lutheranhymns

This is a reference to the book of Revelation (we're still in the Saints mini-section) where the heavenly saints are described as wearing white robes. "Host" is kind of a weird word, God is often referred to as "the Lord of hosts," but in that context it doesn't mean "the person who's having the dinner party" so much as "army" (of angels?) so sometimes that gets worked around so as to not be too militaristic. The title is sometimes translated as "Who Is This Host Arrayed In White?" and the hymn tune is called "Den Store Hvide Flok," which is apparently Norwegian for "The Great White Host." ("Great White Host" is listed as an alternate name for this tune, but maybe that seemed kind of racist?)

There are several long-distance rhyme schemes stretching across lines (white/bright/light), which makes it a little hard to track down when the rhymes go sideways (rest/blest/trust? God/abroad/seed??) Prince/sins is clever.