Do you ever think about those who have gone before us into heaven? We speak correctly when we say that they have died. But we should always also remember that they are now alive, more alive than they ever were in this life, alive in the presence of the Lord, and of the angels, and of the saints of all ages. When we die, we who are in Christ will also immediately be in the presence of the Lord, as Jesus promised the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43).
And that should always be our primary focus … seeing Jesus no longer darkly through a glass, but face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Our greatest joy in heaven will not be the things we have left behind (our physical ailments and struggles with sin), and not even the things we will acquire (glorified bodies and the beauties of heaven) and the relationships we will renew (with deceased loved ones) and the relationships we will establish (with the saints of Bible and church history). No, the greatest joy will be our ability to see Jesus in His unveiled glory, to enjoy the intimacy of a richer fellowship with Him, and to join in the songs of the saints and angels before the throne: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing (Revelation 5:12).
But the Bible does indeed give us warrant to think about those who have gone before us. The people of the Lord in the Old Testament even identified themselves as those who belong to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In unique moments, Samuel was sent to visit Saul, and Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Those Old Testament patriarchs and saints were not forgotten. They, along with Noah and Abraham and David and Isaiah, as well as Peter and John and Paul, are presently in glory. And we will one day meet them and sing with them those songs of heaven.
So what are they doing now? And for that matter, what will we be doing after that day “when the roll is called up yonder,” and we answer, “Present, by the blood of the Lamb”? We will not be unconscious in what people wrongly speak of as “soul sleep.” No, we will be fully conscious from the moment of our physical death so that, like that thief on the cross, we will be with Jesus in Paradise. We know of two things that they are doing right now. Saints in heaven are singing the praises of the Lamb. And also the souls of those who have been martyred are described in Revelation 6:9-11 as being under the altar, crying out, “Lord, how long?” And that’s what we will be doing during what theologians call the “intermediate state” between our death and the return of Christ, when our bodies will be raised from the grave and be re-united with our souls, thus to be forever with the Lord here in the new heavens and the new earth.
We have a wonderful hymn that inquires about the present condition of those saints now in glory. It asks the question, “Who are these like stars appearing,” and then goes on in successive stanzas to answer that question. Surely this hymn should be a joy for us to sing, not only thinking about those already there, but also about what lies ahead for us, once we will have arrived. One day, our friends and family will sing this hymn, inquiring about our condition! So it should give us great delight to sing this now, reassuring ourselves of that present condition of those “like stars” whom we shall one day join. The Bible does not give us much detail about our heavenly home, but these stanzas faithfully answer some of our questions.
And since we have such a glorious future promised to us, should we not be singing about it in our worship, to lift our sights and our spirits to live by faith, not by sight, challenging us to think not so much about all our struggles today and the chaos of the deteriorating world around us, as to think of the world that lies ahead of us, to which we will someday be drawn? Should we not look into the heavens to see the stars, and think of those, like stars, who are now before God’s throne, where we long to be?
The text of the hymn was written by German pastor Theobald Heinrich Schenck (1656-1727), son of the pastor at Heidelbach. No pictures of this hymn writing pastor have been preserved. He entered the Giessen University in Hesse in 1670, receiving his M.A. in 1676, and taught in the local high school from 1677 to 1689. He was ordained as Town Preacher and “definitor” at the Stadtkirche in Giessen on December 27, 1689. He composed twenty stanzas for this, the only hymn he wrote that was published. Typically, only five of those stanzas are sung today. After being first published in 1719, it came to be found in almost all German hymnbooks. His only other remaining works are several funeral sermons. Giessen was a center of Lutheran Pietism in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. We can only assume that Schenck was part of that movement to restore heart devotion to the orthodoxy that had for many become stiff and formal, perhaps like the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2 that had lost its first love.
It has come into more widespread use in America and England through its English translation by Frances Elizabeth Cox (1812-1897), born in Oxford. We are indebted to her and to Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) for most of the great German chorales that have been translated into English. Cox’s translations were published in London as “Sacred Hymns from the German.” Such translations require masterful work in theology as well as in language, since the meaning must not only be rendered faithfully as poetry into a new language, but also in the appropriate meter to match the music.
Her first edition, published in 1841, contained 49 translations printed with the original text, together with biographical notes on the German authors. In the second edition in 1864, the translations increased to 56, with those of 1841 having been revised, and with additional notes. The 56 translations were composed of 27 from the first edition (22 having been omitted) and 29 which were new. “Who Are These Like Stars Appearing” is the best known of these. Here are the five stanzas most commonly found in hymnals today. The first two ask the question, “Who are these?” Then the next three give us the answer.
In stanza 1, we seek their identity with the opening question. Schenk assumes we have looked (by faith) and seen them above and then wonder who they are. We find their identity initially in the awesome impression they make upon us (“like stars appearing”), in the place where they are described (“before God’s throne”), in their attire (“a golden crown is wearing”), in their status (“this glorious band”), and in their activity (“Praising loud their heav’nly king”). What a magnificent sight and sound !
Who are these like stars appearing, These before God’s throne who stand?
Each a golden crown is wearing; Who are all this glorious band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing, Praising loud their heav’nly king.
In stanza 2, we blink at the sight of such “dazzling brightness.” Indeed, if they are described as being like stars, this must be an almost blinding sight, at least to our eyes here below. For us to look at even one of the smallest stars, our own sun, we cannot continue to gaze for more than a moment; the brilliance is more than our present eyes can survive. Then we realize that the brightness is more than merely light; it is the dazzling brightness of “God’s own truth” in which they are arrayed. Their clothes are the unfading whiteness of the imputed righteousness of Christ, as described in the vision given to Zechariah in chapter 3 of his prophecy. That leads to the question, “Whence come all this glorious band?”
Who are these of dazzling brightness, These in God’s own truth arrayed,
Clad in robes of purest whiteness, Robes whose luster ne’er shall fade,
Ne’er be touched by time’s rude hand? Whence come all this glorious band?
In stanza 3, we get the answer to the question with which the first two stanzas began, and the final question at the end of stanza 2. Not only who are they, but how did they come to be here? Everyone would like to be included in that “glorious band,” but not all may have that privilege. It is only for those who have come to faith in Christ, and who have persevered to the end, contending for Jesus’ honor, wrestling on till life was ended, sustaining the fight by not joining the sinful throng that lived for self and not for Christ. These have gained triumph, not by their own strength, but in the Lamb.
These are they who have contended For their Savior’s honor long,
Wrestling on till life was ended, Following not the sinful throng;
These who well the fight sustained, Triumph through the Lamb have gained.
In stanza 4, we learn more about these. They are the ones who suffered dearly in faithfulness to Christ. We who have lived in a time with little persecution sometimes forget how unusual that is in the history of Christendom. Heaven is filled with the souls of martyrs whose blood was shed by those who hate the Lord Jesus and His gospel. Much of their lives was spent in painful conflict against those who opposed the kingdom of God. But we see them now, “their painful conflict o’er” at last. How wonderful to know that “God has bid them weep no more.”
These are they whose hearts were riven, Sore with woe and anguish tried,
Who in prayer full oft have striven With the God they glorified;
Now, their painful conflict o’er, God has bid them weep no more.
In stanza 5, we consider the honor that is theirs, and which will be ours, as they have persevered like priests on duty in the heavenly temple who were consistently “offering up to Christ their will,” consecrating both soul and body to serve Him. The honor afforded to them (and one day to us) will be to “stand before His face,” in His very presence forevermore. Do we see them now as we sing? Do we have the assurance that we will one day be among them?
These, like priests, have watched and waited, Offering up to Christ their will;
Soul and body consecrated, Day and night to serve Him still:
Now in God’s most holy place Blest they stand before His face.
The tune used today almost universally is DARMSTADT, or sometimes also known as ALL SAINTS OLD. It came from a hymnal that was in Darmstadt, Germany. Most regions (if not communities) typically had their own hymnal compiled specifically for that city. Darmstadt was an important principality and at one point, an independent state in Germany. This tune is dated 1698, which makes it older than the text. Once joined with these words, it proved to be an excellent match. It has a joyful character, in some ways resembling the sound of a peal of bells. The first two phrases are repeated, starting on a high note, that of the tonic in the scale, and then coming down before returning up the scale again.
Here you can hear the singing of the hymn: