Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.
Showing posts with label Glory Be to Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glory Be to Jesus. Show all posts

Friday, September 13, 2019

"Glory Be to Jesus"

I recently watched the Worship Anew program from 25 August (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost).  The Epistle reading was from Hebrews 12, and I think part of this appears in the fourth verse of "Glory Be to Jesus":
Abel's blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.
In my original post on the Biblical sources, I wrote that this verse comes from Genesis 4:10:  "And the LORD said, 'What have you done?  The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.'"  But this contrast between Abel's blood and Jesus' blood is specifically mentioned in Hebrews 12:24:  "and [you have come] to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."  While Genesis 4:10 is important as far as the context, this verse from Hebrews seems to be the actual source for this hymn verse.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

LSB #433 "Glory Be to Jesus"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 Peter 1:18-19, Ephesians 1:6-8, Revelation 7:9-14

1 Peter 1:18-19:  "18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

Ephesians 1:6-8:  "6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,  8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight..."

Revelation 7:9-14:  "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."

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The text is public domain:
Glory be to Jesus,
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me the life-blood
From His sacred veins!
Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind!
Blest through endless ages
Be the precious stream
Which from endless torment
Did the world redeem!
Abel's blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.
Oft as earth exulting
Wafts its praise on high,
Angel hosts rejoicing
Make their glad reply.
Lift we, then, our voices,
Swell the mighty flood;
Louder still and louder
Praise the precious blood!
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The first three verses and the second half of the fourth describe Jesus' blood "Which... Did the world redeem."  These verses are drawn from 1 Peter 1:18-19 and Ephesians 1:6-8, both of which explain that "we have redemption through his blood."

The first half of verse four ("Abel's blood for vengeance / Pleaded to the skies") comes from Genesis 4:10:  "And the LORD said, 'What have you done?  The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.'"

The last two verses (and specifically "Angel hosts rejoicing") come from the text from Revelation.

Friday, May 12, 2017

"Glory Be to Jesus"

During the Good Friday service last month, I found a lot of things in Lenten hymns that I wanted to write about.  I had other posts scheduled, so these are appearing only now.

I found a few phrases in the lyrics of "Glory Be to Jesus" that are mirrored with musical phrases in the tune "Wem in Leidenstagen."

The last two lines of the first verse are "[Jesus] Poured for me the lifeblood / From His sacred veins!"  The musical phrase to which this is sung descends, as if representing the pouring:


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The second musical phrase ascends:


and rising things are mentioned in the second lyrical phrase in the fourth and fifth verses.  In the fourth verse, this melody corresponds to Abel's blood's "Plead[ing] to the skies," and in the fifth verse, it corresponds to the earth's "Waft[ing] its praise on high."