Henry Alford wrote three stanzas of this hymn, which appeared in his Year of Praise, 1867; he wrote the fourth stanza in 1870. It is, as it were, a prophetic vision of the future, when sin shall be no more. It was intended as a funeral hymn, depicting the future glories of the deceased, thus providing an antidote to the gloom and sadness that often accompanies a bereavement.

Alford was born at Bedford Row, Holborn, London, on October 7, 1810. He studied at Cambridge University, graduating with honors in 1832. In 1833 he was ordained in the Anglican Church and was appointed as curate to the small village of Ampton, 28 miles from Cambridge. From 1835 to 1853 he was curate of Wymeswold, north of Leicester. From 1853 to 1857 he served in the Quebec Chapel, London. He served as dean of Canterbury Cathedral from 1857 until his death in that city on January 12, 1871. He was a profound Greek scholar and is remembered for his edition of the Greek New Testament, a labor of 20 years. He wrote many hymns and poems, and translations and compilations of hymns. He also wrote SDAH 557, “Come, Ye Thankful People.”

ALFORD, named for the author of the words, was especially composed for this text by John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876; see Biographies). It was first published in the revised Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1875.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.