LSB #398 "Hail to the Lord's Anointed"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 72:1-17, 2 Samuel 7:12, Acts 10:38, Psalm 2

Psalm 72:1-17:  "1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!  2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!  3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!  4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!

"5 May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!  6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!  7 In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

"8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!  9 May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!  10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!  11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!

"12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.  13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.  14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

"15 Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him!  May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!  16 May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!  17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!  May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!"

2 Samuel 7:12:  "When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom."

Acts 10:38:  "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.  He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."

Psalm 2:  "1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 'Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.'

"4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD holds them in derision.  5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 'As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.'

"7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.  8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.  9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'

"10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rules of the earth.  11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him."

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The text is public domain:

Hail to the Lord's anointed,
Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression
And rule in equity.

He comes with rescue speedy
To those who suffer wrong,
To help the poor and needy
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.

He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him on the mountains
Shall peace, the herald, go;
And righteousness in fountains
From hill to valley flow.

Kings shall fall down before Him
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing.
To Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.

O'er ev'ry foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever -
That name to us is Love.

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Psalm 72 is the main source for the hymn text; at least part of each verse comes from it.

2 Samuel 7:12 appears in the lines "Hail, in the time appointed, / His reign on earth begun!"  Acts 10:38 (specifically "doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil") is referred to at the end of the first verse and throughout the second.

Psalm 2 seems to appear in the fourth verse.  The imperative "Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling" is a future indicative in the hymn:  "Kings shall fall down before Him / And gold and incense bring; / All nations shall adore Him, / His praise all people sing."

Acts 10:38 and Psalm 2 are also related to the titular line.  Both contain the word "anointed" (one as a verb; one as a substantive noun).

While they seem to be taken from Psalm 72, I found a few phrases that also bear resemblance to some verses in Isaiah.  "He comes to break oppression, / To set the captive free" is similar to Psalm 72:4, but also to Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound" (quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18).  Similarly "Before Him on the mountains / Shall peace, the herald, go" seems to come from Psalm 72:7, but is actually closer to Isaiah 52:7: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'"

"Yigdal" (TLH #40)

I recorded this yester-day, and when I saw that this was in Ab major, I considered just skipping it because I try to avoid anything with more than even two flats (and it would have taken too long to transpose it).  But I like this tune, so I decided to soldier through it (although my resolve failed after recording the mandolin parts, which is why this one doesn't have bass).  Ab major isn't the best key for mandolin, so there are some passages (particularly near the beginning of the verse) where you can hear my left hand moving around on the strings to get to a better position.

When I started recording the harmony part, I discovered that I'd played the melody more from memory than what was actually written (so I had to do it again).  There are three spots in the TLH version that are different from the LSB version: two instances of a quarter note (in TLH) becoming a pair of eighth notes (in LSB) and one instance of a dotted half note becoming a quarter note and a half note.

"Father Abraham"

The Old Testament reading in church this week (the first Sunday of Lent) was Genesis 22:1-18, part of which is God's telling Abraham "I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore" (verse 17).  This reminded me of the song "Father Abraham," which I think I learned in vacation Bible school in 2002 or 2003.  The song consists of only one verse:

Father Abraham had many sons
And many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them
And so are you
So let's all praise the Lord.

If I recall correctly, after each verse, a body part is called out (like: "Left arm!"), and then that body part is swung in time as the next verse is sung.

After I started thinking about the song again, I realized something about the grammar, specifically that second line: "And many sons had Father Abraham."  It can be understood in two different ways:

In one parsing, the second line is just an inversion of the first.  "Many sons" is still the direct object, and "Father Abraham" is still the subject; it's just that the structure is flipped.

In the other parsing, "many sons" is now the subject, and "Father Abraham" is the direct object.  This could be rephrased as "And many sons had Abraham for their father."

Both parsings illustrate the great number of Abraham's offspring; they just have different perspectives.  They're looking at the same thing from opposite directions, as it were.  To some degree, the fact that this second line could be understood in more than one way is itself an indication of the multitude of Abraham's offspring.

LSB #397 "As with Gladness Men of Old"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 2:1-11, Isaiah 60:19, Revelation 21:23

Matthew 2:1-11:  "1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?  For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'  3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  5 They told him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 "And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel."'

"7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.  8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 'Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.'  9 After listening to the king, they went on their way.  And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.  Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh."

Isaiah 60:19:  "The sun shall be no more your light be day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."

Revelation 21:23:  "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

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The text is public domain:

As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led by Thee.

As with joyful steps they sped,
Savior, to Thy lowly bed,
There to bend the knee before
Thee, whom heav'n and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.

As they offered gifts more rare
At Thy cradle, rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heav'nly King.

Holy Jesus, ev'ry day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

In the heav'nly country bright
Need they no created light;
Thou its light, its joy, its crown,
Thou its sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King.

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The Biblical sources for this hymn are straight forward.  The text from Matthew appears at the beginning of each the first three verses.  First, the wise men's actions are described, and then each verse goes on to say, "So may we" follow their example.

The texts from Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21 contain the same idea of God as our light rather than the sun or moon.  In the hymn, this is primarily in the fifth verse, but it's also hinted at in the fourth verse (where this old light is connected to the star that led the wise men).

"Lobe den Herren, den" (TLH #39)

I'm familiar with this tune, but the TLH version is a bit different from the versions in LW and LSB.  The notes in two measures (the same phrase, just repeated) are all a third higher than I'm used to, and an-other phrase has a slightly different rhythm.

"Jesus, Refuge of the Weary"

My weekly tune from The Lutheran Hymnal this week was "O du Liebe."  I referenced The Lutheran Service Book to find that this tune (with a slightly longer title: "O du Liebe meiner Liebe") is used for "Jesus, Refuge of the Weary," and I also noticed a small musical/textual connection.  In the first verse, there are the lines "Often have Your eyes, offended, / Gazed upon the sinner's fall."  The second of these two lines is sung to this musical phrase:

The "sinner's fall" is sung to a descending phrase, musically representing the "fall."

LSB #396 "Arise and Shine in Splendor"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 60:1-6, Colossians 1:13, Isaiah 9:2, Acts 26:17-18

Isaiah 60:1-6:  "1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

"4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.  5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.  6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.  They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD."

Colossians 1:13:  "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son."

Isaiah 9:2:  "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined."

Acts 26:17-18:  "'... delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles - to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'"

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Isaiah 60 is the main source for the hymn text; each of its first five verses corresponds to a hymn verse.  The first verse of the hymn is from Isaiah 60:1 ("Arise and shine in splendor... The glory of the Lord is here"); the second verse of the hymn is from Isaiah 60:2 ("See earth in darkness lying... To you the Lord... has given / Great glory, honor, and delight"); and so on to verse five.  I'd also like to point out that the parallelism in Isaiah 60:4 ("your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip") is retained in the hymn:  "Her sons come to Your glory; / Her daughters haste Your light to see."

The other three Biblical citations don't seem to appear as direct quotes in the hymn; rather, they just reiterate the various references to light and darkness throughout the hymn.

The last few lines of the hymn are "Your eyes will wake from slumber / As people without number / Rejoice to see the Morning Star."  "The Morning Star" is a name for Jesus from Revelation 22:16.

"O du Liebe" (TLH #37)

I didn't recognize this tune until I lookt in LSB and discovered that it's the tune for "Jesus, Refuge of the Weary" (although in LSB the title is "O du Liebe meiner Liebe").

I recorded this in the reverse order that I usually do.  I went bottom up this time (bass, harmony part, melody), which I think may have made the tempo a bit too fast.

"O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright"

When I wrote about the Biblical sources for "O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright" earlier this week, I noticed a small connection between the hymn text and the tune (Philipp Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet").  The second line of the third verse is "At once there falls from God above," sung to this musical phrase:

The "falls from God above" part is sung to a descending phrase, as if to represent that "fall[ing]."

LSB #395 "O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 22:16, Luke 1:68-79, Ephesians 1:3-7, Psalm 33:1-5

Revelation 22:16:  "'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.'"

Luke 1:68-79:  "68 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.'

Ephesians 1:3-7:  "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.  In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."

Psalm 33:1-5:  "1 Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!  Praise befits the upright.  2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!  3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

"4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.  5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD."

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The texts from Revelation 22 and Luke 1 are the basis of the first verse.  The Revelation 22 text might be a bit more prominent, since it's the source of the title line.

In the second verse, there are the lines "In Your one body let us be / As living branches of a tree," which is similar to (the uncited) John 15:5:  "'I am the vine; you are the branches....'"

The Ephesians text is in the fourth verse, specifically "Almighty Father, in Your Son / You loved us when not yet begun / Was this old earth's foundation!"

The selection from Psalm 33 (specifically the second and third verses) appears at the beginning of verse five:  "O let the harps break forth in sound! / Our joy be all with music crowned, / Our voices gladly blending!"  The next two lines in the hymn verse ("For Christ goes with us all the way - / Today, tomorrow, ev'ry day!") bear some resemblance to Hebrews 13:8:  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Verse six has a few phrases from Revelation that aren't cited.  "The Lord we love is first and last, / The end and the beginning!" is similar to Revelation 22:13: "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'"  "Beyond all tears and sinning" refers to Revelation 21:4: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" and perhaps also Isaiah 65:19: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress."  "Amen! Amen! / Come, Lord Jesus!" is from the end of Revelation 22:20:  "Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!"

"Innocents" (TLH #35)

Yet an-other tune that I wasn't familiar with.  This one's pretty simple though (and short).

The next hymn tune has some of TLH's weird rests, so I'll be skipping #36.  The same tune is also #38, so there'll be some gaps in the numbers.

"In Thee Is Gladness"

Back in July, one of the hymns in church was "In Thee Is Gladness."  It's sung to the tune "In Dir ist Freude" (which means essentially the same thing, just in German), in which there are a few cross inscriptions.  I think there's only one that connects to the hymn text though:

In the first verse, the line here is "Our bonds Thou breakest," which Christ did in His crucifixion and resurrection.

While looking at the hymn in order to write this post, I noticed an-other small feature.  There are three lines in the hymn where "forever" is sung with a melisma.  Drawing it out to four syllables (rather than just three) gives a sense of eternity.  Here's the musical phrase:

The three lines sung to this phrase are "He stands forever" in the first verse and "In Him forever" and "Glad hymns forever" in the second.