William Chatterton Dix (1837–98), an Anglo-Catholic, wrote this hymn to address a severe lack of eucharistic hymns in the Church of England. It first appeared in his 1867 Altar Songs under the heading “Ascension. / Redemption by the Precious Blood.” The most controversial stanza was the fourth, which many hymnals historically omitted because the word “victim” might suggest the Lord’s Supper is a propitiatory sacrifice. The Lutheran Service Book includes the complete hymn: this stanza beautifully describes how Jesus, “our great High Priest,” entered the Most Holy Place by means of His own blood and now gives us that very blood in the Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins. Stanza 1 draws on Revelation 7 and 14, depicting Christ as the powerful victor praised by the heavenly host; stanza 3 presents Him as the “bread of heaven” (John 6:51).
Sung at Our Saviour
2026