"Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain"

Last year, I noticed a small feature in "Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain."  The hymn is sung to the tune "Herr Jesu Christ, mein's."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The first line is, of course, "Lord, help us ever to retain."  (The direct object is in the next line:  "The Catechism's doctrine plain.")  "Ever" is sung with a melisma (E F# G), and since it's stretched out, there's a sense of duration.