Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Friday, December 29, 2023

"To God the Anthem Raising" (TLH #112)

I'd noticed a number of features in "To God the Anthem Raising" (TLH #112), but since it's in the New Year's Eve section, I've been waiting to write about it until it was seasonally appropriate.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Helft mir Gott's Güte."  Here are the first two musical phrases:


In the first verse, the text is "To God the anthem raising, / Sing, Christians, great and small."  "Raising" is sung to an ascending group of notes (A Bb C), so there's a sense of the word's meaning.

In the second verse, the text is "Let us consider rightly / His mercies manifold."  One of the syllables of "manifold" is sung with an accidental (an F#), and this foreign tonality gives a sense of that variety.  In the third verse, the text is "To Church and State He granted / His peace in ev'ry place," and a similar feature is present with the accidental in "ev'ry," giving a sense of the breadth of "ev'ry place."

Throughout the text, there are also a number of merisms:  "great and small," "one and all," "far and near," and "The great ones and the small."

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

LSB #710 "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 23, John 10:11, Revelation 7:17

Psalm 23:  "1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  3 He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

"4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

"5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

John 10:11:  "'I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.'"

Revelation 7:17:  "'For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

+++

The text is public domain:
1 The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

2 My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E'en for His own name's sake.

3 Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

4 My table Thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

5 Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.
+++

The hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 23.  Each verse of the hymn corresponds to a verse of the Psalm, except for the first verse, which encompasses the first two verses of the Psalm (so Psalm 23:3 appears in the hymn's second verse; Psalm 23:4 in the third verse; and so on).

John 10:11 and Revelation 7:17 also appear in the first verse, although they merely overlap with elements from Psalm 23.  Both passages contain shepherd imagery, and "he will guide them to springs of living water" from Revelation 7:17 is similar to "He leads me beside still waters" in Psalm 23:2 and appears in the hymn as "He leadeth me / The quiet waters by."

Friday, December 22, 2023

"O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide"

Last week, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 7 December.  The hymn was "O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide," and I noticed a couple features in it.  The tune is "O Heiland, reiss die Himmel auf."  Here's the second phrase:


In the second verse, the text here is "As morning dew, O Son, descend."  The last few notes of the phrase descend (A G F), musically illustrating the text.

There's also an ambiguity in the first line of the seventh verse:  "There shall we all our praises bring."  "All" could be in apposition with "we" or modify "our praises."

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

LSB #709 "The King of Love My Shepherd Is"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 23, John 10:11, Luke 15:4-7, Revelation 7:17

Psalm 23:  "1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  3 He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

"4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

"5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

John 10:11:  "'I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.'"

Luke 15:4-7:  "4 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost."  7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.'"

Revelation 7:17:  "'For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

+++

The text is public domain:
1 The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

2 Where streams of living water flow,
My ransomed soul He leadeth
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

3 Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me
And on His shoulder gently laid
And home rejoicing brought me.

4 In death's dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me,
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

5 Thou spreadst a table in my sight;
Thine unction grace bestoweth;
And, oh, what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

6 And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever!
+++

Psalm 23 is the main source for the hymn text, and parts of the hymn are just paraphrases of the Psalm.  The lines "The King of love my shepherd is... I nothing lack if I am His" in the hymn's first verse come from Psalm 23:1.  The hymn's second verse comes from Psalm 23:2-3, but it also incorporates the "living water" from Revelation 7:17.  The hymn's fourth, fifth, and sixth verses come from the same numbered verses in Psalm 23, and the sixth verse also includes the title "Good Shepherd" from John 10:11.

The passage from Luke 15 appears in the hymn's third verse.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

"As with Gladness, Men of Old" (From James Bastien's Great Christmas Carols Arranged for Organ)


For each of the last couple years, I've recorded a piece from James Bastien's Great Christmas Carols Arranged for Organ for an-other project.  I've been sticking to the less overtly religious pieces for that project, but this piece was on the opposite page of the one I did this year, and I ended up learning and recording it, too.  I used the pipe organ sound on my Nord Electro 5D with the Hammond XPK-130G bass pedals.

Friday, December 15, 2023

"Out of the Deep I Call"

Recently, I recorded "Southwell" from The Lutheran Hymnal (#327), and I noticed a couple connections between the tune and the corresponding text "Out of the Deep I Call," an adaptation of Psalm 130.

Here's the third phrase of "Southwell":


In the first verse, the text here is "Before Thy throne of grace I fall," and the text in the fourth verse is very similar:  "Before Thy throne of grace I bow."  As if to reflect this "fall[ing]" and "bow[ing]," the musical phrase generally descends.

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

LSB #708 "Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 John 4:19; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 4:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

1 John 4:19:  "We love because he first loved us."

1 Peter 1:18-19:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

1 Peter 4:11:  "whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen."

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17:  "14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

+++

The text is public domain:
1 Lord, Thee I love with all my heart;
I pray Thee, ne'er from me depart,
With tender mercy cheer me.
Earth has no pleasure I would share.
Yea, heav'n itself were void and bare
If Thou, Lord, wert not near me.
And should my heart for sorrow break,
My trust in Thee can nothing shake.
Thou art the portion I have sought;
Thy precious blood my soul has bought.
Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord,
Forsake me not! I trust Thy Word.

2 Yea, Lord, 'twas Thy rich bounty gave
My body, soul, and all I have
In this poor life of labor.
Lord, grant that I in ev'ry place
May glorify Thy lavish grace
And help and serve my neighbor.
Let no false doctrine me beguile;
Let Satan not my soul defile.
Give strength and patience unto me
To bear my cross and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus Christ, my God and Lord, my God and Lord,
In death Thy comfort still afford.

3 Lord, let at last Thine angels come,
To Abr'ham's bosom bear me home,
That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
Until Thy reappearing.
And then from death awaken me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.
+++

1 John 4:19 seems to be present in the hymn's first line, although there isn't a very strong resemblance between the two.  1 Peter 1:18-19 also appears in the first verse, in the line "Thy precious blood my soul has bought."

1 Peter 4:11 appears in the lines "Lord, grant that I in ev'ry place / May glorify Thy lavish grace" in the second verse, and the passage from 1 Thessalonians 4 is in the last verse.

+++

A number of passages could be cited for the line "Thou art the portion I have sought" in the first verse.  Similar sentiments appear in Psalm 16:5; 73:26; 119:57, and Lamentations 3:24.

The titles "my God and Lord," which appear at the end of the first two verses may come from Thomas' words in John 20:28, although the order is reversed.

The line "To bear my cross and follow Thee" in the second verse refers to Matthew 10:38 ("'And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.'"), 16:24 ("Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'"), and Luke 9:23 ("And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'").

The lines "Lord, let at last Thine angels come, / To Abr'ham's bosom bear me home" at the beginning of the third verse come from part of Luke 16:22:  "'The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.'"

The lines "That these mine eyes with joy may see, / O Son of God, Thy glorious face" in the third verse bear some similarity to Job 19:26-27a:  "26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another."

Friday, December 8, 2023

"Lift up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" (LSB #341)

Many years ago, I wrote about a small feature in "Lift up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates."  A few years ago, I found many more things to note.  The text is paired with two different tunes, but this post is about "Milwaukee" (#341 in The Lutheran Service Book).

Here's the first musical phrase:


In the fifth verse, the text here is "Redeemer, come and open wide" (the sense is continued into the next line:  "My heart to Thee...").  "Come" is sung with a melisma (G F#), giving something of a sense of movement.

Here's the second musical phrase:


In the fifth verse, the text here is "My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide!"  As noted above, this continues the sense from the previous line:  "open wide / My heart to Thee."  Since "heart" is sung with a melisma (D E), there's something of a sense of the expansion of "open[ing] wide."  In the second verse, the text here is "His chariot is humility."  As if to reflect this humility, there's a musical descent.

The third musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "The King of kings is drawing near."  Since "drawing" is sung with a melisma (G E C#), there's a sense of movement.  There's a similar feature in the fifth verse, where the text here is "O enter with Thy grace divine" and "enter" is sung with a melisma (D G B).

The fifth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "Life and salvation He doth bring."  There are multiple overlapping cross inscriptions here, illustrating that it's through His crucifixion and resurrection that Jesus brings us "life and salvation."

The sixth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "Therefore rejoice and gladly sing."  "Rejoice" is sung with a melisma (A G F#), giving a sense of ebullience.  In the fourth verse, the text is "And new and nobler life begin."  "Nobler" is sung with a melisma (G F# E), giving something of a sense of the comparative nature of the adjective (more notes for a greater degree).

The eighth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text is "Your joyful songs of praise" (it completes the sense from the previous line:  "To God the Father raise").  "Joyful" is sung with a melisma (E C A), giving a sense either of ebullience (as "rejoice" above) or of the abundance of being "-ful."  The same feature is also in the second verse, where the text is "Your grateful hymns of praise" and "grateful" is sung with the same melisma.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

LSB #707 "Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 119:5, 33, 133, 176; Ezra 34:11-12; Matthew 18:12-14

Psalm 119:5:  "Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!"

Psalm 119:33:  "Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end."

Psalm 119:133:  "Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me."

Psalm 119:176:  "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments."

There are only ten chapters in Ezra.  I think the citation should be Ezekiel 34:11-12:  "11 'For thus says the Lord GOD:  Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.  12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.'"

Matthew 18:12-14:  "12 'What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.  14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.'"

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The text is public domain:
1 Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways
To keep His statutes still!
Oh, that my God would grant me grace
To know and do His will!

2 Order my footsteps by Thy Word
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.

3 Assist my soul, too apt to stray,
A stricter watch to keep;
And should I e'er forget Thy way,
Restore Thy wand'ring sheep.

4 Make me to walk in Thy commands -
'Tis a delightful road -
Nor let my head or heart or hands
Offend against my God.
+++

Verses 5 and 33 from Psalm 119 seem to be combined in the hymn's first verse, although the specific phrasing bears more resemblance to verse 5, and Psalm 119:133 is paraphrased in the hymn's second and fourth verses (more closely in the second than the fourth).

The other three cited texts (Psalm 119:176, Ezekiel 34:11-12, and Matthew 18:12-14) appear in the third verse, particularly in the line "Restore Thy wand'ring sheep."

Friday, December 1, 2023

"Lift up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" (LSB #340)

Many years ago, I wrote about a small feature in "Lift up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates."  A few years ago, I found many more things to note.  The text is paired with two different tunes, but this post is about "Macht hoch die Tür" (#340 in The Lutheran Service Book).

Here's the first musical phrase:


As I noted before, in the first line of the hymn, the phrase "lift up" is sung to an ascending interval (albeit only a minor third:  G to Bb), giving a sense of its meaning.

In the second verse, the text here is "A righteous Helper comes to thee."  "Comes" is sung with a melisma (Eb F), giving something of a sense of movement.

The third musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "The King of kings is drawing near."  Similar to the above, since "drawing" is sung with a melisma (Bb C A), there's a sense of movement.

The fifth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "Life and salvation He doth bring."  The words "Life and salvation" are sung to two overlapping cross inscriptions, illustrating that it's through His crucifixion and resurrection that Jesus brings us "life and salvation."

In the third verse, the text is "The cloudless sun of joy is He," and "joy" is sung with a melisma (C Bb), giving a sense of ebullience.  In the fourth verse, the text is "So shall your Sov'reign enter in."  Like "comes" and "drawing" above, since "enter" is sung with a melisma (C Bb Ab), there's a sense of movement.

The same musical phrase is repeated as the sixth phrase, and in the first verse, the text here is "Therefore rejoice and gladly sing," and in the second, the text is "Therefore the earth is glad and sings."  "Gladly" and "glad" are both sung with melismas (C Bb Ab and C Bb, respectively), giving a sense of ebullience.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

LSB #706 "Love in Christ Is Strong and Living"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Colossians 3:12-14; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 4:2, 32

Colossians 3:12-14:  "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."

Ephesians 5:2:  "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

1 Corinthians 13:  "1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have no love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have no love, I gain nothing.

"4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

"8 Love never ends.  As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.  9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.  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.

"13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Ephesians 4:2:  "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love"

Ephesians 4:32:  "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

+++

All but the last cited text mention love, and so there's quite a bit of overlap, but there are parts of the hymn that clearly come from one text more than an-other.

The line "Binding faithful hearts in one" in the first verse comes from Colossians 3:14.  The line "May His will in us be done" at the end of the verse seems to be patterned on "Thy will be done" in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10), although in the hymn, the "His" is referring to Christ where in the Lord's Prayer, the "Thy" refers to God the Father.  Taken together with the preceding line ("Love in Christ is true and giving"), this may come from Ephesians 5:2.

The second verse contains a list of love's attributes and combines qualities from 1 Corinthians 13 (particularly verse 4), Colossians 3:12-13, and the two verses from Ephesians 4.

The line "Love in Christ abides forever" at the beginning of the third verse comes from 1 Corinthians 13 (apparently combining parts of verses 8 and 13), and the line "Love, forgiving and forgiven" from later in the verse combines Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32.

Friday, November 24, 2023

"Lift Every Voice and Sing"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "Lift Every Voice and Sing," sung to the tune "Lift Every Voice."

Here's the first musical phrase:


The hymn starts with the line "Lift ev'ry voice and sing," and since the first musical phrase ascends, there's a sense of the meaning.

There's a similar feature a bit later in the first verse; the line "Let our rejoicing rise" is also sung to an ascending phrase:


Near the end of the third verse, there are the line "Shadowed beneath Thy hand, / May we forever stand," sung to these musical phrase:


"Forever" is sung with a melisma (B C B A), and since it's drawn out, there's a sense of duration.

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

LSB #705 "The Man Is Ever Blessed"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 1; Psalm 119:16, 35; Psalm 92:12-14; Psalm 145:20

Psalm 1:  "1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

"3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.  4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

"5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

Psalm 119:16:  "I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word."

Psalm 119:35:  "Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it."

Psalm 92:12-14:  "12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.  14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green"

Psalm 145:20:  "The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy."

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The text is public domain:
1 The man is ever blessed
Who shuns the sinners' ways,
Among their counsels never stands,
Nor takes the scorners' place.

2 But makes the Law of God
His study and delight
Amid the labors of the day
And watches of the night.

3 He like a tree shall thrive,
With waters near the root;
Fresh as the leaf his name shall live,
His works are heav'nly fruit.

4 Not so the wicked race,
They no such blessings find;
Their hopes shall fleet like empty chaff
Before the driving wind.

5 How will they bear to stand
Before the judgement seat
Where all the saints at Christ's right hand
In full assembly meet?

6 He knows and He approves
The way the righteous go;
But sinners and their works shall meet
A dreadful overthrow.
+++

This hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 1; each verse of the hymn corresponds to the same numbered verse in the Psalm.  The other Psalm verses cited in the hymnal simply overlap with sentiments in Psalm 1.  The two verses from Psalm 119 overlap with the second verse (of Psalm 1 and of the hymn); Psalm 92:12-14 overlaps with the third verse; and Psalm 145:20 overlaps with the sixth verse.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

"Hamburg" (TLH #325)


I had new strings put on my mandolin, so this sounds a bit different.

Also, I discovered a mistake in the notation for this hymn.  At the end of the first phrase, the soprano and alto parts each have a whole note, but in the tenor and bass parts, there are only half notes.  Here's a scan from hymnary.org:


Of course, these should be whole notes, too, and that's how I played them.

Friday, November 17, 2023

"Agnus Dei" (LSB #962)

A couple years ago, I noticed a small feature in "Agnus Dei" (LSB #962).  "Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world" is sung three times, to two different musical phrases:


In both, "away" is sung with a melisma (G A C and G G C, respectively), giving a sense of distance or movement.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

LSB #704 "Renew Me, O Eternal Light"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:1-10, Psalm 51:10-12

2 Corinthians 3:18:  "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Colossians 3:1-10:  "1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

"5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:  sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  8 But now you must put them all away:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."

Psalm 51:10-12:  "10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

+++

The text is public domain:
1 Renew me, O eternal Light,
And let my heart and soul be bright,
Illumined with the light of grace
That issues from Your holy face.

2 Remove the pow'r of sin from me
And cleanse all my impurity
That I may have the strength and will
Temptations of the flesh to still.

3 Create in me a new heart, Lord,
That gladly I obey Your Word.
Let what You will be my desire,
And with new life my soul inspire.

4 Grant that I only You may love
And seek those things which are above
Till I behold You face to face,
O Light eternal, through Your grace.
+++

2 Corinthians 3:18 appears in the first verse, although there's a bit of overlap here with Colossians 3:10 and Psalm 51:10.

The first part of the text from Colossians 3 appears in the fourth verse ("And seek those things which are above"), and the second part seems to appear at the end of the second verse ("That I may have the strength and will / Temptations of the flesh to still").

The passage from Psalm 51 appears in the third verse.

The line "Till I behold You face to face" in the fourth verse seems to come from the first part of 1 Corinthians 13:12:  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."

Sunday, November 12, 2023

"Meinen Jesum lass' ich nicht" (TLH #324)


One of the strings on my mandolin broke, so I had to do the soprano and alto parts on guitar this week.

Friday, November 10, 2023

"Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing"

I wrote about "Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing" a couple years ago, but it was the hymn in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service I watched last month, and I noticed an-other small feature in it.

The line "His rod falls gently down" in the fifth verse is sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Ich singe dir":


The words "falls gently down" are sung to a descending group of notes (A G G F), illustrating that "fall[ing]."  Additionally, since the descent is diatonic, there's a musical sense of "gently."

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

LSB #703 "How Can I Thank You, Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Colossians 1:12-14, Psalm 107:20-22, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 1:6

Colossians 1:12-14:  "12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Psalm 107:20-22:  "20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.  21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!"

Ephesians 2:8-10:  "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Philippians 1:6:  "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

+++

The text is public domain:
1 How can I thank You, Lord,
For all Your loving-kindness,
That You have patiently
Borne with me in my blindness!
When dead in many sins
And trespasses I lay,
I kindled, holy God,
Your anger ev'ry day.

2 It is Your work alone
That I am now converted;
O'er Satan's work in me
You have Your pow'r asserted.
Your mercy and Your grace
That rise afresh each morn
Have turned my stony heart
Into a heart newborn.

3 Lord, You have raised me up
To joy and exultation
And clearly shown the way
That leads me to salvation.
My sins are washed away;
For this I thank You, Lord.
Now with my heart and soul
All evil I abhor.

4 Grant that Your Spirit's help
To me be always given
Lest I should fall again
And lose the way to heaven.
Grant that He give me strength
In my infirmity;
May He renew my heart
To serve You willingly.

5 O Father, God of love,
Now hear my supplication;
O Savior, Son of God,
Accept my adoration;
O Holy Spirit, be
My ever faithful guide
That I may serve You here
And there with You abide.
+++

The first two cited passages (Colossians 1:12-14 and Psalm 107:20-22) both seem to appear in the first stanza, particularly the first two lines:  "How can I thank You, Lord, / For all Your loving-kindness."

Ephesians 2:8-9 appears at the beginning of the second verse ("It is Your work alone / That I am now converted").  The "good work" in Ephesians 2:10 and Philippians 1:6 seems to be referred to at the ends of the fourth and fifth verses:  "May He renew my heart / To serve You willingly... That I may serve You here / And there with You abide."

The second half of the second verse combines texts from Lamentations and Ezekiel.  The lines "Your mercy and Your grace / That rise afresh each morn" come from Lamentations 3:22-23 ("22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."), and the lines "Have turned my stony heart / Into a heart newborn" refer to Ezekiel 36:26 ("And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.").  Ezekiel 11:19 is also similar.

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Friday, November 3, 2023

"Renew Me, O Eternal Light"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 3 October.  The hymn was "Renew Me, O Eternal Light," and I noticed a small feature in it.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Herr Jesu Christ, mein's."  Here's the second phrase:


In the second verse, the text here is "And cleanse all my impurity."  "Impurity" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# G E D), giving a sense of the breadth of that "all."  The notes to which the word is sung also span more than two full measures, and this contributes to the sense of breadth, too.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

LSB #702 "My Faith Looks Up to Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:29, 36; Hebrews 12:2-3; Ephesians 3:12; Revelation 2:10-11

John 1:29:  "The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"

John 1:36:  "and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'"

Hebrews 12:2-3:  "2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

"3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

Ephesians 3:12:  "in whom [Christ Jesus] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him."

Revelation 2:10-11:  "10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.  Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.  11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'"

+++

The text is public domain:
1 My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine.
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

2 May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart;
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

3 While life's dark maze I tread
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.

4 When ends life's transient dream,
When death's cold, sullen stream
Shall o'er Me roll,
Blest Savior, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
+++

"'Behold, the Lamb of God'" from both verses from John 1 and "looking to Jesus" in Hebrews 12:2 are combined in the hymn's first two lines:  "My faith looks up to Thee, / Thou Lamb of Calvary."  The relative clause "'who takes away the sin of the world!'" from John 1:29 seems to be rendered as "Take all my guilt away" in the hymn's first verse.

Hebrews 12:3 and Ephesians 3:12 appear at the beginning of the hymn's second verse:  "May Thy rich grace impart / Strength to my fainting heart; / My zeal inspire!"

The text from Revelation 2 seems to appear in the fourth verse.

The line "Wipe sorrow's tears away" in the third verse comes from Revelation 21:4:  "'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"

Friday, October 27, 2023

"Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal," sung to the tune "Iste confessor."  Here's the first musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "Only-begotten, Word of God eternal," and in the fourth verse, the text is "God in three persons, Father everlasting."  "Eternal" and "everlasting" are both sung with a melisma (G F E D and F G F E D, respectively), and since the words are drawn out, there's a sense of duration.

Here's the second musical phrase:


In the third verse, the text here is "By Your past blessings, by your present bounty."  Here, "bounty" is sung with a melisma (C B A), providing a sense of that abundance.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "To You be praises, thanks, and adoration, / Glory forever," and the last line is sung to this musical phrase:


As with "eternal" and "everlasting" above, "forever" is sung with a melisma (E F E D), giving a sense of duration.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

LSB #701 "Draw Us to Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:44-45, 1 Peter 2:21, Colossians 1:12-14, Romans 8:17

John 6:44-45:  "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'"

1 Peter 2:21:  "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."

Colossians 1:12-14:  "12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Romans 8:17:  "and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

+++

The text is public domain:
1 Draw us to Thee,
For then shall we
Walk in Thy steps forever
And hasten on
Where Thou art gone
To be with Thee, dear Savior.

2 Draw us to Thee,
Lord, lovingly;
Let us depart with gladness
That we may be
Forever free
From sorrow, grief, and sadness.

3 Draw us to Thee;
O grant that we
May walk the road to heaven!
Direct our way
Lest we should stray
And from Thy paths be driven.

4 Draw us to Thee
That also we
Thy heav'nly bliss inherit
And ever dwell
Where sin and hell
No more can vex our spirit.

5 Draw us to Thee
Unceasingly,
Into Thy kingdom take us;
Let us fore'er
Thy glory share,
Thy saints and joint heirs make us.
+++

The text from John 6 (specifically verse 44) appears at the beginning of each verse ("Draw us to Thee").  This repetition at the beginning is a rhetorical device called anaphora.

"Follow[ing] in his steps" from 1 Peter 2:21 appears in the lines "For then shall we / Walk in Thy steps forever" in the first verse and also in the majority of the third verse.

Colossians 1:12-14 and Romans 8:17 could overlap a bit, but for the most part, the passage from Colossians appears at the beginning of the fourth verse ("Draw us to Thee / That also we / Thy heav'nly bliss inherit.") and the passage from Romans appears at the end of the fifth ("Thy saints and joint heirs make us.").

The lines "That we may be / Forever free / From sorrow, grief, and sadness" in the second verse may come from part of Revelation 21:4:  "neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

Friday, October 20, 2023

"In Peace and Joy I Now Depart"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "In Peace and Joy I Now Depart" (LSB #938), sung to the tune "Mit Fried' und Freud'."  Here are the third and fourth musical phrases:


In the first verse, the text here is "Serene and confident my heart; / Stillness fills it."  "Fills" is sung with a melisma (F D), giving a sense of the abundance that the word implies.

In the third verse, the text is "Your invitation summons forth / Ev'ry nation."  Here, "nation" is sung with a melisma, giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  Additionally, the words "ev'ry nation" are sung to notes of all different pitches (spanning a sixth:  A G F D C), compounding this effect.

Here are the fifth and sixth musical phrases:


In the third verse, the text here is "By Your holy, precious Word, / In ev'ry place resounding."  The notes to which the words "ev'ry place" are sung are all different pitches (F D C), again giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  "Resounding" is sung with a melisma (F E D E D), which provides something of a sense of the word's meaning, like the multiplicity of an echo.

+++

I also referenced the version in Lutheran Worship (#185).  The translations are different (although the first verse is mostly the same), so there are some elements in the LW version that the LSB version lacks.  The last two lines of the fourth verse are "All God's people find in you / Their treasure, joy and glory," sung to the fifth and sixth musical phrases shown above.  "All" and "people" are both sung with melismas (A G and C Bb A, respectively), giving a sense of this multitude.  The notes are almost all different pitches, providing an additional sense of breadth, and the accidental Bb highlights this sense of entirety in that it incorporates a pitch outside of the key.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

LSB #700 "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 85:7-8, 1 John 4:10, Revelation 7:9-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Psalm 85:7-8:  "7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

"8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly."

1 John 4:10:  "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Revelation 7:9-17:  "9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'  11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

"13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

2 Corinthians 5:17:  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

+++

The text is public domain:
1 Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

2 Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find Thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver;
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

4 Finish then Thy new creation,
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee,
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
+++

Psalm 85:7-8 and 1 John 4:10 both seem to appear in the first verse, especially in the title line ("Love divine, all loves excelling").  "God is love" from 1 John 4:16 could also be cited, particularly for the lines "Jesus, Thou art all compassion, / Pure, unbounded love Thou art."

The other two cited passages appear in the fourth verse.  2 Corinthians 5:17 is referred to at the beginning, in the line "Finish then Thy new creation."  The passage from Revelation 7 is summarized at the end of the verse, although the line "Till we cast our crowns before Thee" refers to Revelation 4:9-11 (particularly verse 10):  "9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'"

+++

The line "Let us find Thy promised rest" in the second verse seems to refer to Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

The title "Alpha and Omega" in the second verse comes from Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13).

Friday, October 13, 2023

"Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star"

Earlier this year, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 6 February.  The hymn was "Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star," and I noticed a few features in it.

The second line of the second verse is "Falling soft on barren places" (it describes "Thy grace" in the previous line).  It's sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Morgenglanz der Ewigkeit":


The phrase generally descends, musically illustrating that "falling."

The second verse ends with the lines "Bless Thy flock from Thy rich store / Evermore," sung to these phrases:


"Evermore" is sung to notes with a total of eight beats, and this musical length mirrors that duration.

In the third verse, the text here is "Let us truly rise ere yet / Life has set."  The line "Life has set" is sung to a descending phrase (E D C), giving something of a sense of that "set[ting]," although it's used more metaphorically here.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

LSB #699 "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:35; Matthew 11:28-29; John 7:37; 8:12

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.'"

Matthew 11:28-29:  "28 'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'"

John 7:37:  "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'"

John 8:12:  "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"

+++

The text is public domain:
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
They head upon My breast."
I came to Jesus, as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.

2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"I am this dark world's light.
Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I'll walk
Till trav'ling days are done.
+++

The hymn's first verse is drawn from Matthew 11:28-29, and the third verse is drawn from John 8:12.  John 6:35 and 7:37 could be cited for the second verse, but the phrase "living water" seems to indicate John 4 as the source, specifically verses 10 and 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. ... 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.'"

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"


Because this is a doxology, I went through it only once.  Also, this is the last tune in the book, so now I've completed this project.

Registration:
Upper:  42 8875 543
Lower:  00 5645 322
Pedal:  44

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

Friday, October 6, 2023

"Thy Table I Approach"

A couple months ago, I recorded The Lutheran Hymnal's arrangement of "St. Michael" (#310), the tune to which "Thy Table I Approach" is sung.  The text is basically the same as it appears in the more recent Lutheran Service Book (as "Your Table I Approach" #628), but there are a few differences.  I noticed a significant one.

The first verse ends with the lines "Oh, let no unrepented sin / Prove hurtful to me there!," sung to these phrases:


(In LSB, the text here is "Let not an unrepentant heart / Prove hurtful to me there.")

In the alto part, there's an accidental (D#) corresponding to "sin," musically giving something of a sense of its meaning.  Significantly, this is the only accidental in the entire arrangement.

Because this accidental occurs in the alto part, there may even be a sense of the speaker's ignorance of his sin.  The accidental is below the principal, soprano part in the same way that this particular sin is below the speaker's conscious level.  Taken in this way, it recalls Psalm 19:12:  "Who can discern his errors?  Declare me innocent from hidden faults."

For what it's worth:  in the Lutheran Worship version ("Your Table I Approach" #249), the lines "Oh, let no unrepented sin / Prove hurtful to me there" are retained, but the arrangement doesn't include an accidental here.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

LSB #698 "May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 6:10, Exodus 20:3-17

Matthew 6:10:  "'Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Exodus 20:3-17:  "3 'You shall have no other gods before me.

"4 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"7 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

"8 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"12 'Honor our father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

"13 'You shall not murder.

"14 'You shall not commit adultery.

"15 'You shall not steal.

"16 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"17 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.'"

+++

The text is public domain:
1 May we Thy precepts, Lord, fulfill
And do on earth our Father's will
As angels do above;
Still walk in Christ, the living way,
With all Thy children and obey
The law of Christian love.

2 So may we join Thy name to bless,
Thy grace adore, Thy pow'r confess,
From sin and strife to flee.
One is our calling, one our name,
The end of all our hopes the same,
A crown of life with Thee.

3 Spirit of life, of love and peace,
Unite our hearts, our joy increase,
Thy gracious help supply.
To each of us the blessing give
In Christian fellowship to live,
In joyful hope to die.
+++

The passage from Exodus (the Ten Commandments) is cited apparently just to define "Thy precepts" in the first line.

Matthew 6:10 is referred to in the second line:  "And do on earth our Father's will."

The line "A crown of life with Thee" at the end of the second verse could come from either James 1:12 or Revelation 2:10.

The end of the second verse and the beginning of the third verse seem to come from part of Ephesians 4.  The line "One is our calling, one our name" in the hymn's second verse is similar to verses 4-6 ("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."), and the lines "Spirit of life, of love and peace, / Unite our hearts" at the beginning of the hymn's third verse bear some resemblance to verse 3 ("eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.").

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

"Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"


In Bastien's book, this hymn has the title "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," but in The Lutheran Service Book, the text accompanying this tune ("Easter Hymn") is "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" (#457).  The two hymns in LSB that do begin with "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" (#463 and #469) have different tunes.

Registration:
Upper:  74 8745 325
Lower:  00 6543 322
Pedal:  55

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals