All Glory Laud and Honor

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

Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s name comest,
the King and Blessed One.

The company of angels
are praising thee on high,
and we with all creation
in chorus make reply.

The people of the Hebrews
with psalms before thee went;
our prayer and praise and anthems
before thee we present.

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

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

As we approach Palm Sunday, I wanted to share a Palm Sunday hymn that you may not be familiar with.  Although this song has been around since the 800’s (….yes 800’s not 1800’s), it is not one that was familiar to me.  I have seen it before in hymnals but had never heard the tune.  For those of you unfamiliar with it, here’s a link:

This particular hymn was written by Bishop Theodolph of Orleans, France.  Bishop Theodolph lived from 760-821 and was a poet and pastor.  He was put into a monastic prison by Charlemagne’s son after Charlemagne had died.  Louis I the Pious believed that this bishop had plotted against him and therefore cast him into the prison.  However, this Bishop did not let the prison deter him from writing these powerful words that have endured 1200 years, and were eventually translated into English in the 1800’s by John M. Neale.

This song harkens us back to that day, 2000 years ago, where Christ triumphantly enters Jerusalem with shouts of praise and Hosanna.  This Sunday before Passover was Lamb Selection Sunday, and Christ enters the city riding on a donkey to shouts of praise and adoration.  How quickly, however, those shouts of praise changed to cries of “Crucify Him.”  This song compares the praise that day to our modern praise, and sometimes, I regret that we too can be like the people of Jerusalem 2000 years ago.  Praising God on Sunday inside the four walls of the Church, and then questioning God or blaming God only a few days later.  As we enter Palm Sunday and Passion week, I pray that our praise will be genuine and true and consistent.  That we would praise Him on Sunday, and praise Him in the Garden of “pressure” and that we would worship Him openly on Friday as well.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Laud” – Laud means to praise or to extol.  It’s root also gives us the English world – applaud.  The praise that were on the tongues of the people 2,000 years ago seemed to be authentic.  When you read about this event, you find a large crowd of people shouting “Hosanna!!! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Were these people sincere?  Was their praise authentic?  But before I can get too critical of them, I ask myself those same questions.  Is my praise sincere?  Is it authentic?  Am I following the crowd in my worship of the Lord?  Those are hard questions because I too have been in a position where I am not thrilled about the integrity of my praise and honor of the Lord.

• “Thou didst accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring.”  Jesus response to the praise of the people was not criticism.  He didn’t chastise them even though He knew they would be singing a different tune only a few days later.  He accepted their praise.  When the Pharisees told Him to rebuke the people, He told them that if they withheld their praise, that the stones would cry out in praise.  Their praise was acceptable to Jesus that day.  But the Bible also reminds us what is “acceptable” to God.  Proverbs 21:3 reminds us “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”  Lord, help me to do what is right and just rather than bring you small sacrifices of praise!

This hymn today could be called a “Prison” hymn because it is believed that Bishop Theodolph wrote it while in prison.  But there is an interesting ending to this story.  In Kenneth Osbeck’s book “Amazing Grace” he writes “It is believed by many that a short time before the bishop’s death in 821, Louis was visiting in the area where the bishop was imprisoned and by chance passed under his cell.  When the emperor heard this particular text being sung, he was so moved by the incident that he immediately ordered the bishop’s release.”

True worship and laud and honor can happen anywhere.  Inside the walls of prison.  After a beating with rods by the crowd.  Bishop Theoldolph praised God in the midst of a prison cell.  Paul and Silas praised God in shackles and chains following a severe beating.  Their praise was true, and right, and acceptable to the Lord.  May our praise be the same today, Palm Sunday, Passion Week, and every day we have here on Earth.  All Glory Laud and Honor to Thee, Redeemer King!!!