Xanthe Hancox

Thine be the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son;

Endless is the victory, Thou o’er death hast won;

Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away,

Kept the folded grave clothes where Thy body lay.

Thine is the glory, risen conqu’ring Son,

Endless is the vict’ry, Thou o’er death hast won. 

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it… The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:2, 5-6

Writing “A toi la gloire” (Thine be the Glory) in 1884, the French-speaking Swiss evangelical pastor Edmond Budry could never have envisaged that his hymn would become one of the best known in the world.

This glorious, joyful hymn tells the story of Jesus rising from the dead, referencing the resurrection accounts in the gospels of Matthew and John. The hymn opens with the great refrain, giving glory to Jesus. The final enemy to be overcome is death and Jesus has overcome it for all time and for eternity. Why do we have this joy? Budry retells the Bible story in his hymn: The angel have rolled away the stone from the empty grave, the grave clothes that had enfolded Jesus’ body have been discarded; they are of no use to a man who is alive. But Jesus doesn’t disappear into the ether; he proves his resurrection by going to meet his friends.

Then there is Thomas, Thomas who represents all of us in our stubbornness, Thomas who wants incontrovertible proof. Thomas gets his proof and Jesus tells him to stop doubting and believe. Budry is convinced, as Thomas was, “No more we doubt thee”; God will bring us through our own times, through our trials and difficulties, through our Jordan, to be with him in his promised land.Budry uses Handel’s music perfectly to celebrate the Resurrection story, point by point, ending on the great news that Jesus has won an endless victory—an endless victory in Jerusalem on an Easter morning and an endless victory for us, for you and me, here and now.

Listen to Budry’s hymn here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXzmjNE-yLA

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the times when, like Thomas, I doubt. Thank you for the wonderful joy that comes from knowing that you live. And thank you that because you live, I don’t have to fear death. Amen