"All for Christ I Have Forsaken"

I wrote a post about some small features in "All for Christ I Have Forsaken" a few years ago, but when it was the hymn in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service last month (on 11 September), I noticed two more.

Both occur in the third musical phrase (the tune is "Restoration"):

In the first verse, the text here is "Worldly joy, its fame and fortune" (the sense continues into the next line:  "Now I count as worthless dross").  "Joy" is sung with a melisma (B A), lending a sense of this ebullience.

In the fifth verse, the text is "Though my cross-shaped path grows steeper" (again, the sense continues into the next line:  "With the Lord, I am secure").  Here, "steeper" is sung with a melisma (G E D), emphasizing the comparative nature of this adjective (more notes for a greater degree).

LSB #807 "When Morning Gilds the Skies"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 19:37-38; Philippians 2:9-11; John 1:1-4, 14; Revelation 6:11-14

Luke 19:37-38:  "37 As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"

Philippians 2:9-11:  "9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

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."

Revelation 6:11-14:  "11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

"12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.  14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place."

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The text is public domain:

1 When morning gilds the skies,

My heart, awaking, cries,

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

When evening shadows fall,

This rings my curfew call:

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

2 When mirth for music longs,

This is my song of songs:

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

God's holy house of prayer

Hath none that can compare

With "Jesus Christ be praised!"

3 No lovelier antiphon

In all high heav'n is known

Than "Jesus Christ be praised!"

There to the eternal Word

The eternal psalm is heard:

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

4 Ye nations of mankind,

In this your concord find:

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

Let all the earth around

Ring joyous with the sound:

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

5 Sing, suns and stars of space,

Sing, ye that see His face,

Sing, "Jesus Christ be praised!"

God's whole creation o'er,

Both now and evermore

Shall Jesus Christ be praised!

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These citations seem to be only tenuously connected to the hymn text.  Luke 19:37-38 and Philippians 2:9-11 refer to praising God, so they could be cited for the repeated "Jesus Christ be praised!" throughout the hymn.  The two passages from John 1 are the source for the title "the eternal Word" in the third verse.  The only similarity between the passage from Revelation 6 and the hymn text seems to be the mention of the sun and stars (in the hymn's fifth verse), but those lines bear a much stronger resemblance to Psalm 148:3:  "Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!"

The first verse seems to be drawn from Psalm 113:3:  "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!"  Both texts involve praising God and are framed by a temporal merism.

"In God, My Faithful God"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 5 September.  The hymn was "In God, My Faithful God," and I noticed yet an-other instance of a feature I've been finding a lot lately.  In the lines "'So be it,' then, I say / With all my heart each day" at the beginning of the fifth verse, the phrase "all my heart" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A G F), lending a slight sense of this entirety.  The lines are sung to these musical phrases from the tune "Auf meinen lieben Gott":

LSB #806 "Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  2 Corinthians 9:15; 12:9-10; 2 Corinthians 8:9

2 Corinthians 9:15:  "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

2 Corinthians 12:9-10:  "9 But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."

2 Corinthians 8:9:  "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

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2 Corinthians 9:15 appears in the repeated "Give thanks" throughout the hymn.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 and 8:9 are the basis for the section "And now let the weak say 'I am strong,' / Let the poor say 'I am rich,' / Because of what the Lord has done for us."

"By All Your Saints in Warfare"

A little more than a month ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 29 August.  The hymn was "By All Your Saints in Warfare" (with the stanza for The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist inserted).  I noticed a small feature in the first two lines:  "By all Your saints in warfare, / For all Your saints at rest."  They're sung to these musical phrases from the tune "King's Lynn":

Both times, the phrase "all Your saints" is sung to notes of all different pitches (G A D and G F D, respectively), giving some sense of the entirety of these "all"s.

LSB #805 "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 150, Isaiah 6:1-4, Revelation 4:8

Psalm 150:  "1 Praise the LORD!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!  2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

"3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!  5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!  6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD!"

Isaiah 6:1-4:  "1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  2 Above him stood the seraphim.  Each had six wings:  with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  3 And one called to another and said:  'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'  4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke."

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:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host:

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

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Psalm 150 is the main source for the hymn; both texts repeated exhort one to praise the Lord.  The other two citations are summarized in the line "Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host."

"Jerusalem, O City Fair and High"

"Jerusalem, O City Fair and High" was the hymn in the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service on 27 August, and I noticed three instances where phrases that begin with "all" are sung to notes of all different pitches, giving a sense of this breadth or entirety.

In the third verse, the line "With all Christ's foll'wers true" is sung to this musical phrase (from the tune "Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt"):

"All Christ's foll'wers" is sung to the notes A E F# G#.  Because one of these (G#) is an accidental, there's an even further sense of breadth.

In the fourth verse, the lines "And all its host rejoices, / And all its blessed throng" (the sense continues into the next line:  "Unite their myriad voices," which I've written about before) are sung to these phrases:

"All its host" is sung to the notes B C# D, and "all its blessed throng" to the notes B A G F# E.

LSB #804 "O Worship the King"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 104, Psalm 103:20-22, Isaiah 66:15, Luke 1:78

Psalm 104:  "1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!  O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.  3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

"5 He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.  6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.  7 At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.  8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.  9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

"10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills; 11 they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches.  13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

"14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.

"16 The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.  17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees.  18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

"19 He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.  20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about.  21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.  23 Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.

"24 O LORD, how manifold are your works!  In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  25 Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.  26 There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

"27 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.  28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.  29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.  30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

"31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!  33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.  35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD!"

Psalm 103:20-22:  "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!"

Isaiah 66:15:  "'For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.'"

Luke 1:78:  "because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high"

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The text is public domain:

1 O worship the King, all-glorious above.

O gratefully sing His pow'r and His love;

Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

2 O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,

Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

3 This earth, with its store of wonders untold,

Almighty, Thy pow'r hath founded of old,

Established it fast by a changeless decree,

And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

4 Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,

It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

5 Frail children of dust and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.

Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,

Our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend!

6 O measureless Might, ineffable Love,

While angels delight to hymn Thee above,

Thy humbler creation, though feeble their lays,

With true adoration shall sing to Thy praise.

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Psalm 104, primarily verses 1-11, is the basis for the hymn's second through fourth verses.  Isaiah 66:15 is combined with Psalm 104:3 in the line "His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form" in the second verse.

Psalm 103:20-22 appears in the line "While angels delight to hymn Thee above" in the sixth verse and in the first two lines of the hymn:  "O worship the King, all-glorious above. / O gratefully sing His pow'r and His love."

The "tender mercy" in Luke 1:78 is referred to in the line "Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end" in the fifth verse.  The phrase also appears in the NKJV translation of Psalm 145:9:  "The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."

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The title "the Ancient of Days" in the first verse comes from Daniel 7:9.

"Church of God, Elect and Glorious"

I wrote about a number of features in "Church of God, Elect and Glorious" last year, but when it was one of the hymns in the opening service for the academic year at Concordia University Wisconsin last month, I noticed something else.

The second verse ends with the lines "And all find fresh hope and purpose / In Christ Jesus crucified," and the phrase "Christ Jesus crucified" is sung to a melody that includes a number of overlapping cross inscriptions, musically portraying this "crucified" in a way.

The tune is "Abbot's Leigh."

LSB #803 "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 5:11, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 8:3

Psalm 5:11:  "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."

Philippians 4:4:  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

Psalm 8:3 (with verse 4 for more context):  "3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

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The text is public domain:

1 Joyful, joyful we adore Thee,

God of glory, Lord of love!

Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,

Praising Thee, their sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,

Drive the gloom of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day.

2 All Thy works with joy surround Thee,

Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays,

Stars and angels sing around Thee,

Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,

Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,

Chanting bird, and flowing fountain

Call us to rejoice in Thee.

3 Thou art giving and forgiving,

Ever blessing, ever blest,

Well-spring of the joy of living,

Ocean-depth of happy rest!

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Fountainhead of love divine:

Joyful, we Thy heav'n inherit!

Joyful, we by grace are Thine!

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The "joy" and the call to "rejoice" from Psalm 5:11 and Philippians 4:4 appear throughout the hymn.  Psalm 8:3 seems to be the basis for the second verse, although there's a stronger resemblance to parts of Psalm 148.

This is a minor point, but "vale and mountain" in the second verse is a merism.

"Before You, Lord, We Bow"

I was looking at "Before You, Lord, We Bow" last month, and I noticed a feature and also discovered something I'd previously noted but neglected to write about.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Darwall's 148th."  Here are the fifth and sixth phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "May ev'ry tongue / Be tuned to praise."  The phrase "ev'ry tongue" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A B C), giving a slight sense of this entirety.

The seventh and eighth musical phrases:

In the first verse, the text here is "Our hearts we raise / To You, our King!"  "Our hearts we raise" is sung to an ascending phrase, demonstrating the meaning, even if the text is a bit more metaphorical.

LSB #802 "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 104:1-5, 31-35; Daniel 7:13; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16

Psalm 104:1-5:  "1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!  O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.  3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

"5 He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved."

Psalm 104:31-35:  "31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!  33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.  35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD!"

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.'"

1 Timothy 1:17:  "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen."

1 Timothy 6:15-16:  "15 which he will display at the proper time - he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.  To him be honor and eternal dominion.  Amen."

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The text is public domain:

1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

3 To all life Thou givest - to both great and small -

In all life Thou livest, the true Life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree

And wither and perish - but naught changes Thee.

4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

'Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee.

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Part of 1 Timothy 1:17 appears nearly verbatim in the line "Immortal, invisible, God only wise," but this also seems to incorporate part of Romans 16:27:  "to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!  Amen."

The passage from 1 Timothy 6 appears in the line "In light inaccessible hid from our eyes" in the first verse and in the line "'Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee" in the fourth; to a lesser degree, the image of God clothed in light from Psalm 104:1-2 is also included.

Daniel 7:13 is the source for the title "the Ancient of Days" in the first verse, and Psalm 104:31-35 appears in the line "Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise."

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This is a minor point, but "great and small" in the third verse is a merism.