"Gottlob, es geht nunmehr zu Ende" (TLH #163)

"The King of Love My Shepherd Is"

A couple weeks ago, I happened to think of the last two lines of "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" - "I nothing lack if I am His / And He is mine forever."  I realized that there's a chiasm:  "I am His / And He is mine."  I don't know if there's any connection here to the cross of crucifixion, but I thought I would at least note it as a rhetorical effect.

When I lookt at the hymn to confirm that I'd remembered those lines correctly, I noticed a small connection between the text and the tune to which it's sung ("St. Columba").  Here's the second phrase:

That triplet corresponds to "He" in the lines "My ransomed soul He leadeth" in the second verse and "But yet in love He sought me" in the third.  This group of three notes in the space that would normally be occupied by one (as in the previous measure) is something of a musical picture of the Trinity.

LSB #525 "Crown Him with Many Crowns"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 19:12, 16; Hebrews 2:9; Revelation 5:11-14; Philippians 2:9-11

Revelation 19:12:  "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."

Revelation 19:16:  "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."

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."

Revelation 5:11-14:  "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."

Philippians 2:9-11:  "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."

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The text is public domain:

Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark how the heav'nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.

Crown Him the virgin's Son,
The God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won
Which now His brown adorn:
Fruit of the mystic rose,
Yet of that rose the stem,
The root whence mercy ever flows,
The babe of Bethlehem.

Crown Him the Lord of love.
Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bend their wond'ring eyes
At mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o'er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of heav'n,
Enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the king to whom is giv'n
The wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is king of all.

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Both Revelation 19:12 and Hebrews 2:9 mention a crown ("diadems" in Revelation), and they seem to be the primary texts for the hymn.  Every verse (and every other line of the last verse) begins with "Crown Him...."

"The wondrous name of Love" in the fifth verse likewise seems to combine Revelation 19:12 ("a name written that no one knows but himself"), Revelation 19:16 ("a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords"), and Philippians 2:9 ("the name that is above every name").  The title "matchless king" in the first verse is also drawn from "King of kings" in Revelation 19:16.

The second half of Hebrews 2:9 ("by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone") appears in the first verse ("Awake, my soul, and sing / Of Him who died for thee") and the fourth verse.

The text from Revelation 5 appears in the last two verses.  It shows up a bit in "His glories now we sing" in the fourth verse, but it's more apparent in "Crown Him the Lord of heav'n, / Enthroned in worlds above" in the fifth verse.

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"The root whence mercy ever flows" in the second verse seems to be a reference to Isaiah 11:10:  "In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious."

"Behold His hands and side" in the third verse is taken from John 20, specifically verse 27:  "Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.  Do not disbelieve, but believe.'"

The language of victory over the grave in the fourth verse also recalls 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:  "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."

"Winchester New" (TLH #162)

This is a shorter tune, so I went through it three times.

"'Away from Us!' the Demon Cried"

Last summer, I listened to a segment of The Coffee Hour on KFUO where the topic was hymns from the Redeemer section of The Lutheran Service Book.  One of the hymns discussed was LSB #541 "'Away from Us!' the Demon Cried," and I noticed a small feature in it.  It's sung to the tune "McKee," and here's the first musical phrase:

The first line is, of course, "'Away from us!' the demon cried."  The "away" is sung with a melisma (C E G), musically giving a sense of movement or even a sense of the demon's trembling in fear as it speaks.

LSB #524 "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Song of Solomon 1:3, Acts 4:12, John 14:13, Acts 2:21

Song of Solomon 1:3:  "Your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you."

Acts 4:12:  "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

John 14:13:  "'Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.'"

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

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The text is public domain:

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
And drives away our fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the heart's unrest;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.

Dear name! The rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.

O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring.

How weak the efforts of my heart,
How cold my warmest thought!
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I'll praise Thee as I ought.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With ev'ry fleeting breath;
And may the music of Thy name
Refresh my soul in death!

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All four of the Biblical citations seem to be combined in the title line:  "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds."  The rest of the hymn simply expands on this.

The manna mentioned in the second verse refers to God's sending bread from heaven in Exodus 16.  "My shield and hiding place" could come from a number of Psalms, but I first thought of Psalm 28:7 and Psalm 46:1.  "And to the weary, rest" at the end of the verse is from Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"  "The rock on which I build" in the third verse is a reference to Ephesians 2:20:  "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone."  The title "shepherd" in the fourth verse combines Psalm 23:1 ("The LORD is my shepherd") and John 10:11 ("'I am the good shepherd.'").  "My Prophet, Priest, and King" comes from the section on the Apostles' Creed in Luther's Small Catechism.  While not an exact quotation, "My Lord, my life, my way, my end" seems to come from John 14:6 ("'the way, and the truth, and the life'").

"Ellacombe" (TLH #161)

I often transpose tunes down, but I transposed this one up from Bb major to C major.

"Christ Is the World's Redeemer"

A couple weeks ago, both KFUO and Concordia Publishing House posted the first verse of "Christ Is the World's Redeemer":

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.

I realized that this verse is an example of a rhetorical catalogue whose purpose is to illustrate Christ's omnipotence.  He takes on all of the various descriptions in this verse.

LSB #523 "O Word of God Incarnate"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:14, 2 Samuel 22:29-33, Psalm 119:105, Revelation 1:20

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."

2 Samuel 22:29-33:  "29 For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness. 30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.  31 This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."

Psalm 119:105:  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Revelation 1:20:  "'As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.'"

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The text is public domain:

O Word of God incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky:
We praise You for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps,
Shines on from age to age.

The Church from You, dear Master,
Received the gift divine;
And still that light is lifted
O'er all the earth to shine.
It is the chart and compass
That, all life's voyage through,
Mid mists and rocks and quicksands
Still guides, O Christ, to You.

O make Your Church, dear Savior,
A lamp of burnished gold
To bear before the nations
Your true light as of old!
O teach Your wand'ring pilgrims
By this their path to trace
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see You face to face!

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The first three citations (John 1:14, 2 Samuel 22:29-33, Psalm 119:105) all seem to appear in the first verse.  "O Word of God incarnate" comes from John 1:14, and while "A lantern to our footsteps" is taken from Psalm 119, the same sort of image is used in 2 Samuel 22.

The second verse seems to come from Revelation 1.  Both mention the church as a light.

The lamp imagery from 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 119, and Revelation 1 is continued in the third verse.  The last two lines, however, seem to come from 1 Corinthians 13:12:  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."

"Valet will ich dir geben" (TLH #160)

Evidently, "Valet will ich dir geben" was a popular tune in The Lutheran Hymnal; this is the fifth time I've recorded it.

"Canonbury"

My post a couple weeks ago about Haydn's tune "Austria" reminded me of an-other instance where a classical piece is used a hymn tune.  "Canonbury" (used for LSB #551 "When to Our World the Savior Came") is adapted from the fourth of Robert Schumann's Nachtstücke, Op. 23.  Incidentally, Schumann's birthday is next week; he was born on 8 June 1810.

LSB #522 "Lord God, to Thee We Give All Praise"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 18:10, Hebrews 1:14, Psalm 34:7, Revelation 7:9-17

Matthew 18:10:  "'See that you do not despise one of these little ones.  For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.'"

Hebrews 1:14:  "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?"

Psalm 34:7:  "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them."

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:

Lord God, to Thee we give all praise,
With grateful hearts our voices raise,
That angel hosts Thou didst create
Around Thy glorious throne to wait.

They shine with light and heav'nly grace
And constantly behold Thy face;
They heed Thy voice, they know it well,
In godly wisdom they excel.

They never rest nor sleep as we;
Their whole delight is but to be
With Thee, Lord Jesus, and to keep
Thy little flock, Thy lambs and sheep.

The ancient dragon is their foe;
His envy and his wrath they know.
It always is his aim and pride
Thy Christian people to divide.

As he of old deceived the world
And into sin and death has hurled,
So now he subtly lies in wait
To undermine both Church and state.

A roaring lion, round he goes,
No halt nor rest he ever knows;
He seeks the Christians to devour
And slay them by his dreadful pow'r.

But watchful is the angel band
That follows Christ on ev'ry hand
To guard His people where they go
And break the counsel of the foe.

For this, now and in days to be,
Our praise shall rise, O Lord, to Thee,
Whom all the angel hosts adore
With grateful songs forevermore.

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The "angel hosts... Around Thy glorious throne" in the first verse refers to Revelation 7:11, and that they "constantly behold Thy face" in the second verse is taken from Matthew 18:10.

The other two citations inform the third and seventh verses:

They never rest nor sleep as we;
Their whole delight is but to be
With Thee, Lord Jesus, and to keep
Thy little flock, Thy lambs and sheep.

But watchful is the angel band
That follows Christ on ev'ry hand
To guard His people where they go
And break the counsel of the foe.

"They never rest nor sleep as we" bears some resemblance to Psalm 121:4:  "Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep," but the hymn is describing angels, and the Psalm is talking about God.

The lines "A roaring lion, round he goes... He seeks the Christians to devour" in the sixth verse come from 1 Peter 5:8:  "Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."