"St. Luke" (TLH #331)

Transposed from F minor to A minor

"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."

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.'"

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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.

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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."

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten" (TLH #330)

"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."

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.'"

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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!

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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.

"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.

"Aus tiefer Not" (TLH #329)

"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.

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."

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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.

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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.

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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."

"Weimar" (TLH #328)

"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.

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.

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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."

"Southwell" (TLH #327)

"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.