Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

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."

+++

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.
+++

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."