Sweet Hosanas Ring

At our church every year on Palm Sunday, the Sunday school children process into the sanctuary at the beginning of the service, waving palms and singing a Palm Sunday song. More than once, they've sung All Glory, Laud and Honor. How beautiful and stirring. And appropriate.

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

Matthew 21:8 says that a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road and others cut tree branches and spread them on the road.

This all happened to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

We are commanded in these verses to rejoice and shout. Palm Sunday is a day of celebration. Our King is establishing His kingdom. He has secured it for us. We rejoice because because He brings us salvation. "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)

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

That salvation came at a price we can't imagine. What He did for us on Good Friday and on Easter deserves our undying praise. And He gives us all eternity to praise Him. How glorious it will be. "Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds — his name is the LORD— and rejoice before him." (Psalm 68:4)

Yet a mere five days later, these same crowds cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!"

Is that how fast our devotion for our Lord evaporates? Or do we live a life of praise - no matter what the circumstances? Living a life of praise is a conscious decision. Each day we must pray for the strength to praise Him in all things. Palm Sunday should live in our hearts, not just on this day, but every day of the year. Every minute of our lives, we should be mindful of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (Psalm 68:19)

Thou didst accept their praises; 
accept the prayers we bring, 
who in all good delightest, 
thou good and gracious King.
All glory, laud, and honor, 
to thee, Redeemer, King, 
to whom the lips of children 
made sweet hosannas ring. 

Story Behind All Glory, Laud and Honor

Theodulf was born in Spain around the year 760 AD, but fled the Iberian peninsula because of the Muslim conquest. Charlemagne promoted him to Bishop of Orleans and he served as a scholar, an educator, a poet, and an adviser to the emperor. He was a church reformer, opposing the use of icons. He wrote books on baptism and the Holy Spirit. When Charlemagne died in 814, his sons squabbled over the empire, and his son Louis the Pious imprisoned Theodulf on suspicion of conspiring with his enemies.

Louis the Pious

The story is told that Theodulf composed this hymn while in prison. As Louis passed by his cell on a Palm Sunday, Theodulf sang the hymn and Louis released him on the spot. The story is likely untrue, as Theodulf died four years later, most believe in prison and of poisoning.

Whatever the story, the Lord used Theodulf to write a beautiful and classic hymn that has survived for 1200 years.