"Jesus, Lover of My Soul"

Registration:

Upper:  40 8888 004

Lower:  00 6535 241

Pedal:  42

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

"Wo Gott zum Haus" (TLH #290)

Transposed from Eb major to F major

"My Faith Looks Up to Thee"

A couple months ago, when I was practicing the arrangement of "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" in James Bastien's Great Hymns Arranged for Organ, I noticed a feature that's a bit obscured in The Lutheran Service Book (because there's a line break in the music in the middle of this phrase).

Near the end of the first verse, there's the line "Take all my guilt away," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Olivet":

(I followed the LSB setting, which is in D major; in Bastien's book, the tune is in C major.)

The three words in the phrase "all my guilt" are each sung to a different pitch (F# G A), and this provides a sense of the entirety of that "all."

LSB #669 "Come, We That Love the Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 35:8-18, Psalm 48:2, Jeremiah 31:12, Psalm 149:2

I'm assuming that the "18" in the hymnal is a typo because Isaiah 35 has only 10 verses.

Isaiah 35:8-10:  "8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.  It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.  9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.  10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

Psalm 48:2:  "beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King."

Jeremiah 31:12:  "They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more."

Psalm 149:2:  "Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!"

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The text is public domain:

Come, we that love the Lord,

And let our joys be known;

Join in a song with sweet accord,

Join in a song with sweet accord

And thus surround the throne,

And thus surround the throne.

We're marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We're marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

Let those refuse to sing

Who never knew our God;

But children of the heav'nly King,

But children of the heav'nly King

May speak their joys abroad,

May speak their joys aboard.

We're marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We're marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

The hill of Zion yields

A thousand sacred sweets

Before we reach the heav'nly fields,

Before we reach the heav'nly fields,

Or walk the golden streets,

Or walk the golden streets.

We're marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We're marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

Then let our songs abound,

And ev'ry tear be dry;

We're marching through Emmanuel's ground,

We're marching through Emmanuel's ground

To fairer worlds on high,

To fairer worlds on high.

We're marching to Zion,

Beautiful, beautiful Zion;

We're marching upward to Zion,

The beautiful city of God.

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All of the cited passages seem to be combined in the first two lines of the first verse ("Come, we that love the Lord, / And let our joys be known") and in the refrain.  The passage from Isaiah is a bit more prominent in the refrain, though; the walking in verses 8-9 appears as "marching" in the hymn.

The passages from Isaiah and Jeremiah also appear in the line "Join in a song with sweet accord" in the first verse and "Then let our songs abound" in the last verse, although the context in the first verse ("And thus surround the throne") also recalls Revelation 5 and 7.

The verse from Jeremiah is also present at the beginning of the third verse:  "The hill of Zion yields / A thousand sacred sweets."

The description of "golden streets" in the third verse seems to come from Revelation 21:21 ("the street of the city was pure gold").

The line "And ev'ry tear be dry" in the last verse could come from "sorrow and sighing shall flee away" in Isaiah 35:10 or even "they shall languish no more" in Jeremiah 31:12, although it has a greater similarity to "the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces" in Isaiah 25:8 or "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes" in Revelation 21:4.

"Sun of My Soul"

Registration:

Upper:  00 7856 321

Lower:  00 5432 222

Pedal:  44

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

"Old Hundredth" (TLH #289)

"The Savior Calls; Let Every Ear"

After I recorded "Azmon" (TLH #281) a few weeks ago, I found a couple of small connections between the tune and "The Savior Calls; Let Every Ear."

The first two lines of the hymn are "The Savior calls; let ev'ry ear / Attend the heav'nly sound," sung to this musical phrase:

The words "ev'ry ear" are sung to notes of all different pitches (B A G), and this provides a sense of the breadth of "ev'ry."

This feature is also in the third verse, which begins:  "Here springs of sacred pleasures rise / To ease your ev'ry pain."  At the end of the second phrase, "ev'ry pain" is sung to the pitches C B A.

I also noticed polysyndeton (the repeated "and") in the second verse:  "Here streams of bounty flow / And life and health and bliss impart."  This repetition gives a sense of that abundance.

LSB #668 "Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Ephesians 6:10-18, Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 1:27-28, 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Ephesians 6:10-18:  "10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.  14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints"

Romans 8:31-39:  "31 What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  It is God who justifies.  34 Who is to condemn?  Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  36 As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'  37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Philippians 1:27-28:  "27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents.  This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God."

1 Corinthians 9:24-25:  "24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?  So run that you may obtain it.  25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable."

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The text is public domain:

Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you,

O Christians, lest the foe destroy you;

For Satan has designed your fall.

Wield God's Word, the weapon glorious;

Against all foes be thus victorious,

For God protects you from them all.

Fear not the hordes of hell,

Here is Emmanuel.

Hail the Savior!

The strong foes yield

To Christ, our shield,

And we, the victors, hold the field.

Cast afar this world's vain pleasure

And boldly strive for heav'nly treasure.

Be steadfast in the Savior's might.

Trust the Lord, who stands beside you,

For Jesus from all harm will hide you.

By faith you conquer in the fight.

Take courage, weary soul!

Look forward to the goal!

Joy awaits you.

The race well run,

Your long war won,

Your crown shines splendid as the sun.

Wisely fight, for time is fleeting;

The hours of grace are fast retreating;

Short, short is this our earthly way.

When the Lord the dead will waken

And sinners all by fear are shaken,

The saints with joy will greet that day.

Praise God, our triumph's sure.

We need not long endure

Scorn and trial.

Our Savior King

His own will bring

To that great glory which we sing.

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Ephesians 6:10-18 and Philippians 1:27-28 appear throughout the first two verses.  The Ephesians passage appears clearly in lines like "Wield God's Word, the weapon glorious" and "The strong foes yield / To Christ, our shield" in the first verse and "Be steadfast in the Savior's might" in the second.  The Philippians text appears in the line "Fear not the hordes of hell" in the first verse and "And boldly strive for heav'nly treasure" in the second verse.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25 appears at the end of the second verse ("Look forward to the goal!... The race well run... Your crown shines splendid as the sun.").

Romans 8:37 seems to appear in the line "By faith you conquer in the fight" in the second verse, and other parts of the Romans 8 passage seem to inform the last few lines of the hymn:  verses 31-32 in the line "Praise God, our triumph's sure," and verses 35, 38-39 in the lines "Our Savior King / His own will bring / To that great glory which we sing."

"Break Thou the Bread of Life"

Registration:

Upper:  42 8875 543

Lower:  00 5645 322

Pedal:  44

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

"Herr Jesu Christ, mein's" (TLH #288)

Transposed from Bb major to C major

"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"

Recently, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 10 February.  The hymn was "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (LSB #425, sung to the tune "Hamburg"), and I noticed a few features in it.

The second line of the third verse is "Sorrow and love flow mingled down!" sung to this musical phrase:

"Flow" is sung with a melisma (A G), giving something of a sense of movement, and since this pair of notes descends, there's even a bit of the sense of the "down" from the end of the line.

In the fourth verse, the text here is "That ["the whole realm of nature"] were a tribute far too small."  Here, "too" is sung with a melisma (E F), provided a sense of degree.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "Love so amazing, so divine, / Demands my soul, my life, my all!"  The first of these two lines is sung to this phrase:

"Amazing" and "divine" are both sung with melismas (G A G A and A G A, respectively), and these articulations provide a sense of degree for those "so"s.

LSB #667 "Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Hebrews 11:1-12:3, Matthew 25:21, Philippians 3:12-14

Hebrews 11:1-12:3:  "1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.  3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

"4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.  And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.  Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  6 And without faith is it impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

"8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.  And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.  11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of and by the seashore.

"13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  14 For people who speak this make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

"17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.'  19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.  20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.  21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.  22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

"23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.  27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.  28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

"29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.  30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven das.  31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those where were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

"32 And what more shall I say?  For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.  35 Women received back their dead by resurrection.  Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.  36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.  They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated - 38 of whom the world was not worthy - wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

"39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

"12 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

"3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

Matthew 25:21:  "'His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master."'"

Philippians 3:12-14:  "12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.  But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

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Most of the hymn is drawn from the passage from Hebrews.  The title line ("Saints, see the cloud of witnesses surround us") comes from Hebrews 12:1, and the majority of the first three verses summarizes Hebrews 11.  The fourth verse ("Come, let us fix our sight on Christ who suffered... He scorned the shame, He died, our death enduring...") comes from Hebrews 12:2.

The fifth verse ("Lord, give us faith to walk where You are sending...") seems to be drawn from parts of Hebrews 12 and also the passage from Philippians 3.

Matthew 25:21 appears at the end of the first verse:  "Hear how the Master praised their faith so fervent: / 'Well done, My servant!'"

The line "Past, present, future - You, the same forever" in the sixth verse seems to come from Hebrews 13:8:  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."