The Scripture
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." (1 Peter 2:9, KJV)
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, KJV)
"I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." (Isaiah 43:1, KJV)
The Heart of It
Every journey needs a first step, and every gathering needs a first sound. This is that sound. As the title track and bookend of the album, "Calling All Saints" opens the whole record by doing exactly what its name says. It calls. It reaches across mountains and valleys and nations to wake the sleeping, to name the chosen, and to turn every face toward the light that is breaking over the hills.
The heart of this song is a single, steadying truth. God calls us on purpose and by name. Peter does not say we might become a chosen people if we work hard enough. He says we already are. Chosen, royal, holy, His own peculiar treasure. That identity is not earned in the light; it is discovered when we are called out of the darkness. The calling comes first, and the shining follows.
And the calling has a direction. It is not merely a call to feel loved where we stand. It is a call to rise and to go home. Paul lifts our eyes to that day when the Lord Himself descends with a shout and the trump of God, when the dead in Christ rise and the living are caught up together to meet Him in the air. Jesus Himself promised that "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect" (Matthew 24:31), the very trumpet the song hears rolling across the mountains. The same voice that whispers our name in the dark will one day sound across the whole earth.
So the awakening this album describes is not a frantic thing. It is a waking to who we already are and to where we are already headed. Isaiah says it plainly for the Lord: "I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." When we understand that we were called out of darkness on purpose, the fear drains out of the rising. We are not being summoned to prove ourselves. We are being summoned home.
More Witnesses: Latter-day Scripture
Scripture rarely speaks a great truth only once, and later scripture takes up the same call. In the Book of Mormon, Alma teaches that the Good Shepherd is calling after His people even now, and that He calls them by His own name, so that those who will hear are known as His (Alma 5:38). It is the same tender summons Isaiah heard, the Shepherd naming His own and gathering them in.
The Doctrine and Covenants widens the picture from being called to joining the call. There the Lord speaks of the faithful being gathered as His elect, brought in from the four quarters of the earth by His own voice (Doctrine and Covenants 29:7). We are not only the called but also fellow laborers in the calling. Across these witnesses the one truth holds. God calls His people by name, and the calling asks for a reply.
How the Song Carries It
Listen to how the music enacts the message. It begins with a sound rolling across the mountains, the trumpet of the Lord, a sound "the world has longed to hear." The pre-chorus lifts our heads to see "the gold along the hill," that first light of morning Scripture so often uses for salvation drawing near. Then the chorus becomes the call itself, repeated like a bell: "Calling all saints, calling all saints, rise from your sleep and stand."
The bridge gathers "every valley, every nation," echoing Isaiah's promise as the Lord calls each one "by your own name." And the final chorus does the loveliest thing of all. It turns to the person beside you and says, "Take the hand beside you, come, we are walking home in song." The road is bright and long, and we walk it together.
The Lyrics
Hear it roll across the mountains,
a sound the world has longed to hear.
The trumpet of the Lord is calling,
and it is calling you to draw near.
Lift your head, the night is breaking,
see the gold along the hill.
Calling all saints, calling all saints,
rise from your sleep and stand.
The King is coming, the day has dawned,
we are going home to the promised land.
You are named, you are chosen,
hear Him call across the plain:
calling all saints, calling all saints,
come home, come home again.
You were never made for shadows,
you were formed for greater light.
So take your place among the faithful,
and set your face toward the height.
Every valley, every nation,
lift your voice and answer clear.
He has called you by your own name,
rise, the morning's here.
Calling all saints, calling all saints,
the road is bright and long.
Take the hand beside you, come,
we are walking home in song.
A Blessing
May you hear your name today in the voice that called you out of darkness, and may you answer without fear. The King who calls you is coming for you, and He has never once forgotten the road to your door. Rise, dear saint, and take the hand beside you, for we are walking home together. The morning is here, and the day has dawned. Go in peace.
Scripture References
- 1 Peter 2:9
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
- Matthew 24:31
- Isaiah 43:1
- Alma 5:38 (Book of Mormon)
- Doctrine and Covenants 29:7