O God, in whom the happy dead

Representative Text

1 O God, in whom the happy dead
Still live united to their Head,
Their Lord and ours the same:
For all Thy saints, to memory dear,
Departed in thy faith and fear,
We bless Thy holy Name.

2 By the same grace upheld, may we
So follow those who followed Thee,
As with them to partake
The free reward of heavenly bliss.
Merciful Father! grant us this,
For our Redeemer's sake.

Source: Church Book: for the use of Evangelical Lutheran congregations #283

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Author: Josiah Conder

Josiah Conder was born in London, in 1789. He became a publisher, and in 1814 became proprietor of "The Eclectic Review." Subsequently to 1824, he composed a series of descriptive works, called the "Modern Traveller," which appeared in thirty volumes. He also published several volumes of poems and hymns. He was the author of the first "Congregational Hymn Book" (1836). He died in 1855. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	O God, in whom the happy dead
Author:	Josiah Conder (1836)
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Notes

O God! to Whom the happy dead. J. Conder. [All Saints' Day.] Appeared in the Congregational Hymn Book, 1836, No. 171, in 2 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed, "Whose faith follow." In his work The Choir and the Oratory, 1837, p. 230, it was republished as a "Collect," in metre. It is a paraphrase of the words in the prayer "For the whole state of Christ's Church Militant here on earth," in the Office for Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer:-

And we also bless Thy Holy Name, for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear; beseeching Thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of Thy heavenly kingdom: Grant this, 0 Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate."

This hymn was repeated in the author's Hymns of Praise, Praye, &c, 1856, p. 106, and is given in several modern hymn-books. In some it reads, "O God, in Whom the happy dead"; in others, "O God with Whom the happy dead; and in others, "O God, to Whom the faithful dead." With these exceptions the text is usually given in its original form.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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