the original text, which was "Alleluia! Bread of heaven, Thou on earth our food, our stay."
The "alleluias" that begin each stanza create a joyful tone of praise for the entire hymn. As we sing, we acclaim the glory of Christ now that the work of redemption is finished (st. 1); we are reminded that Christ has ascended but is always present with his people by his Spirit (st. 2); and we petition Christ to hear the cry of sinners and be our Intercessor" (st. 3).
Liturgical Use:
Ascension Day, many other occasions.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
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Alleluia, sing to Jesus. W. C. Dix. [Holy Communion.] Written about the year 1866, the author's design being to assist in supplying a then acknowledged lack of Eucharistic hymns in Church of England hymnals. It was first published in his Altar Songs, 1867, No. vii., in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, and appointed especially for Ascensiontide, with the title “Redemption by the Precious Blood." From Altar Songs it passed, unaltered, into the Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868, No. 350, and subsequently into numerous collections both in Great Britain and America, sometimes in a slightly altered and abbreviated form.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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