LSB #741 "Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Corinthians 15:34-58, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Job 19:25-27

1 Corinthians 15:34-58:  "34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning.  For some have no knowledge of God.  I say this to your shame.

"35 But someone will ask, 'How are the dead raised?  With what kind of body do they come?'  36 You foolish person!  What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.  38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.  39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.  40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.  41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

"42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead.  What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  45 Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.  46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.  47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.  48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

"50 I tell you this, brothers:  flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  51 Behold!  I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:  'Death is swallowed up in victory.'  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.

"58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

1 Peter 1:3-5:  "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

1 Corinthians 15:20-23:  "20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.  23 But each in his own order:  Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ."

Job 19:25-27:  "25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  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."

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The text is public domain:

1 Jesus Christ, my sure defense

And my Savior, now is living!

Knowing this, my confidence

Rests upon the hope here given,

Though the night of death be fraught

Still with many an anxious thought.

2 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;

Likewise I to life shall waken.

He will bring me where He is;

Shall my courage then be shaken?

Shall I fear, or could the Head

Rise and leave His members dead?

3 No, too closely I am bound

By my hope to Christ forever;

Faith's strong hand the Rock has found,

Grasped it, and will leave it never;

Even death now cannot part

From its Lord the trusting heart.

4 I am flesh and must return

To the dust, whence I am taken;

But by faith I now discern

That from death I shall awaken

With my Savior to abide

In His glory, at His side.

5 Glorified, I shall anew

With this flesh then be enshrouded;

In this body I shall view

God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded;

In this flesh I then shall see

Jesus Christ eternally.

6 Then take comfort and rejoice,

For His members Christ will cherish.

Fear not, they will hear His voice;

Dying, they will never perish;

For the very grave is stirred

When the trumpet's blast is heard.

7 Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave

And at death no longer tremble;

He, the Lord, who came to save

Will at last His own assemble.

They will go their Lord to meet,

Treading death beneath their feet.

8 O, then, draw away your hearts

From all pleasures base and hollow;

Strive to share what He imparts

While you here His footsteps follow.

As you now still wait to rise,

Fix your hearts beyond the skies!

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1 Corinthians 15:34-58 appears in the fourth through seventh verses, with the trumpet in verse 52 particularly evident at the end of the hymn's sixth verse:  "For the very grave is stirred / When the trumpet's blast is heard."  The text from Job 19 is also incorporated in the hymn's fifth verse:  "In this body I shall view / God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded; / In this flesh I then shall see / Jesus Christ eternally."  The fifth verse of Lutheran Worship version of the hymn (#266) hews much closer to the Job text:  "Then these eyes my Lord will know, / My redeemer and my brother; / In his love my soul will glow - / I myself and not another!"

1 Peter 1:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 seem to be referred to only generally in the hymn's first two verses:  "Jesus Christ, my sure defense / And my Savior, now is living!" in the first verse and "Jesus, my Redeemer, lives; / Likewise I to life shall waken" in the second verse, which also borrows language from Job 19:25.

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The line "He will bring me where He is" in the second line may refer to John 14:3:  "'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.'"  The lines "Shall I fear, or could the Head / Rise and leave his members dead?" later in the verse use imagery that's present in some of the epistles, such as Romans 12:4-5 and Ephesians 4:15-16.

The lines "I am flesh and must return / To the dust, whence I am taken" at the beginning of the fourth verse bear some similarity to Genesis 3:19:  "'By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"

The lines "Even death now cannot part / From its Lord the trusting heart" at the end of the third verse may refer to 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."

"St. Agnes" (TLH #361)

I played the Amen cadence an octave higher in the tenor part because I didn't want to have to re-tune my guitar and play the whole hymn in drop D tuning for just one note at the end.

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"

I already wrote a post on the Biblical sources for "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," but while I was reading Psalm 31 last week, I ran across a passage that seems to be related.  Psalm 31:2 is "Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily!  Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!"  There's a definite similarity between the phrase "a strong fortress to save me" and the first line of the hymn ("Eternal Father, strong to save"), but I'm not sure whether this is coincidental or intentional.

LSB #740 "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; John 21:15

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."

Isaiah 40:11:  "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young."

Isaiah 49:10:  "they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them."

John 21:15:  "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?'  He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.'  He said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'"

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The text is public domain:

1 I am Jesus' little lamb,

Ever glad at heart I am;

For my Shepherd gently guides me,

Knows my need and well provides me,

Loves me ev'ry day the same,

Even calls me by my name.

2 Day by day, at home, away,

Jesus is my staff and stay.

When I hunger, Jesus feeds me,

Into pleasant pastures leads me;

When I thirst, He bids me go

Where the quiet waters flow.

3 Who so happy as I am,

Even now the Shepherd's lamb?

And when my short life is ended,

By His angel host attended,

He shall fold me to His breast,

There within His arms to rest.

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Psalm 23 is the main source for the hymn, and the other citations seem merely to overlap some elements, particularly leading and feeding the sheep.

"Knows my need" in the first verse may come from part of Matthew 6:8 ("'your Father knows what you need before you ask him'") or part of Matthew 6:32 ("'your heavenly Father knows that you need them all'").

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I've noted before that the alliteration of "staff and stay" illustrates the order that God maintains over creation for the sake of His sheep.  It could also illustrate His steadfastness.

The alliteration in "pleasant pastures" is also significant.  The euphony of this alliteration (and the syllabic balance of the two words) mirrors the meaning.

"Beatitudo" (TLH #360)

"On Galilee's High Mountain"

I was looking at "On Galilee's High Mountain" earlier this week and noticed a small feature in it.

The second verse ends with the lines "[This Lord] Has chosen us to carry / His truth to ev'ry land," sung to these musical phrases from the tune "Missionary Hymn":

The phrase "ev'ry land" is sung to notes of all different pitches (G F Eb), giving a sense of that breadth.

LSB #739 "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 42:6; John 10:1-3, 27-28; Psalm 121:8

Isaiah 42:6:  "'I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations'"

John 10:1-3:  "1 'Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.  2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  3 To him the gatekeeper opens.  The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.'"

John 10:27-28:  "27 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.'"

Psalm 121:8:  "The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore."

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Isaiah 42:6 seems to appear in "Take my hand," which recurs throughout the hymn, and in "Hold my hand" in the second and third verses.  The other passages appear in "Lead me on," which appears twice in the first verse, in "Guide my feet" in the third, and in "Lead me home" at the end of each verse.

Here's a link to an NPR segment about the hymn, which includes comments from Thomas A. Dorsey, who wrote it.

"Ratisbon" (TLH #359)

Transposed from D major to F major

"Jesus Shall Reign"

I was looking at "Jesus Shall Reign" recently, and I noticed a small feature that I'd missed the two other times I wrote about the hymn.

Near the end of the fourth verse, there's the line "The weary find eternal rest," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Duke Street":

"Eternal" is sung with a melisma (A D B A G F#), and since the word is drawn out, there's a sense of that long duration.

LSB #738 "Lord of All Hopefulness"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  Psalm 55:16-17

Psalm 55:16-17:  "16 But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.  17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice."

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The "call[ing] to God" in Psalm 55:16 appears in each of the hymn's verses ("Lord... Be there... and give us..."), and the various times in verse 17 ("Evening and morning and at noon") appear at the end of each verse ("at the break of the day," "at the noon of the day," "at the eve of the day," and "at the end of the day").

"Ringe recht" (TLH #358)

"Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"

In his sermon on Worship Anew a couple weeks ago, Pastor Jonker alluded to Mark 4:28:  "'The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.'"  The day after I watched the program, I was thinking about "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come," in which Mark 4:28 is paraphrased in the second verse:  "First the blade and then the ear, / Then the full corn shall appear."  These lines are sung to these musical phrases from the tune "St. George's, Windsor":

I realized that because the melody generally ascends, there's a musical representation of the plant's growth.

LSB #737 "Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 28:7, Psalm 27:1-6; Micah 7:18-19; Psalm 73:25-26

Psalm 28:7:  "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

Psalm 27:1-6:  "1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

"2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

"3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

"4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

"5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

"6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD."

Micah 7:18-19:  "18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?  He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.  19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot.  You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Psalm 73:25-26:  "25 Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

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The text is public domain:

1 Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing,

A cheerful trust maintain;

For God, the source of ev'rything,

Your portion shall remain.

2 He is your treasure, He your joy,

Your life and light and Lord,

Your counselor when doubts annoy,

Your shield and great reward.

3 Why spend the day in blank despair,

In restless thought the night?

On your Creator cast your care;

He makes your burdens light.

4 Did not His love and truth and pow'r

Guard ev'ry childhood day?

And did He not in threat'ning hour

Turn dreaded ills away?

5 He only will with patience chide,

His rod falls gently down;

And all your sins He casts aside

In ocean depths to drown.

6 His wisdom never plans in vain

Nor falters nor mistakes.

All that His counsels may ordain

A blessèd ending makes.

7 Upon your lips, then, lay your hand,

And trust His guiding love;

Then like a rock your peace shall stand

Here and in heav'n above.

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Psalm 73:25-26 ("God is... my portion forever") and Psalm 28:7 ("my heart exults") appear in the first verse, and elements from Psalm 28:7 and Psalm 27:1-6 appear in the second.  Psalm 27:2-3 may also appear, albeit in a more general way, in the lines "And did He not in threat'ning hour / Turn dreaded ills away?" in the fourth verse.

The passage from Micah 7 (particularly "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea") is the basis for the fifth verse.

The lines "On your Creator cast your care; / He makes your burdens light" in the third verse seem to combine 1 Peter 5:7 ("casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you") and Matthew 11:30 ("'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light'").