LSB #637 "Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Psalm 34:8, 1 Corinthians 10:16

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."

Psalm 34:8:  "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

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?"

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The text is public domain:

Draw near and take the body of the Lord,

And drink the holy blood for you outpoured;

Offered was He for greatest and for least,

Himself the victim and Himself the priest.

He who His saints in this world rules and shields,

To all believers life eternal yields;

With heav'nly bread He makes the hungry whole,

Gives living waters to the thirsting soul.

Come forward then with faithful hearts sincere,

And take the pledges of salvation here.

O Lord, our hearts with grateful thanks endow

As in this feast of love You bless us now.

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The two passages from 1 Corinthians are the main sources for the hymn.  They appear throughout but most clearly in the first verse.

Psalm 34:8 seems to appear in the first line of each of the first two verses:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!" bears some similarity to "Draw near and take the body of the Lord," and the refuge in "Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" is what's described in the relative clause "Who His saints in this world rules and shields."

The second half of the second verse draws from John's Gospel.  The "heav'nly bread" is in John 6, and the "living waters" are in John 4.  Part of Revelation 7 may also figure into this.  Verse 16 says, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore," and verse 17 mentions "springs of living water."  Isaiah 49:10 contains similar expressions.

"For greatest and for least" in the first verse is a merism.