Luke 3:21-22: "21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'"
Acts 2:38: "And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
Galatians 3:26-27: "26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
Matthew 28:19-20: "19 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"
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The verses from Luke 3 are the main text used in the hymn, mostly for the first four verses, which describe Jesus' baptism. Galatians 3:26-27 seems to appear at the end of the second verse, though, specifically: "God's Holy Spirit here avows / Our kinship while bestowing / The Baptism of His blessing." Both connect baptism to "kinship" or being "sons of God."
The first half of the fifth verse is from Matthew 28:19-20. The hymn basically just paraphrases the text ("Go out to ev'ry nation, / And bring to them the living Word"), but instead of taking the call to baptize from Matthew 28, the hymn uses Acts 2:38. (The focus in the two texts is a bit different. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells the disciples to baptize others; in Acts 2, Peter tells people that they themselves should be baptized.) The second half of verse five in the hymn has the same structure as "repent and be baptized":
The first half of the fifth verse is from Matthew 28:19-20. The hymn basically just paraphrases the text ("Go out to ev'ry nation, / And bring to them the living Word"), but instead of taking the call to baptize from Matthew 28, the hymn uses Acts 2:38. (The focus in the two texts is a bit different. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells the disciples to baptize others; in Acts 2, Peter tells people that they themselves should be baptized.) The second half of verse five in the hymn has the same structure as "repent and be baptized":
Let ev'ryone abandon sin
And come in true contrition
To be baptized and thereby win
Full pardon and remission
And heav'nly bliss inherit.
