"Song of Moses and Israel"

During the Easter service I attended last week, one of the hymns was "Song of Moses and Israel" (LSB #925, in the Biblical Canticles section).  I noticed a few connections between the chant tone and the verses, which are excerpts from Exodus 15.

Here's the chant tone:

The fifth verse (according to the chant's numbering) is "The floods | covered them;* they went down into the depths | like a stone."  "Like a stone" is sung to the descending notes at the end of the second phrase (Bb A G), so there's a sense of that sinking.

The eighth verse is "You stretched out Your | right hand;* the earth | swallowed them."  Here, "right hand" is sung with a melisma (G A | G), musically giving a sense of being "stretched out."

The tenth verse is "You will bring them in and plant them on Your own | mountain,* the place, O Lord, which You have made for | Your abode."  This is probably a bit trivial, but the notes to which "mountain" is sung (G A G), look a bit like a mountain, with the A note as the summit.

The eleventh verse is "the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have es- | tablished.*  The LORD will reign forever and | ever."  Here, "ever" is sung with a melisma (Bb A G), and since it's elongated, there's a sense of that duration.

LSB #622 "Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 11:23-28, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Matthew 11:28-29

1 Corinthians 11:23-28:  "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.

"27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.  28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup."

1 Corinthians 10:16:  "The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?"

Matthew 11:28-29:  "28 'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'"

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The text is public domain:

Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared

This feast for our salvation;

It is Your body and Your blood,

And at Your invitation

As weary souls, with sin oppressed,

We come to You for needed rest,

For comfort, and for pardon.

Although You did to heav'n ascend,

Where angel hosts are dwelling,

And in Your presence they behold

Your glory, all excelling,

And though Your people shall not see

Your glory and Your majesty

Till dawns the judgement morning,

Yet, Savior, You are not confined

To any habitation;

But You are present even now

Here with Your congregation.

Firm as a rock this truth shall stand,

Unmoved by any daring hand

Or subtle craft and cunning.

We eat this bread and drink this cup,

Your precious Word believing

That Your true body and Your blood

Our lips and here receiving.

This Word remains forever true,

All things are possible with You,

For You are Lord Almighty.

Though reason cannot understand,

Yet faith this truth embraces:

Your body, Lord, is even now

At once in many place.

I leave to You how this can be;

Your Word alone suffices me;

I trust its truth unfailing.

Lord, I believe what You have said;

Help me when doubts assail me.

Remember that I am but dust,

And let my faith not fail me.

Your supper in this vale of tears

Refreshes me and stills my fears

And is my priceless treasure.

Grant that we worthily receive

Your supper, Lord, our Savior,

And, truly grieving for our sins,

May prove by our behavior

That we are thankful for Your grace

And day by day may run our race,

In holiness increasing.

For Your consoling supper, Lord,

Be praised throughout all ages!

Preserve it, for in ev'ry place

The world against it rages.

Grant that this sacrament may be

A blessèd comfort unto me

When living and when dying.

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The two passages from 1 Corinthians are the main sources for the hymn.  They appear in the first, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth verses.  The seventh verse in particular ("Grant that we worthily receive / Your supper, Lord...") is drawn from 1 Corinthians 11:27-28.

The rest from Matthew 11:29-30 is mentioned in the first verse:  "As weary souls, with sin oppressed, / We come to You for needed rest, / For comfort, and for pardon."

"All things are possible with You" in the fourth verse seems to come from Matthew 19:26:  "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

"Remember that I am but dust" in the sixth verse could refer either to Genesis 3:19 ("'By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'") or Ecclesiastes 3:20 ("All go to one place.  All are from the dust, and to dust all return.").

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The version in Lutheran Worship is a different translation.  Where the LSB version has first person plural pronouns ("Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared / This feast for our salvation" and "We come to You for needed rest") the LW version has first person singular pronouns ("Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared / This feast for my salvation" and "I come to you for needed rest").  While the plurals make more sense in the context of congregational singing, the singular illustrates a more personal relationship between the individual singer and God.  (The LSB version isn't very consistent, though; it flips between singular and plural pronouns throughout the verses.)

The first verse of the LSB version ends with the lines "We come to You for needed rest, / For comfort, and for pardon."  In the LW version, these lines are "I come to you for needed rest; / I need your peace, your pardon."  To some degree, the alliteration of "peace" and "pardon" illustrates the perfection of God's gifts (James 1:17).

"Worcester" (TLH #244)

"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today"

On Easter, I found a couple things to note about "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today," sung to the tune "Easter Hymn."  Here's the third musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "Now above the sky He's king."  The clause "He's king" is sung to the notes D E, so pitchwise, this really is above "the sky," which is sung to the notes G C.

The next line is "Where the angels ever sing," sung to this phrase:

"Sing" is sung with a melisma (A G), and this elongation gives a sense of the duration of "ever."

LSB #621 "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Acts 1:10-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Luke 2:8-15

Acts 1:10-11: "10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?  This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'"

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."

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."

Luke 2:8-15:  "8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.  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.  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.'  13 And suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'

"15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.'"

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The text is public domain:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence

And with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly minded,

For with blessing in His hand

Christ our God to earth descending

Comes our homage to demand.

King of kings yet born of Mary,

As of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords in human vesture,

In the body and the blood,

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heav'nly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven

Spreads its vanguard on the way

As the Light of Light, descending

From the realms of endless day,

Comes the pow'rs of hell to vanquish

As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six-winged seraph,

Cherubim with sleepless eye,

Veil their faces to the presence

As with ceaseless voice they cry:

"Alleluia, alleluia!

Alleluia, Lord Most High!"

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The title line seems to be taken from Zechariah 2:13:  "Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."

The first and third verses seem to come from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and possibly also Acts 1:10-11 ("'Jesus... will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven'").  The description "with fear and trembling" in the first verse seems to be drawn from Luke 2:9 (the shepherds "were filled with fear").

The first half of the second verse comes from Luke 2:8-15, and the second half comes from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.  The titles "King of kings" and "Lord of lords" are from Revelation 19:16:  "On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."

The fourth verse seems to refer to Isaiah 6:2 ("Above him stood the seraphim.  Each had six wings:  with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."), although what the angels are saying is more closely related to Luke 2:14.

"O dass ich tausend" (TLH #243)

"Jesus, in Your Dying Woes"

A number of years ago, I noticed a small feature in "Jesus, in Your Dying Woes," sung to the tune "Septem verba."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The eighteenth verse begins with the line "Brighten all our heav'nward way."  The ascent in the melody illustrates the ascent to heaven mentioned in the text.

LSB #620 "Jesus Comes Today with Healing"

Biblical citations in the hymnal: Matthew 26:26-29, Hebrews 7:23-27, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 7:13-17

Matthew 26:26-29:  "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.  29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.'"

Hebrews 7:23-27:  "23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.  25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

"26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself."

1 Peter 1:18-19:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

Revelation 7:13-17:  "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 passage from Matthew 26 is the main basis of the hymn, and roughly the first four verses are drawn from it.

The passage from Hebrews 7 appears in the second verse:  "Christ Himself, the priest presiding...."

1 Peter 1:18-19 appears in the second half of the third verse:  "Blood and body, giv'n for me, / Very Lamb of God from heaven, / Who to bitter death was given, / Hung upon the cursed tree."

The white robes from Revelation 7:13-14 are referred to in the fifth verse:  "Wedding garments He provides me, / With a robe of white He hides me, / Fits me for the royal hall."  The rest of the passage from Revelation 7 appears in the sixth verse.  The line "God, my shield from ev'ry terror" may also draw from Psalm 91:4-5, which uses similar language:  "4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.  5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day."

"St. George's, Windsor"

In both The Lutheran Hymnal and The Lutheran Service Book, every instance of this tune has the same arrangement (the two hymnals have different arrangements, though), but there are two different arrangements in Lutheran Worship (#88 and #495).  Also, it occurred to me that I should record the arrangements in reverse chronological order so that the arrangement from TLH comes last and I can go straight from that into the accompanying Amen cadence.

This is LSB #394, LW #88, LW #495, TLH #134.  I should note that in TLH, the tune is called just "St. George," not "St. George's, Windsor."

"Angelus" (TLH #242)

Transposed from Eb major to D major

"God Loved the World So That He Gave"

At the beginning of Worship Anew this week, Eric Kaschinske recited the second verse of "God Loved the World So That He Gave":

Christ Jesus is the ground of faith,

Who was made flesh and suffered death;

All those who trust in Him alone

Are built on this chief cornerstone.

As he was saying these words, I was playing the tune ("St. Crispin") in my head.  I realized that the last syllable of "cornerstone" is sung to the tonic note, and because this is the musical center, there's a sense of that firm foundation.  Here's the musical phrase for the last line:

LSB #619 "Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Luke 22:17-20, Romans 8:33-39

1 Corinthians 11:23-29:  "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.

"27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.  28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself."

Luke 22:17-20:  "17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, 'Take this, and divide it among yourselves.  18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.'  19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'  20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'"

Romans 8:33-39:  "33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  34 Who is to condemn?  Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  36 As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'  37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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The passages from 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 and Luke 22:17-20 are the main sources for the hymn and appear most clearly in the first verse and the refrain.  The text from Romans 8 appears in the third and fourth verses.  Specifically, Romans 8:33 is at the beginning of the third verse ("Who can condemn me now?  For surely / The Lord is nigh, who justifies."), and Romans 8:38-39 is in the fourth verse.

"St. Fulbert"

Of the three main hymnals I have, this tune appears in only The Lutheran Service Book (#757).  I went through it twice.

"Dover" (TLH #241)

Transposed from Eb major to D major

"Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ"

In The Lutheran Service Book, "Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ" is sung to the tune "Farley Castle," but in Lutheran Worship, it's sung to the tune "Adoro te devote."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The first verse begins with the title line:  "Eternal Spirit of the living Christ."  "Eternal" is sung with a melisma (D F# A A), and since it's stretched out, there's something of a sense of the word's meaning.