LSB #653 "In Christ There Is No East or West"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Galatians 3:26-29, Colossians 3:11-17, John 10:16; 17:11

Galatians 3:26-29:  "26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."

Colossians 3:11-17:  "11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

"12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

John 10:16:  "'And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.  So there will be one flock, one shepherd.'"

John 17:11:  "'And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.'"

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Only some of the stanzas are public domain:

1 In Christ there is no east or west,

In Him no south or north,

But one great fellowship of love

Throughout the whole wide earth.

4 Join hands, disciples of the faith,

Whate'er your race may be;

Who serves my Father as His child

Is surely kin to me.

5 In Christ now meet both east and west;

In Him meet south and north.

All Christian souls are one in Him

Throughout the whole wide earth.

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To some degree, all of the cited passages appear throughout the hymn with the exception of the third verse.  The first two verses draw a bit more from Galatians 3:26-29 and Colossians 3:11-17 (particularly Galatians 3:27 and Colossians 3:11), but all of the hymn's verses (again, with the exception of the third) and all of the cited passages deal with unity in Christ.

The third verse is a response to this unity ("So, brothers, sisters, praise His name / Who died to set us free"), and it seems to come from Colossians 3:12-17, which also flows out of a recognition of being united.  The closest resemblance, however, is between the forgiveness mentioned in verse 13 and the freedom "From sin, division, hate, and shame, / From spite and enmity!"

"Swabia" (TLH #274)

"Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend"

A couple months ago when I recorded "St. Petersburg," I found a couple connections between the tune and the text "Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend" (TLH #493).

Here are the last two musical phrases:

The second verse ends with the lines "To tend Thy flock, and thus to prove / How dearly they [pastors] the Shepherd love."  "Dearly" is sung with a melisma (C B A), musically giving a sense of degree (for "how").

The fourth verse ends with the lines "With all the bright celestial host [singing], / To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."  Here, "host" is sung with a melisma (C B), giving something of a sense of the entirety of "all."

LSB #652 "Father, We Thank Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:22-58, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

John 6:22-58:  "22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.  23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.  24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

"25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?'  26 Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you are your fill of the loaves.  27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.  For on him God the Father has set his seal.'  28 Then they said to them, 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?'  29 Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'  30 So they said to him, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?  What work do you perform?  31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."'  32 Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'  34 They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.'

"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.  36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.'

"41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.'  42 They said, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How does he now say, "I have come down from heaven"?'  43 Jesus answered them, 'Do not grumble among yourselves.  44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day.  45 It is written in the Prophets, "And they will all be taught by God."  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me - 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.  47 Truly, truly, I saw to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  48 I am the bread of life.  49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.  50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  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.'

"52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'  53 So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  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 10:16-17:  "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?  17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread."

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In The Lutheran Service Book, there's a note at the bottom of the page saying that the text comes from the Didache.  Earlier this year, the Daily Dose of Greek went over a small part of the Didache.  This is my only familiarity with it, but it allowed me to recognize at least that the end of the second verse ("As grain, once scattered on the hillsides, / Was in this broken bread made one, / So from all lands Thy Church be gathered / Into Thy kingdom by Thy Son.") is from Didache 9:4.  The cited text from 1 Corinthians 10 also seems to be incorporated here.

The passage from John 6 (particularly verses 35-40 and 47-51) appears in the first verse, specifically "life immortal / Jesus, Thy Son, to us imparts" and "Thou, Lord... Didst give us food for all our days, / Giving in Christ the Bread eternal."

The context may be a bit different, but the first lines of the hymn ("Father, we thank Thee who hast planted / Thy holy name within our hearts") use the same sort of imagery that's in Jeremiah 31:33:  "'But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD:  I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.  And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'"

"Das walt' Gott Vater" (TLH #273)

Transposed from Eb major to D major

"Father, We Praise Thee"

Last year, I noticed two instances in "Father, We Praise Thee" where a melisma provides a sense of entirety for an "all."

The first instance is in the first line of the second verse.  "Monarch of all things, fit us for Thy mansions" is sung to this phrase from the tune "Christe sanctorum":

Here, "all" itself is sung with a melisma (F# E).

The second instance is in the last line of the third verse (also the last line of the hymn):  "Through all creation," sung to this phrase:

Here, "creation" is sung with a melisma (G F# E D), giving a sense of that modifying "all."  Since each syllable is sung to a different pitch and since the last note has a longer value, there's an additional sense of this entirety.

LSB #651 "I Love Your Kingdom, Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 26:8, Colossians 3:15-16, Ephesians 6:18, Isaiah 30:19

Psalm 26:8:  "O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells."

Colossians 3:15-16:  "15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Ephesians 6:18:  "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints"

Isaiah 30:19:  "For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more.  He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry.  As soon as he hears it, he answers you."

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The text is public domain:

I love your kingdom, Lord,

The place of Your abode,

The Church our blest Redeemer saved

With His own precious blood.

Beyond my highest joy

I prize its heav'nly ways,

Its sweet communion, solemn vows,

Its hymns of love and praise.

I love Your Church, O God,

Your saints in ev'ry land,

Dear as the apple of Your eye

And graven on Your hand.

For them my tears shall fall;

For them my prayers ascend;

For them my cares and toils be giv'n

Till toils and cares shall end.

Sure as Your truth shall last,

To Zion shall be giv'n

The brightest glories earth can yield

And brighter bliss of heav'n.

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Psalm 26:8 appears in the first verse and again at the beginning of the third verse.

Colossians 3:15-16 seems to appear in the second verse, particularly the line "Its hymns of love and praise."

The fourth verse is drawn from Ephesians 6:18.  The anaphora there (the repeated "for them") even mirrors the anaphora in the Bible verse (the repeated "all").  In both texts, this anaphora provides a sense of constancy.

The last verse comes from Isaiah 30:19.

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The phrase "the apple of Your eye" in the third verse occurs a few times in the Bible.  In Deuteronomy 32:10, Moses describes how God "kept him [Jacob] as the apple of his eye," and in Psalm 17:8, the Psalmist writes, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."

The line "And graven on Your hand" in the same verse comes from Isaiah 49:16:  "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."  The context may be a bit different, but the Lutheran Worship version of this hymn may incorporate "your walls are continually before me" too.  In that version, this verse is:

I love your Church, O God!

Its walls before you stand,

Dear as the apple of your eye

And graven on your hand.

"Was frag' ich nach der Welt" (TLH #272)

"All Christians Who Have Been Baptized"

Many years ago, I wrote about some melisma'd "forever"s in "All Christians Who Have Been Baptized."  When I wrote about the Biblical sources for the hymn last year, I found a couple more features to note.

Near the end of the first verse, there's the line "The gifts He gives to ev'ryone," sung to this phrase from the tune "Nun freut euch":

The three syllables of "ev'ryone" are each sung to a different pitch (A G F), and this gives a sense of that breadth.

There's a similar feature in the third verse.  In the middle, there are the lines "The water of your Baptism day / Restored again whatever / Old Adam and his sin destroyed."  The line "Restored again whatever" is sung to this phrase:

"Whatever" is sung with a melisma, and each syllable is sung to a different pitch (G D E F).  This too gives a sense of breadth.

LSB #650 "Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Genesis 1:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 3:7-9

Genesis 1:1-2:  "1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

1 Corinthians 12:12-14:  "12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

"14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many."

Ephesians 3:7-9:  "7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things"

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The text is public domain:

Holy Spirit, ever dwelling

In the holiest realms of light;

Holy Spirit, ever brooding

O'er a world of gloom and night;

Holy Spirit, ever raising

Those of earth to thrones on high;

Living, life-imparting Spirit,

You we praise and magnify.

Holy Spirit, ever living

As the Church's very life;

Holy Spirit, ever striving

Through us in a ceaseless strife;

Holy Spirit, ever forming

In the Church the mind of Christ:

You we praise with endless worship

For Your gifts and fruits unpriced.

Holy Spirit, ever working

Through the Church's ministry;

Quick'ning, strength'ning, and absolving,

Setting captive sinners free;

Holy Spirit, ever binding

Age to age and soul to soul

In communion never ending,

You we worship and extol.

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Genesis 1:1-2 appears in the first verse ("Holy Spirit, ever brooding / O'er a world of gloom and night").  Ephesians 3:7-9 seems to be present in the second verse and in the first half of the third verse, and 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 appears in the lines  "Holy Spirit, ever binding / Age to age and soul to soul" in the third verse.

"Sieh, hier bin ich" (TLH #271)

Transposed from B minor to D minor

"Sing to the Lord of Harvest"

Last year, I noticed a small feature in "Sing to the Lord of Harvest," sung to the tune "Wie lieblich ist der Maien."  Near the end of the second verse, there are the lines "God fills them [hills and valleys] with His fullness, / All things with large increase."  That second line is sung to this phrase:

The phrase "large increase" is sung with melismas (C B | A G A), and this articulation provides a sense of that abundance.

LSB #649 "Blest Be the Tie That Binds"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 4:3-6; Romans 12:4-5; John 17:11, 20-23; Psalm 133

Ephesians 4:3-6:  "3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  4 There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Romans 12:4-5:  "4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

John 17:11:  "'And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.'"

John 17:20-23:  "20 'I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.'"

Psalm 133:  "1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!  2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!  3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!  For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."

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The text is public domain:

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

Before our Father's throne

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

Our comforts and our cares.

We share our mutual woes,

Our mutual burdens bear,

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear.

When here our pathways part,

We suffer bitter pain;

Yet, one in Christ and one in heart,

We hope to meet again.

From sorrow, toil, and pain,

And sin we shall be free

And perfect love and friendship reign

Through all eternity.

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All of the cited passages deal with unity or one-ness.  This is also the theme of the hymn, but there's very little in the hymn text that bears any strong resemblance to these passages.  The clearest similarity I can find is between the lines "The fellowship of kindred minds / Is like to that above" and the passages from John 17 ("'that they may be one, even as we are one.'").