LSB #631 "Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:35, 51, 58; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 19:7-9

John 6:35:  "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

John 6:51:  "'I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'"

John 6:58:  "'This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died.  Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'"

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."

1 John 1:7:  "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Revelation 19:7-9:  "7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

"9 And the angel said to me, 'Write this:  Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'  And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'"

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The text is public domain:

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;

Here would I touch and handle things unseen;

Here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace,

And all my weariness upon Thee lean.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God,

Here drink with Thee the royal wine of heav'n;

Here would I lay aside each earthly load,

Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiv'n.

This is the hour of banquet and of song;

This is the heav'nly table spread for me;

Here let me feast and, feasting, still prolong

The brief bright hour of fellowship with Thee.

I have no help but Thine; nor do I need

Another arm but Thine to lean upon.

It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;

My strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone.

Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness;

Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood;

Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace:

Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God.

Too soon we rise; the vessels disappear;

The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;

The bread and wine remove, but Thou art here;

Nearer than ever; still my shield and sun.

Feast after feast thus comes and passes by,

Yet, passing, points to that glad feast above,

Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,

The Lamb's great marriage feast of bliss and love.

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The passage from 1 Corinthians 11 is the main source for the hymn, but the verses from John 6 are also incorporated, particularly at the beginning of the second verse:  "Here would I feed upon the bread of God."

The second half of 1 John 1:7 ("the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin") appears in the fifth verse:  "Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood."

The passage from Revelation 19 appears in the last verse, but the "fine linen" in verse 8 seems to be what the hymn's fifth verse refers to with "Here is my robe."

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The first line ("Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face") may be patterned on part of 1 Corinthians 13:12:  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."

The line "This is the heav'nly table spread for me" in the third verse has an echo of the first part of Psalm 23:5:  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

The lines "nor do I need / Another arm but Thine to lean upon" and "My strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone" in the fourth verse seem to refer to an expression that appears in slightly different forms throughout the Bible.  In Psalm 136:12, it's "a strong hand and an outstretched arm."

At the end of the sixth verse, God is called "my shield and sun."  God is also called a shield in Psalm 3:3 and Psalm 28:7.