LSB #358 "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  Luke 2:10-20

Luke 2:10-20:  "And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.'  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'

"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

+++

The text is public domain:

"From heav'n above to earth I come
To bear good news to ev'ry home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:

"To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child of lowly birth
Shall be the joy of all the earth.

"This is the Christ, our God Most High,
Who hears your sad and bitter cry;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.

"He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below,
That in His kingdom, bright and fair,
You may with us His glory share.

"These are the signs that you shall mark:
The swaddling clothes and manger dark.
There you will find the infant laid
By whom the heav'ns and earth were made."

How glad we'll be to find it so!
Then with the shepherds let us go
To see what God for us has done
In sending us His own dear Son.

Come here, my friends, lift up your eyes,
And see what in the manger lies.
Who is this child, so young and fair?
It is the Christ Child lying there.

Welcome to earth, O noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
You came to share my misery
That You might share Your joy with me.

Ah, Lord, though You created all,
How weak You are, so poor and small,
That You should choose to lay Your head
Where lowly cattle lately fed!

Were earth a thousand times as fair
And set with gold and jewels rare,
It would be far too poor and small
A cradle for the Lord of all.

Instead of soft and silken stuff
You have but hay and straw so rough
On which as King, so rich and great,
To be enthroned in royal state.

And so it pleases You to see
This simple truth revealed to me:
That worldly honor, wealth, and might
Are weak and worthless in Your sight.

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Prepare a bed, soft, undefiled,
A quiet chamber set apart
For You to dwell within my heart.

My heart for very joy must leap;
My lips no more can silence keep.
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradlesong:

Glory to God in highest heav'n,
Who unto us His Son has giv'n!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth.

+++

Because there's only one Biblical text cited, it's obvious that that's the main referent for the hymn text, but I found a few other Biblical texts that are hinted at.

The lines "There you will find the infant laid / By whom the heav'ns and earth were made" at the end of verse five brought to mind John 1:3: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."

The lines "Come here, my friends, lift up your eyes" and "Who is this child, so young and fair? / It is the Christ Child lying there" in the seventh verse echo Psalm 121:1-2:  "I lift up my eyes to the hills.  From where does my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  Both begin with "lift[ing] up... eyes" and then ask a rhetorical question to which God is the answer.

The fourteenth verse begins with "My heart for very joy must leap," which - although it stands by itself - also describes Luke 1:39-45, where John the Baptist "leaped for joy" when Mary came to visit Elizabeth.

"Tallis' Canon"

For a while, I've wanted to try recording "Tallis' Canon" as a canon.  Since there are four phrases in the tune, I used four voices.  I tried to separate them a bit by panning, but I don't know how distinct they are.  Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't included the harmony part, but I like some of the musical phrases in it.

"Abide with Me"

An-other hymn from last month's Good Friday service in which I noticed some musical/lyrical connections is "Abide with Me," sung to the tune "Eventide."

The end of the first musical phrase has a descent:

In the first verse, the text sung to this phrase is "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide."  As "the eventide" falls in the text, so does the melody in the tune.  To some degree, this same feature applies to the fourth verse, the first line of which is "Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day."  The line doesn't specifically mention a descent, but there's something of a connection between the musical descent and the "ebb[ing] out."

The end of the second musical phrase ascends:

I think only the sixth verse has lyrics that have added meaning when sung to this phrase.  The second line there is "Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies."  The melody to which "to the skies" is sung ascends, as if the music itself is looking to the sky.

LSB #357 "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 7:10-14; Isaiah 11:1-5, 10-11; Matthew 1:23

Isaiah 7:10-14:  "Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 'Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.'  But Ahaz said, 'I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.'  And he said, 'Hear then, O house of David!  Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.'"

Isaiah 11:1-5:  "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.  Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins."

Isaiah 11:10-11:  "In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

"In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea."

Matthew 1:23:  "'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)."

+++

The text is public domain:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who ord'rest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times didst give the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's tree,
Free them from Satan's tyranny
That trust Thy mighty pow'r to save,
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

+++

The first verse seems to be a combination of the Isaiah 7 and Matthew texts (the name Immanuel) and the later section of the Isaiah 11 text.  "Recover[ing] the remnant that remains of his people" is rendered as "ransom captive Israel" in the hymn text.

The first part of the Isaiah 11 text provides some of the vocatives that begin the verses:  "Thou Wisdom from on high," "Thou Lord of might," and "Thou Branch of Jesse's tree."  "Thou Dayspring from on high... [who] Disperse[s] the gloomy clouds of night, / And death's dark shadows put[s] to flight" seems to come from Zechariah's "the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" from Luke 1:78-79.  "King of Peace" from the last verse seems to be from Isaiah 9:6, specifically the appellation "Prince of Peace."  The phrases aren't exactly the same, but they are similar.

"Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height / In ancient times didst give the Law" in the third verse refers to God's giving Moses the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.  This isn't cited in the hymnal, but the lines in the hymn refer to the event generally rather than mentioning anything specific that could be cited with only a couple verses.

+++

The Lutheran Service Book has "who ord'rest all things" where Lutheran Worship has "who ordered all things."  The past tense in the LW text almost implies a static nature where the present tense in the LSB text insures the understanding that God is still active in our lives.  It's like Luther's explanation to the first article of the Apostles' Creed:  "He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them."

"Melita"

Although I probably won't have a place in my scheduled posts for it until July, I have a post drafted about "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," the melody for which is "Melita."  Apparently, yester-day was Armed Forces Day, and since this hymn was apparently sung in the navy, I thought it'd be appropriate.

This tune isn't in Lutheran Worship, so this is just twice through the Lutheran Service Book arrangement (#717).  The tune is in Hymnal Supplement 98 (#906), but that arrangement is the same as that in LSB.

"Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior"

During the Good Friday service last month, one of the (many) hymns sung was "Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior."  I noticed that the second musical phrase (of the tune "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland") has a cross inscription:

To some degree, the second measure there has a cross inscription too (which is why I included it in my excerpt of the notation), but it's not as clearly delineated as that in the first measure.

I think there's only one instance in the hymn where this cross inscription in the music is meaningfully aligned with the words, and that's the first verse.  The first two lines of the first verse are "Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior, / Turned away God's wrath forever."  The first half of the line "Turned away God's wrath forever" is what's sung to that cross inscription in the music, and Christ's crucifixion is the very thing that "Turned away God's wrath forever."

LSB #356 "The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 7:14

Luke 1:26-38:  "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  And the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, 'Greetings, O favored on, the Lord is with you!'  But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'

"And Mary said to the angel, 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?'"

"And the angel answered her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.'  And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.'  And the angel departed from her."

Isaiah 7:14:  "'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.'"

+++

The text is public domain:

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
With wings as drifted snow, with eyes as flame:
"All hail to thee, O lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady."
Gloria!

"For know a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor three;
Thy son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady."
Gloria!

Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head;
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said.
"My soul shall laud and magnify God's holy name."
Most highly favored lady,
Gloria!

Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ, was born
In Bethlehem all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:
"Most highly favored lady."
Gloria!

+++

There's not much to say about this one.  The Luke text is the main referent, and the Isaiah text seems to show up only in the second verse, specifically "Thy son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold," an appellation that also shows up in the last verse.

Mary's "My soul shall laud and magnify God's holy name" in the third verse is also from Luke, but a bit beyond the verses cited in the hymnal.  The Magnificat begins at Luke 1:46: "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord....'"

For the first two lines of the last verse, Luke 2 could be cited, specifically verses 4-7:  "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."

"Stephanos"

Same as usual:  one verse of one arrangement (LW 469) and one verse of an-other (LSB 729).

"Glory Be to Jesus"

During the Good Friday service last month, I found a lot of things in Lenten hymns that I wanted to write about.  I had other posts scheduled, so these are appearing only now.

I found a few phrases in the lyrics of "Glory Be to Jesus" that are mirrored with musical phrases in the tune "Wem in Leidenstagen."

The last two lines of the first verse are "[Jesus] Poured for me the lifeblood / From His sacred veins!"  The musical phrase to which this is sung descends, as if representing the pouring:

---&---

The second musical phrase ascends:

and rising things are mentioned in the second lyrical phrase in the fourth and fifth verses.  In the fourth verse, this melody corresponds to Abel's blood's "Plead[ing] to the skies," and in the fifth verse, it corresponds to the earth's "Waft[ing] its praise on high."

LSB #355 "O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 64:1; 45:8; 40:1-2; Luke 1:76-79

Isaiah 64:1:  "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence"

Isaiah 45:8:  "'Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.'"

Isaiah 40:1-2:  "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins."

Luke 1:76-79:  "'And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.'"

+++

The first line of the first verse (the titular "O Savior, rend the heavens wide") comes from Isaiah 64:1.

The second and third verses seem to come from Isaiah 45:8.  The rain imagery is present in the second verse in the phrases "morning dew," "Drop down, you clouds, the life of spring," and "rain down the King."  The sprouting earth is in the third verse, "in flow'ring bud" and "in garb of green."

The line "When will You come with comfort strong?" in the fourth verse seems to be from Isaiah 40.  The sixth verse has a stronger similarity, with "O come, lead us with mighty hand" away from sin and "to our promised land."  "Comfort" and "the LORD's hand" are the specific words in common between the Isaiah 40 text and the hymn,

The fifth verse uses the imagery of the sunrise from Luke 1, calling upon God as the "Morning Star" and "radiant Sun,"  Luke 1 says that Jesus will "give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death," and in the hymn, this dwelling in darkness is rendered as "We grope in gloom and dark of night."

"Gelobt sei Gott"

There's not much to say about this aside from the usual: it's one verse of one arrangement (LW 129) and one verse of an-other (LSB 475).

"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted"

Although I'm not a shut-in, I regularly watch Worship for Shut-Ins.  In the program for Palm Sunday, one of the hymns was "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted" (sung to the tune "O mein Jesu, ich muss sterben").  Hearing it, I noticed something that I'd missed when I transcribed the text (which, coincidentally, I'd done the same day I watched the program).

In the third verse, there's the line "See who bears the awful load."  The musical phrase to which this line is sung descends, so - like my post last week with a similar feature in "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" - there's a musical representation of the weight of "the awful load."  It's as if the melody can't sustain itself under that weight and must descend:

LSB #354 "Arise, O Christian People"

Biblical citations listed in the hymnal:  Luke 3:4-5, 1 Peter 5:5b-6, Psalm 51:10-12

Luke 3:4-5:  "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways."'"

1 Peter 5:5b-6:  "Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you."

Psalm 51:10-12:  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

+++

The text is public domain:

Arise, O Christian people!
Prepare yourselves today;
Prepare to greet the Savior,
Who takes your sins away.
To us by grace alone
The truth and light were given;
The promised Lord for heaven
To all the world is shown.

Prepare the way before Him;
Prepare for Him the best.
Cast out what would offend Him,
This great, this heav'nly guest.
Make straight, make plain the way:
The lowly valleys raising,
The heights of pride abasing,
His path all even lay.

The humble heart and lowly
God raises up on high;
Beneath His feet in terror
The haughty soul shall lie.
The heart sincere and right,
That heeds God's invitation
And makes true preparation -
It is the Lord's delight.

Prepare my heart, Lord Jesus;
Turn not from me aside,
And help me to receive You
This blessed Adventtide.
From stall and manger low
Come now to dwell within me;
I'll sing Your praises gladly
And forth Your glory show.

+++

The Biblical references in this hymn are pretty clear cut.  The second verse comes from the Luke 3 text (which itself quotes Isaiah 40), and although it precedes the second verse, the first verse extends the idea of "Prepare the way of the Lord."  The 1 Peter text forms the basis of the third verse, and Psalm 51 is the basis of the last verse.