LSB #703 "How Can I Thank You, Lord"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Colossians 1:12-14, Psalm 107:20-22, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 1:6

Colossians 1:12-14:  "12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Psalm 107:20-22:  "20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.  21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!  22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!"

Ephesians 2:8-10:  "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Philippians 1:6:  "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

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The text is public domain:

1 How can I thank You, Lord,

For all Your loving-kindness,

That You have patiently

Borne with me in my blindness!

When dead in many sins

And trespasses I lay,

I kindled, holy God,

Your anger ev'ry day.

2 It is Your work alone

That I am now converted;

O'er Satan's work in me

You have Your pow'r asserted.

Your mercy and Your grace

That rise afresh each morn

Have turned my stony heart

Into a heart newborn.

3 Lord, You have raised me up

To joy and exultation

And clearly shown the way

That leads me to salvation.

My sins are washed away;

For this I thank You, Lord.

Now with my heart and soul

All evil I abhor.

4 Grant that Your Spirit's help

To me be always given

Lest I should fall again

And lose the way to heaven.

Grant that He give me strength

In my infirmity;

May He renew my heart

To serve You willingly.

5 O Father, God of love,

Now hear my supplication;

O Savior, Son of God,

Accept my adoration;

O Holy Spirit, be

My ever faithful guide

That I may serve You here

And there with You abide.

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The first two cited passages (Colossians 1:12-14 and Psalm 107:20-22) both seem to appear in the first stanza, particularly the first two lines:  "How can I thank You, Lord, / For all Your loving-kindness."

Ephesians 2:8-9 appears at the beginning of the second verse ("It is Your work alone / That I am now converted").  The "good work" in Ephesians 2:10 and Philippians 1:6 seems to be referred to at the ends of the fourth and fifth verses:  "May He renew my heart / To serve You willingly... That I may serve You here / And there with You abide."

The second half of the second verse combines texts from Lamentations and Ezekiel.  The lines "Your mercy and Your grace / That rise afresh each morn" come from Lamentations 3:22-23 ("22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."), and the lines "Have turned my stony heart / Into a heart newborn" refer to Ezekiel 36:26 ("And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.").  Ezekiel 11:19 is also similar.

"St. Luke" (TLH #323)

Transposed from F minor to A minor

"Renew Me, O Eternal Light"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 3 October.  The hymn was "Renew Me, O Eternal Light," and I noticed a small feature in it.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Herr Jesu Christ, mein's."  Here's the second phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "And cleanse all my impurity."  "Impurity" is sung to notes of all different pitches (F# G E D), giving a sense of the breadth of that "all."  The notes to which the word is sung also span more than two full measures, and this contributes to the sense of breadth, too.

LSB #702 "My Faith Looks Up to Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 1:29, 36; Hebrews 12:2-3; Ephesians 3:12; Revelation 2:10-11

John 1:29:  "The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"

John 1:36:  "and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!'"

Hebrews 12:2-3:  "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."

Ephesians 3:12:  "in whom [Christ Jesus] we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him."

Revelation 2:10-11:  "10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer.  Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.  Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.  11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'"

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The text is public domain:

1 My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Savior divine.

Now hear me while I pray;

Take all my guilt away;

O let me from this day

Be wholly Thine!

2 May Thy rich grace impart

Strength to my fainting heart;

My zeal inspire!

As Thou hast died for me,

Oh, may my love to Thee

Pure, warm, and changeless be,

A living fire!

3 While life's dark maze I tread

And griefs around me spread,

Be Thou my guide;

Bid darkness turn to day,

Wipe sorrow's tears away,

Nor let me ever stray

From Thee aside.

4 When ends life's transient dream,

When death's cold, sullen stream

Shall o'er Me roll,

Blest Savior, then, in love,

Fear and distrust remove;

O bear me safe above,

A ransomed soul!

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"'Behold, the Lamb of God'" from both verses from John 1 and "looking to Jesus" in Hebrews 12:2 are combined in the hymn's first two lines:  "My faith looks up to Thee, / Thou Lamb of Calvary."  The relative clause "'who takes away the sin of the world!'" from John 1:29 seems to be rendered as "Take all my guilt away" in the hymn's first verse.

Hebrews 12:3 and Ephesians 3:12 appear at the beginning of the hymn's second verse:  "May Thy rich grace impart / Strength to my fainting heart; / My zeal inspire!"

The text from Revelation 2 seems to appear in the fourth verse.

The line "Wipe sorrow's tears away" in the third verse comes from Revelation 21:4:  "'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"

"St. Bride" (TLH #322)

Transposed from G minor to A minor

"Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal," sung to the tune "Iste confessor."  Here's the first musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Only-begotten, Word of God eternal," and in the fourth verse, the text is "God in three persons, Father everlasting."  "Eternal" and "everlasting" are both sung with a melisma (G F E D and F G F E D, respectively), and since the words are drawn out, there's a sense of duration.

Here's the second musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "By Your past blessings, by your present bounty."  Here, "bounty" is sung with a melisma (C B A), providing a sense of that abundance.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "To You be praises, thanks, and adoration, / Glory forever," and the last line is sung to this musical phrase:

As with "eternal" and "everlasting" above, "forever" is sung with a melisma (E F E D), giving a sense of duration.

LSB #701 "Draw Us to Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:44-45, 1 Peter 2:21, Colossians 1:12-14, Romans 8:17

John 6:44-45:  "44 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day.  45 It is written in the Prophets, "And they will all be taught by God."  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me'"

1 Peter 2:21:  "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."

Colossians 1:12-14:  "12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Romans 8:17:  "and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

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The text is public domain:

1 Draw us to Thee,

For then shall we

Walk in Thy steps forever

And hasten on

Where Thou art gone

To be with Thee, dear Savior.

2 Draw us to Thee,

Lord, lovingly;

Let us depart with gladness

That we may be

Forever free

From sorrow, grief, and sadness.

3 Draw us to Thee;

O grant that we

May walk the road to heaven!

Direct our way

Lest we should stray

And from Thy paths be driven.

4 Draw us to Thee

That also we

Thy heav'nly bliss inherit

And ever dwell

Where sin and hell

No more can vex our spirit.

5 Draw us to Thee

Unceasingly,

Into Thy kingdom take us;

Let us fore'er

Thy glory share,

Thy saints and joint heirs make us.

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The text from John 6 (specifically verse 44) appears at the beginning of each verse ("Draw us to Thee").  This repetition at the beginning is a rhetorical device called anaphora.

"Follow[ing] in his steps" from 1 Peter 2:21 appears in the lines "For then shall we / Walk in Thy steps forever" in the first verse and also in the majority of the third verse.

Colossians 1:12-14 and Romans 8:17 could overlap a bit, but for the most part, the passage from Colossians appears at the beginning of the fourth verse ("Draw us to Thee / That also we / Thy heav'nly bliss inherit.") and the passage from Romans appears at the end of the fifth ("Thy saints and joint heirs make us.").

The lines "That we may be / Forever free / From sorrow, grief, and sadness" in the second verse may come from part of Revelation 21:4:  "neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten" (TLH #321)

"In Peace and Joy I Now Depart"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "In Peace and Joy I Now Depart" (LSB #938), sung to the tune "Mit Fried' und Freud'."  Here are the third and fourth musical phrases:

In the first verse, the text here is "Serene and confident my heart; / Stillness fills it."  "Fills" is sung with a melisma (F D), giving a sense of the abundance that the word implies.

In the third verse, the text is "Your invitation summons forth / Ev'ry nation."  Here, "nation" is sung with a melisma, giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  Additionally, the words "ev'ry nation" are sung to notes of all different pitches (spanning a sixth:  A G F D C), compounding this effect.

Here are the fifth and sixth musical phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "By Your holy, precious Word, / In ev'ry place resounding."  The notes to which the words "ev'ry place" are sung are all different pitches (F D C), again giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  "Resounding" is sung with a melisma (F E D E D), which provides something of a sense of the word's meaning, like the multiplicity of an echo.

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I also referenced the version in Lutheran Worship (#185).  The translations are different (although the first verse is mostly the same), so there are some elements in the LW version that the LSB version lacks.  The last two lines of the fourth verse are "All God's people find in you / Their treasure, joy and glory," sung to the fifth and sixth musical phrases shown above.  "All" and "people" are both sung with melismas (A G and C Bb A, respectively), giving a sense of this multitude.  The notes are almost all different pitches, providing an additional sense of breadth, and the accidental Bb highlights this sense of entirety in that it incorporates a pitch outside of the key.

LSB #700 "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 85:7-8, 1 John 4:10, Revelation 7:9-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Psalm 85:7-8:  "7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

"8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly."

1 John 4:10:  "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Revelation 7:9-17:  "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.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

2 Corinthians 5:17:  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

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The text is public domain:

1 Love divine, all loves excelling,

Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!

Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,

All Thy faithful mercies crown.

Jesus, Thou art all compassion,

Pure, unbounded love Thou art;

Visit us with Thy salvation,

Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

2 Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit

Into ev'ry troubled breast;

Let us all in Thee inherit;

Let us find Thy promised rest.

Take away the love of sinning;

Alpha and Omega be;

End of faith, as its beginning,

Set our hearts at liberty.

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver;

Let us all Thy life receive;

Suddenly return, and never,

Nevermore Thy temples leave.

Thee we would be always blessing,

Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,

Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,

Glory in Thy perfect love.

4 Finish then Thy new creation,

Pure and spotless let us be;

Let us see Thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in Thee,

Changed from glory into glory,

Till in heav'n we take our place,

Till we cast our crowns before Thee,

Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

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Psalm 85:7-8 and 1 John 4:10 both seem to appear in the first verse, especially in the title line ("Love divine, all loves excelling").  "God is love" from 1 John 4:16 could also be cited, particularly for the lines "Jesus, Thou art all compassion, / Pure, unbounded love Thou art."

The other two cited passages appear in the fourth verse.  2 Corinthians 5:17 is referred to at the beginning, in the line "Finish then Thy new creation."  The passage from Revelation 7 is summarized at the end of the verse, although the line "Till we cast our crowns before Thee" refers to Revelation 4:9-11 (particularly verse 10):  "9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'"

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The line "Let us find Thy promised rest" in the second verse seems to refer to Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

The title "Alpha and Omega" in the second verse comes from Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13).

"Southwell" (TLH #320)

"Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star"

Earlier this year, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 6 February.  The hymn was "Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star," and I noticed a few features in it.

The second line of the second verse is "Falling soft on barren places" (it describes "Thy grace" in the previous line).  It's sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Morgenglanz der Ewigkeit":

The phrase generally descends, musically illustrating that "falling."

The second verse ends with the lines "Bless Thy flock from Thy rich store / Evermore," sung to these phrases:

"Evermore" is sung to notes with a total of eight beats, and this musical length mirrors that duration.

In the third verse, the text here is "Let us truly rise ere yet / Life has set."  The line "Life has set" is sung to a descending phrase (E D C), giving something of a sense of that "set[ting]," although it's used more metaphorically here.