LSB #860 "Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 5:22-33, Matthew 19:4-6, John 2:1-11, Revelation 19:6-9

Ephesians 5:22-33:  "22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.  24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

"25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.  31 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'  32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.  33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Matthew 19:4-6:  "4 He answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"?  6 So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.'"

John 2:1-11:  "1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'  4 And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.'  5 His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

"6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.'  And they filled them up to the brim.  8 And he said to them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.'  So they took it.  9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now.'  11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.  And his disciples believed in him."

Revelation 19:6-9:  "6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah!  For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.  7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure' - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

"9 And the angel said to me, 'Write this:  Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'  And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'"

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The passage from Ephesians 5 (particularly verses 25-27) is the basis for the fourth verse.

The passage from Matthew 19 is referred to at the beginning of the fifth verse:  "Father, You created Adam, / Crafted Eve, and made them one."

The story of the wedding at Cana in John 2 is briefly mentioned at the end of the second verse ("Changing water into wine"), and at the beginning of the third verse, Jesus is called "Cana's guest."

The passage from Revelation 19 appears primarily at the end of the fifth verse ("Bring us, Lord, at last to heaven, / To the endless wedding feast"), but the description of the bride in verse 8 ("clothe[d]... with fine linen, bright and pure") may also appear in the fourth verse ("You have made her holy, / Pure and fair her radiant train").

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The lines "Lord, if You are not the builder, / Then the house is built in vain" at the beginning of the second verse come from Psalm 127:1:  "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."

There's some similarity between the lines "Clothe this couple with the garments / They will daily need to wear" in the third verse and Isaiah 61:10:  "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Some of the qualities listed in the third verse ("Patience, kindness, and compassion, / Gentleness, humility") also appear in Galatians 5:22-23:  "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

LSB #859 "Lord, When You Came as Welcome Guest"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  John 2:1-11

John 2:1-11:  "1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'  4 And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.'  5 His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

"6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.'  And they filled them up to the brim.  8 And he said to them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.'  So they took it.  9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now.'  11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.  And his disciples believed in him."

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The passage from John 2 is referred to in the first verse:  "Lord, when You came as welcome guest / To Cana's wedding feast, / The bridal pair, divinely blest, / Found all their joy increased."

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The sixth verse mentions "The crown of life above," which could come from either James 1:12 or Revelation 2:10.

"Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling"

Last week, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 18 September.  The hymn was "Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling," and I noticed a small feature in it.

The hymn is sung to the tune "In Babilone."  Here's the first phrase, which is also repeated as the third phrase:

Almost all of the first and third lines of the verses contain a melisma'd "ever" (sung to the notes A G A), and the slight elongation of the word lends a sense of this duration:  "Holy Spirit, ever dwelling," "Holy Spirit, ever living," "Holy Spirit, ever working," "Holy Spirit, ever brooding," and "Holy Spirit, ever striving."

Years ago, I also noticed (but neglected to write about) a similar instance near the end of the second verse:  in the line "You we praise with endless worship," "endless" is sung with the same melisma in the same musical phrase, repeated once again.

LSB #858 "O Father, All Creating"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 19:4-6; Genesis 2:18, 21-24; John 2:1-11; Psalm 127:1

Matthew 19:4-6:  "4 He answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"?  6 So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.'"

Genesis 2:18:  "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'"

Genesis 2:21-24:  "21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  22 And the rib that the LORD God has taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  23 Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'  24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

John 2:1-11:  "1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'  4 And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.'  5 His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

"6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.'  And they filled them up to the brim.  8 And he said to them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.'  So they took it.  9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now.'  11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.  And his disciples believed in him."

Psalm 127:1:  "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain."

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The text is public domain:

1 O Father, all creating,

Whose wisdom, love, and pow'r

First bound two lives together

In Eden's primal hour,

Today to these Your children

Your earliest gifts renew:

A home by You made happy,

A love by You kept true.

2 With good wine, Lord, at Cana

The wedding feast You blessed.

Grant also these Your presence,

And be their dearest guest.

Their store of earthly gladness

Transform to heav'nly wine,

And teach them, in the testing,

To know the gift divine.

3 O Spirit of the Father,

Breathe on them from above,

So searching in Your pureness,

So tender in Your love

That, guarded by Your presence

And kept from strife and sin,

Their hearts may heed Your guidance

And know You dwell within.

4 Unless You build it, Father,

The house is built in vain;

Unless You, Savior, bless it,

The joy will turn to pain.

But nothing breaks the union

Of hearts in You made one;

The love Your Spirit hallows

Is endless love begun.

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The first three citations (Matthew 19:4-6; Genesis 2:18, 21-24) are all combined in the first half of the first verse:  "O Father, all creating, / Whose wisdom, love, and pow'r / First bound two lives together / In Eden's primal hour."

The passage from John 2 is referred to at the beginning of the second verse ("With good wine, Lord, at Cana / The wedding feast You blessed"), and Psalm 127:1 appears at the beginning of the fourth verse ("Unless You build it, Father / The house is built in vain").

"My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker"

Last week, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 17 September, in which the hymn was "My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker" (sung to the tune "Nun lob, mein' Seel'").  I've written about it before, but I found some new features.

Previously, I noted that in the lines "He offers all His treasure... His love beyond all measure" at the beginning of the second verse, both "treasure" and "measure" are sung with a melisma (G A B), giving a sense of the entirety of "all."  I noticed recently that this extent is also illustrated in that the phrases "all His treasure" and "all measure" are sung to notes of all different pitches (E D G A B and D G A B, respectively), especially since both span a sixth.  Here's the notation for those lines (the first and third musical phrases are identical):

Near the end of the third verse are the lines "The wind but through them passes, / And all their bloom is o'er," the second of which is sung to this musical phrase:

Like the above, the phrase "all their bloom" is sung to notes of all different pitches (A D F#), giving a sense of breadth or extent, especially since the notes span a fifth.

In the middle of the fourth verse, the line "His rule is over all" is sung to this musical phrase:

In terms of pitch, "rule" (sung to an A) really is over "all" (sung to a D).  That "all" is sung to the longest note in the phrase also lends a sense of its meaning.