"Ach Gott vom Himmel" (TLH #260)

"When in Our Music God Is Glorified"

In The Lutheran Service Book, "When in Our Music God Is Glorified" is sung to the tune "Engelberg."  In Lutheran Worship, however, it's sung to the tune "Fredericktown."  I noticed a couple small features in this version.

Excepting the final "Alleluia"s, the first verse ends with the line "It is as though the whole creation cried," sung to this phrase:

"Creation" is sung with a melisma (C B A G), musically giving a sense of the entirety of that "whole."

There's a similar feature in the third verse.  It begins, "So has the Church..." and the sense is completed in the last line, "Borne witness to the truth in ev'ry tongue."  This last line is sung to the same phrase as above.  Here, "tongue" is sung with a melisma (A B), giving a sense of the breadth of "ev'ry."

LSB #638 "Eat This Bread"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:35, 1 Corinthians 23:26, John 6:48-58

John 6:35:  "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

1 Corinthians 11:23-26:  "23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

John 6:48-58:  "48 'I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'

"52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'  53 So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.  Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'"

+++

Part of the refrain ("Eat this bread, drink this cup") comes from the passage from 1 Corinthians 11, and part ("Come to Him and never be hungry... Trust in Him and you will not thirst") from John 6:35.

The first two verses also come from the passage from 1 Corinthians 11.  The second verse ("As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show His death until He comes again") is just a paraphrase of verse 26.

The third through fifth verses come from John 6:48-58:  the third and fifth verses from verse 54 and the fourth verse from either verse 51 or 58.

"St. Mary Magdalene"

Lutheran Worship #511, The Lutheran Hymnal #516 

Because some of the registers are a bit high, I did the alto part on soprano recorder and the tenor part on alto recorder.

"Denby" (TLH #259)

Transposed from Eb major to D major

"Voices Raised to You We Offer"

A couple years ago, I noticed a small feature in "Voices Raised to You We Offer."  The fourth line of the third verse is "For Your rising, hear our praise!" sung to this phrase from the tune "Song of Praise":

"Your rising" is sung to an ascending group of notes (G# A C#), musically giving a sense of its meaning.

LSB #637 "Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Psalm 34:8, 1 Corinthians 10:16

1 Corinthians 11:23-26:  "23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Psalm 34:8:  "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

1 Corinthians 10:16:  "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?"

+++

The text is public domain:

Draw near and take the body of the Lord,

And drink the holy blood for you outpoured;

Offered was He for greatest and for least,

Himself the victim and Himself the priest.

He who His saints in this world rules and shields,

To all believers life eternal yields;

With heav'nly bread He makes the hungry whole,

Gives living waters to the thirsting soul.

Come forward then with faithful hearts sincere,

And take the pledges of salvation here.

O Lord, our hearts with grateful thanks endow

As in this feast of love You bless us now.

+++

The two passages from 1 Corinthians are the main sources for the hymn.  They appear throughout but most clearly in the first verse.

Psalm 34:8 seems to appear in the first line of each of the first two verses:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!" bears some similarity to "Draw near and take the body of the Lord," and the refuge in "Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" is what's described in the relative clause "Who His saints in this world rules and shields."

The second half of the second verse draws from John's Gospel.  The "heav'nly bread" is in John 6, and the "living waters" are in John 4.  Part of Revelation 7 may also figure into this.  Verse 16 says, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore," and verse 17 mentions "springs of living water."  Isaiah 49:10 contains similar expressions.

"For greatest and for least" in the first verse is a merism.

"St. Magnus"

The Lutheran Service Book #532, The Lutheran Hymnal #219

"Herzliebster Jesu" (TLH #258)

Transposed from G minor to A minor

"Lord, You Are More Precious than Silver"

At the beginning of each Worship Anew program, Eric Kaschinske recites a verse of a hymn or song.  This week, it was:

Lord, You are more precious than silver

Lord, You are more costly than gold

Lord, You are more beautiful than diamonds

And nothing I desire compares with You

This song isn't included in any of the hymnals I have, but apparently its title is "Lord, You Are More Precious than Silver."

I realized that the structure here mirrors the meaning.  The first three lines all have the same structure, but the fourth line is different.  In the same way that "nothing... compares with" the Lord, this line is distinct from the other three.

LSB #636 "Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:7-8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 6:35, 48-51, 57-58

Isaiah 61:10:  "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Revelation 19:7-8:  "7 'Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."

1 Corinthians 11:23-26:  "23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

John 6:35:  "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

John 6:48-51:  "48 'I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'"

John 6:57-58:  "57 'As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.  Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'"

+++

Only some of the stanzas are public domain:

2 Hasten as a bride to meet Him,

And with loving rev'rence greet Him.

For with words of life immortal

He is knocking at your portal.

Open wide the gates before Him,

Saying, as you there adore Him:

Grant, Lord, that I now receive You,

That I nevermore will leave You.

3 He who craves a precious treasure

Neither cost nor pain will measure;

But the priceless gifts of heaven

God to us has freely given.

Though the wealth of earth were proffered,

None could buy the gifts here offered:

Christ's true body, for you riven,

And His blood, for you once given.

6 Jesus, sun of life, my splendor,

Jesus, friend of friends, most tender,

Jesus, joy of my desiring,

Fount of life, my soul inspiring:

At Your feet I cry, my maker,

Let me be a fit partaker

Of this blessèd food from heaven,

For our good, Your glory, given.

7 Lord, by love and mercy driven,

You once left Your throne in heaven

On the cross for me to languish

And to die in bitter anguish,

To forego all joy and gladness

And to shed Your blood in sadness.

By this blood redeemed and living,

Lord, I praise You with thanksgiving.

8 Jesus, bread of life, I pray You,

Let me gladly here obey You.

By Your love I am invited,

Be Your love with love requited;

By this Supper let me measure,

Lord, how vast and deep love's treasure.

Through the gift of grace You give me

As Your guest in heav'n receive me.

+++

Isaiah 61:10 and Revelation 19:7-8 both seem to be present in the first two verses, particularly the first line of each:  "Soul, adorn yourself with gladness" and "Hasten as a bride to meet Him."

The passage from 1 Corinthians 11 appears first at the end of the third verse ("Christ's true body, for you riven, / And His blood, for you once given") and is also present in most of the following verses.  The selections from John 6 overlap with 1 Corinthians 11 to some degree, but there are also parts of the hymn that are drawn specifically from them:  the phrase "bread of life" appears in the fourth and eight verses, and the phrase "food from heaven" is in the sixth.

Perhaps coincidentally, the line "Open wide the gates before Him" in the second verse bears some resemblance to Psalm 24:7:  "Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in."

The lines "By this Supper let me measure, / Lord, how vast and deep love's treasure" in the eighth verse may refer to Ephesians 3:17b-19:  "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

+++

To some degree, the alliteration in the line "He, though heav'nly, high, and holy" in the first verse illustrates God's perfection.

"St. Luke"

The Lutheran Service Book #614, Lutheran Worship #235, The Lutheran Hymnal #331