"Arise, O Christian People"

Last year, I noticed a handful of small features in "Arise, O Christian People."  The hymn is sung to the tune "Aus meines Herzens Grunde."  Here's the fifth musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "Make straight, make plain the way."  The phrases "make straight" and "make plain" are each sung to notes of the same pitch, so even musically, there's a representation of this levelness.

In the fourth verse, the text is "From stall and manger low."  "Low" is sung to the lowest pitch (G), giving something of a sense of its meaning.

The seventh musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "The heights of pride abasing."  This line exhibits the opposite sort of feature as above:  "heights" is sung to the highest pitch in the phrase (C), illustrating its meaning (albeit more metaphorically).

The eighth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "To all the world is shown" (the subject is "The promised Lord from heaven" in the preceding line).  The phrase "all the world" is sung to notes of all different pitches (C A G), lending a sense of the breadth or entirety of "all."

LSB #814 "O Bless the Lord, My Soul"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 103; John 1:1-4, 14

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!"

John 1:1-4:  "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He was in the beginning with God.  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men."

John 1:14:  "14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

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The text is public domain:

1 O bless the Lord, my soul!

Let all within me join

And aid my tongue to bless His name

Whose favors are divine.

2 O bless the Lord, my soul,

Nor let His mercies lie

Forgotten in unthankfulness

And without praises die!

3 'Tis He forgives thy sins;

'Tis He relieves thy pain;

'Tis He that heals thy sicknesses

And makes thee young again.

4 He crowns thy life with love

When ransomed from the grave;

He that redeemed my soul from hell

Hath sov'reign pow'r to save.

5 He fills the poor with good;

He gives the suff'rers rest.

The Lord hath judgements for the proud

And justice for th'oppressed.

6 His wondrous works and ways

He made by Moses known,

But sent the world His truth and grace

By His belovèd Son.

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The hymn text paraphrases the first seven verses from Psalm 103.  The first four verses of the hymn correspond to the first four verses of the Psalm; the hymn's fifth verse comes from verses 5-6 of the Psalm; and the first half of the hymn's sixth verse comes from verse 7.

The two passages from John 1 (but mostly just verse 14) appear in the lines "But sent the world His truth and grace / By His belovèd Son" at the end of the sixth verse.

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The line "He fills the poor with good" at the beginning of the fifth verse echoes "he has filled the hungry with good things" in the Magnificat (Luke 1:53).

"Sing with All the Saints in Glory"

On Worship Anew a couple weeks ago (18 November, Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost), the Gospel reading was from Luke 21.  In his sermon, Pastor Jonker alluded to verse 28 a couple times:  "'Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.'"  This seems to be referenced in the line "Child of God, lift up your head!" in the third verse of "Sing with All the Saints in Glory."

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

LSB #813 "Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 20:5; 118:15-26; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 13:14

Psalm 20:5: "May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!  May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!"

Psalm 118:15-26:  "15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous:  'The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!'

"17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.  18 The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

"19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.  20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.  21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.  22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

"25 Save us, we pray, O LORD!  O LORD, we pray, give us success!

"26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!  We bless you from the house of the LORD."

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."

Hebrews 13:14:  "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."

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The text is public domain:

1 Rejoice, O pilgrim throng!

Rejoice, give thanks, and sing;

Your festal banner wave on high,

The cross of Christ your king.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

2 With voice as full and strong

As ocean's surging praise,

Send forth the sturdy hymns of old,

The psalms of ancient days.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

3 With all the angel choirs,

With all the saints on earth

Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,

True rapture, noblest mirth.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

4 Yet on and onward still,

With hymn and chant and song,

Through gate and porch and columned aisle

The hallowed pathways throng.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

5 Still lift your standard high,

Still march in firm array,

As pilgrims through the darkness wend

Till dawns the golden day.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

6 At last the march shall end;

The wearied ones shall rest;

The pilgrims find their home at last,

Jerusalem the blest.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

7 Praise Him who reigns on high,

The Lord whom we adore:

The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

One God forevermore.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!

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Psalm 20:5 is the basis for the lines "Your festal banner wave on high" in the first verse and "Still lift your standard high" in the fifth, and "shout for joy" is combined with part of Psalm 118:24 in the hymn's multiple calls to "Rejoice" in the first verse and refrain.

The passages from Psalm 118 and Colossians 3 both mention thankfulness and singing, and these appear most clearly in "give thanks, and sing" in the first verse and refrain.  The second through fourth verses continue the theme of singing.  The lines "Send forth the sturdy hymns of old, / The psalms of ancient days" in the second verse and "With hymn and chant and song" in the fourth echo "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" from Colossians 3:16.

Hebrews 13:14 is alluded to in the pilgrim imagery, primarily in the sixth verse, although also in the first ("O pilgrim throng!") and the fifth ("As pilgrims through the darkness wend").

"Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower"

I wrote about a small feature in "Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower" about a year ago, but when it was the hymn in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service last month (on the 13th), I found two more instances of something I've been noticing a lot lately:  phrases beginning with "all" are sung to notes of all different pitches, lending a sense of entirety.

In the line "Thee will I love with all my power" in the first verse, the phrase "all my power" is sung to the notes B A G F# in this musical phrase (from the tune "Ich will dich lieben"):

In the line "Thee will I love with all my heart" near the end of the second verse, the phrase "all my heart" is sung to the notes F# G E in this musical phrase:

LSB #812 "Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 5:6-14, Psalm 95:1-2

Revelation 5:6-14:  "6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.  8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  9 And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'  11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'  14 And the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the elders fell down and worshiped."

Psalm 95:1-2:  "1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!  2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"

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The text is public domain:

1 Come, let us join our cheerful songs

With angels round the throne;

Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,

But all their joys are one.

2 "Worthy the Lamb that died," they cry,

"To be exalted thus!"

"Worthy the Lamb," our lips reply,

"For He was slain for us!"

3 Jesus is worthy to receive

Honor and pow'r divine;

And blessings more than we can give

Be, Lord, forever Thine.

4 Let all creation join in one

To bless the sacred name

Of Him who sits upon the throne

And to adore the Lamb.

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The hymn summarizes the text from Revelation 5, particularly verses 11-13.  The passage from Psalm 95, especially the "joyful noise," appears in the first line:  "Come, let us join our cheerful songs."

"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"

A few weeks ago, the Daily Dose of Latin went over John 16:11 in the Vulgate.  In the ESV, it's "'concerning judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.'"  This seems to be the basis for roughly the second half of the third verse of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (specifically LSB #656):

This world's prince may still

Scowl fierce as he will,

He can harm us none.

He's judged; the deed is done;

One little word can fell him.

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

LSB #811 "Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Chronicles 16:31-36, Psalm 126:3, Joel 2:26, Psalm 95:6

1 Chronicles 16:31-36:  "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."

Psalm 126:3:  "The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad."

Joel 2:26:  "'You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.  And my people shall never again be put to shame.'"

Psalm 95:6:  "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our maker!"

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The passage from 1 Chronicles 16 is the main source for the hymn.  It appears most clearly in the hymn's third verse, which is drawn from verses 32-33 and likewise exhorts forest leaves, meadow grasses, and flowers to praise the Lord.

Psalm 126:3 appears at the end of the first verse:  "My heart... Would then proclaim... what great things God has done for me."

Like parts of the passage from 1 Chronicles 16, the worship and praise in Joel 2:26 and Psalm 95:6 seem to appear rather generally throughout the hymn, of which the first two lines provide a good summary:  "Oh, that I had a thousand voices / To praise my God with thousand tongues!"

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Part of the fourth verse ("All creatures that have breath and motion... Help me to sing God's praises high") is drawn from Psalm 150:6:  "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD!"

"I Know My Faith Is Founded"

I wrote about a small feature in "I Know My Faith Is Founded" about a year ago, but when it was one of the hymns on Worship Anew last month (5 October, Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost), I noticed something else.

The fourth line of the first verse is "Unmoved I stand on His sure Word," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Nun lob, mein' Seel'":

The words "Unmoved I stand" are all sung to the same pitch, and this musical constancy matches the meaning.

LSB #810 "O God of God, O Light of Light"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 5:12-13; Acts 2:22-24, 36; Revelation 19:4-6

Revelation 5:12-13:  "12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'"

Acts 2:22-24:  "22 'Men of Israel, hear these words:  Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.  24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.'"

Acts 2:36:  "'Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.'"

Revelation 19:4-6:  "4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, 'Amen.  Hallelujah!'  5 And from the throne came a voice saying, 'Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.'  6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns."

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The text is public domain:

1 O God of God, O Light of Light,

O Prince of Peace and King of kings:

To You in heaven's glory bright

The song of praise forever rings.

To Him who sits upon the throne,

The Lamb once slain but raised again,

Be all the glory He has won,

All thanks and praise!  Amen, amen.

2 For deep in prophets' sacred page,

And grand in poets' winged word,

Slowly in type, from age to age

The nations saw their coming Lord;

Till through the deep Judean night

Rang out the song, "Goodwill to men!"

Sung once by firstborn sons of light,

It echoes now, "Goodwill!"  Amen.

3 That life of truth, those deeds of love,

That death so steeped in hate and scorn -

These all are past, and now above

He reigns, our King once crowned with thorn.

Lift up your heads, O mighty gates!

So sang that host beyond our ken.

Lift up your heads, your King awaits.

We lift them up.  Amen, amen.

4 Then raise to Christ a mighty song,

And shout His name, His mercies tell!

Sing, heav'nly host, your praise prolong,

And all on earth, your anthem swell!

All hail, O Lamb for sinners slain!

Forever let the song ascend!

Worthy the Lamb, enthroned to reign,

All glory, pow'r!  Amen, amen.

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The two passages from Revelation appear in the first and fourth verses.  Revelation 5 with its "Worthy is the Lamb" and doxology is a bit more prominent than Revelation 19.

The two passages from Acts 2 seem to be the basis for the first half of the third verse, and "God raised him up" from verse 24 appears in the last half of the line "The Lamb once slain but raised again" in the first verse.

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In the first verse, the titles "God of God" and "Light of Light" come from the Nicene Creed.  The title "Prince of Peace" comes from Isaiah 9:6, and the title "King of kings" appears in 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:16.

The goodwill in the second verse comes from some translations of Luke 2:13-14:  "13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  14 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'' [NKJV].

The line "Lift up your heads, O mighty gates!" in the third verse refers to Psalm 24:7-10:  "7 Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  8 Who is the King of glory?  The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!  9 Lift up your heads, O gates!  And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  10 Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!"

"What Is the World to Me"

Near the end of September, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 23rd.  The hymn was "What Is the World to Me," and I noticed a small feature at the beginning of the first verse.

The hymn starts with the lines "What is the world to me / With all its vaunted pleasure," sung to these phrases from the tune "Was frag' ich nach der Welt":

"Pleasure" is sung with a melisma (E D C), lending a sense of the entirety or breadth of "all."  That the word is sung to all different pitches may contribute to this, too.

LSB #809 "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Lamentations 3:22-24, James 1:17, Genesis 8:20-22, Psalm 89:1-2

Lamentations 3:22-24:  "22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  24 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"

James 1:17:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Genesis 8:20-22:  "20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, 'I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth.  Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.  22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.'"

Psalm 89:1-2:  "1 I will sing of the steadfast love the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.  2 For I said, 'Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.'"

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Lamentations 3:22-24 appears in the first line ("Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father") and in the refrain ("Great is Thy faithfulness! / Great is Thy faithfulness! / Morning by morning new mercies I see...").  The phrase "Thy great faithfulness" also occurs in the second verse.  To a lesser degree, Psalm 89:1-2 is included in these lines, too.

James 1:17 is paraphrased in the first verse:  "There is no shadow of turning with Thee. / Thou changest not...."

The passage from Genesis 8, particularly verse 22, appears in the second verse:  "Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, / Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above / Join with all nature in manifold witness / To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love."