Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

LSB #337 "The Night Will Soon Be Ending"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 13:12a, Revelation 22:16-17, 1 Corinthians 2:7, John 1:4-5; John 3:19-21

Romans 13:12a:  "The night is far gone; the day is at hand."

Revelation 22:16-17:  "'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.'
     The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.'  And let the one who hears say, 'Come.'  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."

1 Corinthians 2:7:  "But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory."

John 1:4-5:  "In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 3:19-21:  "'And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried our in God.'"

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The first line (and title) of the hymn comes from the Romans text, although it seems a bit earlier, temporally.  Where the hymn says that "The night will soon be ending," the Romans text says it's already "far gone."  The same image appears again in the third verse:  "The earth in sure rotation / Will soon bring morning bright."

The name for Jesus given in the Revelation text ("the bright morning star") appears as "the Morning Star" and "God's radiant Star" in the first verse and as "one Star... beaming" in the fourth.

The lines "But now one Star is beaming / Whose rays have pierced the night" from the fourth verse combine the name for Christ in the Revelation text and the action ("the light shines in the darkness") in the John 1 text

The John 3 text constitutes the first half of the fifth verse:  "God dwells with us in darkness / And makes the night as day; / Yet we resist the brightness / And turn from God away."

I couldn't find anything in the hymn text that was obviously related to the 1 Corinthians text cited.  "As old as sin's perversion / Is mercy's vast design" from the third verse might come from "which God decreed before the ages for our glory," but I'm not completely convinced of it.