Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

LSB #617 "O Lord, We Praise Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Peter 2:24

1 Corinthians 11:23-26:  "23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Matthew 26:26-28:  "26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'  27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

1 Peter 2:24:  "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."

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The passages from 1 Corinthians 11 and Matthew 26 are fairly similar, and both could be cited for the lines "Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish / Our weak souls that they may flourish" in the first verse.  The passage from 1 Corinthians 11 (specifically the "remembrance" parts) also seems to be referred to in the line "May this feast thereof remind us!" in the second verse.

1 Peter 2:24 appears near the end of the first verse:  "May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary, / That our sins and sorrows did carry, / And Thy blood for us plead."  It may even extend into the beginning of the second verse:  "Thy holy body into death was given, / Life to win for us in heaven."