"Salvation unto Us Has Come"

In my post on the Biblical sources for "Salvation unto Us Has Come," I was unable to identify any specific sources since the citations in the hymnal overlapped so much.  Last month, however, I stumbled upon a few.

I was reading Titus and noticed that Titus 2:11 ("For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people") bears some resemblance to the first two lines of the hymn:  "Salvation unto us has come / By God's free grace and favor."

About a week later, KFUO tweeted the ninth verse, and I realized that the lines "And by its fruits true faith is known, / With love and hope increasing" echo the qualities listed in 1 Corinthians 13:13:  "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."  I also noticed that the lines "Works serve our neighbor and supply / The proof that faith is living" seem to refer to the last part of James 2.  Verse 17 is the most similar, although it has a slightly different point of view:  "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

LSB #658 "Preserve Your Word, O Savior"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Peter 1:5-7; Jude 3, 17, 20-21

1 Peter 1:5-7:  "5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Jude 3:  "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints."

Jude 17:  "But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jude 20-21:  "20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."

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The passage from 1 Peter appears in the first verse.  To some degree, the first two lines ("Preserve Your Word, O Savior, / To us this latter day") are a paraphrase of 1 Peter 1:5.  The "various trials" in 1 Peter 1:6 seem to be the context for the hymn's exhortation to the Lord to "keep our faith from failing; / Keep hope's bright star aglow. / Let nothing from truth turn us."

The verses from Jude are more difficult to distinguish, but they seem to appear in the first half of the fourth verse, which is worth quoting in full:

Preserve Your Word and preaching,

The truth that makes us whole,

The mirror of Your glory,

The pow'r that saves the soul.

Oh, may this living water,

This dew of heav'nly grace,

Sustain us while here living

Until we see Your face.

The lines "The mirror of Your glory" and "Until we see Your face" use language and imagery from 1 Corinthians 13:12:  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."

The "living water" refers to John 4:10, 13-14:  "10 Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.'  13 Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

"Maldwyn" (TLH #278)

Transposed from G minor to A minor

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Shortly after I recorded "St. Louis" on recorders earlier this year, I was thinking about "O Little Town of Bethlehem," the text that's sung to it.  The first verse ends with the lines "The hopes and fears of all the years / Are met in thee tonight," sung to these phrases:

The pitches to which the phrase "all the years" is sung span nearly an octave (C Bb D).  Because of this breadth and because these are three different pitches, there's a sense of the entirety of that "all."

On a smaller scale, this feature is also present with the phrase "all the earth" (A G F) at the end of the second verse:  "And praises sing to God the king / And peace to all the earth!"

LSB #656, 657 "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 46:1, 7, 11; Revelation 19:11-16; Romans 8:31-39; Ephesians 6:10-17

Psalm 46:1:  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Psalm 46:7:  "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Psalm 46:11:  "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Revelation 19:11-16:  "11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!  The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.  15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."

Romans 8:31-39:  "31 What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  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."

Ephesians 6:10-17:  "10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"

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The hymn appears in different translations as LSB #656 and #657.  Only the text of #656 is public domain, however:

A mighty fortress is our God,

A trusty shield and weapon;

He helps us free from ev'ry need

That hath us now o'ertaken.

The old evil foe

Now means deadly woe;

Deep guile and great might

Are his dread arms in fight;

On earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done,

Soon were our loss effected;

But for us fights the valiant One,

Whom God Himself elected.

Ask ye, Who is this?

Jesus Christ it is,

Of Sabaoth Lord,

And there's none other God;

He holds the field forever.

Though devils all the world should fill,

All eager to devour us,

We tremble not, we fear no ill;

They shall not overpow'r us.

This world's prince may still

Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none.

He's judged; the deed is done;

One little word can fell him.

The Word they still shall let remain

Nor any thanks have for it;

He's by our side upon the plain

With His good gifts and Spirit.

And take they our life,

Goods, fame, child, and wife,

Though these all be gone,

Our vict'ry has been won;

The Kingdom ours remaineth.

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The verses from Psalm 46 appear in the first line:  "A mighty fortress is our God."

The text from Revelation 19 appears in the second verse:  "But for us fights the valiant One... Jesus Christ it is, / Of Sabaoth Lord."  The text from Romans 8, particularly the first few verses ("God is for us"), figures into this a bit too, and the second half (roughly verses 35 to 39) seems to appear in the third verse:  "We tremble not, we fear no ill; / They shall not overpowe'r us... He can harm us none."

The armor of God from Ephesians 6 is referred to in the line "A trusty shield and weapon" in the first verse and perhaps also "He can harm us none" in the third verse.

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The lines "Ask ye, Who is this? / Jesus Christ it is, / Of Sabaoth Lord" in the second verse bear some resemblance to Psalm 24:8, 10:  "8 Who is the King of glory?  The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!  10 Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!"

The description of "devils... eager to devour us" at the beginning of the third verse is drawn from 1 Peter 5:8:  "Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

"Vox dilecti" (TLH #277)

I recorded this on Friday, and the next day, I stumbled upon what I think may be the source of the title.  In the Latin Vulgate, Song of Solomon 2:8 begins, "Vox dilecti mei" ("The voice of my beloved!").  In TLH, the accompanying text is "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say."

I think this is the only hymn tune I know of that switches from minor to major halfway through.

"Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus"

I recently found some notes about features in Advent hymns that I noticed a number of years ago.

In "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus," sung to the tune "Jefferson," there are a handful of melismas that provide a sense of duration:  "long-expected" (D F G Bb A G) in the title line, sung to this phrase:

"forever" (A G A G) in the line "Born to reign is us forever" in the second verse, sung to the same phrase (repeated as the third musical phrase), and "eternal" (D Bb A G)  in the line "By Thine own eternal Spirit" in the second verse, sung to this phrase:

In the lines "Dear desire of ev'ry nation, / Joy of ev'ry longing heart" at the end of the first verse, both "ev'ry"s are sung with melismas (Bb A G and D F G, respectively), giving a sense of number or amount.  Here are the corresponding musical phrases:

LSB #655 "Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 119:5-10, 2 John 9, John 8:31, Ephesians 4:3-6

Psalm 119:5-10:  "5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!  6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.  7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.  8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

"9 How can a young man keep his way pure?  By guarding it according to your word.  10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!"

2 John 9:  "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.  Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."

John 8:31:  "31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples'"

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."

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The text is public domain:

Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word;

Curb those who by deceit or sword

Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son

And bring to naught all He has done.

Lord Jesus Christ, Your pow'r make known,

For You are Lord of lords alone;

Defend Your holy Church that we

May sing Your praise eternally.

O Comforter of priceless worth,

Send peace and unity on earth;

Support us in our final strife

And lead us out of death to life.

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The first line of the hymn comes from the passages from Psalm 119:5-10, 2 John 9, and John 8:31.  The "unity on earth" in the third verse is drawn from Ephesians 4:3-6.

The title "Lord of lords" in the second verse comes from Revelation 19:16.

"Anthes" (TLH #276)

"Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens"

A couple months ago, one of the hymns in church was "Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens."  I noticed a Biblical source I'd missed in my post from last year and a small connection between the text and the tune ("Werde munter").

The third verse contains various metaphors of what the Lord's words are, and near the end of the verse, there's the line "Yes, they are my sword prevailing."  This description refers to part of Ephesians 6:17:  "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The hymn's fourth verse ends with the lines "May I daily sing Your praise, / From my heart glad anthems raise, / Till my highest praise is given / In the endless joy of heaven."  The line "Till my highest praise is given" is sung to this musical phrase:

The first syllable of "highest" is sung to the highest note in the phrase (Bb), so there's a sense of its meaning, although here it seems to be more metaphorical than literal.

LSB #654 "Your Kingdom, O God, Is My Glorious Treasure"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 13:24-33, 45

Matthew 13:24-33:  "24 He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have weeds?"  28 He said to them, "An enemy has done this."  So the servants said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?"  29 But he said, "No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.  30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."'

"31 He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.'

"33 He told them another parable.  'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'"

Matthew 13:45:  "'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls'"

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The illustrations in these verses from Matthew 13 appear in the opposite order in the hymn text.

The pearl in Matthew 13:45 (the citation should probably include verse 46 too:  "'who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it'") is at the beginning of the first verse:  "Your kingdom, O God, is my glorious treasure, / My pearl of incomp'rable worth."

The leaven in verse 33 and the mustard seed in verses 31-32 are in the hymn's second verse.  The leaven is near the beginning ("Like yeast, they [Your Word and Your Spirit] affect the whole measure of flour"), and the mustard seed is at the end ("And bring ev'ry planting to perfect fruition, / A mustard seed grown to a tree").

The field in verses 24-30 appears in the first half of the third verse:  "Your kingdom, O God, is a field for the growing / Of seeds that Your mercy has sown; / But still in our midst is the enemy sowing / The weeds that imperil Your own."

"Wo Gott zum Haus" (TLH #275)

Transposed from Eb major to F major

"We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God"

A couple months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 13 September.  The service was Matins (although not all of it is included in the video), but "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God" (LSB #941) was substituted for the "Te Deum."  I wrote about some musical features before, but I found a new one to note.

The second line in the first verse is "The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored," sung to this phrase from the tune "Thaxted":

The phrase "all the earth" is sung to notes of all different pitches (D C Bb), and this provides a sense of the entirety of that "all."