LSB #552 "O Christ, Who Shared Our Mortal Life"

The Biblical citations are formatted a bit differently for this hymn.  There are three pairs of stanzas (numbered five through ten) to be inserted when appropriate, and there are citations only for these, not for the framing stanzas of the hymn (numbered one and four).

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Raising of Jairus' Daughter (Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 or Mark 5:21-43)

Matthew 9:18-19:  "18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, 'My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.'  19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples."

Matthew 9:23-26:  "23 And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, 'Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.'  And they laughed at him.  25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.  26 And the report of this went through all that district."

Mark 5:21-43:  "21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.  22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death.  Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.'  24 And he went with him.

"And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.  25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.  27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.  28 For she said, 'If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.'  29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.  30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, 'Who touched my garments?'  31 And his disciples said to him, 'You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, "Who touched me?"'  32 And he looked around to see who had done it.  33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.  34 And he said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.'

"35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, 'Your daughter is dead.  Why troubled the Teacher any further?'  36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, 'Do not fear, only believe.'  37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.  38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  39 And when he had entered, he said to them, 'Why are you making a commotion and weeping?  The child is not dead but sleeping.'  40 And they laughed at him.  But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.  41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, 'Talitha cumi,' which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise.'  42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.  43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat."

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Raising of the Widow's Son (Luke 7:11-17)

Luke 7:11-17:  "11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.  12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.  13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.'  14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still.  And he said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.'  15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, 'A great prophet has arisen among us!' and 'God has visited his people!'  17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country."

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Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)

John 11:1-45:  "1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.  3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill.' 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, 'This illness does not lead to death.  It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.'

"5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.  7 Then after this he said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'  8 The disciples said to him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?'  9 Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.'  11 After saying these things, he said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.'  12 The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.'  13 Now Jesus has spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.  14 Then Jesus told them plainly, 'Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.  But let us go to him.'  16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.'

"17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.  20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.  21 Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.'  23 Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'  24 Martha said to him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.'  25 Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?'  27 She said to him, 'Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.'

"28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.'  29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.  30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.  31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.  32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'  33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.  34 And he said, 'Where have you laid him?'  They said to him, 'Lord, come and see.'  35 Jesus wept.  36 So the Jews said, 'See how he loved him!'  37 But some of them said, 'Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?'

"38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  39 Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.'  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, 'Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.'  40 Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'  41 So they took away the stone.  And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, 'Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.'  43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out.'  44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.'"

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The formatting in The Lutheran Service Book makes it obvious that the texts of the Raising of Jairus' Daughter appear in verses five and six, the text of the Raising of the Widow's Son appears in verses seven and eight, and the text of the Raising of Lazarus appears in verses nine and ten.

The lines "But You have broken death's embrace / And torn away its sting" in the fourth verse refer to 1 Corinthians 15:55:  "'O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?'"

Saint-Saëns: Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12: X. Chœur

The tenth movement of Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio begins with "Tollite hostias" ("Raise offerings"), and this is demonstrated in the music.  In the soprano part, there's an interval of a fourth (D to G) between the notes for "Tollite" and the note for the first syllable of "hostias" (which is also the highest note in the phrase).  In the other vocal parts, there are smaller (but still upward) intervals between "Tollite" and "hostias."  In the tenor and bass parts, the word "Tollite" itself is sung to an ascending group of notes:

The rest of this line is "et adorate Dominum in atrio sancto eius" ("and worship the Lord in His holy hall").  The notes to which "adorate" is sung generally descend, as if to illustrate bowing in worship.

"Orientis partibus" (TLH #193)

Because this is a shorter tune, I went through it three times.

"Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord"

Last year and the year before, I noticed a few features in "Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord," sung to the tune "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The first line of the second verse is "What the fathers most desired," and the first line of the third verse is "Abram's promised great reward."  "Most" and "great" are both sung with a melisma (A G), musically giving something of a sense of degree.

This same musical phrase is repeated at the end of the hymn, and there are some significant melismas in the text there too.  The last line of the third verse is "Truly came, as long foretold," and the last line of the fourth verse is "Which is Your eternally."  "Long" (A G) and "eternally" (Bb A G A G) are both sung with melismas for a sense of duration.

LSB #551 "When to Our World the Savior Came"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Acts 10:38, John 9:1-41

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."

John 9:1-41:  "1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  2 And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'  3 Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.  4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.  5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.'  6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva.  Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent).  So he went and washed and came back seeing.

"8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, 'Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?'  9 Some said, 'It is he.'  Others said, 'No, but he is like him.'  He kept saying, 'I am the man.'  10 So they said to him, 'Then how were your eyes opened?'  11 He answered, 'The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash."  So I went and washed and received my sight.'  12 They said to him, 'Where is he?'  He said, 'I do not know.'

"13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.  14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.  15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight.  And he said to them, 'He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.'  16 Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.'  But others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?'  And there was a division among them.  17 So they said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?'  He said, 'He is a prophet.'

"18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  How then does he now see?'  20 His parents answered, 'We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.  21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes.  Ask him; he is of age.  He will speak for himself.'  22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)  23 Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'

"24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, 'Give glory to God.  We know that this man is a sinner.'  25 He answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I do not know.  One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.'  26 They said to him, 'What did he do to you?  How did he open your eyes?'  27 He answered them, 'I have told you already, and you would not listen.  Why do you want to hear it again?  Do you also want to become his disciples?'  28 And they reviled him, saying, 'You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.  29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.'  30 The man answered, 'Why, this is an amazing thing!  You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.  31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, God listens to him.  32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.  33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.'  34 They answered him, 'You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?'  And they cast him out.

"35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'  36 He answered, 'And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?'  37 Jesus said to him, 'You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.'  38 He said, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshipped him.  39 Jesus said, 'For judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.'  40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, 'Are we also blind?'  41 Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, "We see," your guilt remains.'"

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The passage from Acts seems to appear in the hymn's first three verses, which recount Jesus' various acts of healing.

This long passage from John (the entirety of chapter 9) appears in only two lines in the hymn:  "While lightened eyes could see and know / The healing Christ of long ago."  This chapter in John isn't the only account of Jesus healing a blind man, but I believe this particular occasion is cited because of the order of events.  First, the man receives his sight, and then he comes to faith, just as in the hymn:  "lightened eyes could see and know / The healing Christ."

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The line "Till ev'ry tongue confess His praise" in the fifth verse borrows from Philippians 2:11:  "and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The second verse begins with the lines "That good physician!  Night and day / The people thronged about His way."  "Night and day" is a merism.

Saint-Saëns: Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12: V. Duo (soprano & bass)

There are more cross inscriptions in the fifth movement of Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, but I don't know if there's any significance to these.

The text here is a copulative sentence ("Deus meus es tu" - literally "God mine are you," but in a smooth translation, it's "You are my God"), and as one voice sings the subject and verb ("tu es"), the other sings the predicate nominative ("Deus"), so the overlap of these two voices illustrates the meaning of the sentence.

"Auf, auf, mein Herz" (TLH #192)

I transposed this from Eb major to F major.

"From Heaven Above to Earth I Come"

Last November, I listened to a box set of Bach's organ works performed by Peter Hurford.  While listening to "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her," BWV 700, I was thinking about "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" (the text that accompanies the original tune) and noticed a small feature.

Here are the first two musical phrases:

In Lutheran Worship, the text here in the first verse is "From heav'n above to earth I come / To bring good news to ev'ryone!"  (The text is from Luke 2:10:  "And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'")  The three syllables of "ev'ryone" are each sung to a different pitch (G F E), musically giving something of a sense of breadth.

Of the three main hymnals I have, this is unique to Lutheran Worship.  The Lutheran Hymnal and The Lutheran Service Book both have "From heav'n above to earth I come / To bear good news to ev'ry home."

LSB #550 "Lamb of God"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:29, Revelation 7:14

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!'"

Revelation 7:14:  "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 from John seems to appear in the first verse:  "Your only Son, no sin to hide, / But You have sent Him from Your side / To walk upon this guilty sod, / And to become the Lamb of God."  The appellation "Lamb of God" also appears throughout the hymn.

The text from Revelation appears in the line "O wash me in His precious blood" in the refrain.

"To be led by Your staff and rod" in the third verse comes from Psalm 23:4:  "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Saint-Saëns: Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12: II. Recit et chœur

I'd forgotten about this, but one of my goals for 2020 was to post some old notes on Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio.

In the second movement, when the soprano sings "Et hoc vobis signum" ("And this to you a sign" - the first part of Luke 2:12), the musical setting of "vobis signum" forms a cross:

I feel that this has significance, but I can't come up with a good explanation for it.

The chœur section of the second movement has the text "Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax..." ("Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace..." - Luke 2:14).  "Gloria in altissimis Deo" is first sung by the sopranos and the altos, the higher voices, and "Et in terra pax" is first sung by the tenors and the basses, the lower voices:

Distributing those parts of the text among those particular voices results in an audible representation of the highness of heaven and the lowness of earth.

Furthermore, the "altissimis" ("highest") is set across a series of rising notes, indicating that height:

"Llanfair" (TLH #191)

I tried doubling the "alleluia"s in this on recorder, but they didn't turn out very well, so I left them out.

"Watchman, Tell Us of the Night"

Back in September 2018, I recorded the tune "St. George," used for TLH #71 "Watchman, Tell Us of the Night."  I noticed a small feature in the second verse.  The first two lines are "Watchman, tell us of the night; / Higher yet that star ascends," sung to these phrases:

"Star ascends" is sung to a rising group of notes (F G A), musically giving a sense of that "ascend[ing]."

Side note:  I hadn't realized this before, but "St. George" in The Lutheran Hymnal is the same tune as "St. George's, Windsor" in Lutheran Worship and The Lutheran Service Book.  I don't know why the titles are different, though.

LSB #549 "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 5:9-14, Hebrews 2:9, Philippians 2:9-10, Revelation 19:16

Revelation 5:9-14:  "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."

Hebrews 2:9:  "But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

Philippians 2:9-10:  "9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth"

Revelation 19:16:  "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 is public domain:

All hail the pow'r of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of our God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse's rod
And crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse's rod
And crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel's chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace
And crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace
And crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David's line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
The wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread your trophies at His feet
And crown Him Lord of all.
Go, spread your trophies at His feet
And crown Him Lord of all.

Let ev'ry kindred, ev'ry tribe,
On this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe
And crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe
And crown Him Lord of all.

Oh, that with yonder sacred throng
We at His feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
And crown Him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
And crown Him Lord of all.

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Philippians 2:9-10 and Revelation 19:16 seem to be combined in the line "All hail the pow'r of Jesus' name."  Philippians 2:9-10 appears in the next line "Let angels prostrate fall" (which may also draw from the Revelation 5 text) and in the last verse:  "Oh that... We at His feet may fall!"  The title "Lord of lords" from Revelation 19:16 is rendered as "Lord of all," repeated at the end of each verse.

Hebrews 2:9 supplies the repeated "crown Him" and also seems to appear in the line "Hail Him who saves you by His grace" in the third verse.

The text from Revelation 5 is the basis for the last two verses.

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The lines "martyrs of our God, / Who from His altar call" in the second verse are drawn from Revelation 6:9-11:  "9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.  10 They cried out with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'  11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been."

"The stem of Jesse's rod" from the same verse comes from Isaiah 11:1:  "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."

"Whom David Lord did call" in the fourth verse refers to Matthew 22:45, Mark 12:37, and/or Luke 20:44.

"The wormwood and the gall" in the fifth verse may come from Lamentations 3:19:  "Remember my afflictions and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!"

"Christus ist erstanden" (TLH #190)

I went through this three times and doubled the "Hallelujah"s on recorder.  There's a note in TLH that this is "Based on 'Christ ist erstanden,'" which I recorded a couple weeks ago.

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People"

I wrote about a small feature in "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People" last year, but I found an-other note I neglected to include, and last Advent, I discovered something new to write about.

The third verse ends with the lines "Let the valleys rise to meet Him / And the hills bow down to greet Him," sung to these phrases from the tune "Freu dich sehr":

The second phrase generally descends, illustrating the hills' "bow[ing] down."

The other thing I noticed is a feature in the text:  "far and near" in the lines "Hark, the herald's voice is crying / In the desert far and near" at the beginning of the third verse is a merism.

LSB #548 "Thanks to Thee, O Christ, Victorious"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Isaiah 53:4-6, 8, 11-12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:15

1 Corinthians 15:51-57:  "51 Behold!  I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:  'Death is swallowed up in victory.'  55 'O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?'  56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Isaiah 53:4-6:  "4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  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."

Isaiah 53:8:  "By oppression and judgement he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?"

Isaiah 53:11-12:  "11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:  "16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

2 Corinthians 9:15:  "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

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The text is public domain:

Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious!
Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life!
Death hath now no power o'er us,
Thou hast conquered in the strife.
Thanks because Thou didst arise
And hast opened paradise!
None can fully sing the glory
Of the resurrection story.

Thou hast died for my transgression,
All my sins on Thee were laid;
Thou hast won for me salvation,
On the cross my debt was paid.
From the grave I shall arise
And shall meet Thee in the skies.
Death itself is transitory;
I shall lift my head in glory.

For the joy Thine advent gave me,
For Thy holy, precious Word;
For Thy Baptism, which doth save me,
For Thy blest Communion board;
For Thy death, the bitter scorn,
For Thy resurrection morn,
Lord, I thank Thee and extol Thee,
And in heav'n I shall behold Thee.

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The Biblical sources for this hymn are easy to trace.  The first verse comes from the text from 1 Corinthians.  The first half of the second verse comes from Isaiah 53, and the second half comes from 1 Thessalonians 4.  The third verse comes from the text from 2 Corinthians.

"Wie schön leuchtet" (TLH #189)

In The Lutheran Hymnal, this is in Eb major.  The last two times I recorded it, I transposed it up a half step to E major.  To do something different this time, I played it in F major.

"God of Grace and God of Glory"

Last month, I wrote a post on "God of Grace and God of Glory."  One of the features I noted was that "long" in the lines "From the fears that long have bound us / Free our hearts to faith and praise" is sung with a melisma for a sense of duration.  A few days after that post was published, I lookt at the version of "God of Grace and God of Glory" in Lutheran Worship and discovered a slight difference.

In The Lutheran Service Book, "long" is sung with a two-note melisma (F E):

In Lutheran Worship, "long" is sung with a three-note melisma (G F# G):

This isn't a particularly significant difference, but because of that extra note, there is a bit more emphasis in the Lutheran Worship version.

LSB #547 "The Lamb"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 5:12-13, Genesis 22:7-8, 1 Peter 2:24-25

Revelation 5:12-13:  "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!'"

Genesis 22:7-8:  "7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, 'My father!'  And he said, 'Here am I, my son.'  He said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'  8 Abraham said, 'God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.'  So they went both of them together."

1 Peter 2:24-25:  "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.  25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

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The text from Genesis 22 appears in the first verse:  "O Father, where's the sacrifice?... God will provide the Lamb of price!"

The text from 1 Peter seems to be the source for verses two through four, and it shows up most clearly in the fourth verse ("He takes my sin and wretchedness... He gives me His own righteousness") and part of the refrain ("the Lamb whose death makes me His own").

Most of the refrain is drawn from the text from Revelation.  "Worthy is the Lamb" comes directly from verse 12 and "The Lamb is reigning on His throne" from verse 13.  "Let earth join heav'n His praise to sing" in the hymn's second verse also comes from the Revelation text.

"Fred til Bod" (TLH #188)

"Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings"

Two years ago, I wrote a post about "Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings."  About a month ago, I found a few more features to note.

In the second verse, creation is described as "Filled with creatures large and small."  "Large and small" is a merism.

At the end of that verse, there's the line "May our care encircle all," sung to this phrase from the tune "Holy Manna":

The three syllables of "encircle" are each sung to a different pitch (F A G), so while the intervals aren't very large, there's something of a sense of breadth and of the word's meaning.

The hymn's refrain is:

Lord, we pray that we, Your people

Who Your gifts unnumbered claim,

Through the sharing of Your blessings

May bring glory to Your name.

The third line is sung to this phrase:

"Blessings" is sung with a melisma (A G F D), and because it's spread out to more notes, there's a sense of its being "shar[ed]."

LSB #546 "O Jesus So Sweet, O Jesus So Mild"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Galatians 4:4-5, Romans 5:8-11

Galatians 4:4-5:  "4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."

Romans 5:8-11:  "8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

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The text is public domain:

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!
For sinners You became a child.
You came from heaven down to earth
In human flesh through human birth.
O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!
With God we now are reconciled.
You have for all the ransom paid,
Your Father's righteous anger stayed.
O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!
Joy fills the world which sin defiled.
Whate'er we have belongs to You;
O keep us faithful, strong, and true.
O Jesus so sweet, O Jesus so mild!

+++

The Biblical sources for this hymn are very clear to see in the text:  Galatians 4:4-5 appears in the first verse, and Romans 5:8-11 appears in the second and third verses.

"Christ ist erstanden" (TLH #187)

I extended the value of a few notes because otherwise the following phrase seemed rushed.

"Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart"

About a month ago, I was thinking about a song that I think I learned in Sunday school.  I don't know if I ever learned the title, but a few years ago, Roger McGuinn recorded a version of it for his Folk Den and called it "Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart."  I remember only one verse, but one that McGuinn has contains the phrase "a peace that passes understanding," which comes from Philippians 4:7:  "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

From what I remember, the melody is something like:

The words are:

I've got a joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart

Down in my heart, down in my heart

I've got a joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart

Down in my heart today.

(Apparently, some versions have "the joy" instead of "a joy.")

The melody is composed almost entirely of descending phrases, and this gives something of a sense of the "down" in the repeated phrase "down in my heart."

LSB #545 "Word of God, Come Down on Earth"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:1-3, 10, 14

John 1:1-3:  "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He was in the beginning with God.  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."

John 1:10:  "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him."

John 1:14:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

+++

John 1:14 appears in the first verse, specifically in the last line:  "Word made flesh, we long to hear You."

The other two verses from John 1 appear in the hymn's second verse, specifically in the line "Word that brought to life creation."

These verses from John are also referenced more generally in the hymn; throughout, there are multiple addresses to the "Word."

The last two lines of the hymn are "Word of truth, to all truth lead us; / Word of life, with one bread feed us."  These seem to refer to John 14:6:  "Jesus said to him [Thomas], 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

"Septem Verba" (TLH #180)

 

TLH numbers each verse of this as a separate hymn (180-186), so while I'm not skipping any tunes, there will be a jump in the numbering next week.

"Müde bin ich, geh' zur Ruh'"

Beneath LSB #887 "Now the Light Has Gone Away," there's a note:  "The text of the German hymn 'Müde bin ich, geh zur Ruh,' [sic] also sung to this tune, is provided for those who remember it as their bedtime prayer during childhood."  (LSB sometimes lacks apostrophes in the German titles; this should be "Müde bin ich, geh' zur Ruh'.")  I don't plan on writing about hymns in other languages, but I'm making an exception here because this one is included in LSB.

Last year, I noticed a small feature in the third verse:

Alle, die mir sind verwandt,

Gott, laß ruh'n in deiner Hand;

Alle Menschen groß und klein

Sollen dir befohlen sein.

In a more prosaic translation, this is:  "God, let all who are related to me rest in Your hand; all people big and small should be under Your command."

The description "groß und klein" ("big and small") is a merism.

LSB #544 "O Love, How Deep"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 3:17b-21; Philippians 2:6-9; Hebrews 2:9-10, 14-18; John 1:14

Ephesians 3:17b-21:  "that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

"20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen."

Philippians 2:6-9:  "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.  9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name"

Hebrews 2:9-10:  "9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

"10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering."

Hebrews 2:14-18:  "14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.  17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

John 1:14:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

+++

The text is public domain:

O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals' sake!

He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.

For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.

For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.

For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.

For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.

+++

The text from Ephesians 3 appears in the first and last verses ("O love, how deep, how broad, how high, / Beyond all thought and fantasy" and "For love so deep, so high, so broad").

The second half of the first verse and all of the second verse seem to combine Philippians 2:6-9 (in the lines "That God, the Son of God, should take / Our mortal form for mortals' sake!"), Hebrews 2:9-10 (in "He sent no angel to our race, / Of higher or of lower place"), and John 1:14 (in "But wore the robe of human frame, / And to this world Himself He came").

Similarly, verses three through six seem to draw from Philippians 2:6-9 ("he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross"), Hebrews 2:9-10 ("For it was fitting that he... should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering"), and Hebrews 2:14-18 ("he himself likewise partook of the same things," "he had to be made like his brothers in every respect," and "because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted").

+++

The repeated "for us" is an example of anaphora, a rhetorical device.  Its function here is to illustrate the extent of what God has done for us.

"Der am Kreuz" (TLH #179)

"Behold a Host, Arrayed in White"

Over the last two years, I noted some features in "Behold a Host, Arrayed in White," sung to the tune "Den store hvide flok."  Musically, the tune is divided into three sections, and all of the features I noticed occur at the end of either the first or third section.  While these two sections aren't exactly the same, the last three phrases are, so I made only one excerpt of notation:

At the end of the first section of the second verse, there are the lines "Those martyrs stand, / A priestly band, / God's throne forever near."  "Forever" is sung with a melisma (F# E F# E), musically giving a sense of duration.  In the same spot in the third verse, there are the lines "Extol the Lord, / Who with His Word / Sustained you on the way."  Here, "sustained" is sung with a melisma (D E F# G), which gives something of a sense of its meaning (prolonged, to use a different word).

At the end of the last section (the end of the hymn), there are these lines in the third verse:  "Lift up one voice; / Let heav'n rejoice / In our Redeemer's song!"  "Lift up" is sung to an ascending group of notes (F# G A), illustrating its meaning, and "lift" is even sung with a melisma to emphasize this.  "Redeemer's" is sung to a cross inscription, illustrating that it's through Christ's crucifixion and resurrection that we are redeemed.  In fact, at the end of each section, there are three cross inscriptions in the tune, but this instance has the strongest connection between the tune and the text.

I also noticed a purely textual feature:  in the line "They now serve God both day and night" in the first verse, "day and night" is a merism.

LSB #543 "What Wondrous Love Is This"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 John 4:7-10, Revelation 5:6-13, John 8:58

1 John 4:7-10:  "7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  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."

Revelation 5:6-13:  "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!'"

John 8:58:  "Jesus said to them [the Jews], 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.'"

+++

The text is public domain:

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on;
And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on.
And when from death I'm free,
I'll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I'll sing on, I'll sing on,
And through eternity I'll sing on.

+++

The Biblical sources for this hymn are clearly delineated.  The first two verses come from the text from 1 John 4, and the third and fourth verses come mostly from the text from Revelation 5.  The line "Who is the great I AM" in the third verse comes from John 8:58, which references Exodus 3:14:  "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.'  And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'"

"O Jesu Christ, mein's" (TLH #178)

"I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus"

I transcribed "I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus" last month and found a few features to write about.  Every verse begins with "I am trusting Thee...."  This is a rhetorical device called anaphora, and in its use here, it illustrates the surety of that trust.

I also found a couple connections between the text and the music, specifically the last two phrases:

The tune is "Stephanos," a transliteration of στέφανος, the Greek word for crown.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "Ev'ry day and hour supplying / All my need."  "Ev'ry" is sung with a melisma (C D E), musically giving a sense of frequency.  The last (sixth) verse ends with the lines "I am trusting Thee forever / And for all."  "Forever" is sung with a melisma (G A Bb A), musically giving a sense of duration, and "all" is sung to a whole note for a sense of entirety.

LSB #542 "When I Behold Jesus Christ"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:9-10, John 15:13

Romans 5:8:  "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

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."

John 15:13:  "'Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.'"

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The first two citations (Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:9-10) appear throughout the first three verses, in which the speaker/singer "wonder[s] much at His love / As He hung on the tree" and "bled and died" for our sins.

The beginning of the fourth verse ("What love is this?  Greater love / No one has ever known.") doesn't exactly come from John 15:13 but clearly references it.

"Da Jesus an des Kreuzes" (TLH #177)

"God of Grace and God of Glory"

A little over a year ago, "God of Grace and God of Glory" was one of the hymns I sang in church, and I noticed a small feature in the second verse.  The third and fourth lines are "From the fears that long have bound us / Free our hearts to faith and praise," sung to these phrases from the tune "Cwm Rhondda":

"Long" is sung with a melisma (F E), musically giving a sense of duration.

Years ago, I also noticed an-other small feature.  The first two lines of the hymn are "God of grace and God of glory, / On Your people pour Your pow'r," sung to these phrases:

"Pour Your pow'r" is sung to a descending group of notes (A G F), illustrating this "pour[ing]."

LSB #541 "'Away from Us!' the Demon Cried"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Mark 1:23-26, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 5:8-14, Hebrews 9:14

Mark 1:23-26:  "23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, 24 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are - the Holy One of God.'  25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be silent, and come out of him!'  26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him."

John 3:19-21:  "19 'And this is the judgement:  the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.'"

Ephesians 5:8-14:  "8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.  13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light.  Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'"

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."

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The hymn is divided into two sections.  The first section (the first two verses) describes the opposition between the "dark, disordered world" of the demons and Christ as "the Light," who drives them out.  This section is drawn from the first three texts:  Mark 1:23-26, John 3:19-21, and Ephesians 5:8-14.

The second section (verses three through five) asks the Lord to "Come, speak the truth that cleanses sin," "Drive out the doubt that cripples faith; / Expel our pride and greed," and give us "hearts and wills made new... to serve, / To rise and follow You."  This section comes from Hebrews 9:14, although "Walk as children of light... and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord" from Ephesians 5 could apply here too.

The hymn also deserves some citations from John.  "Light," "Truth," and "Word" are capitalized in the hymn text, indicating that these refer to Jesus.  He calls Himself "Light" in John 8:12 and "Truth" in John 14:6, and He is called the "Word" in John 1:1, 14.

"Windsor" (TLH #176)

Because this is a shorter tune, I went through it three times.

"Do Not Despair, O Little Flock"

Back when I transcribed LSB #666 "O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe" (and noticed a few things, about which I wrote last week), I also transcribed its counterpart in Lutheran Worship:  "Do Not Despair, O Little Flock" (#300).  The translations are quite different, and/so there's a small feature in "Do Not Despair, O Little Flock" that isn't in "O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe."  Rather than write one confusing post about both hymns, I decided to write about them separately.

The fourth verse of "Do Not Despair, O Little Flock" begins:  "Then help us, Lord! Now hear our prayer. / Defend your people ev'rywhere."  That second line is sung to this phrase from the tune "Kommt her zu mir":

The three syllables of "ev'rywhere" are each sung to a different pitch (B A G#), musically giving a sense of breadth.

LSB #540 "Christ, the Word of God Incarnate"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:1-14; 6:30-40, 48-58; 10:7-16, 27-28; 15:1-8

John 1:1-14:  "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He was in the beginning with God.  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

"6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

"9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

"14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 6:30-40:  "30 So they [people in a crowd] said to him, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?  What work do you perform?  31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."'  32 Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'  34 They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.'

"35 Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.'"

John 6:48-58:  "48 'I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'

"52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'  53 So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.  Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'"

John 10:7-16:  "7 'So Jesus again said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  9 I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.  10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  11 I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.  13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  14 I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.  16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.  So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.'"

John 10:27-28:  "27 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.'"

John 15:1-8:  "1 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  4 Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  5 I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.'"

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John 1 appears in the first verse, most clearly in the lines "Christ, the Word of God incarnate," "Christ, the radiance of the Father," and "Christ, the light, You shine unvanquished, / Light and life You bring to all."  The lines "Lord and Son of Abraham" and "Perfect God, the great I AM" seem to come from John 8:58 (referencing Exodus 3:14):  "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.'"  The line "Light our path with Your own presence" refers to Psalm 119:105:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

The passages from John 6 appear in the second verse, which starts:  "Christ, the living bread from heaven."  The verse ends with the lines "Quench our thirst with living water / Springing up eternally," which refers to John 4:14:  "'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.'"

John 15 appears in the third verse, which focuses on Jesus as "the shoot that springs triumphant / From the stump of Jesse's tree; / Christ, true vine...."  This also incorporates Isaiah 11:1:  "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit."

John 10 appears in the fourth verse, which is about Jesus as "our good and faithful shepherd."

The fifth verse comes primarily from (the uncited) John 14:6:  "Jesus said to [Thomas], 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'"  There are also some smaller allusions:  "Christ, the truth that frees the captive" (Luke 4:18, citing Isaiah 61:1), "Mediator to the Father, / Sacrifice and great High Priest" (Hebrews 9), "Lead us to Your heav'nly mansions" (John 14:2), "There to share Your wedding feast" (Revelation 19:9).

Similarly, the last verse combines multiple passages:  "Christ, the Alpha and Omega" (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13), "Christ, the life and resurrection" (John 11:25), and "Christ, the firstborn from the dead... Christ, the Church's glorious head" (Colossians 1:18).

"Rockingham Old" (TLH #175b)

I transposed this from Eb major to F major.

"O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe"

About a year ago, I transcribed the text of "O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe" and found a couple small things to write about.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Kommt her zu mir."  Here's the last musical phrase:

The second verse ends with the lines "His Gideon shall for you arise, / Uphold you and His Word."  "Uphold" is sung to a fairly large ascending interval (a fifth:  E to B), giving something of a sense of the word's meaning.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "So shall Thy saints and martyrs raise / A mighty chorus to Thy praise / Forevermore.  Amen."  The value of the notes to which "forever" is sung (E B A G) add up to six beats.  This is the most for any word in the hymn and gives a sense of duration.

LSB #539 "Christ Is the World's Redeemer"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Acts 2:21-36, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 12:2, Revelation 7:9-17

Acts 2:21-36:  "21 "'And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

"22 'Men of Israel, hear these words:  Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.  24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.  25 For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.  27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.  28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'"

"29 'Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.  32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.  33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.  34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool."  36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.'"

Philippians 2:5-11:  "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.  9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Hebrews 12:2:  "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Revelation 7:9-17:  "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.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

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The text is public domain:

Christ is the world's Redeemer,
The lover of the pure,
The font of heav'nly wisdom,
Our trust and hope secure,
The armor of His soldiers,
The Lord of earth and sky,
Our health while we are living,
Our life when we shall die.

Christ has our host surrounded
With clouds of martyrs bright,
Who wave their palms in triumph
And fire us for the fight.
Then Christ the cross ascended
To save a world undone
And, suff'ring for the sinful,
Our full redemption won.

Down through the realm of darkness
He strode in victory,
And at the hour appointed
He rose triumphantly.
And now, to heav'n ascended,
He sits upon the throne
Whence He had ne'er departed,
His Father's and His own.

Glory to God the Father,
The unbegotten One,
All honor be to Jesus,
His sole-begotten Son,
And to the Holy Spirit -
The perfect Trinity.
Let all the worlds give answer:
Amen! So let it be.

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The Biblical sources for this hymn are a bit difficult to identify specifically.  The first half of the second verse ("clouds of martyrs bright, / Who wave their palms in triumph") comes from Revelation 7:9.  The other three texts (Acts 2:21-36, Philippians 2:5-11, Hebrews 12:2) seem simply to be summarized in the second half of the second verse and in the third verse.  Revelation 7:12 and the last verse of the hymn both ascribe glory and honor to God, but that's about as far as the similarity goes.