LSB #781 "We Give Thee But Thine Own"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 John 3:16-18, Matthew 25:40, Exodus 23:19a, James 1:27

1 John 3:16-18:  "16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?  18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

Matthew 25:40:  "'And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."'"

Exodus 23:19a:  "'The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God.'"

James 1:27:  "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

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The text is public domain:

1 We give Thee but Thine own,

Whate'er the gift may be;

All that we have is Thine alone,

A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

2 May we Thy bounties thus

As stewards true receive

And gladly, as Thou blessest us,

To Thee our firstfruits give!

3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,

And homes are bare and cold,

And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled

Are straying from the fold.

4 To comfort and to bless,

To find a balm for woe,

To tend the lone and fatherless

Is angels' work below.

5 The captive to release,

To God the lost to bring,

To teach the way of life and peace,

It is a Christ-like thing.

6 And we believe Thy Word,

Though dim our faith may be:

Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord,

We do it unto Thee.

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1 John 3:16-18 and Matthew 25:40 are the basis for the lines "Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord, / We do it unto Thee" at the end of the sixth verse, although Matthew 25:40 is more prominent.

Exodus 23:19a is referred to in the lines "And gladly, as Thou blessest us, / To Thee our firstfruits give!" at the end of the second verse, and James 1:27 appears in the lines "To tend the lone and fatherless / Is angels' work below" at the end of the fourth verse.

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The first verse may come in part from James 1:17:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

The lines "And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled / Are straying from the fold" at the end of the third verse use the same imagery as Isaiah 53:6 and Psalm 119:176.

The fifth verse is drawn from Isaiah 61:1-2 ("1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and that day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn"), which is also cited in Luke 4:18-19.

"All Christians Who Have Been Baptized"

Many years ago, I wrote a post pointing out a couple instances in "All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" where "forever" is sung with a melisma, providing a sense of this duration.  Earlier this month, "All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" was the hymn in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service (on the 3rd), and I found one I'd missed (probably because it's divided by a line break in the notation).  Here's the second phrase from the hymn's tune, "Nun freut euch":

In the third verse, the text here is "Immersed and drowned forever," with "forever" sung to the notes G D E F.

(More recently, I also wrote about some other features in the hymn.)

LSB #780 "O Lord, Hear My Prayer"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 31:12; 102:1-2

Psalm 31:12:  "I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel."

Psalm 31:2 seems more likely:  "Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily!  Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!"

Psalm 102:1-2:  "1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you!  2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress!  Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!"

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The first part of Psalm 102:1 is simply inverted in the recurring line "O Lord, hear my prayer," and the second half of Psalm 102:2 is paraphrased in the lines "When I call answer me" and (with part of Psalm 31:2) "Come and listen to me."

"From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee"

Previously, I wrote about some small features in "From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee," but when I watched the Worship Anew program for Ash Wednesday a couple weeks ago (about a month late), I found a couple more, both in the line "If Thou rememb'rest ev'ry sin" in the first verse, sung to this melody (from the tune "Aus tiefer Not"):

(The sense is completed in the following lines:  "Who then could heaven ever win / Or stand before Thy presence?")

"Ev'ry" is sung with a melisma (D C B), and the phrase "ev'ry sin" is sung to notes of all different pitches (D C B A), and both of these articulations provide a sense of number.

LSB #779 "Come, My Soul, with Every Care"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 6:5-13; 7:7-11; Luke 11:5-13; Hebrews 4:16

Matthew 6:5-13:  "5 'And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.  For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.  Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"7 'And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  9 Pray then like this:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'"

Matthew 7:7-11:  "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.  9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!'"

Luke 11:5-13:  "5 And he said to them, 'Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him"; 7 and he will answer from within, "Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed.  I cannot get up and give you anything"?  8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he need.  9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!'"

Hebrews 4:16:  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

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The text is public domain:

1 Come, my soul, with ev'ry care,

Jesus loves to answer prayer;

He Himself has bid thee pray,

Therefore will not turn away.

2 Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring;

For His grace and pow'r are such

None can ever ask too much.

3 With my burden I begin:

Lord, remove this load of sin;

Let Thy blood, for sinners spilt,

Set my conscience free from guilt.

4 Lord, Thy rest to me impart,

Take possession of my heart;

There Thy blood-bought right maintain

And without a rival reign.

5 While I am a pilgrim here,

Let Thy love my spirit cheer;

As my guide, my guard, my friend,

Lead me to my journey's end.

6 Show me what is mine to do;

Ev'ry hour my strength renew.

Let me live a life of faith;

Let me die Thy people's death.

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The passage from Matthew 6 is alluded to in the line "He Himself has bid thee pray" in the first verse.

The passages from Matthew 7 and Luke 11 (specifically the parts about asking) may also be included in "He Himself has bid thee pray," but they also seem to be referred to at the end of the second verse:  "His grace and pow'r are such / None can ever ask too much."

"The throne of grace" from Hebrews 4:16 seems to be the basis for the line "Thou art coming to a King" in the second verse.  The confidence and grace in the passage also appear more generally in the first three verses.

The line "Lord, Thy rest to me impart" at the beginning of the fourth verse may refer to Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

"Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 21st.  The hymn was "Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me," and I noticed a few small features.  It's sung to the tune "Ryburn."  Here's the fifth musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "All coldness from my heart remove."  "All coldness" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# A B), giving a sense of entirety.

In the third verse, the text is "And day and night, be all my care."  Here, "all" is sung with a melisma (D C#), providing a sense of entirety.

The sixth musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "My ev'ry act, word, thought be love."  Similar to the above, the phrase "ev'ry act" is sung to notes of all different pitches (G F# E), but here, this articulation gives more of a sense of number.

LSB #777, 778 "Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  2 Thessalonians 3:16; Psalm 62:2, 6; Isaiah 31:5

2 Thessalonians 3:16:  "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.  The Lord be with you all."

Psalm 62:2:  "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken."

Psalm 62:6:  "He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."

Isaiah 31:5:  "'Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it.'"

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2 Thessalonians 3:16 appears in the first two lines:  "Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord; / Peace in our time, O send us!"  The other cited passages are combined in the lines "For there is none on earth but You, / None other to defend us. / You only, Lord, can fight for us," although the two instances of "He only" from Psalm 62 are more prominent than the verse from Isaiah.

"I Walk in Danger All the Way"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 10th.  The hymn was "I Walk in Danger All the Way," and I noticed a feature that recurs throughout.

It's sung to the tune "Der lieben Sonne Licht und Pracht."  Here's the first musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "I walk in danger all the way."  The phrase "all the way" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A F E), providing a sense of entirety.  This feature is present in every verse; each initial line ends with the phrase "all the way."

LSB #776 "Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 145:15-16, Luke 24:29-30, James 1:17a

Psalm 145:15-16:  "15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.  16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing."

Luke 24:29-30:  "29 but they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.'  So he went in to stay with them.  30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them."

James 1:17a:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above"

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The text is public domain:

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blest.

Amen, amen, amen.

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The hymn text is fairly general, but the passage from Luke 24 seems to be the main source (especially for "be our guest"), and the other cited texts are combined with it in "let these gifts to us be blest."