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

Friday, May 3, 2024

"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."