"Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain"

The tune I recorded for Sunday was "Schwing dich auf," used for The Lutheran Hymnal #204 "Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain."  When I initially lookt at the hymn, I noticed a small connection between the music and the text.  Here's the first musical phrase:

The hymn begins with the line "Come, ye faithful, raise the strain," and, as if to reflect that "rais[ing]," the line is sung to an ascending melody (spanning a whole octave, even).

This hymn also appears (as "Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain") in The Lutheran Service Book (#487), although the text is a bit different and sung to a different tune ("Gaudeamus pariter").  There's a similar feature in that version, but it's not as extensive as what's shown above, where the entire phrase ascends.

LSB #569 "In Adam We Have All Been One"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 5:14, 17-19; John 10:14-16; John 8:31-32, 36; Genesis 3:1-13

Romans 5:14:  "Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come."

Romans 5:17-19:  "17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

"18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.  19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

John 10:14-16:  "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.'"

John 8:31-32:  "31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"

John 8:36:  "'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"

Genesis 3:1-13:  "1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

"He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?'  2 And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."'  4 But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die.  5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'  6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.  And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

"8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'  10 And he said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.'  11 He said, 'Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?'  12 The man said, 'The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.'  13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?'  The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'"

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The verses from Romans 5 appear most clearly at the beginning of the first verse, but they also inform the hymn as a whole.  The text from Genesis (although mostly just verse 8) bridges the end of the first verse and the beginning of the second ("We all have fled that evening voice / That sought us as we ran.").  The end of the second verse ("Each man his brother slew") references the story of Cain and Abel in the next chapter, Genesis 4.

The Good Shepherd from John 10:14-16 is referred to in the third and fourth verses.

The two passages from John 8 appear in the fifth verse, specifically in the line "Thou Son, O set us free."

"Schwing dich auf" (TLH #204)

"Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise"

About a year and a half ago, I noticed a small feature in "Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise," sung to the tune "Thine."  Here's the last musical phrase:

The first verse ends with the line "Thine the vineyard then the cup is lifted up lifted up."  The melody for "then the cup is lifted up" ascends (diatonically from E to D) and illustrates that being "lifted up."

LSB #568 "If Your Beloved Son, O God"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9; Colossians 1:21-22

Galatians 2:16:  "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."

Ephesians 2:4-5:  "4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved"

Ephesians 2:8-9:  "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Colossians 1:21-22:  "21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him"

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The text is public domain:

If Your beloved Son, O God,

Had not to earth descended

And in our mortal flesh and blood

Had not sin's power ended,

Then this poor, wretched soul of mine

In hell eternally would pine

Because of my transgression.

But now I find sweet peace and rest;

Despair no more reigns o'er me.

No more am I by sin oppressed,

For Christ has borne sin for me.

Upon the cross for me He died

That, reconciled, I might abide

With You, my God, forever.

I trust in Him with all my heart;

Now all my sorrow ceases.

His words abiding peace impart;

His blood from guilt released.

Free grace through Him I now obtain;

He washes me from ev'ry stain,

And pure I stand before Him.

All righteousness by works is vain;

The Law brings condemnation.

True righteousness by faith I gain;

Christ's work is my salvation.

His death, that perfect sacrifice,

Has paid the all-sufficient price;

In Him my hope is anchored.

My guilt, O Father, You have laid

On Christ, Your Son, my Savior.

Lord Jesus, You my debt have paid

And gained for me God's favor.

O Holy Spirit, Fount of grace,

The good in me to You I trace;

In faith and hope preserve me.

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The first two verses and the last verse all seem to come from Colossians 1:21-22.  The two passages from Ephesians appear in the third verse, specifically in the line "Free grace through Him I now obtain."  The two passages from Ephesians could also be cited for the fourth verse, but this verse draws more heavily from Galatians 2:16.

"Innocents" (TLH #203)

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

"Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray"

A couple weeks ago, I was looking at "Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray" and noticed a small feature in it.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend."  Here's the last phrase:

The fourth verse ends with the line "To bring Your scattered loved ones home."  Because "home" is sung to the tonic note (F in F major), there's even a musical sense of being brought home.

LSB #567 "Not What These Hands Have Done"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28, 4:5

Ephesians 2:8-9:  "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Romans 3:28:  "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

Romans 4:5:  "And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justified the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness"

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The text is public domain:

Not what these hands have done

Can save this guilty soul;

Not what this toiling flesh has borne

Can make my spirit whole.

Not what I feel or do

Can give me peace with God;

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears

Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,

Can ease this weight of sin;

Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,

Can give me peace within.

Thy love to me, O God,

Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,

Can rid me of this dark unrest

And set my spirit free.

Thy grace alone, O God,

To me can pardon speak;

Thy pow'r alone, O Son of God,

Can this sore bondage break.

I bless the Christ of God,

I rest on love divine,

And with unfalt'ring lip and heart

I call this Savior mine.

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The hymn text seems to draw from Ephesians 2:8-9 a bit more than from the other two passages, but all three are fairly similar.

The name "Lamb of God" in the third verse comes from John 1:29.

"Sei du mir gegrüsset" (TLH #202)

"Scatter the Darkness, Break the Gloom"

I don't think I've ever sung "Scatter the Darkness, Break the Gloom," but while I was writing my post on the Biblical sources, I found a few musical features to note.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Besançon."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The second verse begins:  "Bearing the standard from on high."  "High" is sung to the highest pitch, and this gives a sense of the word's meaning.

The second musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "Trumpets, sound throughout the world!"  "Throughout" is sung with a melisma, and each syllable is sung to a different pitch (C# B A), and both of these features illustrate that breadth.

The fourth line of the first verse is "Hope and peace for all tomorrows," sung to this phrase:

"All" is sung with a melisma (F# G), giving something of a sense of entirety.

LSB #566 "By Grace I'm Saved"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 2:4-9, Titus 3:4-7, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:23-24

Ephesians 2:4-9:  "4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Titus 3:4-7:  "4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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."

Isaiah 64:6:  "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."

Romans 3:23-24:  "23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"

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The text is public domain:

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless;

My soul, believe and doubt it not.

Why stagger at this word of promise?

Has Scripture ever falsehood taught?

No! Then this word must true remain:

By grace you too will life obtain.

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit;

Our works and conduct have no worth.

God in His love sent our Redeemer,

Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;

HIs death did for our sins atone,

And we are saved by grace alone.

By grace God's Son, our only Savior,

Came down to earth to bear our sin.

Was it because of your own merit

That Jesus died your soul to win?

No, it was grace, and grace alone,

That brought Him from His heav'nly throne.

By grace! This ground of faith is certain;

As long as God is true, it stands.

What saints have penned by inspiration,

What in His Word our God commands,

Our faith in what our God has done

Depends on grace - grace through His Son.

By grace to timid hearts that tremble,

In tribulation's furnace tried,

By grace, in spite of fear and trouble,

The Father's heart is open wide.

Where could I help and strength secure

If grace were not my anchor sure?

By grace! On this I'll rest when dying;

In Jesus' promise I rejoice;

For though I know my heart's condition,

I also know my Savior's voice.

My heart is glad, all grief has flown

Since I am saved by grace alone.

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Parts of these passages are similar enough that - with one exception - it's difficult to tell where or if the hymn draws from one more than the others.  The line "Our works and conduct have no worth" seems to come from "all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" in Isaiah 64:6.

"Jesus, meine Zuversicht" (TLH #201)

Compared to what I'm used to, The Lutheran Hymnal's version of this tune has some differences in the last two phrases.

"There Is a Time for Everything"

A couple months ago, I was looking at "There Is a Time for Everything" and noticed a small feature in it.  The hymn is sung to the tune "St. Peter's Norwalk."  Here's the first phrase:

The first line of the hymn is "There is a time for ev'rything" (from Ecclesiates 3:1).  The three syllables of "ev'rything" are each sung to a different pitch (G A F#), and this gives a sense of the breadth of "ev'rything."

The same feature (just with different pitches: E C# D) is present at the end of the hymn, where the same line is sung to this phrase: