For Thy Dear Saints

For Thy dear saints, O Lord,
[or, For Thy dear saint, O Lord,]
Who strove in Thee to live,
Who followed Thee, obeyed, adored,
Our grateful hymn receive.

They all in life and death,
With Thee their Lord in view,
Learned from Thy Holy Spirit’s breath
To suffer and to do.

Thine earthly members fit
To join Thy saints above,
In one communion ever knit,
One fellowship of love.

Jesus, Thy Name we bless,
And humbly pray that we
May follow them in holiness,
Who lived and died for Thee.

Author: Richard Mant

Year: 1828

This hymn text first appeared in Richard Mant's 1828 collection 'Ancient Hymns, from the Roman Breviary'. Some later hymnals print it with slight textual variants (e.g., singular "saint" in the first line). No strong alternate attributions exist.