"My Faith Looks Up to Thee"

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

"Reuter" (TLH #283)

Transposed from Eb major to F major

"Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten"

Two years ago, I noticed some small features in a line in "Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten," sung to the tune "Westminster Abbey."

About halfway through the first verse, there's the line "Full of truth and full of grace" (from John 1:14), sung to this musical phrase:

"Truth" and the second "full" are both sung with melismas (A B and G F#, respectively), and these articulations provide a sense of that abundance.

LSB #662 "Onward, Christian Soldiers"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 16:18; Psalm 145:13; Ephesians 4:4-6; 6:10-18

Matthew 16:18:  "'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'"

Psalm 145:13:  "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.  The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works."

Ephesians 4:4-6:  "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."

Ephesians 6:10-18:  "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, 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"

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The text is public domain:

Onward, Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.

Christ, the royal master,

Leads against the foe;

Forward into battle

See His banners go!

Onward, Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.

Like a mighty army

Moves the Church of God;

Brothers, we are treading

Where the saints have trod.

We are not divided,

All one body we,

One in hope and doctrine,

One in charity.

Onward, Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.

Crowns and thrones may perish,

Kingdoms rise and wane,

But the Church of Jesus

Constant will remain.

Gates of hell can never

'Gainst that Church prevail;

We have Christ's own promise,

And that cannot fail.

Onward, Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.

Onward, then, ye faithful,

Join our happy throng,

Blend with ours your voices

In the triumph song:

Glory, laud, and honor

Unto Christ, the king;

This through countless ages

Men and angels sing.

Onward, Christian soldiers,

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before.

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The martial imagery in the hymn, particularly in the first two verses and the refrain, seems to come from Ephesians 6:10-18.

Ephesians 4:4-6 appears at the end of the second verse:  "We are not divided, / All one body we, / One in hope and doctrine, / One in charity."

Psalm 145:13 and Matthew 16:18 both appear in the third verse:  "But the Church of Jesus / Constant will remain. / Gates of hell can never / 'Gainst that Church prevail."

The second half of the fourth verse may come from Revelation 5:11-14:  "11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'  14 And the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the elders fell down and worshiped."

"Sweet Hour of Prayer"

Registration:

Upper:  00 3675 210

Lower:  00 4321 000

Pedal:  22

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

"Alles ist an Gottes Segen" (TLH #282)

"Hail to the Lord's Anointed"

"Hail to the Lord's Anointed" was one of the hymns on Worship Anew this week.  I noticed some phrases in the second verse that aren't directly from the Bible (I wrote about the Biblical sources for the hymn in this post) but that do seem to echo Biblical passages.  Here's the first half of the verse:

He shall come down like showers

Upon the fruitful earth;

Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,

Spring in His path to birth.

The lines "He shall come down like showers / Upon the fruitful earth" have some similarity to Isaiah 55:10-11:  "10 'For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.'"  The image of rain coming down to earth is the same, but the hymn describes The Word instead of the more general word of Isaiah 55.

The phrase "Love, joy, and hope" in the third line is similar to but not exactly the same as the list of qualities in 1 Corinthians 13:13:  "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."  The hymn has "joy" instead of "faith."

LSB #661 "The Son of God Goes Forth to War"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 19:11-16, Luke 9:23-24, Acts 7:54-60, 1 Timothy 6:12

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."

Luke 9:23-24:  "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.  24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'"

Acts 7:54-60:  "54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.  55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  56 And he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'  57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.  58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.  And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.  59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'  60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.'  And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

1 Timothy 6:12:  "Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

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The text is public domain:

The Son of God goes forth to war

A kingly crown to gain.

His blood-red banner streams afar;

Who follows in His train?

Who best can drink His cup of woe,

Triumphant over pain,

Who patient bears his cross below -

He follows in His train.

The martyr first, whose eagle eye

Could pierce beyond the grave,

Who saw his master in the sky

And called on Him to save.

Like Him, with pardon on His tongue

In midst of mortal pain,

He prayed for those who did the wrong -

Who follows in his train?

A glorious band, the chosen few,

On whom the Spirit came,

Twelve valiant saints - their hope they know

And mocked the cross and flame.

They met the tyrant's brandished steel,

The lion's gory mane;

They bowed their necks their death to feel -

Who follows in their train?

A noble army, men and boys,

The matron and the maid,

Around the Savior's throne rejoice,

In robes of light arrayed.

They climbed the steep ascent of heav'n

Through peril, toil, and pain.

O God, to us may grace be giv'n

To follow in their train!

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Revelation 19:11-16 and Luke 9:23-24 both appear in the first verse.  Revelation 19:11-16 is in roughly the first half, and Luke 9:23-24 is in the last two lines:  "Who patient bears his cross below - / He follows in His train."

The hymn's second verse is basically a paraphrase of Acts 7:54-60.

1 Timothy 6:12 seems to appear in the lines "Who follows in his train?" and "Who follows in their train?" at the end of the second and third verses respectively.  These lines act as rhetorical questions that urge the hearer to follow the examples in the hymn's verses and to do what 1 Timothy 6:12 says:  "Fight the good fight of the faith."

The lines "A glorious band, the chosen few, / On whom the Spirit came" in the third verse refer to the first few verses of Acts 2, and the first half of the fourth verse is drawn from Revelation 7:9-14.

"Just As I Am"

One of my projects for 2023 is to work through James Bastien's Great Hymns Arranged for Organ.  I'm going to play each verse twice.

I'm using the registrations from the book, but not the chorus/vibrato suggestions.

Upper:  40 8888 004

Lower:  00 6535 241

Pedal:  42

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

I'm posting these with the titles given in the book, which are the titles of the texts sung to these tunes, but I'm going to put the tune names in the tags.

"Azmon" (TLH #281)

"Rise, Ye Children of Salvation"

In a church service I attended a couple months ago, one of the hymns was "Rise, Ye Children of Salvation" (The Lutheran Hymnal #472).  I noticed a couple small connections between the text and the tune ("Neander").

Here are the first two phrases, which are also repeated as the second two phrases:

The first two lines of the hymn are "Rise, ye children of salvation, / All who cleave to Christ, the Head."  "Head" is sung to a C, and since the tune is in C major, there's also a musical sense of this centrality.

The second two lines in the first verse are "Wake, arise, O mighty nation, / Ere the Foe on Zion tread."  Both "Rise, ye children of salvation" and "Wake, arise, O might nation" are sung to generally ascending phrases (from C to G), and this provides a sense of "rise" and "arise."

LSB #660 "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 9:23-26; 1 John 5:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:25, 55-57; Ephesians 6:11-18

Luke 9:23-26:  "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.  24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?  26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'"

1 John 5:4-5:  "4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.  5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

1 Corinthians 15:25:  "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet."

1 Corinthians 15:55-57:  "55 'O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?'  56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 6:11-18:  "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, 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"

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The text is public domain:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Ye soldiers of the cross.

Lift high His royal banner;

It must not suffer loss,

From vict'ry unto vict'ry

His army He shall lead

Till ev'ry foe is vanquished,

And Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus;

The trumpet call obey;

Stand forth in mighty conflict

In this His glorious day.

Let all His faithful serve Him

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger

And strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus;

Stand in His strength alone.

The arm of flesh will fail you,

Ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the Gospel armor;

Each piece put on with prayer.

Where duty calls or danger,

Be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus;

The strife will not be long;

This day the din of battle,

The next the victor's song.

The soldiers, overcoming,

Their crown of life shall see

And with the King of Glory

Shall reign eternally.

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The title phrase, which occurs at the beginning of each verse, seems to be drawn from Luke 9:23-26.

1 John 5:4-5 and 1 Corinthians 15:25, 55-57 all seem to appear at the end of the first verse:  "From vict'ry unto vict'ry / His army He shall lead / Till ev'ry foe is vanquished, / And Christ is Lord indeed."  The last two lines bear the most resemblance to 1 Corinthians 15:25.

The armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-18 is mentioned near the end of the third verse:  "Put on the Gospel armor; / Each piece put on with prayer."

The "crown of life" in the last verse could refer to either James 1:12 ("Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.") or Revelation 2:10 ("'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.'").

"Abends" (TLH #280)

Transposed from Ab major to G major

"The Ancient Law Departs"

A couple years ago, I noticed a small feature in "The Ancient Law Departs" (in the New Year section of LSB).  The hymn is sung to the tune "Potsdam"; here are the first two musical phrases:

In the fourth verse, the text here is "Today the name is Thine / At which we bend the knee."  As if to reflect this "bend[ing] the knee," the end of that phrase descends (from Eb to Bb).

LSB #659 "Lord of Our Life"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 79:9, Revelation 12:10, Psalm 84:11, Matthew 16:18

Psalm 79:9:  "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake!"

Revelation 12:10:  "And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.'"

Psalm 84:11:  "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Matthew 16:18:  "'And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'"

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The text is public domain:

Lord of our life and God of our salvation,

Star of our night and hope of ev'ry nation:

Hear and receive Your Church's supplication,

Lord God Almighty.

See round Your ark the hungry billows curling;

See how Your foes their banners are unfurling

And with great spite their fiery darts are hurling,

O Lord, preserve us.

Lord, be our light when worldly darkness veils us;

Lord, be our shield when earthly armor fails us;

And in the day when hell itself assails us,

Grant us Your peace, Lord:

Peace in our hearts, where sinful thoughts are raging,

Peace in your Church, our troubled souls assuaging,

Peace when the world its endless war is waging,

Peace in Your heaven.

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Psalm 79:9 appears in the first line of the hymn ("Lord of our life and God of our salvation").  Revelation 12:10 seems to be incorporated here too.

In the third verse, the line "Lord, be our shield when earthly armor fails us" comes from Psalm 84:11, and the line "And in the day when hell itself assails us" seems to be drawn from Matthew 16:18.

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The line "Lord, be our light when worldly darkness veils us" in the third verse seems to come from 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 last verse may be drawn from John 14:27:  "'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.'"

"Anthes" (TLH #279)

I did this tune a couple weeks ago, and so to make it different this time, I transposed it from A major to C major and played it at a slightly slower tempo.