"Church of God, Elect and Glorious"

I wrote about a number of features in "Church of God, Elect and Glorious" last year, but when it was one of the hymns in the opening service for the academic year at Concordia University Wisconsin last month, I noticed something else.

The second verse ends with the lines "And all find fresh hope and purpose / In Christ Jesus crucified," and the phrase "Christ Jesus crucified" is sung to a melody that includes a number of overlapping cross inscriptions, musically portraying this "crucified" in a way.

The tune is "Abbot's Leigh."

LSB #803 "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 5:11, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 8:3

Psalm 5:11:  "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you."

Philippians 4:4:  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

Psalm 8:3 (with verse 4 for more context):  "3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

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The text is public domain:

1 Joyful, joyful we adore Thee,

God of glory, Lord of love!

Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,

Praising Thee, their sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,

Drive the gloom of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day.

2 All Thy works with joy surround Thee,

Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays,

Stars and angels sing around Thee,

Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,

Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,

Chanting bird, and flowing fountain

Call us to rejoice in Thee.

3 Thou art giving and forgiving,

Ever blessing, ever blest,

Well-spring of the joy of living,

Ocean-depth of happy rest!

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Fountainhead of love divine:

Joyful, we Thy heav'n inherit!

Joyful, we by grace are Thine!

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The "joy" and the call to "rejoice" from Psalm 5:11 and Philippians 4:4 appear throughout the hymn.  Psalm 8:3 seems to be the basis for the second verse, although there's a stronger resemblance to parts of Psalm 148.

This is a minor point, but "vale and mountain" in the second verse is a merism.

"Before You, Lord, We Bow"

I was looking at "Before You, Lord, We Bow" last month, and I noticed a feature and also discovered something I'd previously noted but neglected to write about.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Darwall's 148th."  Here are the fifth and sixth phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "May ev'ry tongue / Be tuned to praise."  The phrase "ev'ry tongue" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A B C), giving a slight sense of this entirety.

The seventh and eighth musical phrases:

In the first verse, the text here is "Our hearts we raise / To You, our King!"  "Our hearts we raise" is sung to an ascending phrase, demonstrating the meaning, even if the text is a bit more metaphorical.

LSB #802 "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 104:1-5, 31-35; Daniel 7:13; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16

Psalm 104:1-5:  "1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!  O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.  3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; 4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

"5 He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved."

Psalm 104:31-35:  "31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works, 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!  33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.  35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD!"

Daniel 7:13:  "'I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.'"

1 Timothy 1:17:  "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen."

1 Timothy 6:15-16:  "15 which he will display at the proper time - he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.  To him be honor and eternal dominion.  Amen."

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The text is public domain:

1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

3 To all life Thou givest - to both great and small -

In all life Thou livest, the true Life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree

And wither and perish - but naught changes Thee.

4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

'Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee.

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Part of 1 Timothy 1:17 appears nearly verbatim in the line "Immortal, invisible, God only wise," but this also seems to incorporate part of Romans 16:27:  "to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!  Amen."

The passage from 1 Timothy 6 appears in the line "In light inaccessible hid from our eyes" in the first verse and in the line "'Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee" in the fourth; to a lesser degree, the image of God clothed in light from Psalm 104:1-2 is also included.

Daniel 7:13 is the source for the title "the Ancient of Days" in the first verse, and Psalm 104:31-35 appears in the line "Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise."

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This is a minor point, but "great and small" in the third verse is a merism.

"Seek Ye First"

"Seek Ye First" was one of the hymns on Worship Anew last month (3 August, Eighth Sunday after Pentecost), and I noticed a small feature in it.  Near the end of the first verse, there's the line "And all these things shall be added unto you!" sung to this musical phrase:

The phrase "all these things" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# G A), lending a slight sense of this breadth.

LSB #801 "How Great Thou Art"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 15:3b-4, Genesis 1:1-25, Isaiah 53:3-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Revelation 15:3b-4:  "'Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!  4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.'"

Genesis 1:1-25:  "1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

"3 And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.  4 And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.  And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

"6 And God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.'  7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.  And it was so.  8 And God called the expanse Heaven.  And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

"9 And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.'  And it was so.  10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.  And God saw that it was good.

"11 And god said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.'  And it was so.  12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good.  13 and there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

"14 And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night.  And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.'  And it was so.  16 And God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars.  17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.  And God saw that it was good.  19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

"20 And God said, 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.'  21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good.  22 And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'  23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

"24 And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds - livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.'  and it was so.  25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good."

Isaiah 53:3-12:  "3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

"7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.  8 By oppression and judgement he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

"10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:  "16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

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The text from Revelation 15 appears primarily in the refrain (the repeated "How great Thou art!"), but "Great and amazing are your deeds" from verse 3 seems to be combined with the Creation account in Genesis 1 in the hymn's first verse:  "O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder / Consider all the works Thy hand hath made...."  Specific examples of God's handiwork are given in the remainder of the first verse and throughout the second.

The text from Isaiah 53 is the basis for the third verse, and the passage from 1 Thessalonians 4 is paraphrased at the beginning of the fourth verse:  "When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation / And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!"

"Splendor and Honor"

I was looking at "Splendor and Honor" last month and noticed a couple small features.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Shades Mountain."  Here's the second musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Are Yours, O Lord God, fount of ev'ry blessing" (it continues the sense from the previous line:  "Splendor and honor, majesty and power").  The phrase "ev'ry blessing" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F E D C), giving a sense of this breadth.

The third verse is a doxology, ending with "Now and forever," sung to this phrase:

"Forever" is sung to notes that have a combined total of nine beats (a quarter note and two whole notes), and since this is the longest of any word in the entire hymn, there's a sense of this duration.

LSB #800 "Alabaré - II"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Revelation 5:8-13; 7:9-15

Revelation 5:8-13:  "8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  9 And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'  11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!'  13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'"

Revelation 7:9-15:  "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!'  11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 'Amen!  Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

"13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence."

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The first verse, which is the same as that of "Alabaré - I," paraphrases Revelation 7:9-10.  Parts of the second and third verses ("Voices united in joy and in singing, / We offer praise and glory to God..." and "We bless You, we adore You without end") seem to be drawn from the same source and from Revelation 5:13.  The third verse contains a sort of doxology ("Mercy and justice, / Power and wisdom") that contains some of the same qualities as Revelation 5:12-13 and Revelation 7:12.