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!
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 heaven Thy promised sign; Thou Prince and Savior, come.
About the writer: Henry Alford, widely known as the author of The Greek Testament with Notes, was born in London in 1810. He wrote the following dedication in his Bible at the age of 16: “I do this day, in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God, and solemnly determine henceforth to become his and to do his work as far as in me lies.” He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, ordained in 1833, and soon made a reputation as an eloquent preacher and sound biblical critic. He was appointed Dean of Canterbury in 1857, which distinction he held to the day of his death in 1871.
Key Verse: Then I looked again, and I heard the singing of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the elders. –Revelation 5:11