LSB #833 "Listen, God Is Calling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  2 Thessalonians 2:14, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, 1 Corinthians 15:58

2 Thessalonians 2:14:  "To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

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.'"

Mark 16:15-16:  "15 And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'"

1 Corinthians 15:58:  "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

+++

2 Thessalonians 2:14 is referred to in the title line (in the refrain):  "Listen, listen, God is calling."

Matthew 28:18-20 (but mostly just verse 19) is paraphrased in the hymn's second verse:  "Let none be forgotten / Throughout the world. / In the triune name of God / Go and baptize."

Mark 16:15-16 is referred to in the first verse:  "Jesus gave His mandate: / Share the good news."

1 Corinthians 15:58 seems to appear in the first half of the third verse ("Help us to be faithful, / Standing steadfast"), but the hymn text also bears some similarity to Colossians 1:23:  "if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."

+++

The alliteration in "standing steadfast" provides a sense of constancy, which matches the meaning of the phrase.

"The Tree of Life"

"The Tree of Life" was the hymn in the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service on 23 February, and I noticed a couple small features in it.

It's sung to the tune "Tree of Life."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The text here is "The tree of life with ev'ry good" (the sense continues into the next line:  "In Eden's holy orchard stood").  The phrase "ev'ry good" is sung to notes of all different pitches (D C A), lending a sense of this breadth.

Near the end of the first verse, there's the line "Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned."  The phrase "lovely limbs" exhibits consonance, and the euphony of this effect matches the meaning of the description itself.

LSB #832 "Jesus Shall Reign"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 72:5-11, 17; Revelation 11:15; Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:15-16; Matthew 11:28

Psalm 72:5-11:  "5 May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!  6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!  7 In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

"8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!  9 May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!  10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!  11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!"

Psalm 72:17:  "May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun!  May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!"

Revelation 11:15:  "Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.'"

Psalm 8:2:  "Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger."

Matthew 21:15-16:  "15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, 'Do you hear what these are saying?'  And Jesus said to them, 'Yes; have you never read, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise"?'"

Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

+++

The text is public domain:

1 Jesus shall reign where'er the sun

Does its successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2 To Him shall endless prayer be made,

And endless praises crown His head;

His name like sweet perfume shall rise

With ev'ry morning sacrifice.

3 People and realms of ev'ry tongue

Dwell on His love with sweetest song;

And infant voices shall proclaim

Their early blessings on His name.

4 Blessings abound where'er He reigns:

The pris'ners leap, unloose their chains,

The weary find eternal rest,

And all who suffer want are blest.

5 Let ev'ry creature rise and bring

Honors peculiar to our King;

Angels descend with songs again,

And earth repeat the loud amen.

+++

The two passages from Psalm 72 and Revelation 11:15 are the basis for the first verse.

Psalm 8:2 and Matthew 21:15-16 appear at the end of the third verse:  "And infant voices shall proclaim / Their early blessings on His name."

Matthew 11:28 is alluded to in the fourth verse:  "The weary find eternal rest."

+++

The lines "Blessings abound where'er He reigns: / The pris'ners leap, unloose their chains" at the beginning of the fourth verse may refer to part of Isaiah 61:1:  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me... to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound...."  Jesus quotes this passage in Luke 4:18.

"The Royal Banners Forward Go"

Last year, I noticed a number of small features in "The Royal Banners Forward Go."

It's sung to the tune "Vexilla regis nova."  Here's the first musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "Fulfilled is all that David told."  "All" is sung with a melisma (B A), lending a slight sense of this entirety.

In the fourth verse, the text - describing "the King of Glory" from the end of the previous verse - is "On whose hard arms, so widely flung" (the sense is continued into the next line:  "The weight of this world's ransom hung").  "Widely" is sung with a melisma (A G F#), giving a sense of degree (for the modifying "so").  That the notes are all different pitches also illustrates the word's meaning in a small way.

In the sixth verse, the text is "To Thee, eternal Three in One."  "Eternal" is sung with a melisma (C B A G), giving a sense of this duration.

The second musical phrase:

In the sixth verse, the text here is "Let homage meet by all be done."  As above, the "all" here is also sung with a melisma (F# E), lending a slight sense of entirety.

The fourth musical phrase:

In the last verse, the text here is "So guide and keep us evermore."  As with "eternal" above, "evermore" is sung with a melisma (F# E D E), giving a sense of this duration.  "Guide" and "keep" are also sung with melismas (B C and A B, respectively), in a way representing this continuation.

LSB #831 "'How Shall They Hear,' Who Have Not Heard"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 10:14-15, Matthew 28:18-20, Isaiah 6:5-8, Acts 4:29-31

Romans 10:14-15:  "14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'"

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.'"

Isaiah 6:5-8:  "5 And I said:  'Woe is me!  For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!'

"6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  7 And he touched my mouth and said:  'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilty is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'

"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.'"

Acts 4:29-31:  "29 'And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.'  31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

+++

The passage from Romans 10 appears in the first verse, particularly the first line ("'How shall they hear,' who have not heard"), and it's referred to again in the fifth verse ("So shall they hear and find and prove / Christ is their life, their joy, their crown").

Matthew 28:18-20, especially verse 19, is alluded to in the second verse ("'To all the world,' to ev'ry place... Preach the good news").

Isaiah 6:5-8 is the basis for the third and fourth verses and appears most clearly at the beginning of each ("'Whom shall I send?'" and "'Lord, here am I'").  The burning coal touching Isaiah's lips is also alluded to in the fourth verse:  "Your fire impart... Touch but my lips."

The passage from Acts 4 seems to be referred to in the fifth verse, especially the first two lines:  "Spirit of love, within us move: / Spirit of truth, in pow'r come down!"

+++

The line "Neighbors and friends and far-off lands" in the second verse exhibits polysyndeton (the repeated "and"), and this provides a sense of the entirety of "all the world" and "ev'ry place" from the preceding line.