"Word of God, Come Down on Earth"

Years ago, I wrote about some small features in "Word of God, Come Down on Earth," but when it was in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service recently (on the 4th), I noticed an-other small point.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier."  Here's the second-to-last phrase:

In the fourth verse, the text here is "Word of truth, to all truth lead us."  The second "truth" is sung with a melisma (A G), giving a sense of the entirety of that modifying "all."

LSB #770 "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 7:7-8, Hebrews 4:15, John 15:14-16, 1 Peter 2:24

Matthew 7:7-8:  "7 'Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.'"

Hebrews 4:15:  "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

John 15:14-16:  "14 'You are my friends if you do what I command you.  15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.'"

1 Peter 2:24:  "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed."

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The text is public domain:

1 What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit;

Oh, what needless pain we bear -

All because we do not carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

2 Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged -

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness -

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

3 Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge -

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

In His arms He'll take and shield thee;

Thou wilt find a solace there.

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The passage from Matthew 7 and the end of John 15:16 seem to appear in the recurring references to prayer ("What a privilege to carry / Ev'rything to God in prayer" in the first verse and "Take it to the Lord in prayer" in the second and third).

Hebrews 4:15 appears in the lines "Can we find a friend so faithful / Who will all our sorrows share? / Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness" in the second verse.

The passage from John 15 is the basis for the line "What a friend we have in Jesus," although there's a bit of overlap with Hebrews 4:15, and 1 Peter 2:24 appears in the following line:  "All our sins and griefs to bear!"

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The repeated reference to prayer may allude to "Be constant in prayer" from Romans 12:12.  The first half of the second verse also bears some similarity to Philippians 4:6:  "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

"With the Lord Begin Your Task"

I was looking at "With the Lord Begin Your Task" a couple months ago and found a number of instances of the same sort of feature.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Fang dein Werk."  Here are the first two musical phrases:

In the fifth verse, the text here is "Thus, Lord Jesus, ev'ry task / Be to You commended."  The phrase "ev'ry task" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A G E), giving a sense of breadth or entirety.

These musical phrases are repeated for the next two lines.  In the second verse, the text is "On the Lord cast ev'ry care; / He is your salvation," and the phrase "ev'ry care" is sung to the same group of notes (A G E), providing the same effect.

Here are the fifth and sixth musical phrases:

In the first verse, the text here is "Ev'ry morn with Jesus rise, / And when day is ended."  The same feature is here, too:  the phrase "ev'ry morn" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A B C), but now this articulation lends something more like a sense of number.

In the third verse, the text is "All your trust and hope repose / In the mighty Master."  Like the above, the phrase "all your trust" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A B C), giving a sense of entirety.

LSB #769 "Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 6:18; Luke 11:1-4; 22:42

Romans 8:26-27:  "26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Ephesians 6:18:  "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints"

Luke 11:1-4:  "1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'  2 And he said to them, 'When you pray, say:  Father, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come.  3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And lead us not into temptation.'"

Luke 22:42:  "saying, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.'"

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The passage from Romans 8 and the verse from Ephesians seem to be the basis for the hymn.  Part of Romans 8:26 is paraphrased in the first verse as "I know not how to ask or what to say."  The line "Come, pray in me the prayer I need this day" at the beginning of the second verse bears the closest resemblance to Ephesians 6:18.

The first part of the passage from Luke 11 is alluded to at the end of the first verse:  "And only You can teach me how to pray."  Both passages from Luke also seem to be referred to in the second verse:  Luke 22:42 in the line "Help me to see Your purpose and Your will" and Luke 11:1-4 (particularly verse 4) in the line "Held in forgiving love, let me be still."

Messiah: No. 36 Thou art gone up on high

I've been reading a German/English edition of Luther's Small Catechism, and recently, I found a text that's used in Handel's Messiah.  Among the Biblical citations under "What do the Scriptures testify concerning Christ's ascension into heaven?" in the explanation to the second article of the creed is Psalm 68:18:  "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also."  In Handel's Messiah, this appears in Part II, No. 36 as "Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them."

Previously, I'd noted that the Messiah text resembles Ephesians 4:8, but that verse is actually quoting Psalm 68:18.

In thinking about the movement, I realized that the music matches the text in that the repeated "Thou art gone up" is sung to phrases that generally ascend:

In some instances, particularly the third, "high" is sung to the highest pitch in the phrase, and this also illustrates the meaning.

[Notation source]

"Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You"

I wrote about the Biblical sources for "Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You" a couple years ago, but when it was in the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service for 24 January, I found an-other one.  The last lines of the second verse are "The race well run, / Your long war won, / Your crown shines splendid as the sun."  As I noted before, the general situation here comes from 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, but the last line specifically ("Your crown shines splendid as the sun") alludes to Psalm 132:18, where the LORD says, "His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine."

LSB #768 "To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 16:13, Ephesians 4:3-6, Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 12:3

John 16:13:  "'When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.'"

Ephesians 4:3-6:  "3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  4 There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

Romans 8:26:  "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."

1 Corinthians 12:3:  "Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says 'Jesus is accursed!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit."

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John 16:13 appears in the lines "To God the Holy Spirit let us pray / For the true faith needed on our way" in the first verse.  It also seems to appear, along with 1 Corinthians 12:3, in the line "Teach us Jesus Christ to know aright" in the fourth verse.

The passage from Ephesians 4 is the basis for the second verse, especially the lines "That with hearts united we love each other, / Ev'ry stranger, sister, and brother."

Romans 8:26 appears throughout the hymn but particularly in the line "To God the Holy Spirit let us pray" in the first verse and in all of the third verse, which describes "our weakness" ("in our ev'ry need, / Help us... That we may not falter nor courage fail us / When the foe shall taunt and assail us").