LSB #435 "Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Zechariah 13:1, Hebrews 9:14, Matthew 27:33-35, Isaiah 25:6-8

Zechariah 13:1:  "'On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.'"

Hebrews 9:14:  "how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Matthew 27:33-35:  "33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.  35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots."

Isaiah 25:6-8:  "6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.  7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.  8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken."

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The text is public domain:

Come to Calv'ry's holy mountain,
Sinners, ruined by the fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows for you, for me, for all,
In a full, perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.

Come in poverty and meanness,
Come defiled, without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes and make them white;
Ye shall walk with God in light.

Come in sorrow and contrition,
Wounded, impotent, and blind;
Here the guilty, free remission,
Here the troubled, peace may find.
Health this fountain will restore;
They that drink shall thirst no more.

They that drink shall live forever;
'Tis a soul-renewing flood.
God is faithful; God will never
Break His covenant of blood,
Signed when our Redeemer died,
Sealed when He was glorified.

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"Calv'ry's holy mountain" in the first verse seems to be the mountain described in Isaiah 25, and the "pure and healing fountain" comes from Zechariah 13:1.  The purifying blood of Christ from Hebrews 9:14 is in the second half of the first verse ("a full, perpetual tide, / Opened when our Savior died").  "Wash your robes and make them white" in the second half of the second verse is related, but it actually comes from the second half of Revelation 7:14:  "'They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

Similarly, verse three combines the fountain mentioned in Zechariah 13:1 ("Health this fountain will restore") with the story of the woman at the well in John 4.  "They that drink shall thirst no more" and "They that drink shall live forever" from the beginning of the next verse paraphrase a section of John 4:13-14:  "13 Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

I don't see any evidence of Matthew 27:33-35 in the hymn, unless it's cited in order to point out the contrasts between Calvary's holy mountain and Golgotha, between the "soul-renewing flood" of the "pure and healing fountain" and the wine mixed with gall, and between the clean, white robes and Jesus' garments' being divided among the soldiers.

"Der Tag, der ist" (TLH #78)

I skipt #77 because it's in Eb major and I didn't feel like transposing it.

I inserted an extra measure (just holding the last notes from the previous measure) between the two verses and between the end of the second verse and the Amen cadence. The hymn felt a bit rushed otherwise.

"The Infant Priest Was Holy Born"

Back in March, I transcribed "The Infant Priest Was Holy Born" and noticed a lot of features that connect the text to the music (the tune is "Rockingham Old").  I'm going to go phrase by phrase.

The first phrase:

In the fifth verse, the text here is "The veil is torn, our Priest we see."  "Veil" is sung with a melisma (F# G).  Because it's sung with an extra syllable, it's musically "torn."

The second phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "For us unholy and forlorn."  "Forlorn" is sung with a descending melisma (F# F# E), musically giving a sense of this misery.

In the fourth verse, the text is "Of Him who hung upon the tree."  The musical phrase generally descends, so with this line, there's almost a sense of Jesus' being suspended upon the cross.

In the fifth verse, the text is "As at the rail on bended knee."  Here, the descent musically illustrates the "bended knee."  "Bended" is even sung with a descending melisma (A G F#), which furthers this image.

In the seventh verse, the text is "Our voices join the endless hymn."  "Endless" is sung with a melisma (A G F#).  Since the word is stretched out, there's something of a sense of this long period of time.

The fourth phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Anointed from eternity," and in the fifth verse, it's "The bread of immortality."  Both "eternity" and "immortality" are sung with melismas (D D E F# E D for "eternity" and E D D E F# E D for "immortality").  As with "endless" above, that these words are stretched out gives something of a sense of the long periods of time they describe.

LSB #434 "Lamb of God, Pure and Holy"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:29, 35-36; Isaiah 53:6-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; John 14:27

John 1:29:  "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"

John 1:35-36:  "35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'"

Isaiah 53:6-7:  "6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth."

1 Peter 1:18-19:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

John 14:27:  "'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.'"

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The text is public domain:

Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Have mercy on us,
O Jesus!  O Jesus!

Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Have mercy on us,
O Jesus!  O Jesus!

Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Thy peace be with us,
O Jesus!  O Jesus!

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The name "Lamb of God" comes from the two citations from John 1, although Jesus is also compared to a lamb in Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 1.

"Ever patient and lowly, / Thyself to scorn didst offer" paraphrases Isaiah 53:7 (just without the specific imagery), and the redemption mentioned in John 1:29, Isaiah 53, and 1 Peter 1 appears in the hymn as "All sins Thou borest for us."

Jesus' peace in John 14 appears at the very end: "Thy peace be with us, / O Jesus!"

"Es ist ein' Ros'" (TLH #76)

I skipt #75 because it had a weird meter.  It was one of those tunes where one measure has twelve beats and the next has nine, and I couldn't really figure it out.

This is the first hymn in the Christmas section.

"Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"

When I transcribed "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" back in March, I noticed a small thing about it, and looking at it again recently in order to write this post, I found something else.

The second line in the first verse is "And with fear and trembling stand," sung to this musical phrase (from the tune "Picardy"):

"Trembling" is sung with a melisma (Bb A G), and this articulation gives an impression of the word's meaning.  It's as if the music itself is "trembling."

The fourth line of the third verse is "From the realms of endless day," sung to the same musical phrase.  Here, "endless" is sung with that same melisma, and since the word is stretched out (three syllables instead of two), there's something of a sense of the long time period the word describes.

LSB #433 "Glory Be to Jesus"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Peter 1:18-19, Ephesians 1:6-8, Revelation 7:9-14

1 Peter 1:18-19:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

Ephesians 1:6-8:  "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,  8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight..."

Revelation 7:9-14:  "9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'  11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

"13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

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The text is public domain:

Glory be to Jesus,
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me the life-blood
From His sacred veins!

Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind!

Blest through endless ages
Be the precious stream
Which from endless torment
Did the world redeem!

Abel's blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.

Oft as earth exulting
Wafts its praise on high,
Angel hosts rejoicing
Make their glad reply.

Lift we, then, our voices,
Swell the mighty flood;
Louder still and louder
Praise the precious blood!

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The first three verses and the second half of the fourth describe Jesus' blood "Which... Did the world redeem."  These verses are drawn from 1 Peter 1:18-19 and Ephesians 1:6-8, both of which explain that "we have redemption through his blood."

The first half of verse four ("Abel's blood for vengeance / Pleaded to the skies") comes from Genesis 4:10:  "And the LORD said, 'What have you done?  The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.'"

The last two verses (and specifically "Angel hosts rejoicing") come from the text from Revelation.

"Gottes Sohn ist kommen" (TLH #74)

"Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior"

Back in March, I transcribed "Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior" (sung to the tune "Ich sterbe täglich") and noticed a small thing about it.

The third line of the first verse is "These [Christ's body and blood] are my life and strength forever," sung to this phrase:

"Forever" is sung with a melisma (G E D C), and since the word is drawn out, there's something of a sense of that long period of time.

LSB #432 "In Silent Pain the Eternal Son"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 10:34-39, 27:45-54; 1 Peter 2:24

Matthew 10:34-39:  "34 'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.  36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.  37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'"

Matthew 27:45-54:  "45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'  47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, 'This man is calling Elijah.'  48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  49 But the others said, 'Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.'  50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

"51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  52 The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'"

1 Peter 2:24:  "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed."

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Since the hymn is about Jesus' crucifixion, the second text from Matthew (27:45-54) seems to be the main referent, although there aren't many textual similarities between it and the hymn.  The darkness mentioned in verse 45 is present in the hymn's first verse: "In darkened day His work is done."  1 Peter 2:24 appears at the end of the first verse and the beginning of the second: "For in His body on the tree / He carries all our ill. // He died that we might die to sin / And live for righteousness."

Jesus' coming to bring a sword in Matthew 10:34 is at the beginning of the hymn's third verse: "For strife He came to bring a sword."  Later in the third verse, there's the line "For in His hand He holds the stars," which seems to come from Revelation 1:16: "In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength."

"Macht hoch die Tür" (TLH #73b)

There are three tunes for "Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" in The Lutheran Hymnal.  This is the second.  I skipt the first because part of it is in 4/4 and part of it is in 3/4 and I don't know how to set my click track to accommodate that, and I'll probably skip the third because it's in Ab major and I'm disinclined to transpose it.  Confusingly, all three tunes are titled "Macht hoch die Tür."

"The God of Abraham Praise"

Back in March, I watched the One LSB Hymn a Week video for "The God of Abraham Praise."

I noticed only a single thing then, but in looking at the hymn again in order to write this post, I found a handful of others.

The tune is "Yigdal."  Here's the first phrase:

In the eighth verse, the text here is "The God who reigns on high."  "High" is sung to the highest pitch in the phrase (C), musically giving an impression of this.

The third phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "From earth I rise and seek the joys."  "From earth I rise" is sung to an ascending group of notes (G Ab Bb C), giving a sense of this "ris[ing]."

The sixth phrase:

In the sixth verse, the text here is about the Promised Land: "And oil and wine abound."  Both "oil" and "abound" are sung with melismas (F G and F F E, respectively), both of which give a musical impression of the ample supply.

In the eighth verse, the text here is "And evermore shall be," describing God with a phrase adapted from Revelation 4:8 ("Who was and is the same / And evermore shall be").  Here, "evermore" is sung with a melisma (F G Ab Bb C).  Because the word is stretched out, there's something of a sense of that long period of time.

The seventh phrase:

In the sixth verse, describing the Promised Land, the text here is "And trees of life forever grow."  Similar to "evermore" mentioned above, "forever" is sung with a melisma (Bb C Bb C), giving a sense of that long period of time.

The eighth (and final) phrase:

Verses one, four, and seven end with "Forever..." or "Forevermore" sung with a melisma (C Bb Ab G [plus F for "Forevermore"]), which - as described above - musically gives a sense of the word's meaning.

LSB #431 "Not All the Blood of Beasts"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Hebrews 10:1-4, 11; Hebrews 9:12-14; Galatians 3:13; Revelation 5:6-14

Hebrews 10:1-4:  "1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.  2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?  3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.  4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."

Hebrews 10:11:  "And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins."

Hebrews 9:12-14:  "12 He [Christ] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.  13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

Galatians 3:13:  "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'"

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."

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The text is public domain:

Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.

My faith would lay its hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While as a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin.

My soul looks back to see
The burden Thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree;
I know my guilt was there.

Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice
And sing His bleeding love.

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The two citations from Hebrews 10 are summarized in the first verse, and the citation from Hebrews 9 is summarized in the second verse.

Revelation 5 is the source for "We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice" in the last verse, and it also seems to inform "the heav'nly Lamb, / Takes all our sins away" in the second.  On their own, these two lines bear some resemblance to John 1:29: "The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" but Revelation 5 also presents Christ as a Lamb.

Galatians 3:13 appears in the fourth verse: "The burden Thou didst bear / When hanging on the cursed tree."