"We Sing the Praise of Him Who Died"

"We Sing the Praise of Him Who Died" was the hymn in the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service on 11 April last year.  In it, I found yet an-other instance of a small feature I've been noting a lot lately.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Windham."  Here's the last musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here, describing the cross, is "And sweetens ev'ry bitter cup."  The phrase "ev'ry bitter cup" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A G F E D), giving a sense of this extent, especially since the pitches span a rather large interval.

LSB #829 "Christ the Eternal Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 28:18-20; John 1:1-18; 14:6; 1 Peter 1:8-9

Matthew 28:18-20:  "18 And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

John 1:1-18:  "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He was in the beginning with God.  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

"6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

"9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

"14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, 'This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me."')  16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."

John 14:6:  "6 Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

1 Peter 1:8-9:  "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."

+++

Matthew 28:18-20 (specifically "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations'" from verse 19) is alluded to in the third verse:  "Inspire our hearts, we pray, / To tell Your love abroad, / That all may honor Christ today / And follow Him as Lord."

The passage from John 1 is referred to at the beginning of the second verse ("Christ the unchanging Word"), at the beginning of the third verse ("Christ the redeeming Son, / Who shares our human birth"), and in the fourth verse ("Christ the unfading Light... That light of truth You give").

John 14:6 appears in the fourth verse (albeit in reverse order:  "The Life, the Truth, the Way," which the following lines expand upon), and the passage from 1 Peter 1 appears in the fifth verse ("Christ... Whom yet unseen we love").

+++

The lines "Enlighten all who read, / Within Your Word by faith to find / The bread of life indeed" at the end of the second verse refer to John 6, specifically verses 35 and 48, where Jesus calls Himself "the bread of life."

The title "Our Morning Star" in the fourth verse comes from Revelation 22:16.

The lines "Your voice from heaven's throne / Shall call Your children home at last / To know as we are known" at the end of the fifth verse seem to draw from the second part of 1 Corinthians 13:12:  "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."

"My Song Is Love Unknown"

Last year, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 10 April.  The hymn was "My Song Is Love Unknown," and I noticed a small feature in it.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Love Unknown."  Here are the last four musical phrases:

In the seventh verse, the text here is "This is my friend, / In whose sweet praise / I all my days / Could gladly spend!"  The phrase "all my days" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# G A), lending a slight sense of this breadth or entirety.

LSB #828 "We Are Called to Stand Together"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Hebrews 11, Luke 24:48, Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Hebrews 11:  "1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.  3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

"4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.  And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.  Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  6 And without faith is it impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

"8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.  11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of and by the seashore.

"13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  14 For people who speak this make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

"17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.'  19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.  20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.  21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.  22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

"23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.  27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.  28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

"29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.  30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven das.  31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those where were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

"32 And what more shall I say?  For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.  35 Women received back their dead by resurrection.  Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.  36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.  They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - 38 of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

"39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect."

Luke 24:48:  "'You are witnesses of these things.'"

Matthew 28:19-20:  "19 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"

2 Timothy 4:1-5:  "1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.  5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

+++

Hebrews 11 appears in the first verse:  "We are called to stand together / With the saints of ages past, / With the patriarchs and prophets / In the faith they once held fast."

Luke 24:48 is the basis for the second verse, but the hymn provides more detail:  "Those whom Jesus called apostles / Journeyed with Him side by side, / Heard His teaching, felt His power, / Saw the way He lived and died."

Matthew 28:19 is alluded to at the end of the second verse ("Then the news of resurrection / They delivered far and wide"), in the third verse ("Round the world the Gospel spread"), and the fourth ("Now in many tongues and cultures / Songs of celebration ring").

The "teaching" in Matthew 28:20 and the "preach[ing]" in the passage from 2 Timothy 4 are combined at the beginning of the fifth verse:  "To each coming generation / Tell the truth, persuade, explain."

"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth"

I found some small features to note in "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" but waited to write about them until the appropriate season.

The hymn is sung to the tune "An Wasserflüssen Babylon."  Here's the fourth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "None else the burden sharing."  "Burden" is sung with a descending melisma (C Bb A), musically representing a sort of bending beneath this weight.

In the fourth verse, the text is "My joy beyond all measure!"  Here, "all" is sung with a melisma (Bb A), lending a slight sense of entirety.  Additionally, the phrase "all measure" is sung to notes of all different pitches (Bb A G F), also giving a sense of breadth.

The line "O Love, how strong You are to save!" near the end of the third verse bears some resemblance to part of Psalm 31:2:  "Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!"

LSB #827 "Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 6:8; 55:10-11; Luke 10:2

Isaiah 6:8:  "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?'  Then I said, 'Here am I!  Send me.'"

Isaiah 55:10-11:  "10 'For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.'"

Luke 10:2:  "And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

+++

Only the first stanza is public domain:

Hark, the voice of Jesus calling,

"Who will go and work today?

Fields are white and harvests waiting -

Who will bear the sheaves away?"

Loud and long the Master calleth;

Rich reward He offers thee.

Who will answer, gladly saying,

"Here am I, send me, send me"?

+++

The first verse is almost the same as the first verse of "Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying" (LSB #826), so my comments on it are basically the same, too:

Isaiah 6:8 appears in the first verse ("Hark, the voice of Jesus calling, / 'Who will go and work today?'... 'Here am I, send me, send me'").

The harvest imagery in Luke 10:2 [LSB #826 also cites Matthew 9:37-38] is used in the lines "'Fields are white and harvests waiting - / Who will bear the sheaves away?'" in the first verse, although these lines also borrow from John 4:35:  "'Do you not say, "There are yet four months, then comes the harvest"?  Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.'"

Isaiah 55:10-11 is paraphrased in the third verse.

+++

The second verse paraphrases the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).

In the fourth verse, the lines "When with His angelic reapers / He in glory shall descend" borrow imagery from the explanation of the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13, specifically part of verse 39:  '''The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.'"  The lines "Soon the night, the final harvest; / Soon the time for work shall cease" may borrow from John 9:4:  "'We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.'"