LSB #826 "Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 6:8, Luke 10:2, Matthew 9:37-38, Colossians 4:3-4

Isaiah 6:8:  "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'  Then I said, 'Here am I!  Send me.'"

Luke 10:2:  "And he said to them [the seventy-two He sent out], 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

Matthew 9:37-38:  "37 Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

Colossians 4:3-4:  "3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."

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The text is public domain:

1 Hark, the voice of Jesus crying,

"Who will go and work today?

Fields are white and harvests waiting -

Who will bear the sheaves away?"

Loud and long the Master calleth;

Rich reward He offers thee.

Who will answer, gladly saying,

"Here am I, send me, send me"?

2 If you cannot speak like angels,

If you cannot preach like Paul,

You can tell the love of Jesus,

You can say He died for all.

If you cannot rouse the wicked

With the judgement's dread alarms,

You can lead the little children

To the Savior's waiting arms.

3 If you cannot be a watchman,

Standing high on Zion's wall,

Pointing out the path to heaven,

Off'ring life and peace to all,

With your prayers and with your bounties

You can do what God commands;

You can be like faithful Aaron,

Holding up the prophet's hands.

4 Let none hear you idly saying,

"There is nothing I can do,"

While the multitudes are dying

And the Master calls for you.

Take the task He gives you gladly,

Let His work your pleasure be;

Answer quickly when He calleth,

"Here am I, send me, send me!"

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Isaiah 6:8 appears in the first verse ("Hark, the voice of Jesus crying, / 'Who will go and work today?'... 'Here am I, send me, send me'") and in the fourth ("'Here am I, send me, send me!'").

The harvest imagery in Luke 10:2 and Matthew 9:37-38 is used in the lines "'Fields are white and harvests waiting - / Who will bear the sheaves away?'" in the first verse, although these lines also borrow from John 4:35:  "'Do you not say, "There are yet four months, then comes the harvest"?  Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.'"

Colossians 4:3-4 seems to be the basis for the second and third verses.

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The lines "You can lead the little children / To the Savior's waiting arms" at the end of the second verse allude to an event recounted in Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, and Luke 18:15-17.

The lines "You can be like faithful Aaron, / Holding up the prophet's hands" at the end of the third verse refer to Exodus 17:11-12:  "11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.  12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side.  So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

The lines "Take the task he gives you gladly, / Let His work your pleasure be" in the fourth verse bear some resemblance to 1 Corinthians 7:17 ("Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.  This is my rule in all the churches.") and Ecclesiastes 3:22 ("So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot.  Who can bring him to see what will be after him?").

"Abide with Me"

A couple weeks ago, I read the clause "the darkness deepens," and it occurred to me that the repetition involved in the alliteration lends a slight sense of this greater degree.  I remembered that this clause also appears in "Abide with Me" (specifically the second line of the first verse:  "The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide"), so I thought I would note it here, too.

LSB #825 "Rise, Shine, You People"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 5:14, Colossians 2:13-15, Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 28:18-20

Ephesians 5:14:  "for anything that becomes visible is light.  Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'"

Colossians 2:13-15:  "13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

Isaiah 60:1:  "1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."

Matthew 28:18-20:  "18 And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

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Ephesians 5:14 and Isaiah 60:1 are combined at the beginning of the first line ("Rise, shine, you people!").

The passage from Colossians 2 is the basis for the second verse, and Matthew 28:18-20 (particularly, "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations'") appears at the end of the third verse ("To all the world go out and tell the story / Of Jesus' glory") and throughout the fourth verse.

"Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure"

Last week, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 23 January.  The hymn was "Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure," and I noticed in particular the first line:  "Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal."  It may allude to the last part of Psalm 16:11:  "at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

LSB #823, 824 "May God Bestow on Us His Grace"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 67:1-2; 96:10-13; Isaiah 55:10-11; 62:1-2

Psalm 67:1-2:  "1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations."

Psalm 96:10-13:  "10 Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!  Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.'

"11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it!  Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness."

Isaiah 55:10-11:  "10 'For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.'"

Isaiah 62:1-2:  "1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.  2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give."

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The text is public domain:

1 May God bestow on us His grace,

With blessings rich provide us;

And may the brightness of His face

To life eternal guide us,

That we His saving health may know,

His gracious will and pleasure,

And also to the nations show

Christ's riches without measure

And unto God convert them.

2 Thine over all shall be the praise

And thanks of ev'ry nation;

And all the world with joy shall raise

The voice of exultation.

For Thou shalt judge the earth, O Lord,

Nor suffer sin to flourish;

Thy people's pasture is Thy Word

Their souls to feed and nourish,

In righteous paths to keep them.

3 O let the people praise Thy worth,

In all good works increasing;

The land shall plenteous fruit bring forth,

Thy Word is rich in blessing.

May God the Father, God the Son,

And God the Spirit bless us!

Let all the world praise Him alone,

Let solemn awe possess us.

Now let our hearts say, "Amen!"

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Psalm 67:1-2 is paraphrased in the first verse, and the passage from Isaiah 62 is also incorporated near the end ("And also to the nations show / Christ's riches without measure").

The passage from Psalm 96 is paraphrased in the second verse, and Isaiah 55:10-11 appears near the beginning of the third verse, particularly in the lines "The land shall plenteous fruit bring forth, / Thy Word is rich in blessing."

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The end of the second verse ("Thy people's pasture is Thy Word / Their souls to feed and nourish, / In righteous paths to keep them") alludes to Psalm 23:2-3:  "2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  3 He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

"In Adam We Have All Been One"

A few months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 27 October, where the hymn was "In Adam We Have All Been One."  The last verse ends with the lines "Where with the Father evermore / And Spirit Thou art one," sung to these musical phrases from the tune "The Saints' Delight":

"Evermore" is sung with a melisma (G G F# E), and this drawing out of the word lends a slight sense of duration.

LSB #822 "Alleluia! Let Praises Ring"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 19:1, Psalm 145:15-16, Revelation 7:9-17, Titus 3:4-7

Revelation 19:1:  "1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, 'Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God'"

Psalm 145:15-16:  "15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.  16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing."

Revelation 7:9-17:  "9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'  11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

"13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

Titus 3:4-7:  "4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

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The text is public domain:

1 Alleluia!  Let praises ring!

To God the Father let us bring

Our songs of adoration.

To Him through everlasting days

Be worship, honor, pow'r, and praise,

Whose hand sustains creation.

Singing, ringing:

Holy, holy,

God is holy;

Spread the story

Of our God, the Lord of glory.

2 Alleluia!  Let praises ring!

Unto the Lamb of God we sing,

In whom we are elected.

He bought His Church with His own blood,

He cleansed her in that blessed flood,

And as His bride selected.

Holy, holy

Is our union

And communion.

His befriending

Gives us joy and peace unending.

3 Alleluia!  Let praises ring!

Unto the Holy Ghost we sing

For our regeneration.

The saving faith in us He wrought

And us unto the Bridegroom brought,

Made us His chosen nation.

Glory!  Glory!

Joy eternal,

Bliss supernal;

There is manna

And an endless, glad hosanna.

4 Alleluia!  Let praises ring!

Unto our triune God we sing;

Blest be His name forever!

With angel hosts let us adore

And sing His praises evermore

For all His grace and favor!

Singing, ringing:

Holy, holy

God is holy;

Spread the story

Of our God, the Lord of glory!

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Revelation 19:1 seems to appear in the recurring line "Alleluia!  Let praises ring!" at the beginning of each verse.

The passage from Psalm 145:15-16 seems to be the basis for the line "Whose hand sustains creation" in the first verse and possibly also the line "There is manna" in the third verse.

The passage from Revelation 7 appears throughout the hymn but especially in the first verse, the lines "He bought His Church with His own blood, / He cleansed her in that blessed flood" in the second verse, and "With angel hosts let us adore / And sing His praises evermore" in the fourth verse.

The passage from Titus 3 is combined with Revelation 7:14 in the lines "He bought His Church with His own blood, / He cleansed her in that blessed flood" in the second verse and is also alluded to in the lines "Unto the Holy Ghost we sing / For our regeneration" in the third verse.

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The lines "Holy, holy, / God is holy" in the first and fourth verses may refer to the "Holy, holy, holy" in Isaiah 6:3 or Revelation 4:8.

The title "the Lamb of God" in the second verse comes from John 1:29, 36.

The line "Made us His chosen nation" in the third verse may refer to 1 Peter 2:9:  "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."