Apostrophizing Mary and Other Saints

I still remember at seminary a professor (may he rest in peace!) criticizing “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones” for addressing the Virgin Mary in its second stanza. And the implication was clearly that this hymn of Anglican origin (with that stanza based on an Eastern prayer), was really sub par for a Lutheran hymnal. Said stanza suffered omission in Lutheran Worship but was restored in Lutheran Service Book. And rightly so. Piepkorn pointed out many years before in a chapel homily that a hymn in Synod's first hymnal did exactly the same thing. It was #17, and in the marvelous little English version of the same (see Walther’s Hymnal) , you can read it right there in the first stanza:

O hail this brightest day of days,

All ye good Christian people!

For Christ hath come upon our ways,

So ring it from the steeple.

Of maiden pure is He the Son;

Thou, Mary, art the chosen one,

Him in thy womb to carry.

Ever was there news so great?

God's own Son from heav'n's high state

Is born the Son of Mary. 

This practice of speaking to saints and angels in the hymns and liturgy is actually characteristic of a worship where the heavenly host and the earthly chorus constitutes a single liturgical choir. Thus, in the Psalter, “Praise Him, all His hosts!” Thus, in the Benedicite Omnia Opera: “You spirits and souls of the righteous, bless the Lord!” (LSB 931:11).  Or the lovely Advent hymn on the Angelic Salutation: “The Angel Gabriel,” “Most highly favored lady, gloria!”

Note that in the hymn cited from Walther's hymnal ALL ye good Christian people are summoned to hail the arrival of God in the flesh - whether they are breathing still or not is irrelevant! If they are the Lord's people, they are living and praising Him still! See Psalm 115. The praise does not die on the lips of God’s people, and so in the liturgy the calling out to all creation to join together in the praise of Him whose love brought Him to Virgin womb, manger, cross, and crown!