Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit Light Divine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit Light Divine. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

LSB #496 "Holy Spirit, Light Divine"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 16:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Timothy 1:7

John 16:13:  "'When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.'"

1 Thessalonians 5:23:  "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 6:19:  "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own"

2 Timothy 1:7:  "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

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The text is public domain:
Holy Spirit, light divine,
Shine upon this heart of mine;
Chase the shades of night away,
Turn the darkness into day.
Let me see my Savior's face,
Let me all His beauties trace;
Show those glorious truths to me
Which are only known to Thee.
Holy Spirit, pow'r divine,
Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
In Thy mercy pity me,
From sin's bondage set me free.
Holy Spirit, joy divine,
Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
Yield a sacred, settled peace,
Let it grow and still increase.
Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down ev'ry idol throne,
Reign supreme, and reign alone.
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John 16:13 appears in the second verse, specifically in the line "Show those glorious truths to me," and 1 Thessalonians 5:23 appears in the third verse.

"The Holy Spirit within you" from 1 Corinthians 6:19 appears in the line "Dwell within this heart of mine" in the last verse.

I must admit I don't fully understand how the hymn uses the verse from 2 Timothy.  The only explanation I can come up with is that the various activities mentioned in the verses are examples of the work of that "spirit... of power and love and self-control."

Friday, September 15, 2017

"Holy Spirit, Light Divine"

A couple months ago, while transcribing "Holy Spirit, Light Divine," I noticed a couple instances where the text corresponds to the melody.  I've been transcribing the hymns as they appear in The Lutheran Service Book, but if they're in Lutheran Worship too, I also transcribe those versions.  There are quite a few differences between the LSB "Holy Spirit, Light Divine" (#496) and the LW "Holy Spirit, Light Divine" (#166).

The two things I found both correspond to the third musical phrase in the oddly titled "Song 13."  The LSB notation is in D major, but the LW notation is in Eb major.  I find the sharp keys easier than the flat keys, so I'm using D major:


In the fifth verse of the LSB version of "Holy Spirit, Light Divine," the text sung to this phrase is "Cast down ev'ry idol throne."  "Ev'ry idol throne" is sung to those descending notes, so they're literally cast down as far as musical pitch.

In the third verse of the LW version of "Holy Spirit, Light Divine," the text sung to this phrase is "Send your radiance from above."  In that version, the descent represents the Holy Spirit's radiance's coming down "from above."

Notwithstanding the key, I prefer the LW version of "Holy Spirit, Light Divine" because all of the verses begin with some variation of the titular "Holy Spirit, light divine."  There's "light divine," "grace divine," "truth divine," "pow'r divine," and "peace divine," and in the final verse, these culminate in "all divine."

In the LSB version, however, the second verse begins with "Let me see my Savior's face."  Certainly, I have nothing against that sentiment, but it interrupts the anaphoric vocatives in the LW version.