LSB #732 "All Depends on Our Possessing"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 6:19-34; Colossians 3:1-4; Romans 8:31-32, 38-39; Psalm 143:8

Matthew 6:19-34:  "19 'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"22 'The eye is the lamp of the body.  So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

"24 'No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.

"25 'Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  26 Look at the birds of the air:  they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  28 And why are you anxious about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more cloth you, O you of little faith?  31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"  32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"34 'Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.'"

Colossians 3:1-4:  "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."

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

Romans 8:38-39:  "38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Psalm 143:8:  "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

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The text is public domain:

1 All depends on our possessing

God's abundant grace and blessing,

Though all earthly wealth depart.

They who trust with faith unshaken

By their God are not forsaken

And will keep a dauntless heart.

2 He who to this day has fed me

And to many joys has led me

Is and ever shall be mine.

He who ever gently schools me,

He who daily guides and rules me

Will remain my help divine.

3 Many spend their lives in fretting

Over trifles and in getting

Things that have no solid ground.

I shall strive to win a treasure

That will bring me lasting pleasure

And that now is seldom found.

4 When with sorrow I am stricken,

Hope anew my heart will quicken;

All my longing shall be stilled.

To His loving-kindness tender

Soul and body I surrender,

For on God alone I build.

5 Well He knows what best to grant me;

All the longing hopes that haunt me,

Joy and sorrow, have their day.

I shall doubt His wisdom never;

As God wills, so be it ever;

I commit to Him my way.

6 If my days on earth He lengthen,

God my weary soul will strengthen;

All my trust in Him I place.

Earthly wealth is not abiding,

Like a stream away is gliding;

Safe I anchor in His grace.

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The passage from Matthew 6 is the main source for the hymn, and parts of it appear throughout, with the possible exception of the fourth verse.

Colossians 3:2 ("Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.") overlaps a bit with Matthew 6:19-21 and appears in the first, third, and sixth verses.  Romans 8:38-39 could be cited for these verses, too; the constancy and surety of God's love contrasts with the transitory nature of worldly wealth.

"Graciously giv[ing] us all things" from Romans 8:32 is the same general idea expressed in Matthew 6:25-33 and appears primarily in the second verse but also in the line "Well He knows what best to grant me" at the beginning of the fifth.

The first part of Psalm 143:8 ("Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.") seems to be the basis for the second half of the fourth verse ("To His loving-kindness tender / Soul and body I surrender, / For on God alone I build.") and also appears in the fifth ("All my trust in Him I place.").

"Angel's Story" (TLH #352)

LSB #731 "O God, Forsake Me Not"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 38:21-22; Psalm 22:11, 19; Psalm 71; Psalm 27:9

Psalm 38:21-22:  "21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!  O my God, be not far from me!  22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!"

Psalm 22:11:  "Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help."

Psalm 22:19:  "But you, O LORD, do not be far off!  O you my help, come quickly to my aid!"

Psalm 71:  "1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!  2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!  3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

"4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.  5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.  6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb.  My praise is continually of you.

"7 I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.  8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.  9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.  10 For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together 11 and say, 'God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.'

"12 O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!  13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.  14 But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.  15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.  16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

"17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.  18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.  19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.  You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?  20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.  21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.  22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.  23 My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.  24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt."

Psalm 27:9:  "Hide not your face from me.  Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help.  Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!"

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The text is public domain:

1 O God, forsake me not!

Your gracious presence lend me;

Lord, lead your helpless child;

Your Holy Spirit send me

That I my course may run.

O be my light, my lot,

My staff, my rock, my shield -

O God, forsake me not!

2 O God, forsake me not!

Take not Your Spirit from me;

Do not permit the might

Of sin to overcome me.

Increase my feeble faith,

Which You alone have wrought.

O be my strength and pow'r -

O God, forsake me not!

3 O God, forsake me not!

Lord, hear my supplication!

In ev'ry evil hour

Help me resist temptation;

And when the prince of hell

My conscience seeks to blot,

Be then not far from me -

O God, forsake me not!

4 O God, forsake me not!

Lord, I am Yours forever.

O keep me strong in faith

That I may leave You never.

Grant me a blessed end

When my good fight is fought;

Help me in life and death -

O God, forsake me not!

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All of the cited passages have the same basic idea, which is rendered in the hymn as the repeated line "O God, forsake me not!"  Psalm 71:3, in which God is described as "a rock of refuge," seems to be one of the verses from which the line "My staff, my rock, my shield" in the first verse is drawn, although the image of God as a rock also appears in other Psalms (31:2-3, 62:2, and 92:15).  Likewise, the image of God as a shield occurs in multiple Psalms (including 3:3, 28:7, 33:20, and 84:11).

The lines "Your Holy Spirit send me / That I my course may run" in the first verse seem to refer to part of Hebrews 12:1:  "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

The line "Take not Your Spirit from me" in the second verse comes from Psalm 51:11:  "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me."

The line "When my good fight is fought" in the fourth verse seems to refer to the first part of 1 Timothy 6:12:  "Fight the good fight of the faith."

"O du Liebe" (TLH #351)

LSB #730 "What Is the World to Me"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 John 2:15-17, Philippians 3:7-9, Psalm 73:25, Romans 12:2

1 John 2:15-17:  "15 Do not love the world or the things in the world, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16 For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world.  17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

Philippians 3:7-9:  "7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith"

Psalm 73:25:  "Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you."

Romans 12:2:  "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

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The text is public domain:

1 What is the world to me

With all its vaunted pleasure

When You, and You alone,

Lord Jesus, are my treasure!

You only, dearest Lord,

My soul's delight shall be;

You are my peace, my rest.

What is the world to me!

2 The world seeks to be praised

And honored by the mighty

Yet never once reflects

That they are frail and flighty.

But what I truly prize

Above all things is He,

My Jesus, He alone.

What is the world to me!

3 The world seeks after wealth

And all that mammon offers

Yet never is content

Though gold should fill its coffers.

I have a higher good,

Content with it I'll be:

My Jesus is my wealth.

What is the world to me!

4 What is the world to me!

My Jesus is my treasure,

My life, my health, my wealth,

My friend, my love, my pleasure,

My joy, my crown, my all,

My bliss eternally.

Once more, then, I declare:

What is the world to me!

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All of the cited passages have the same basic idea, which is rendered in the hymn as "What is the world to me!"  Psalm 73:25 and especially Philippians 3:8 are a bit more prominent than the other passages, though; like these two verses, the second half of each hymn verse and most of the fourth declare the superiority that Jesus has over the world.  Some elements of the passage from 1 John 2 also show up in the second verse ("they are frail and flighty" seems to be drawn from "the world is passing away along with its desires" in verse 17) and in the third (the "wealth" and "gold... fill[ing] its coffers" are examples of the "desires" in verse 16).

"Clairvaux" (TLH #350)

Transposed from E flat major to D major

"Westminster Abbey"

After I went through James Bastien's Great Hymns Arranged for Organ last year, I thought I would try to come up with my own arrangements of hymn tunes that were in the same sort of simple style.

I used Melodia 8' and Flute 4' on the lower manual (and added Trompette 8' for the second verse), Open Diapason 8', Gedeckt 8', and Hautbois 8' on the upper manual, and Sub Bass 16' + Gedeckt 8' for the pedals.

Played with the pipe organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G bass pedals

(Part of the reason I'm posting this now is that I've run out of musical features to write about in hymns, aside from those in hymns that are seasonally specific.)

LSB #729 "I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 12:2, Matthew 28:18-20, Isaiah 26:3

Isaiah 12:2:  "'Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.'"

Matthew 28:18-20:  "18 And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

Isaiah 26:3:  "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

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The text is public domain:

1 I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

Trusting only Thee;

Trusting Thee for full salvation,

Great and free.

2 I am trusting Thee for pardon;

At Thy feet I bow,

For Thy grace and tender mercy

Trusting now.

3 I am trusting Thee for cleansing

In the crimson flood;

Trusting Thee to make me holy

By Thy blood.

4 I am trusting Thee to guide me;

Thou alone shalt lead,

Ev'ry day and hour supplying

All my need.

5 I am trusting Thee for power;

Thine can never fail.

Words which Thou Thyself shalt give me

Must prevail.

6 I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus;

Never let me fall.

I am trusting Thee forever

And for all.

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The two verses from Isaiah appear in "I am trusting Thee," which begins every verse.  Parts of Isaiah 12:2 also appear elsewhere:  "God is my salvation" in the line "Trusting Thee for full salvation" in the first verse and "the LORD GOD is my strength" in the line "I am trusting Thee for power" in the fifth.

"'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'" from the Matthew 28 passage overlaps a bit with Isaiah 12:2 in the line "I am trusting Thee for power," and "'And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" seems to be referred to in the lines "Words which Thou Thyself shalt give me" in the fifth verse and "I am trusting Thee forever" in the sixth (with the "forever" echoing Jesus' "'always'").

"Vater unser" (TLH #349)

Like last time I did this tune, I played it a whole step higher than it is in the hymnal, but I'm still not sure what the key is.

"Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide"

Last year, I noticed a small feature in "Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide," sung to the tune "Ach bleib bei uns."  Here's the second musical phrase:

In the sixth verse, the text here is "Preserve our faith our whole life through."  "Whole" is sung with a melisma (G F), musically giving a sense of that entirety.

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I also noticed a Biblical source I'd missed when I wrote about the hymn a few years ago.  The fourth verse mentions "The bright sword of Your mighty Word," which comes from part of Ephesians 6:17:  "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

LSB #728 "How Firm a Foundation"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 28:16, 41:10, 43:1-7; 2 Corinthians 12:9

Isaiah 28:16:  "therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: "Whoever believes will not be in haste."'"

Isaiah 41:10:  "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 43:1-7:  "1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:  'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.  4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.  5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.  6 I will say to the North, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.'"

2 Corinthians 12:9:  "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

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The text is public domain:

1 How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He has said

Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

2 "Fear not!  I am with you, O be not dismayed,

For I am your God and will still give you aid;

I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

3 "The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose

I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never, forsake!

4 "When through fiery trials your pathway will lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, will be your supply.

The flames will not hurt you; I only design

Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

5 "Throughout all their lifetime My people will prove

My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And then, when gray hairs will their temples adorn,

Like lambs they will still in My bosom be borne."

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Isaiah 28:16 is referred to in the first verse, and Isaiah 41:10 is paraphrased in the second verse (although "Fear not... I am with you" also appears in Isaiah 43:5).

Isaiah 43:1-7 and 2 Corinthians 12:9 both appear in the fourth verse.  The first line and part of the third ("'When through fiery trials your pathway will lie'" and "'The flames will not hurt you...'") come from Isaiah 43:2, and the second line ("'My grace, all-sufficient, will be your supply.'") comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9.  There are similar images of testing done by fire in Psalm 66:10 and 1 Peter 4:12 (and in Jeremiah 6:29-30 in a more negative context).