LSB #448 "O Darkest Woe"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 27:57-60; 1 John 4:9-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 2:4-6

Matthew 27:57-60:  "57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.  58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.  And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away."

1 John 4:9-10:  "9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

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 2:4-6:  "4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..."

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Only the first verse is public domain:

O darkest woe!
Ye tears, forth flow!
Has earth so sad a wonder?
God the Father's only Son
Now is buried yonder.

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"God the Father's only Son / Now is buried yonder" seems to come from the cited verses in Matthew, although the hymn isn't as detailed.

In the second verse, the line "There [on the cross] His love enlivened us" is from 1 John 4:9.

1 Peter 1:18-19 is near the beginning of the fourth verse: "God's Lamb has bled / Upon Thy sin forever."

The text from Ephesians - specifically the last cited verse - appears at the very end of the hymn, a call to Christ to "Be my life in death and bring / Me to heaven's portals!"

"In dulci iubilo" (TLH #92)

There was one note in the higher of the two bass parts that's below the standard tuning of a guitar, so this is just the two treble parts (on mandolin) and the lower of the two bass parts.

"Wide Open Stand the Gates"

When I transcribed "Wide Open Stand the Gates" last year, I noticed a few instances where the text connects to the tune ("Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt").

In the first verse, the end of the line "They [choirs of saints] watch Him now descending" is sung to a descending phrase, musically illustrating the text:

The first verse ends with the lines "The Lord of Life unending / Brings dying hope new birth!"  "The Lord of Life unending" is sung to this musical phrase:

"Unending" is sung with a melisma (E F# G A), musically giving a sense of duration.

Similar to the descending "descending," in the second verse, the end of the line "Our God stoops low to heal" descends, musically giving a sense of that "stoop[ing]":

LSB #447 "Jesus, in Your Dying Woes"

Instead of Biblical citations for the hymn as a whole, for this hymn, there are Biblical citations for each group of three verses, so this post requires a different format.  The hymn is "based on the seven last words of Christ spoken from the cross," and each group of three verses is drawn from one of these words.

First Word: Luke 23:34:  "And Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'  And they cast lots to divide his garments."

The text is public domain:

Jesus, in Your dying woes,
Even while Your life-blood flows,
Craving pardon for Your foes:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Savior, for our pardon sue
When our sins Your pangs renew,
For we know not what we do:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Oh, may we, who mercy need,
Be like You in heart and deed,
When with wrong our spirits bleed:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Second Word: Luke 23:43:  "And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"

Jesus, pitying the sighs
Of the thief, who near You dies,
Promising him paradise:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May we in our guilt and shame
Still Your love and mercy claim,
Calling humbly on Your name:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May our hearts to You incline
And their thoughts Your cross entwine.
Cheer our souls with hope divine:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Third Word: John 19:26-27:  "26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'  27 Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!'  And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home."

Jesus, loving to the end
Her whose heart Your sorrows rend,
And Your dearest human friend:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May we in Your sorrows share,
For Your sake all peril dare,
And enjoy Your tender care:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May we all Your loved ones be,
All one holy family,
Loving, since Your love we see:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Fourth Word: Matthew 27:46:  "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?'"

Mark 15:34:  "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"

Jesus, whelmed in fears unknown,
With our evil left alone,
While no light from heav'n is shown:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

When we seem in vain to pray
And our hope seems far away,
In the darkness be our stay:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Though no Father seem to hear,
Though no light our spirits cheer,
May we know that God is near:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Fifth Word: John 19:28:  "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), 'I thirst.'"

Jesus, in Your thirst and pain,
While Your wounds Your lifeblood drain,
Thirsting more our love to gain:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Thirst for us in mercy still;
All Your holy work fulfill;
Satisfy Your loving will:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May we thirst Your love to know.
Lead us in our sin and woe
Where the healing waters flow:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Sixth Word: John 19:30:  "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

Jesus, all our ransom paid,
All Your Father's will obeyed;
By Your suff'rings perfect made:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Save us in our soul's distress;
Be our help to cheer and bless
While we grow in holiness:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Brighten all our heav'nward way
With an ever holier ray
Till we pass to perfect day:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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Seventh Word: Luke 23:46:  "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!'  And having said this he breathed his last."

Jesus, all Your labor vast,
All Your woe and conflict past,
Yielding up Your soul at last:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

When the death shades round us low'r,
Guard us from the tempter's pow'r,
Keep us in that trial hour:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May Your life and death supply
Grace to live and grace to die,
Grace to reach the home on high:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

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As far as the Biblical sources, there really isn't much to say about any of these groups of verses.  With a bit of elaboration, they're all drawn directly from what's cited.  The only comment I have is for the Fourth Word.  The verses mention "no light" and "in the darkness," which are both drawn from a detail in the verses preceding the two citations.  Matthew 27:45: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour."  Mark 15:33:  "And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour."

"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (TLH #91)

"To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord"

Back in April last year, when I wrote a post about the Biblical sources of "To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord," I found some musical features to write about, which I hadn't noticed when I wrote about the hymn in March 2017.  "To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord" is paired with two different tunes in The Lutheran Service Book.  Like my previous post, this post deals with the tune "Christ, unser Herr."

About halfway through the second verse, there's the line "Pure water, freely flowing," sung to this musical phrase:

"Flowing" is sung with a melisma (C Bb A G), musically giving a sense of movement.

The first two lines of the fourth verse are "There stood the Son of God in love, / His grace to us extending," sung to these musical phrases:

"Extending" is sung with a melisma (F Eb D C), and since the word itself is stretched out, there's a musical sense of its meaning.

LSB #446 "Jesus, Greatest at the Table"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:5-8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, 1 John 4:9-11

John 13:1-17:  "1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper.   He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.  5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.   6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, do you wash my feet?'  7 Jesus answered him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.'  8 Peter said to him, 'You shall never wash my feet.'  Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.'  9 Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!'  10 Jesus said to him, 'The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.  And you are clean, but not every one of you.'  11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, 'Not all of you are clean.'

"12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, 'Do you understand what I have done to you?  13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.  16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.'"

Philippians 2:5-8:  "5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

2 Corinthians 8:9:  "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

1 John 4:9-11:  "9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

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The Biblical sources for the first half of the hymn are easily identifiable.  The first two verses summarize John 13:4-5, and the third comes from the Philippians 2 passage.  Verse three ends with the lines "On the cross poured out like water / To fulfill the Father's plan," which uses an image from Psalm 22:14: "I am poured out like water."

The fourth verse mentions a "great reversal," namely: "Christ, the sinless for the sinners, / For the many dies the One."  This seems to be drawn from 2 Corinthians 8:9, although the hymn states it plainly, without using metaphorical language.

"'Show My love to one another, / Do as I have done for you'" in the fifth verse seems to combine 1 John 4:11 ("Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.") and John 13:14-15 ("'If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.'").

"Quem pastores" (TLH #90)

"As with Gladness Men of Old"

A couple years ago, I wrote about a feature in "As with Gladness Men of Old."  When I sang it in church on Sunday (Epiphany), I noticed a few more things.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Dix."  Here are the first two musical phrases:

The second verse begins with the lines "As with joyful steps they sped, / Savior, to Thy lowly bed."  "Lowly bed" is sung entirely to D notes, and since this is the lowest pitch in the phrase (in the whole hymn, in fact), there's a musical sense of its being "lowly."

The fourth verse begins with the lines "Holy Jesus, ev'ry day / Keep us in the narrow way."  "Narrow way" is also sung entirely to D notes, and through that consistency of pitch, there's a musical sense of "narrow."

The first verse ends with the lines "So, most gracious Lord, may we / Evermore be led by Thee," sung to these musical phrases:

"Evermore be led by Thee" is sung to two conjunct phrases (E up to G and C down to G).  Musically, they're "step-wise," so there's a sense of "be[ing] led" step by step.

LSB #445 "When You Woke That Thursday Morning"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:29, 36; 13:1-9

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!'"

John 1:36:  "and he [John the Baptist] looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'"

John 13:1-9:  "1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper.  He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.  5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, do you wash my feet?'  7 Jesus answered him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.'  8 Peter said to him, 'You shall never wash my feet.'  Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.'  9 Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!'"

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The name "Lamb of God" from the two citations from John 1 appears in the first verse in the line: "Lamb of God, foretold for ages."

The text from John 13 is the basis of the hymn, although there seems to be quite a bit of poetic license involved.  "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" from verse 1 seems to be rendered in the hymn's second verse as "Longing with tormented heart / To be with Your dear ones only / For a quiet hour apart."  The rest of the cited portion is summarized at the end of the second verse:  "One last paschal meal to eat, / One last lesson as their teacher, / Washing Your disciples' feet."

The third verse mentions the Eucharist, with the Words of Institution appearing at the end: "'Do this in remembrance of Me, / Eat this body, drink this blood.'"  While all of the Biblical citations are from John, this is the only Gospel without an account of the institution of the Lord's Supper.  It appears in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22.

"All one body, You the head" in the fourth verse is from Colossians 1:18:  "And he is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."

"Cordis donum" (TLH #89)

The first phrase of this is nearly identical to the first phrase of "Anthes," the tune used for "Today Your Mercy Calls Us," and that was a bit confusing.

"Go Tell It on the Mountain"

When I wrote a post about the Biblical sources of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" shortly before Christmas a little over year ago, I noticed a small feature about the tune, titled simply "Go Tell It."  The first two lines of the refrain ("Go tell it on the mountain, / Over the hills and ev'rywhere") are sung to these musical phrases:

"Ev'rywhere" is sung with a melisma (B A B A G), which - to some degree - musically illustrates the breadth to which the good news "That Jesus Christ is born" should be spread.

LSB #444 "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 19:36-40, John 19:14-19, Philippians 2:5-8, Revelation 19:11-16

Luke 19:36-40:  "36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.  37 As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.'  40 He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'"

John 19:14-19:  "14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover.  It was about the sixth hour.  He [Pilate] said to the Jews, 'Behold your King!'  15 They cried out, 'Away with him, away with him, crucify him!'  Pilate said to them, 'Shall I crucify your King?'  The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.'  16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

"So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.  18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.  19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.  It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.'"

Philippians 2:5-8:  "5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Revelation 19:11-16:  "11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!  The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.  15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."

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The text from Luke appears in the first two verses, although the majority of the first verse lists typical parade elements that aren't present at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem: "No tramp of soldiers' marching feet...  No sound of music's martial beat...  No bells in triumph ring."  Although negated, "No city gates swing open wide" from the end of the first verse might refer to Psalm 24:7:  "Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in."

The second verse mentions some parts of the triumphal entry that aren't in the text cited from Luke: cheering children, palm branches, and Jesus' riding on a colt.  The cheering children are mentioned in Matthew 21:15: "But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant."  The Luke account of the triumphal entry is the only one of the four Gospel accounts (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-15) that doesn't mention people's spreading branches.  Jesus' riding on a colt is in Luke, but it's in verses 29-35, immediately before the section that's cited.

The text from John appears at the end of the third verse, specifically "The streets with tumult ring, / As Pilate to the mob replies, / 'Behold, behold your King!'"  The first half of the verse mentions the crown of thorns and the soldiers' mocking Jesus.  This appears in Matthew 27:28-31, Mark 15:16-20, Luke 22:63-65 (although this doesn't mention the crown of thorns), and John 19:2-3.

The text from Philippians (specifically verses 7 and 8) is at the beginning of the hymn's fourth verse: "Now He who bore for mortals' sake / The cross and all its pains / And chose a servant's form to take."

I can't see any textual resemblance between the passage from Revelation and the hymn.  My best guess is that it's included as an image of "The King of glory reigns" in the hymn's fourth verse.