"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"

Years ago, I wrote about a number of features in "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name," but when it was substituted for the "Te Deum" in the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service on the 7th, I noticed a few more.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Grosser Gott."  Here's the fourth musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here, describing the "Cherubim and seraphim" from the previous line, is "In unceasing chorus praising."  I'd previously noted that "unceasing" is sung with a melisma (A A G A), giving a sense of this duration, but the same is also true of "chorus" (sung to the notes C Bb A).

The fifth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Infinite Thy vast domain."  I'd noted before that "Infinite" is sung with a melisma (G A Bb A), giving a sense of that expanse, but the phrase "vast domain" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A Bb C), and this provides a sense of space, too.

In the second verse, the text is "Fill the heav'ns with sweet accord," and the same features are present:  "heav'ns" is sung with a melisma (Bb A), and the phrase "sweet accord" is sung to all different pitches (A Bb C).  Now, though, these features lend a sense of the expansion of that "fill[ing]."

LSB #758 "The Will of God Is Always Best"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 6:10; 26:39, 42; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 84:12

Matthew 6:10:  "'Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Matthew 26:39:  "And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'"

Matthew 26:42:  "Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, 'My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.'"

1 Corinthians 10:13:  "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

Psalm 84:12:  "O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!"

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The text is public domain:

1 The will of God is always best

And shall be done forever;

And they who trust in Him are blest;

He will forsake them never.

He helps indeed

In time of need;

He chastens with forbearing.

They who depend

On God, their friend,

Shall not be left despairing.

2 God is my comfort and my trust,

My hope and life abiding;

And to His counsel, wise and just,

I yield, in Him confiding.

The very hairs,

His Word declares,

Upon my head He numbers.

By night and day

God is my stay;

He never sleeps nor slumbers.

3 Lord, this I ask, O hear my plea,

Deny me not this favor:

When Satan sorely troubles me,

Then do not let me waver.

O guard me well,

My fear dispel,

Fulfill Your faithful saying:

All who believe

By grace receive

An answer to their praying.

4 When life's brief course on earth is run

And I this world am leaving,

Grant me to say, "Your will be done,"

Your faithful Word believing.

My dearest Friend,

I now commend

My soul into Your keeping;

From sin and hell,

And death as well,

By You the vict'ry reaping.

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The three verses from Matthew (6:10; 26:39, 42) all appear in the first two lines and are referred to again in the line "Grant me to say, 'Your will be done'" in the fourth verse.

Psalm 84:12 is rendered as "And they who trust in Him are blest" in the first verse.

1 Corinthians 10:13 seems to be the basis for the third verse.

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The lines "The very hairs, / His Word declares, / Upon my head He numbers" in the second verse refer to Matthew 10:30:  "'But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.'"

The line "He never sleeps nor slumbers" at the end of the second verse comes from Psalm 121:4 ("Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep"), so it seems that the preceding lines ("By night and day / God is my stay") may be drawn at least partially from Psalm 121:6 ("The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night").  Incidentally, "night and day" is a merism.

The line "When life's brief course on earth is run" at the beginning of the fourth verse may allude to part of Hebrews 12:1:  "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."

"Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower"

Earlier this month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 5th.  The hymn was "Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower," and I noticed a small feature in it.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Ich will dich lieben."  Here's the third musical phrase:

In the fourth verse, the text here is "Uphold me when my feet would stumble."  The phrase "Uphold me" is sung to an ascending group of notes (D F# A), giving something of a sense of its meaning.

LSB #757 "Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Philippians 1:21-26, Luke 23:43

Philippians 1:21-26:  "21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.  Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  23 I am hard pressed between the two.  My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.  24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.  25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory of Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again."

Luke 23:43: "And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"

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The text is public domain:

1 Lord, it belongs not to my care

Whether I die or live;

To love and serve Thee is my share,

And this Thy grace must give.

2 If life be long, I will be glad

That I may long obey;

If short, yet why should I be sad

To soar to endless day?

3 Christ leads me through no darker rooms

Than He went through before;

He that unto God's kingdom comes

Must enter by this door.

4 Come, Lord, when grace has made me meet

Thy blessed face to see;

For if Thy work on earth be sweet,

What will Thy glory be!

5 Then shall I end my sad complaints

And weary, sinful days

And join with the triumphant saints

Who sing my Savior's praise.

6 My knowledge of that life is small,

The eye of faith is dim;

But 'tis enough that Christ knows all,

And I shall be with Him.

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Philippians 1:21-26 appears primarily in the first verse and perhaps also in the second, and Luke 23:43 appears at the end of the sixth verse ("And I shall be with Him").

1 Corinthians 13:12 seems to be a source, too:  "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."  There are similarities in the lines "Thy blessed face to see" in the fourth verse and "The eye of faith is dim" in the sixth.

The lines "He that unto God's kingdom comes / Must enter by this door" in the third verse may allude to John 10:9:  "'I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.'"

The lines "And join with the triumphant saints / Who sing my Savior's praise" may refer to Revelation 7:9-10:  "9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'"

"Seek Where You May to Find a Way"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 15th.  The hymn was "Seek Where You May to Find a Way," and I found a few instances where groups of words including "all" or "ev'ry" are sung to all different pitches, resulting in a sense of entirety or breadth.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Such, wer da will."  Here are the fourth and fifth musical phrases:

In the second verse, the text here is "All helpers failed / This man prevailed," with "all helpers" sung to all different pitches (A F# G).

The seventh and eighth musical phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "In ev'ry need / Seek Him indeed," with "ev'ry need" sung to all different pitches (F# G A).

The ninth and tenth musical phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "To ev'ry heart / He will impart" (the sense continues into the next line:  "His blessings without measure"), with "ev'ry heart" sung to all different pitches (G A B).

LSB #756 "Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Peter 1:6-9, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 4:12, Matthew 11:29-30

1 Peter 1:6-9:  "6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  8 Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

James 1:2-4:  "2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

1 Peter 4:12:  "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."

Matthew 11:29-30:  "29 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'"

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Only the first three stanzas are public domain:

1 Why should cross and trial grieve me?

Christ is near

With His cheer;

Never will He leave me.

Who can rob me of the heaven

That God's Son

For me won

When His life was given?

2 When life's troubles rise to meet me,

Though their weight

May be great,

They will not defeat me.

God, my loving Savior, sends them;

He who knows

All my woes

Knows how best to end them.

3 God gives me my days of gladness,

And I will

Trust Him still

When He sends me sadness.

God is good; His love attends me

Day by day,

Come what may,

Guides me and defends me.

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1 Peter 1:6-9, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 4:12 all mention trial(s) and appear most clearly in the hymn's first line ("Why should cross and trial grieve me?"), but the whole hymn develops the ideas in these passages.

Matthew 11:29-30 seems to appear (in an inverted way) at the beginning of the second verse:  "When life's troubles rise to meet me, / Though their weight / May be great, / They will not defeat me."  Instead of the light burden of rest, the hymn talks about the great weight of troubles.

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The lines "For I am / His dear lamb, / He, my Shepherd ever" in the fourth verse borrow imagery from John 10 ("'I am the good shepherd.'")

"Day and night" in the fifth verse is a merism.

"Toplady" (TLH #376)

Primarily because I've been having some computer issues, I'm going to take a break from recording tunes from TLH.

"O Love, How Deep"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 10th.  The hymn was "O Love, How Deep," and I noticed a few features to write about.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Deo gracias."  Here's the second musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "Of higher or of lower place" (it continues the sense from the previous line:  "He sent no angel to our race").  "Higher" is sung with a melisma (C Bb G), giving something of a sense of its nature as a comparative adjective (more notes for a greater degree).  Additionally, the musical phrase illustrates the relative positions of "higher" (sung to higher notes) and "lower" (sung to lower notes).

In the seventh verse, the text is "For love so deep, so high, so broad" (stating the reason for giving "All glory to our Lord and God").  "Deep" and the second "so" are both sung with melismas (F G and F C, respectively), providing a sense of degree.  The words "so broad" are sung to half notes, and because these stand in contrast to the shorter quarter or eighth notes that precede them, there's a sense of the degree of "so" and the meaning of "broad."

LSB #755 "In the Very Midst of Life"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 14:7-8, 2 Corinthians 1:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54

Romans 14:7-8:  "7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's."

2 Corinthians 1:9-10:  "9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again."

1 Corinthians 15:53-54:  "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.'"

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The passage from 2 Corinthians 1, specifically the reliance on God and His deliverance, appears in every verse:  "Who shall help us in the strife / Lest the foe confound us? / Thou only, Lord, Thou only!" in the first, "Who will help when they assail, / Who secure will make us? / Thou only, Lord, Thou only!" in the second, and "Where shall we for refuge go, / Where for grace to bless us? / To Thee, Lord Jesus, only!" in the third.

It's unclear where exactly the other two passages show up.  My best guess is that both are behind the lines "Lord, preserve and keep us / In the peace that faith can give" near the end of the third verse.

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The line "Snares of death surround us" near the beginning of the first verse is drawn from Psalm 18:4-5:  "4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; 5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me."

The line "In the midst of death's dark vale" at the beginning of the second verse alludes to Psalm 23:4:  "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."

"Nun freut euch" (TLH #375)

"Come, My Soul, with Every Care"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 3rd.  The hymn was "Come, My Soul, with Every Care," and I noticed an-other instance of a feature I've been finding a lot lately.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Vienna."  Here's the first musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Come, my soul, with ev'ry care."  The phrase "ev'ry care" is sung to notes of all different pitches (D C B), giving a sense of breadth.