The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done
The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done is a hymn text. Found in CW21 452, CW93 148, ELH 357, elw 366. Sung to VICTORY.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 452
- Christian Worship — 148
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 357
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 366
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 135
- Lutheran Service Book — 464
- Lutheran Worship — 143
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 210
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: From cosmic conflict (Law: death's power) through Christ's resurrection victory (Gospel: triumphant dispersal of foes) to eschatological hope (petitionary: eternal glory through Christ's wounds)
Background Research
Latin 'Finita iam sunt proelia', 17th c., author unknown. Francis Pott's English (1861). The tune VICTORY is adapted from Palestrina's Gloria Patri in his Magnificat tertii toni (1591), with W. H. Monk composing the Alleluia refrain. Source: Wikipedia 'The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done'.
In the Church Year
Suggested in the one-year series
- Easter 2 (5×)
- Easter Vigil (1×)
- Trinity 16 (1×)
Suggested in the three-year series
- Easter 2 (2×)
- Easter 3 (2×)
- Easter 5 (1×)
- Easter Day (1×)
- Easter Sunrise (1×)
From LCMS Worship's published hymn suggestions, 2014–2026. The count is how many of those yearly lists suggested this hymn for that day.
Overview
A Latin Easter hymn of victory, every line ringing with triumph: the battle is over (st. 1), death has done its worst and lost (st. 2), Christ rose on the third day to reign (st. 3), hell is closed and heaven opened (st. 4), and a closing prayer pleads his wounds for our freedom from death (st. 5). Its battle imagery is the 'Christus Victor' theme, but the final stanza grounds the victory in his stripes — the atonement.
Central theme: Christ's completed victory over death and hell, applied to his servants through his wounds
Structure
Victory (1); foes dispersed (2); third-day rising (3); hell closed, heaven opened (4); prayer by his stripes (5).
Law & Gospel Shape
Gospel; death's power named only as conquered.
Confessional Connections
Descent into hell as victory (FC IX); atonement as the basis of victory (AC III).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Easter Day and season; funerals.
Historical Notes
First printed in 'Symphonia Sirenum Selectarum' (Cologne, 1695). Pott's translation appeared in 1861 in 'Hymns Fitted to the Order of Common Prayer.'
About the Tune
PALESTRINA / VICTORY — adapted by W. H. Monk (1861) from Palestrina's 'Magnificat Tertii Toni' (1591), with an added Alleluia.
Scripture References
1 Cor 15:54-57 Col 2:15 Heb 2:14-15 Matt 16:21 Rev 1:18 Isa 53:5 1 Pet 2:24
Stanza by Stanza
With threefold Alleluias: the struggle is over, the battle finished, the Victor's triumph won; let praise begin.
The hymn begins after the battle, looking back on Good Friday from Easter morning. 'The strife is o'er' echoes 'It is finished' (John 19:30). The 'Victor' is Christ (1 Cor 15:57; Rev 5:5). 'Now be the song of praise begun' — the church's Easter praise starts here and never ends. The opening triple Alleluia, sung after the Lenten silence of that word, gives the whole hymn its festive frame.
- Scripture
- John 19:30, 1 Cor 15:57, Rev 5:5, Col 2:15
- Imagery & language
- Battle ended; triumph; Alleluias.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — victory announced.
- Connection to previous
- Opening proclamation.
Death's greatest powers have done their worst, Jesus has scattered his enemies, so let praise and joy burst out.
A realistic acknowledgment: death did its worst — Christ truly died (1 Cor 15:3-4). Yet the worst death could do became its own defeat (Heb 2:14). 'His foes dispersed' recalls Ps 68:1 ('God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered'), traditionally an Easter psalm. The enemies are sin, death, and the devil.
- Scripture
- 1 Cor 15:3-4, Heb 2:14, Ps 68:1, Rom 8:37
- Imagery & language
- Death's powers; scattered foes; outbursts of joy.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — death's defeat.
- Connection to previous
- Describes the battle's outcome.
On the third morning he rose, glorious in majesty, to reign; let us swell the joyful song.
'On the third day he rose again' — the Creed's words (1 Cor 15:4; Matt 16:21). He rises not merely to live but 'to reign' (Acts 2:32-36; Eph 1:20-22). The resurrection is the enthronement of the crucified one.
- Scripture
- 1 Cor 15:4, Matt 16:21, Acts 2:32-36, Eph 1:20-22
- Imagery & language
- Third morning; majesty; reign.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — resurrection and reign.
- Connection to previous
- Credal center of the hymn.
He shut the gaping gates of hell, and the bars fell from heaven's gates; let songs tell of his triumph.
A double movement: hell's gates closed (for believers), heaven's gates opened (Matt 16:18; Rev 1:18, 'I have the keys of Death and Hades'). The 'yawning' gates suggest hell as a devouring mouth, a medieval image. The 'bars from heaven's high portals fell' — paradise reopened (Gen 3:24; Luke 23:43). FC IX teaches the descent into hell as Christ's victory proclamation.
- Scripture
- Matt 16:18, Rev 1:18, 1 Pet 3:18-19, Gen 3:24, Luke 23:43, Ps 24:7-10
- Imagery & language
- Gates of hell; bars of heaven's gates.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — hell closed, heaven opened.
- Connection to previous
- Cosmic consequences of the resurrection.
Lord, by the wounds you suffered, free your servants from death's sting so we may live and sing to you.
The hymn ends in prayer, grounding the victory in the atonement: 'by the stripes which wounded Thee' (Isa 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24). The battle was won by suffering. 'Death's dread sting' (1 Cor 15:55-56, 'the sting of death is sin'). The purpose of freedom is life and worship ('live and sing to Thee').
- Scripture
- Isa 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24, 1 Cor 15:55-56, Rom 14:8
- Imagery & language
- Stripes; sting.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — prayer grounded in the atonement.
- Connection to previous
- Applies the victory to us in prayer.