"Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus"

About a month ago, one of the hymns on Worship Anew was "Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus."  I noticed that the line "Full of faith and hope and love" in the first verse exhibits polysyndeton (the repeated "and") and that the repetition here provides a sense of this abundance (being "full").

I also found an uncited Biblical reference.  The lines "Though today we sow no laughter, / We shall reap celestial joy" in the second verse draw from Psalm 126:5:  "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!"

(Here's a link to my post on the other Biblical sources.)

LSB #798 "The God of Abraham Praise"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Exodus 3:6, 14; Psalm 142:5-6; Psalm 9:7-11; Revelation 4:8

Exodus 3:6:  "And he said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."

Exodus 3:14:  "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.'  And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'"

Psalm 142:5-6:  "5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'  6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!"

Psalm 9:7-11:  "7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.

"9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

"11 Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!"

Revelation 4:8:  "And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'"

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The text is public domain:

1 The God of Abr'ham praise,

Who reigns enthroned above;

Ancient of everlasting days

And God of love.

Jehovah, great I AM!

By earth and heav'n confessed;

I bow and bless the sacred name

Forever blest.

2 The God of Abr'ham praise,

At whose supreme command

From earth I rise and seek the joys

At His right hand.

I all on earth forsake,

Its wisdom, fame, and pow'r,

And Him my only portion make,

My shield and tow'r.

3 The God of Abr'ham praise,

Whose all-sufficient grace

Shall guide me all my pilgrim days

In all my ways.

He deigns to call me friend;

He calls Himself my God.

And He shall save me to the end

Through Jesus' blood.

4 He by Himself has sworn;

I on His oath depend.

I shall, on eagle wings upborne,

To heav'n ascend.

I shall behold His face;

I shall His pow'r adore

And sing the wonders of His grace

Forevermore.

5 Though nature's strength decay,

And earth and hell withstand,

To Canaan's bounds I urge my way

At His command.

The wat'ry deep I pass,

With Jesus in my view,

And through the howling wilderness

My way pursue.

6 The goodly land I see,

With peace and plenty blest:

A land of sacred liberty

And endless rest.

There milk and honey flow,

And oil and wine abound,

And trees of life forever grow

With mercy crowned.

7 There dwells the Lord our king,

The Lord our righteousness,

Triumphant o'er the world and sin,

The Prince of Peace.

On Zion's sacred height

His kingdom He maintains

And glorious with His saints in light

Forever reigns.

8 The God who reigns on high

The great archangels sing,

And "Holy, holy, holy!" cry,

"Almighty King!

Who was and is the same

And evermore shall be:

Jehovah, Father, great I AM!

We worship Thee!"

9 The whole triumphant host

Give thanks to God on high.

"Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!"

They ever cry.

Hail, Abr'ham's God and mine!

I join the heav'nly lays:

All might and majesty are Thine

And endless praise!

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Exodus 3:6 appears in the repeated line "The God of Abr'ham praise" in the first three verses (which also incorporates "Sing praises to the LORD" from Psalm 9:11) and in the line "Hail, Abr'ham's God and mine!" in the ninth, and Exodus 3:14 appears in the lines "Jehovah, great I AM!" in the first verse and "Jehovah, Father, great I AM!" in the eighth.

Psalm 142:5-6, specifically "You are... my portion in the land of the living," appears in the line "And Him my only portion make" in the second verse.

The passage from Psalm 9, particularly "the LORD sits enthroned forever," shows up most clearly in the seventh and eighth verses:  "His kingdom He maintains / And glorious with His saints in light / Forever reigns. // The God who reigns on high."

Revelation 4:8 is the basis for most of the eighth verse, although there's also a resemblance to the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3:  "And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'"  

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The title "Ancient of everlasting days" in the first verse comes from Daniel 7:13:  "'I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.'"

The line "My shield and tow'r" at the end of the second verse could come from the "refuge" or "stronghold" in the Psalms cited above, but this specific imagery is also prevalent in other Psalms.  God as a shield appears in Psalm 3:3, 28:7, 33:20, 84:11, and God as a tower appears in Psalm 61:3 and Proverbs 18:10.

The line "Whose all-sufficient grace" in the third verse seems to be drawn from 2 Corinthians 12:9:  "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

The line "He deigns to call me friend" in the third verse may refer to John 15:14-16:  "14 'You are my friends if you do what I command you.  15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.'"

The lines "I shall, on eagle wings upborne, / To heavn' ascend. / I shall behold His face" in the fourth verse seem to combine parts of Isaiah 40:31 ("but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles") and 1 Corinthians 13:12 ("For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.").

The description "There milk and honey flow" in the sixth verse occurs a number of times in the Pentateuch, first in Exodus 3:8:  "and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

In the seventh verse, the title "The Lord our righteousness" appears a couple times in Jeremiah (23:6 and 33:16), and the title "The Prince of Peace" is taken from Isaiah 9:6.

Most of the ninth verse seems to be drawn from Revelation 7, particularly verses 9-10:  "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!'"

"My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less"

One of the hymns in a church service I attended last month was "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" (paired with the tune "Magdalen").  I noticed a small feature in the last line of the third verse:  "He then is all my hope and stay," sung to this musical phrase:

"All" is sung to a dotted quarter note.  This is the longest note in the phrase, and to some degree, this greater duration lends a sense of the entirety of that "all."

LSB #797 "Praise the Almighty"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  Psalm 146

Psalm 146:  "1 Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD, O my soul!  2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

"3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

"5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.

"The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.  9 The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.  Praise the LORD!"

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The text is public domain:

1 Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him!

Yes, I will laud Him until death;

With songs and anthems I come before Him

As long as He allows me breath.

From Him my life and all things came;

Bless, O my soul, His holy name.

Alleluia, alleluia!

2 Trust not in rulers; they are but mortal;

Earthborn they are and soon decay.

Vain are their counsels at life's last portal,

When the dark grave engulfs its prey.

Since mortals can no help afford,

Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia!

3 Blessed, oh, blessed are they forever

Whose help is from the Lord Most High,

Whom from salvation can nothing sever,

And who in hope to Christ draw night.

To all who trust in Him, our Lord

Will aid and counsel now afford.

Alleluia, alleluia!

4 Penitent sinners, for mercy crying,

Pardon and peace from Him obtain;

Ever the wants of the poor supplying,

Their faithful God He will remain.

He helps His children in distress,

The widows and the fatherless.

Alleluia, alleluia!

5 Praise, all you people, the name so holy

Of Him who does such wondrous things!

All that has being, to praise Him solely,

With happy heart its amen sings.

Children of God, with angel host

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Alleluia, alleluia!

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The hymn paraphrases Psalm 146.  The hymn's first verse comes from verses 1-2; the second verse from verses 3-4; the third verse from verse 5; the fourth verse from verses 7-9; and the fifth verse from verse 10.

"Spread the Reign of God the Lord"

Recently, I happened to see the title "Spread the Reign of God the Lord" and realized a way in which it connects to the melody to which it's sung, the first phrase of the tune "Gott sei Dank":

The phrase spans an octave, musically reflecting this idea of "spread[ing]."

LSB #796 "When in Our Music God Is Glorified"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Chronicles 16:4-36, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, Colossians 3:16-17, Mark 14:26

1 Chronicles 16:4-36:  "4 Then he [David] appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.  5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.  7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers.

"8 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!  9 Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!  10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!  11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!  12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgements he uttered, 13 O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

"14 He is the LORD our God; his judgements are in all the earth.  15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 17 which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel, 18 saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.'

"19 When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, 'Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!'

"23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth!  Tell of his salvation from day to day.  24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!  25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.  26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.  27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.  28 Ascribe to the LORD, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!  29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him!  Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.  31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!'  32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it!  33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.  34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

"35 Say also:  'Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.  36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!'  Then all the people said, 'Amen!' and praised the LORD."

2 Chronicles 5:13-14:  "13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, 'For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,' the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God."

Colossians 3:16-17:  "16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Mark 14:26:  "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

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The first three citations (1 Chronicles 16:4-36, 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, and Colossians 3:16-17) seem to be the basis for the fifth verse:  "Let ev'ry instrument be tuned for praise! / Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! / And may God give us faith to sing always: / Alleluia!"

Mark 14:26 is referred to in the fourth verse:  "And did not Jesus sing a psalm that night / When utmost evil strove against the light?"

"Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten"

I was looking at "Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten" a couple months ago and found an-other small feature to note.  The second line of the second verse is "God created all we see," sung to this phrase from the tune "Westminster Abbey":

The phrase "all we see" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# E D), lending something of a sense of this breadth or entirety, although the span is only a major third.

LSB #795 "Voices Raised to You We Offer"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Colossians 3:16, Isaiah 12:2, 2 Corinthians 4:13, Psalm 147:1

Colossians 3:16:  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Isaiah 12:2:  "'Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.'"

2 Corinthians 4:13:  "Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke,' we also believe, and so we also speak"

Psalm 147:1:  "Praise the LORD!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting."

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Most of the cited passages (Colossians 3:16, Isaiah 12:2, and Psalm 147:1) are combined in the first two lines ("Voiced raised to You we offer; / Tune them, God, for songs of praise") and in the line "Triune God, to You we sing!" at the end of the first and fifth verses.

2 Corinthians 4:13 seems to be the basis for the lines "Spirit, flaming through creation, / Kindle faith within each heart. / Lift our voices high in chorus" in the fourth verse.

"Praise the LORD!" in Psalm 147:1 also appears in the third verse:  "For Your living, suff'ring, dying, / For Your rising, hear our praise!"

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The line "All creation joins to praise You" at the beginning of the second verse seems to be drawn from Psalm 148, which lists many parts of creation and, like Psalm 147:1, exhorts them to "Praise the LORD!"  The following line, "Earth and sky Your works display," paraphrases Psalm 19:1:  "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

"Lord, This Day We've Come to Worship"

I was looking at "Lord, This Day We've Come to Worship" last month and found an-other instance where a phrase is sung to notes of all different pitches, resulting in something of a sense of breadth or entirety.  The last line of the hymn (aside from the refrain) is "Serve the Lord through all our days," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Glorious Name":

The phrase "all our days" is sung to the notes A G F.

LSB #794 "The Lord, My God, Be Praised"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Deuteronomy 32:3; Psalm 5:11-12; Romans 3:24-25a; 8:26-27

Deuteronomy 32:3:  "For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!"

Psalm 5:11-12:  "11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.  12 For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield."

Romans 3:24-25a: "24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."

Romans 8:26-27:  "26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

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The text is public domain:

1 The Lord, my God, be praised,

My light, my life from heaven;

My maker, who to me

Has soul and body given;

My Father, who will shield

And keep me day by day

And make each moment yield

New blessings on my way.

2 The Lord, my God, be praised,

My trust, my life from heaven,

The Father's own dear Son,

Whose life for me was given,

Who for my sin atoned

With His most precious blood

And gives to me by faith

The highest heav'nly good.

3 The Lord, my God, be praised,

My hope, my life from heaven,

The Spirit, whom the Son

In love to me has given.

His grace revives my heart

And gives my spirit pow'r,

Help, comfort, and support

In sorrow's gloomy hour.

4 The Lord, my God, be praised,

My God, the everliving,

To whom the heav'nly host

Their laud and praise are giving.

The Lord, my God, be praised,

In whose great name I boast,

God Father, God the Son,

And God the Holy Ghost.

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Deuteronomy 32:3 appears in the lines "The Lord, my God, be praised, / In whose great name I boast" in the last verse, although these lines may also draw from 1 Corinthians 1:31 (apparently referencing Jeremiah 9:23-24):  "so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

Psalm 5:11-12 appears in the first verse, specifically the lines "My Father, who will shield / And keep me day by day."  Romans 3:24-25a is the basis for the second verse, but the phrase "precious blood" seems to indicate 1 Peter 1:18-19 as a source, too:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."  Romans 8:26-27 is the basis for the third verse.

"Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation"

I wrote about some small features in "Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation" before, but when I was looking at the hymn again last month, I found an-other instance of a feature I've been noticing a lot lately.

The third verse begins with the lines "Grant, we pray, to all Your faithful / All the gifts they ask to gain."  The first of these lines is sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Westminster Abbey":

The phrase "all Your faithful" is sung to notes of all different pitches (spanning nearly an octave:  C A F# D), giving a sense of the entirety of "all."

LSB #793 "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  Psalm 103

Psalm 103:  "1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

"6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.  7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.  8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.  15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.  17 But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.  19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.

"20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!  21 Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!  22 Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul!"

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The text is public domain:

1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;

To His feet your tribute bring;

Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,

Evermore His praises sing:

Alleluia, alleluia!

Praise the everlasting King.

2 Praise Him for His grace and favor

To His people in distress;

Praise Him still the same as ever,

Slow to chide and swift to bless:

Alleluia, alleluia!

Glorious in His faithfulness.

3 Father-like He tends and spares us;

Well our feeble frame He knows;

In His hand He gently bears us,

Rescues us from all our foes.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Widely yet His mercy flows.

4 Angels, help us to adore Him;

You behold Him face to face;

Sun and moon, bow down before Him,

All who dwell in time and space.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Praise with us the God of grace.

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Psalm 103:1-5 is the basis for the hymn's first verse; verses 8-9 for the second verse; verses 11-14 for the third verse (albeit in opposite order:  the lines "Father-like He tends and spares us; / Well our feeble frame He knows" are drawn from verses 13-14, and "widely yet His mercy flows" seems to refer to the height and breadth mentioned in verses 11-12); and verses 20-22 for the fourth verse.

The line "Praise Him still the same as ever" in the second verse may refer to Hebrews 13:8:  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Perhaps just coincidentally, the line "Sun and moon, bow down before Him" in the fourth verse uses the same imagery as Joseph's dream in Genesis 37:9:  "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed another dream.  Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.'"