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!'"