"Oh, How Great Is Your Compassion"

In "Oh, How Great Is Your Compassion," the alliterative appellations for God in the first verse ("Faithful Father, God of grace") illustrate His perfection.

The next two lines in that verse are "That with all our fallen race / In our depth of degradation," sung to these musical phrases from "Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen":

Both phrases descend, musically giving a sense of "fallen" and "depth of degradation."

An-other feature I noticed is the slant rhyme in the lines "Giving us the gift of faith / That we fear not hell nor death" at the end of the third verse.  That "faith" and "death" don't perfectly rhyme illustrates that for those with faith, there is no death.  "Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54).

LSB #503 "O Day Full of Grace"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Acts 2:1-4; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 4:6; Colossians 1:13-14

Acts 2:1-4:  "1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

2 Corinthians 1:21-22:  "21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

2 Corinthians 4:6:  "6 For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Colossians 1:13-14:  "13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

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The first two verses of the hymn come from 2 Corinthians 4:6.  Both contain the idea of "light shin[ing] out of darkness":  "Bring light from our God that we may be / Replete in His joy this season. / God, shine for us now in this dark place" in the first verse and "Then came to the world that light sublime... Jesus all mortals did embrace, / All darkness and shame removing."  God's shining "in our hearts" appears at the end of the first verse:  "Your name on our hearts emblazon."

The third verse, which summarizes Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, seems to come from Colossians 1:13-14.

The fourth verse (the beginning, at least) comes from Acts 2:1-4:  "God came to us then at Pentecost, / His Spirit new life revealing."

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 could also be cited for "Your name on our hearts emblazon" in the first verse, and it also seems to appear in the fourth verse, specifically in the line "That we might no more from Him be lost."

Messiah: No. 35 Let all the angels of God worship Him

The text is from Hebrews 1:6:  "And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"

"An Wasserflüssen Babylon" (TLH #142)

I got a bit confused at the end and somehow shifted the "Amen" cadence from 4/4 into 6/4.  Because the tune is so long, I didn't want to have to redo it, so I just went with it.

"Mark How the Lamb of God's Self-Offering"

Last Sunday (the 12th) was the observation of the Baptism of Our Lord, but in church this week, I found a small feature to write about in a hymn that references this event, so I thought I would write about it now anyway.  The hymn is "Mark How the Lamb of God's Self-Offering," sung to the tune "Rendez à Dieu."

The last line of the first verse, referring to the Spirit in the form of a dove, is "Descends on God's Anointed One," sung to this musical phrase:

The descending melody gives a sense of the "descend[ing]" dove.

LSB #502 "Holy Spirit, the Dove Sent from Heaven"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Titus 3:5-7, Romans 8:26-27

Matthew 3:16-17:  "16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"

2 Corinthians 1:21-22:  "21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

Titus 3:5-7:  "5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Romans 8:26-27:  "26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

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The text from Matthew appears in the first verse (the title line).  The "seal" mentioned in 2 Corinthians 1:22 appears in the second verse:  "All the baptized You seal with Your promise."  The "washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" is at the end of the third verse:  "In this washing that cleanses from sin."  And the Spirit's help and intercession from Romans 8:26-27 appears in the fourth verse:  "Source of strength and of peace and of love" ... "As You bring all our need / To the throne of God's glory above."

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There are a few references to Pentecost in the hymn ("Holy Spirit, the fire celestial, / Who on Pentecost came as foretold" and "Holy Spirit, the wind of great power"), but Acts 2 isn't cited.

The line "Keep our feet from each devilish snare" in the fourth verse might come from two passages from Psalms:  Psalm 25:15: "My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net" and Psalm 91:3:  "For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence."  The images are similar, at least.

Messiah: No. 34 Unto which of the angels

The text is from Hebrews 1:5:  "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you'?  Or again, 'I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son'?"

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten" (TLH #141)

"Arise and Shine in Splendor"

I follow KFUORadio on Twitter, and recently, they tweeted the last verse of "Arise and Shine in Splendor":

"Your heart will leap for gladness
When from the realms of sadness
They come from near and far.
Your eyes will wake from slumber
As people without number
Rejoice to see the Morning Star."
Lutheran Service Book 396 st 5 #Epiphany

— 𝗞𝗙𝗨𝗢Radio🎙️🎶🙏⛪ (@KFUOradio) January 10, 2020

This is just a small point, but I realized that "near and far" is a merism.

LSB #501 "Come Down, O Love Divine"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 5:5; Ezra 36:26-28; John 14:16, 26; Romans 15:13

Romans 5:5:  "and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

As with "Savior, When in Dust to Thee," LSB cites a non-existent chapter of Ezra (there are only ten chapters in Ezra).  Ezekiel seems to be the intended citation.

Ezekiel 36:26-28:  "26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God."

John 14:16:  "'And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,'"

John 14:26:  "'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.'"

Romans 15:13:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

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The text is public domain:

Come down, O Love divine;
Seek Thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near;
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn,
Till worldly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heart consuming;
And let Thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity
Mine outward vesture be
And lowliness become mine inner clothing -
True lowliness of heart,
Which takes the humbler part,
And o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the pow'r of human telling;
No soul can guess His grace
Till it become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

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The first four citations (Romans 5:5; Ezra 36:26-28; John 14:16, 26) are all fairly similar, and I think they all appear in the first verse, most prominently in the line "Within my heart appear."

The lines "No soul can guess His grace / Till it become the place / Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling" in the last verse seem to refer to "all joy and peace in believing" from Romans 15:13.

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"Thy holy flame bestowing" in the first verse seems to be a reference to Pentecost.  Acts 2:1-4:  "1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they [the apostles] were all together in one place.  2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

"My path illuming" in the second verse has some resemblance to Psalm 119:105:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Messiah: No. 33 Lift up your heads, O ye gates

The text is from Psalm 24:7-10:  "7 Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  8 Who is the King of glory?  The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!  9 Lift up your heads, O gates!  And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  10 Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!"

"Jesu Kreuz, Leiden, und Pein" (TLH #140)

Compared to what I'm familiar with in LSB, one note seems a bit abrupt, but that's how it is in the notation.  I transposed this from Eb major down to D major.  Both of the lower parts already fell below standard tuning for the instruments I play them on, and transposing them pushed them even further down, so this is just two mandolins.

"Hail the Day So Rich in Cheer"

I don't currently have any notes about Epiphany hymns to write about, so I'm going to continue with Christmas hymns.

In October 2018, I recorded the tune "Der Tag, der ist," used with TLH #78 "Hail the Day So Rich in Cheer."  I noticed a small connection between the text and the second phrase:

In the second verse, the text here calls Jesus the "King of all creation."  "Creation" is sung with a melisma (F# G A G), musically giving a sense of the breadth of that "all."

LSB #500 "Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, John 16:13, Genesis 1:2

Romans 8:9:  "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him."

1 Corinthians 3:16:  "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"

John 16:13:  "'When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.'"

Genesis 1:2:  "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

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The text is public domain:

Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit ev'ry humble mind;
Come, pour Your joys on humankind;
From sin and sorrow set us free;
May we Your living temples be.

O Source of uncreated light,
The bearer of God's gracious might,
Thrice-holy fount, thrice-holy fire,
Our hearts with heav'nly love inspire;
Your sacred, healing message bring
To sanctify us as we sing.

Giver of grace, descend from high;
Your sev'nfold gifts to us supply;
Help us eternal truths receive
And practice all that we believe;
Give us Yourself that we may see
The glory of the Trinity.

Immortal honor, endless fame
Attend the almighty Father's name;
The Savior-Son be glorified,
Who for all humankind has died;
To You, O Paraclete, we raise
Unending songs of thanks and praise.

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Genesis 1:2 appears in the first two lines of the first verse, although the hymn picks up the creation account slightly after what's quoted.  Both Romans 8:9 and 1 Corinthians 3:16 appear at the end of the first verse:  "May we Your living temples be."

John 16:13 appears in the line "Help us eternal truths receive" in the third verse.

The description "thrice-holy" in the second verse seems to be a reference to the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3:  "And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'"

Messiah: No. 32 But thou didst not leave his soul in hell

The text is drawn from either Psalm 16:10:  "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption." or Acts 2:27:  "'For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.'"

"Sieh, hier bin ich" (TLH #139)

"Across the Sky the Shades of Night"

One of the hymns in the New Years' Eve church service this week was "Across the Sky the Shades of Night" (located in the "New Year" section of The Lutheran Service Book).  I noticed a couple things about it.  Most of them are in the fourth phrase (the tune is "Allein Gott in der Höh"):

In the second verse, the text here is "And all our sins confessing."  "Sins" is sung with a melisma (C B), musically giving a sense of that "all."  In the fourth verse, the text is "Past death and all despairing."  Here, the "all" itself is sung with that same melisma for the same effect.  In the fifth verse, the text is "Your mercy walk beside us."  "Walk" is sung with still the same melisma, musically giving a sense of movement (and there's an added sense of stepping since C and B are adjacent notes).

I also noticed one thing in the sixth phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "We raise to You our earnest cry."  The melody ascends at the beginning, musically giving a sense of that "rais[ing]" (although it's used metaphorically).

Looking at just the text, I also noticed some alliteration in the third verse:  "For You have been our strength and stay."  The repeated st provides a sense of steadfastness.

LSB #498,499 "Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 14:16, 26; Romans 8:5-11; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

John 14:16:  "'And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever'"

John 14:26:  "'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.'"

Romans 8:5-11:  "5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to sent the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed it cannot.  8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

"9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."

Titus 3:5-7:  "5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

1 Corinthians 2:10-16:  "10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.  For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?  So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.  13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

"14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.  15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.  16 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?'  But we have the mind of Christ."

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The text is public domain.  #498 and #499 are the same except for an "Amen" at the end of #499.

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
And make our hearts Your place of rest;
Come with Your grace and heav'nly aid,
And fill the hearts which You have made.

To You, the Counselor, we cry,
To You, the gift of God Most High;
The fount of life, the fire of love,
The soul's anointing from above.

In You, with graces sevenfold,
We God's almighty hand behold
While You with tongues of fire proclaim
To all the world His holy name.

Your life to ev'ry thought impart,
And shed Your love in ev'ry heart;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.

Drive far away our wily foe,
And Your abiding peace bestow;
With You as our protecting guide,
No evil can with us abide.

Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And You, from both, as Three in One
That we Your name may ever bless
And in our lives the truth confess.

Praise we the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, with them One,
And may the Son on us bestow
The gifts that from the Spirit flow!

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The fourth verse, particularly the lines "The weakness of our mortal state / With deathless might invigorate," comes from Romans 8:5-11.

The fifth verse seems to come from Titus 3:5-7.  The hymn seems to render "by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" as "With You as our protecting guide, / No evil can with us abide."

The first half of the sixth verse ("Teach us to know the Father, Son, / And You, from both, as Three in One") could come from either John 14:26 or 2 Corinthians 2:10-16.  Both of those passages name the Holy Spirit as a teacher, but the 2 Corinthians text is much more detailed.

John 14:16, 26 seem to appear at the very end, in the lines "And may the Son on us bestow / The gifts that from the Spirit flow!" but the beginning two verses of the hymn call upon the Spirit with faith and confidence in these words of Christ, so these passages could be cited there too.

The lines "While You with tongues of fire proclaim / To all the world His holy name" in the third verse is a reference to Acts 2:1-13.