LSB #786 "Lord of All Good"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 4:10-11

Romans 12:1:  "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

1 Peter 4:10-11:  "10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:   11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.  To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen."

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1 Peter 4:10-11 appears in the first two verses of the hymn, most clearly in the first line of the first verse ("Lord of all good, our gifts we bring You now") and the last line of the second ("Thus for Your glory all our pow'rs combine"), and Romans 12:1 is paraphrased in the last line of the third verse ("To You [the Trinity] with grateful hearts ourselves we give").  The image of the body as a "living sacrifice" from Romans 12:1 and the various gifts and service from 1 Peter 4:10-11 are also combined in the second verse:  "We give our minds to understand Your ways; / Hands, eyes, and voice to serve Your great design; / Hearts with the flame of Your own love ablaze."

"Lord of All Good"

When I recorded a version of "Farley Castle" with recorders a couple months ago, I used the arrangement from The Lutheran Service Book #786 "Lord of All Good."  While going through the tune, I noticed a connection between it and the text.  The second phrase has a number of cross inscriptions.  It would be cumbersome to indicate them all; aside from the first C, any four sequential notes form this figure.

These cross inscriptions connect to the text in the second verse.  The line here is "Christ, by whose willing sacrifice we live."  Part of that "willing sacrifice" was the crucifixion.